Shillong, June 2: The Health department has clarified that the pregnant staff nurse of Ganesh Das Hospital, who succumbed to COVID-19 on May 30, had not applied for leave.
“I have received the report from Ganesh Das Hospital. The staff nurse, Manisha Turnia, had not applied for leave in writing to the authorities of the hospital,” DHS (MI), Dr Aman Warr told reporters on Wednesday.
According to him, there was no complaint from the family of the staff nurse with regard to the leave application. “Perhaps she had decided to continue her duties after seeing the condition of her colleagues and the shortage of manpower in the hospital,” Dr Warr observed.
The DHS (MI) also said that the hospital authorities had granted leave to 85 staff nurses between December 2020 and May 31, 2021.
Terming the late staff nurse as a sincere and dedicated person, Dr Warr revealed that she was posted at Mairang Civil Hospital after joining service in 2012 and was transferred to Ganesh Das in 2015. “We had withdrawn her from COVID-19 duties in December and deputed her in the female surgical ward after she informed the hospital authorities that she was carrying,” Dr War said, adding that she had performed night duty between May 18 and 20 and join her duties on May 23 after a short break.
She was admitted in the hospital the same evening after complaining to the sister in-charge that she was not feeling well and the RAT test report was negative.
“However, the RT-PCR test report came out positive. She was being treated in the hospital until she passed away,” Dr Warr said, adding that none of the patients, attendants and staff working in the female surgical ward was positive.
“We will have to find out how the late staff nurse infected the virus,” he said.
