As reported by NDTV India, an ambulance in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh made a pit stop at a roadside juice shop while transporting a sick COVID-19 patient.
A bystander-filmed clip of the incident shows a healthcare worker waiting for his order, dressed in head-to-toe PPE gear. Despite being clad in a hood, gown, and gloves, the worker is still seen wearing his mask beneath his nose and mouth—a violation of the district’s public protocol.
The ambulance can be seen parked behind him, along with several vulnerable pedestrians passing through the street.
According to NDTV’s translation of the video, the bystander filming the scene confronts the medical worker. “You are transporting a corona patient and also not wearing [your] mask properly,” he says.
The worker reportedly defends his decision to stop for juice, insisting that he is not infected. “I don’t have corona. I am just transporting the patient. Let me drink.” As it becomes clear that he is being filmed, he pulls his mask up over his nose and mouth.
The camera pans around the vehicle, revealing more disturbing information about the scene. First, another medical worker is shown sitting in the front seat of the ambulance, its doors wide open. Then, through the vehicle’s back window, viewers can catch a glimpse of what appears to be the sick COVID patient lying down.
The disturbing video, which appears to have first been posted to Twitter less than 24 hours ago, comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are surging in India. Madhya Pradesh has been hit especially hard—according to NDTV, the state “is among the 10 states accounting for more than 84 percent of daily cases.”
Still, not everyone on Twitter agrees that the ambulance pit stop was unreasonable, and many pointed out that working as a COVID medical responder—and wearing PPE gear for hours at a time—takes a physical toll.
“Try to get into that PPE and work for 12 hrs…then you will know the plight of the health workers,” commented one Twitter user.
“Poor guy…can’t even have a glass of juice,” added another.
Just a few days ago, India’s Health Ministry reported a new milestone with respect to rising case numbers: for the first time since the pandemic began, the country saw over 100,000 new COVID cases in one day. Increased lockdowns and restrictions on business are going into effect throughout the country in response to the virus spike.
