Mumbai: A 43-year-old patient at BYL Nair Hospital at Mumbai Central, whose COVID-19 test report was awaited, hung himself in a bathroom at the hospital on Thursday morning, before the results of his test report were available. When the report came in following his death, it emerged that he had tested negative for COVID-19. The Agripada police said they suspected that the man committed suicide owing to his anxiety that he may have contracted the virus.
According to the police, the deceased, a resident of Mahim's fishermen colony, was admitted to the BYL Nair Hospital on May 21 as he was suffering from fever and cold. Since he displayed symptoms typical of COVID-19, he was tested for the virus. The results of an initial test, however, revealed that he was COVID-19 negative. Thirteen days after admission at the hospital, when his fever refused to go, he was again tested for COVID-19. His swab sample was collected on Wednesday.
However, even before the result came in, he hanged himself. The patient was admitted to ward number 16 of the hospital. On Wednesday morning, he went to the bathroom, and when he did not come out for an unusually long time and failed to respond to people calling to him, the hospital staff broke open the door at around 9:30 am. He was found hanging from a hook for clothes inside the bathroom.
