Viral Video of Man in India Carrying Dead Body of 11-Year-Old Daughter Is Proof of India's Poor Health System
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India Eases Lockdown Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic
NEW DELHI, INDIA - MAY 13: The body of a 42 years old woman who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), lies on ground, before burying it at the graveyard, as the country relaxed its lockdown restriction on May 13, 2020 in New Delhi, India. India has relaxed its lockdown restrictions even as the pace of infection has picked up. The COVID-19 disease is spreading at a worrying rate in the country and the death toll in India due to coronavirus stands at 2,415, but despite the grim statistics India has allowed most businesses and services to reopen. India was under a strict lockdown from March 25.

A man carrying the dead body of his 11-year-old daughter on his shoulder was caught in a video posted on the internet as the COVID-19 crisis continues raging in India, making medical services difficult to find.

Daughter's Cause of Death Unconfirmed

The video originates in the city of Jalandhar in the Punjab state of Northern India. There were mixed claims about whether the child was afflicted with COVID-19, but she seems to have died of an unrelated disease. 

Dalip Kumar, a migrant worker, told local media that his 11-year-old daughter, Sonu, had a fever two months earlier, which he had treated with at-home remedies and those sold by street peddlers.

He took her to Jalandhar Civil Hospital when no other treatments were available, and she was referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) in Amritsar. According to a hospital certificate obtained by the India Times, she was admitted to the surgical ward of Guru Nanak Hospital, which is part of GMC.

"She was diagnosed with subacute intestinal obstruction (SAIO)," according to the certificate. She passed away on May 9. The Hindustan Times reported that Kumar reached out to his neighbors the day after she died, calling for assistance in transporting her to a crematorium to perform her last rites.

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Kumar's neighbors refused to help as they are afraid to contract COVID-19

As the pandemic threatened to cripple India's healthcare system, certain aspects of medical services, such as ambulances and hospital beds, have become inadequate, leaving millions to wait for treatment and transporting the sick or dead on their own. The neighbors declined to help because they were afraid of contracting COVID-19.

Kumar then did the lonely walk caught on video, holding his daughter's body on his shoulder and being trailed by his son. His neighbors did show up at the crematorium from afar to pay their respects, as per Newsweek via MSN.

Ghanshyam Thori, the deputy commissioner of Jalandhar, ordered an investigation after the video went viral on social media. According to the Times of India, Thori said in a statement that the cause of death was not COVID-19 as the young girl tested negative for the infection and that the medical record at Civil Hospital Jalandhar also mentioned that she had "acute gastroenteritis."

He also mentioned that when a patient tests positive for COVID-19, the crematorium protocol is followed. Otherwise, the body is issued to the family so that funeral arrangements can be made. The Tribune reported the girl did get a positive COVID-19 result at first, which caused some doubts and rumors online.

Despite finding out that the young girl's death might be unrelated to COVID-19, the video still spurred public attention online, as many saw it as just another heartbreaking indication of India's crumbling healthcare system. 

Another video from India went viral in April, showing a son bearing his dead mother's body on a motorcycle after he was unable to find an ambulance to take her to a crematorium.

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