Andhra-Pradesh / Family had performed the last rites of the Covid-19 patient, the woman returned alive after 17 days

VIJAYAWADA: A curious situation has arisen here after a major goof-up by health officials. An aged woman presumed dead with Covid19 walked back home alive, as her family members and local residents watched her return with a mix of emotions – shock and scare, followed by surprise and joy.

The 75-year-old Muthyala Girijamma, a resident of Christianpet at Jaggayyapeta in Krishna district, had been infected with Covid19 and was undergoing treatment at the GGH here since May 12. Her husband Gaddayya used to come to the hospital repeatedly to enquire after her condition.

On May 15, when he went to the hospital, he failed to find her in the Covid ward. When he inquired with the hospital staff, he was told that it meant she had succumbed to the infection. He went to the mortuary, collected the body of an aged woman, presuming that it was his wife, and took it to his home village, Jaggayyapeta. The last rites were performed as per family traditions the same day.

With curbs having been imposed on performing the last rites on the Covid-dead, neither the family nor the villagers removed the tight wrapping on the woman’s entire body before conducting the last rites.

It so happened that her son Ramesh, 35, also died due to coronavirus while in treatment at a hospital in Khammam on May 23.

The family members and the villagers conducted a memorial service for the loss of both the family members and condoled their death at the event in the village on June 1.

A pall of gloom hung over the village. However, a day later, on Wednesday afternoon, the elderly woman reached back home, giving a huge shock to her husband and others in the surroundings.

She explained to them that she recovered from the infection and was discharged from the GGH in the morning.

She told her family members, “I was very disappointed when no family member came to the hospital to take me home after my discharge. The hospital offered me Rs 3,000 for transport to return home and take further care of my health.”

With this, the family members and villagers recovered from the shock and surprise and it turned out to be a joyous occasion to all.

Repeated attempts to contact government hospital medical superintendent Dr K Sivasankar Rao to elicit his version on the issue proved futile.