Ever since Kanika Kapoor was diagnosed with Covid-19 last month, she has been subjected to heavy criticism and trolling. She was first targeted for not self-quarantining after return from London and then for ‘throwing tantrums’ at the hospital.
Now, in an interview with Indian Today, her family has revealed all about how and when she flew back, started feeling unwell, got her tests done and also what happened at the hospital. The family also addressed Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS)’s claims of her throwing ‘starry tantrums’ at the hospital. They said she complained when she was asked by the doctors to change into a medical gown behind a curtain in the hospital room as she did not feel comfortable. She also saw dirt in the quarantine ward and asked the hospital staff to clean it.
In an earlier interview to The Times of India, Kanika had said she was not given food or any medicine at the hospital. “I’ve been here since 11 am and all I’ve been given is a small bottle of water to drink. I’ve been asking these people to give me something to eat but I’ve only been given two small bananas and an orange that had flies on it. I am so hungry, I haven’t even taken the medicine that I was supposed to till now. I have fever, I’ve informed them, but no one has attended to me. The food I brought with me has been taken away. I can’t even eat anything that’s given to me as I am allergic to some foods. I am hungry, thirsty and I feel miserable here,” she had said.
“When I asked the doctor attending to me to have the room cleaned, he said to me that this was not a five star hotel where I should expect that kind of treatment. He said that the authorities are going to file an FIR against me for withholding information and not disclosing my illness. These are the kind of threats being given to me,” she added and said she was being ‘’ill-treated’ at the hospital.
Later, Dr RK Dhiman, the director of the hospital said the best of facilities are being provided to Kanika. “The hospital staff at her disposal is for a four-hour shift during which they cannot eat or drink because they wear anti-infection equipment. Every four hours one team is ‘donned off’ their gear and another shift takes over. The room is cleaned every four hours. Kanika Kapoor’s claims are all baseless,” Dr Dhiman told Ahmedabad Mirror. “Kanika Kapoor has been provided with the best that is possible in a hospital. She must co-operate as a patient and not throw tantrums of a star in Lucknow,” he added.
Kanika has tested positive for Covid-19 for the fifth time even though she is now asymptomatic of the disease. She will only be allowed to go back home when she tests negative.
