A horrible incident has come to the fore in Kalahandi district where an ambulance driver was denied entry to his village by fellow villagers and family members.
Banamali Sethi of Dadpur village near Bhawanipatna, had carried a coronavirus patient from Beheraguda village in Golamunda block to Cuttack on April 5. The patient had a travel history to Bahrain.
Sethi was working with the Maa Manikeshawari Hospital in Bhawanipatna. Despite reluctance, he had been convinced by the administration to carry the patient.
Though his ambulance was santisied in his village on his return from Cuttack, villagers and his family members did not allow him to enter the village and asked him to complete the quarantine period and get medically screened.
Even the private hospital authorities fired him from the job. Following this, Sethi has been residing alone in a night shelter near the village.
Although some health workers visited the village and explained to villagers about the COVID-19 and that Sethi had taken all precautionary measures, including wearing personal protective equipments (PPEs), the villagers were not convinced.