‘October’ actress Banita Sandhu tests positive for Covid-19; refuses to get treated in Kolkata govt hospital

Actress Banita Sandhu, who was seen in ‘October’ alongside Varun Dhawan has tested positive for Covid-19. Recently, Banita arrived in Kolkata from London for a shoot and that’s when she tested positive for Covid-19. The actress was said to be stranded inside ambulance over four hours at Beliaghata ID hospital since she reportedly refused to get treated in a government hospital.

According to a report by Indian Express, after Banita tested positive for Covid, she was taken to the Beliaghata Infectious Diseases Hospital for further treatment and to ascertain whether she has been infected with the new strain.

An official said, “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 of 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.”

Banita was counselled by many senior doctors of the hospital, but she was not convinced. “Eventually, with the permission of the health department, she was admitted to a private hospital,” the official further added.

 

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But, before she left Beliaghata ID hospital, the actress was made to sign a declaration that she was unwilling to get admitted there as “she felt the medical establishment lacked infrastructure.”

Banita’s blood samples will be sent for testing the presence of mutant Coronavirus strain, variant of Concern 202012/01 (VOC-202012/01). A health department official told PTI, “We will be sending her samples for genetic analysis to Kalyani’s National Institute of Biomedical Genomics to ensure whether the actress is infected with the new strain of the coronavirus or not. After that, we will follow the necessary protocol once the result is out.”

Stay tuned to this space for more such updates.

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