Indian journalist live tweets desperation for help, then dies of covid

Vinay Shrivastav, 65, became the center of attention on Indian twitter after he posted that his oxygen levels were declining and he needed medical treatment. On Saturday, the Lucknow native passed away of COVID-19 without being given any treatment. His death has come amidst a spiraling coronavirus wave in India that has inundated the country and crippled the healthcare system almost completely.

On the previous Friday before his death, Srivastav tweeted that his oxygen had fallen to 52. In a tweet typed out in Hindi, the journalist wrote, “I am 65 years old. Plus I have spondylitis, due to which my oxygen has reduced to 52. Nobody at the hospital lab, or the doctor is picking the phone.”

Provide full details pls.

— Shalabh Mani Tripathi (@shalabhmani) April 17, 2021

Spondylitis is a disorder that primarily affects the spinal cord.

In reply to a tweet asking him to “keep faith” Srivastav wrote that the guard at Balrampur hospital was not letting him inside the building.

Later, a health official asked him to send more details after which Srivastav sent him a picture of his oximeter showing oxygen saturation at 32%, a dangerous level which must be dealt with in a hospital. No help arrived even after this tweet. Srivastav passed away on Saturday, with his family maintaining that he did not receive medical aid.

पत्रकार विनय श्रीवास्तव की गुहार जीते जी तो नहीं सुनी गयी, मरने के बाद भी उनका परिवार एंबुलेंस का इंतज़ार करता रह गया।

सरकारी ‘अव्यवस्था’ की प्रतीक का नमूना देख आँखें भर आयी। pic.twitter.com/o7ROPa5AUq

— Surya Pratap Singh IAS Rtd. (@suryapsingh_IAS) April 17, 2021

India’s current Covid wave has taken on frightening proportions, driven in part by a new variant of the virus which has double mutations. Earlier this week, India overtook Brazil as the country with the second-highest number of cases in the world, behind the USA. Experts are concerned that given the low testing rate, India possibly has higher number of cases than either US or Brazil. On Tuesday the country reported almost 300,000 cases, and 2,000 deaths. Real numbers could be much higher, with crematoriums and graveyards both running out of space across the country.