The 65-year-old had a history of respiratory disease and also suffered a fit at the center in 2013.
The coronavirus was tested without delay. The positive result.
His circle of relatives took him to the government hospital in his hometown of Katihar, in the northern state of Bihar. The doctor begged them to take him home, which surprised his son Vishal.
He told the doctor that his father had recovered from severe pneumonia last year and was more at risk. But the recommendation remained unchanged.
Even as the circle of relatives organized an oxygen bottle at home, Vishal began contacting other hospitals. None had beds available.
For the next 24 hours, as the oxygen point in Mr. Singh’s blood was still dropping, Vishal went to a government hospital that had a loose intensive care bed.
But he was 90 km (55 miles) away and had to locate an ambulance to take his father there, which he did.
They were on their way, and almost at their destination, when they ran out of oxygen. Vishal frantically called the hospital and asked for a bottle of oxygen to be made at the door.
When, despite everything, they arrived, there was no one at the door and they were told that there were no extensive care beds available. They were asked to take Gopal to the isolation unit.
It’s on the third floor and the elevator’s not working. Vishal and his 60-year-old mother took their father downstairs on a stretcher. Vishal says no doctor or nurse came here to see Gopal.
He discovered 10 oxygen cylinders out of service, but none were full. He says he used them, turning the cylinders over and over again at night.
In the morning, Mr. Singh will be transferred to another hospital. They had driven lightly for an hour when he died.
“I did everything I could to save him, but the formula defeated us. He’s not dead, it’s murder. He kept asking me to save him, he was so scared,” Vishal says.
“I will never make your begging eyes.”
Mr. Singh’s death is evidence of the serious and demanding situations facing Bihar, one of India’s most populous and poor states, in its fight against Covid-19.
To date, Bihar has recorded more than 33,000 cases, the maximum of which were added in July. But it reported few deaths due to the virus: 217. This is much lower than the death toll in Andhra Pradesh (884), another state that is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of cases.
But that can quickly replace, doctors and experts say, because the state has done enough to consolidate its ruined fitness infrastructure in time.
More than 40% of fitness employee positions are still vacant, says Dr. Sunil Kumar, secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in Bihar. This, despite repeated requests to the government, he adds.
“We knew Covid-19 would get to the state as soon as possible, but we didn’t plan on the scale we needed,” he says.
Most Bihar districts also don’t have enough fans, which is very important for dealing with emergencies in Covid-19.
“There is a great shortage of medical experts in fan operation, this is a very express requirement, and the state has an idea about it,” says Dr. Kumar.
The state government denies deficiencies in its component and said it was building more conditioning infrastructure.
But Bihar faces unique challenges: on the one hand, his number one formula for fitness care is weak and suffers decades of neglect. Many states have used these networks to effectively verify and insinuate, or raise awareness about hand washing and masking.
It also has fewer major or personal public hospitals, which can receive and treat patients quickly. While major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai have also noticed deaths due to delayed admissions, experts fear that pressures in Bihar could lead to much higher death toll.
To make matters worse, flooding began in various parts of the state, making their response even more difficult.
Dr. Kumar says the increase in the number of cases shows that the infection is spreading and in remote parts of the state.
Although Bihar has increased, its rates are still among the lowest in the country.
This becomes transparent when comparing Bihar tests consistent with millions (about 3500) with Andhra Pradesh’s figure (about 28,000). Uttar Pradesh, a state more comparable to Bihar in terms of resources and population size, performs more than 7,000 million-consistent tests.
Bihar has lately conducted an average of about 10,000 tests a day, but they are still very few, as it houses more than a hundred million people, Says Dr. Kumar.
“This means that many other inflamed people are uncontrolled and spread the virus in communities,” he adds.
Bihar had the credit for learning from states such as Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, where the infection spread in May and June. And a strict national blockade, until April and May, has also given officials the opportunity to prepare for an increase in the number of cases.
But they acted quickly, broadening the evidence. And the workload also remained among the lowest in the country until June.
The stage began to be replaced when the lockdown forced immigrant painters, without paintings and without money, to return to Bihar.
One doctor, who wanted to be identified, said there had been obvious deficiencies in the testing and quarantine of staff returning home.
There have been reports of others fleeing quarantine centers due to mismanagement, and some completely avoid the variety process.
“All of that is now costing the state; other people are dying from this negligence,” says the doctor.
Timely testing and the quality of the remedy remain a challenge.
Rajnish Bharti had a high fever and cough when he visited the government hospital in Bhagalpur district on July 9.
He said to come back 10 days later because “there are too many people on the waiting list.”
Mr. Bharti’s condition worsened in this era and he was admitted to the hospital as soon as he tested positive for the virus.
He says he met with a doctor on the day of his admission, no one has visited him in the week since.
“A guy in the room (help) comes and throws himself into the room. It’s been going on for five days,” he says.
He added that he feared getting oxygen in time if his condition worsened.
There is a phone number that patients can call in an emergency, but it is busy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
But those with “relationships” can be treated quickly, Bharti says. By that it refers to those who are strong enough or strong enough to move the threads.
“If some VIPs call on your behalf, they’re taken care of,” he adds.
A veteran journalist from Patna, the state capital, who also needed to be identified, said it was not unusual. “Connections are vital in states like Bihar, and this leaves out the deficient who have nowhere to go,” he says.
“But given that the number of cases is increasing, I doubt that even relationships can be useful in the future.”
A gaya district government doctor said the strain on the formula is already increasing.
“There’s a lot of staff shortage and I end up after 50 to 80 patients on my own, with just one nurse to help me,” she says.
He says there are not enough cleaning staff or assistants because they are all hired as hired staff on poor and unprotected salaries.
“They don’t pay attention to us and I can’t blame them. Are you betting your life on 5,000 rupees ($66: s 52) on a month? They’re just peanuts,” he adds.
“The doctors are doing what we can, but I’m worried. Every day it gets darker and darker when I see other people suffer to save their loved ones.”
Data and graphics research through Shadab Nazmi