British actress Banita Sandhu tests COVID-19 positive in Kolkata
British actress Banita Sandhu, who is in Kolkata to shoot for a movie, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and was admitted to a private hospital after she refused to be treated in a government facility. She reached the city on December 20 and traveled in the same flight as the youth who tested positive for the new strain on returning from the UK.
Sandhu complained of lack of infrastructure at the government hospital
After Sandhu was taken to the Beliaghata Infectious Diseases Hospital, she refused to come out of the ambulance alleging that it lacked proper infrastructure. Eventually, with the permission of the health department, she was admitted to a private hospital. Before leaving, she was made to sign a declaration that she was unwilling to get admitted there as "she felt the medical establishment lacked infrastructure".
Sandhu was unwilling to come out of the ambulance
"We informed the State Secretariat and the Health Department as she was unwilling to come out of the ambulance. The British High Commission and the police were also informed. The police came and surrounded the ambulance so she doesn't leave," the official said.
She is being checked for the new strain
Steps have been taken to get a genetic analysis of her samples to ascertain whether she has been infected with the new mutant coronavirus strain. "We will be sending her samples for genetic analysis to Kalyani's National Institute of Biomedical Genomics...After that we will follow the necessary protocol once the result is out," the official said.
Sandhu was shooting for 'Kavita & Teresa'
Being directed by Swiss-Indian filmmaker Kamal Musale, Kavita & Teresa is based on the life of Mother Teresa. Sandhu started her career with October opposite Varun Dhawan in 2018. The actor was also seen in the 2019-Tamil film Adithya Varma and also stars in the American TV series Pandora. She is currently also shooting for Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham Singh.
