Another staff member of AIIMS dies due to coronavirus in Delhi

The deceased, Hiralal was working as senior sanitation supervisor and was posted at Rajkumari Amrit Kaur OPD in AIIMS.

A staff member at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Delhi died from coronavirus on Monday. This is the third case of death from the premier medical institute after a mess worker and a senior doctor Jitendra Nath Pande died due to the virus.

The deceased, Hiralal was working as senior sanitation supervisor and was posted at Rajkumari Amrit Kaur OPD in the AIIMS.

A source from the hospital told news agency IANS that he was very alert while discharging his duty in the hospital.

“He used to follow all norms of hygiene but despite that, the deadly virus entered his body and he lost the battle of life. He did not care about his life while serving people in the hospital. He was loved equally by all including nursing staff and doctors,” he said.

The source also said: “Hiralal was very active in participating in social causes. He played a key role in establishing SC/ST Employees Welfare Association at the AIIMS.”

Hiralal’s body was kept in the AIIMS Trauma centre mortuary and it will be handed over to his family.

On May 22, a mess worker from RPC canteen died due to the virus.

After his death, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) had written to AIIMS saying that the hostel section had refused to take precautionary measures leading to his death.

It also alleged that the hostel superintendent tried to present the death as a case of a possible cardiac event.

“We also demand to test of all mess workers and residents after diligent contact tracing and compensation for the grieving family of the mess worker who was serving us during the pandemic,” the letter said.

A day later on May 23, Jitendra Nath Pande, a senior doctor of AIIMS died of COVID-19.

The 78-year-old doctor was the director and professor of the Pulmonology department at the hospital.