Suspected patient attempts to kill self, fractures his legs

nNEW DELHI: A 37-year-old suspected Covid-19 patient tried to kill himself by jumping off the third floor of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital building in central Delhi late Saturday, the police said.

The man’s legs were fractured. He is being treated at the hospital, they said. They added that the man, a shopkeeper, does not have any travel history abroad, and his test reports are awaited.

“Prima facie, it appears that he was depressed and feared being infected with Covid-19,” a police officer said.

The police said the man is not from the Nizamuddin Markaz, from where more than 2,000 people were evacuated by authorities after many across the country who had attended a religious congregation there were found Covid-19 positive.

Sanjay Bhatia, the deputy commissioner of police (central), said the man, who lives with his family in a residential area not too far from the hospital, had walked into the hospital on March 31, complaining about cold and cough.

After initial medical tests, the doctors said he was suffering from regular flu and had no symptoms of Covid-19.

“They discharged him but he returned the same day and insisted on being admitted so that his tests could be done again. The man was admitted,” Bhatia said, adding that the result of the man’s test for Covid-19 test was awaited.

On Saturday around 11.30pm, DCP Bhatia said, the man jumped from the third floor of the hospital. He first fell on the metal roof below and then landed on the ground, because of which he survived, but fractured his legs.

“Doctors have told us that his condition is stable,” Bhatia said.

An official from the hospital, which has been converted into a dedicated Covid-19 hospital, also confirmed that the suspected patient jumped from the building.

“We do not know the reason yet. He is alive and his injuries are currently being evaluated and treatment is being given,” the official said.

“Whether it was a suicide or accident is being investigated,” another senior official from the hospital administration said.

On March 18, a 35-year-old man who had returned from Sydney and immediately moved to Safdarjung Hospital on suspicion of being infected with Covid-19 allegedly killed himself by jumping from the hospital building. An official from the hospital had said that the man was suspected of being infected with the virus, but the disease was not confirmed, as his test result was awaited. His test reports later showed that he didn’t have the disease.