Banita Sandhu tests Covid positive, refuses treatment in Kolkata govt hospital

British actor Banita Sandhu, who is currently in Kolkata for the shoot of her film Kavita & Teresa, tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. She was taken to a private facility in the city after she refused to be treated in a government hospital.

WHY WAS BANITA SANDHU TAKEN TO A GOVERNMENT FACILITY?

Banita Sandhu reached Kolkata on December 20 and she travelled in the same flight with the youth who had tested positive for the mutant coronavirus strain on his return from the UK. When she tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Monday afternoon, steps were taken to ascertain if she had been infected with the new strain of the coronavirus, an official told PTI.

As a mandatory measure to curb the spread of the new strain, Banita Sandhu was taken to the Beliaghata Infectious Diseases Hospital where a separate unit has been set up to house those who’ve travelled from the UK.

WHY DID BANITA SANDHU REFUSE TREATMENT IN A GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL?

23-year-old Banita, however, refused to come out of the ambulance alleging that the hospital lacked proper infrastructure, an official confirmed.

“We had to inform the state secretariat and the health department as she was unwilling to come out of the ambulance and at one point in time, she wanted to leave. The British High Commission was informed as we cannot let her go like this which is against the protocol. We had to inform the police also. They (police personnel) came and surrounded the ambulance so that she cannot leave,” the official told PTI.

Banita was even counselled by senior doctors of the hospital but in vain. Eventually, she was admitted to a private hospital and has been kept in an isolated cabin there, with the permission of the health department.

Before leaving the government facility, Banita was made to sign a declaration that she was unwilling to get treatment there as “she felt the medical establishment lacked infrastructure”.

IS BANITA INFECTED BY THE NEW STRAIN?

Banita’s samples will be sent for genetic analysis to Kalyani’s National Institute of Biomedical Genomics to ascertain if she is infected with the new strain of the coronavirus or not. After that, the necessary protocol will be followed once the result is out.

Banita Sandhu is best known for her role in Shoojit Sircar’s October, opposite Varun Dhawan.

(With inputs from PTI)

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