Rohit Kumar
Port Blair, 12 May 2021
Video of a girl named Nupur Mazid D/o Aarthi Haldar went viral on WhatsApp and other social media platforms today. In one of the videos which went viral Nupur Mazid is claiming that after her mothers death she was informed that her Blood Pressure was low and that she had developed Pneumonia but she was COVID negative.
She further claims, when they went to collect the body today they were informed that her mother was COVID positive. She further claims that her mother has stayed at home for the last six months and questioned how she could even contract COVID.
In the first video she also claims that an injection was administered to her mom which led to her death.
A second video of Nupur Mazid went viral this evening in which she claimed that she and her dad are having fever and cough from the last 15 days and they both go out everyday and maintain social distancing while doing their daily tasks. She then claims that her mother has not gone out of house for the last 6 months and just went out on 11th of May for treatment, since her Blood Pressure was low. She further stated in the video that her father has been vaccinated against COVID-19, that both she and her father do not have COVID and they have got tested for it.
In the second video Nupur Mazid then claims that, since her mother was unwell with low blood pressure she was first taken to Haldar Clinic, Bhatu Basti from where the doctor asked that her mother should be taken to G.B Pant Hospital since her BP was very low. She further claims at G.B Pant her mother was administered with one injection and saline after which she passed away. The girl in the video is then seen commenting very insensitive and totally untrue things. She is also seen questioning the source of the virus entering A & N Islands.
Nicobar Times spoke to Dr. Omkar Singh, Director of Health Services, Andaman and Nicobar Islands regarding the viral videos. Dr. Omkar Singh informed us that the claim in the video on how her mother could turn COVID positive if she is staying at home for last six months, has no base at all. He informed us that one can contract COVID from other family members and from people visiting their home. He further informed that, the claim of her mother first being declared negative and then positive will have to be checked as generally dead bodies are not tested for COVID until and unless post mortem is required to be conducted on them.
Nicobar Times has absolute faith in the health care system of our Islands and we are grateful to the healthcare workers who have been working day and night to help Islanders fight this deadly pandemic. We further want to clarify that most of the comments made in the second video by Nupur Mazid are insensitive and are untrue.
Nicobar Times spoke to Nupur Mazid this evening and she narrated the same story as claimed in the video to us. When we asked her whether she and her father has been tested recently for COVID, she informed us that she has returned back from Kolkata recently and she was tested while coming back to Port Blair because it was a mandatory requirement to present a COVID negative RT-PCR test on arrival at Port Blair. We further asked her if she was tested again on arrival at Port Blair by Rapid Antigen Test and she informed that mandatory RAT on arrival was not a norm during her travel. It is very clear from her statement to Nicobar Times that both she and her father haven’t been tested for COVID-19 anytime recently.
Nicobar Times with absolute certainty can say that the healthcare workers of our Islands are doing their best in terms of COVID management and are helping every patient who needs help. Some comments made by Nupur Mazid in the video are insensitive and should be ignored as she is grieving for her mother.
Having trust on the healthcare system is absolutely necessary and one should without any doubt visit a health care centre or contact a health care professional if they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. The health care workers are working day and night to save lives of the patients.
Nicobar Times condoles the death of Mrs. Aarthi Haldar and conveys our sympathy to the bereaved family.