A 62-year-old doctor of Patliputra Medical College and Hospital, Dhanbad, died battling Covid in Ranchi on Friday morning, the news coming as a shock to her colleagues who were with her barely 20 days ago.

Dr Venu Chaudhary, wife of a senior doctor of Central Hospital, Dhanbad, was admitted to Samford Multispecialty Hospital in Ranchi after testing Covid positive about a fortnight ago.

Chaudhary was put on a ventilator two days ago after developing a lung infection. She died at 4 am on Friday.

Her colleagues and friends in Dhanbad were in a state of shock. “I joined work under her two decades ago. Her death is a personal loss for me. I cannot believe that somebody who was with me till 20 days ago is no more,” said Dr Leena Singh, the warden of a girls’ hostel at PMCH.

“She was a thorough professional and never compromised with duty. At the same time, she was very accommodative of her colleagues and juniors,” said Singh

Dr Venu Chaudhary (62) who succumbed to Covid on Friday. Gautam Dey

Secretary of district unit of Indian Medical Association Dr Sushil Kumar, who was felicitated on Independence Day by the district administration for his service while treating Covid patients, said, “The death of a senior serving doctor of a government medical college and hospital at a time when the district is facing shortage of doctors is very tragic.”

Both Kumar and Singh said they would like to use this opportunity to urge the government to make special arrangements for the treatment of elderly doctors while engaging them on Covid duty.

“Dr Singh was not on Covid duty. But she was serving in the preventive and social medicine department of PMCH. But we would like to demand that the government make special arrangements for the treatment of doctors and health workers, including nurses and para medical staff, at the district level itself. After all, their survival is crucial for ensuring better treatment for those affected by the pandemic,” Kumar said.