Prevented from entering village in Andhra, man dies of COVID

Naveen S Garewal 

Tribune News Service 

Hyderabad, May 4

In a tragic incident, a COVID-19 positive person died gasping for breath when villagers prevented him from entering the village in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh. A video of the deceased's wife and daughter trying to offer some water before he collapsed has gone viral. The man has been identified as Asiri Naidu, a daily wage worker. 

The video shows a weeping daughter sprinkling water into her father’s mouth as her fearful mother is pulling her back fearing infection. In a heart-wrenching moment, the daughter holds the father fingers, but within seconds he stops moving. The wife looks at him, and says, “gone”, after which the man’s daughter breaks down into wails and sobs, inconsolable. 

Sources said the video was captured by onlookers at Koyyanapeta Village in Jagannathavalasa Gram Panchayat of G Sigadam Mandal in Andhra Pradesh. The deceased had reached his village from Vijayawada after testing positive. The villagers did not allow him into the village and asked the family to stay at the outskirts of the village. As Naidu’s condition worsened, none helped take him to hospital and he died soon thereafter. 

District Medical and Health Officer, Dr M Chenchaiah said he was unaware of the incident but would have it investigated. 

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Telangana, the pandemic has claimed 59 more lives, the highest single-day death toll in the state so far. The fresh fatalities pushed the cumulative death toll to 2,476. The state reported 6,876 new Covid cases during the 24-hour period.