Coronavirus fears: 65-year-old kidney patient dies 'without treatment' in Sylhet

An elderly man has died after being denied treatment at several local hospitals in Sylhet due to the fear of coronavirus, civil surgeon of Sylhet said.

The deceased Gias Uddin, 65, a resident of Housing Estate under ward-4 in the city, had been suffering from kidney-related complications for years and used to have dialysis regularly, reports our Sylhet correspondent quoting locals.

He died last night with respiratory problems at home after being denied treatment at several hospitals in the area as his son returned from UK recently and was staying in home quarantine, locals alleged.

"The kidney patient died due to lack of treatment for the fear of coronavirus. We are urging all doctors to provide proper healthcare to all patients", said Dr Premananda Mandal, civil surgeon of Sylhet.

Rezaul Hasan Koyes Ludhi, councillor of ward-4 of Sylhet City Corporation and neighbour of the deceased, said, "He was undergoing treatment at Kidney Foundation in Sylhet and they denied to treat him just because his son returned from UK recently".

"Other hospitals and clinics refused to treat him, fearing spread of coronavirus," the councillor said adding that the UK returnee son, the deceased's wife and 90-year-old mother-in-law are still healthy at home.

The elderly was buried in the graveyard at the Shrine of Hazrat Manik Pir in the city last night after the deputy commissioner of Sylhet suggested not to have public gathering during the funeral, the councillor added.

Contacted, Atiqur Rahman, manager of Kidney Foundation in Sylhet, said, "Gias Uddin was our regular patient since February 2019. He was undergoing dialysis three days per week."

"On March 21 night, he was given dialysis here and next morning, he came with some physical complexities. Not for coronavirus fear, but as we didn't have ICU and his condition was not good, we suggested to go to a hospital with ICU facility," the hospital's manager claimed.

The civil surgeon f Sylhet said that "even the coronavirus affected patients have the right to get proper medical care. Home quarantine doesn't mean someone is affected but it's a precautionary step only."