3 yr-old boy dies after swallowing coin; relatives allege govt hospitals refused to admit him
Kochi: A three-year-old boy died after he accidentally swallowed a coin at his home near Aluva, with relatives alleging that government hospitals where he was taken to had refused to admit him as he came from a COVID-19 containment zone.
Health Minister K K Shailaja termed the incident as "very unfortunate" and directed the Principal Secretary (Health) to submit a report after a thorough enquiry. Stringent action would be taken if any lapses were found, she said in a statement.
The boy's relatives alleged that he was denied treatment as their residence fell in a COVID-19 containment zone at Kadungallur near Aluva.
They said the incident occurred on Saturday morning following which the parents took the child to the Aluva government hospital, where an X-ray was done and revealed the presence of the object. However, the hospital authorities allegedly did not admit the child.
A senior doctor there claimed that the boy was not admitted as there was no pediatric surgeon and so he was referred to the Ernakulam General Hospital. Doctors there examined the child and referred him to the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha, for better medical care, where too he was allegedly not admitted.
The doctors reportedly advised the parents to give their child fruits, which, they said, would result in the coin passing through his motion. The parents, who belong to a poor family, took the child back to their home in Kadungallur.
However his condition worsened by evening and they rushed him to Aluva government hospital, but he died en route, police said. The body would be handed over to the parents after post-mortem, health authorities said. His swab has been collected for COVID-19 test, they said.
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Mona wins gold medal, Amir silver in para shooting World Cup
New Delhi (PTI): Indian para-shooter Mona Aggarwal claimed a gold medal in women's 10m air rifle while Army man Amir Ahmed Bhatt secured a silver in 25m pistol at the WSPS World Cup in Changwon, Korea, on Thursday.
Mona claimed the R2 - 10m air rifle standing SH1 gold medal with a score of 250.8 in the final.
It was her second World Cup title of the year following her win in the same event at the World Cup in New Delhi last month, when she sealed a Paralympic quota.
Slovakia's Verónica Vadovicova (250) and Swedish shooter Anna Benson (228.8) won the silver and bronze medals respectively.
The 37-year-old Mona, the mother of two children, looked in good touch in the final as all her 24 shots were above the 10-point mark. She had scored 625.5 to claim the fifth position in the qualification round.
Mona had done well at the state level in shot put and powerlifting before picking up shooting only in December 2021.
