On the night of April 19, Mankeerat Kaur and her entire family tested positive for Covid-19. While her husband and son had mild symptoms, K...
On the night of April 19, Mankeerat Kaur and her entire family tested positive for Covid-19. While her husband and son had mild symptoms, Kaur, 51, who worked as a volunteer at non-profit organisations in Delhi, began to experience breathlessness.
“We had three oximeters just to be sure of the readings,” said her husband Kavaljit Singh, 57. “They showed her levels at 84.”
With a brutal second wave of Covid-19 overwhelming hospitals in the city, families were struggling to find beds for sinking patients. Singh, however, managed to get his wife admitted to the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute on April 23, as her oxygen saturation dipped to 80.
Nearly a month later, Kaur passed away on May 19, her body wracked by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
After her death, the facility issued a 22-page bill of Rs 19 lakh that Singh has been unable to pay.
Of the total bill, Rs Rs 2.2 lakh are charges for critical care – Rs 15,000 per day for four days spent in the ICU for four days and Rs 18,000 for nine days using a ventilator unit. About Rs 1.1 lakh are charges for staying in a single room and coronary care units at Rs 8,500 and Rs 9,000...
