Palestinian man scales hospital wall to see mother treated for COVID-19 until she passes away

Guwahati: A 30-year-old Palestinian man, Jihad Al-Suwaiti waited outside the window of an Intensive Care Unit of Hebron State Hospital, where his mother was being treated for Covid-19.

His mother, 73-year-old Rasmi Suwaiti was a patient of leukemia when she was found positive for Covid-19 and admitted to the hospital. Patients who test positive for Covid-19 are kept isolated and family members cannot be present in the hospital rooms with them. Jihad's mother too was kept in isolation but that did not deter him from seeing her every day. He climbed the window of the intensive care unit she was kept in for the five days she was hospitalized.

"I sat helplessly behind the outside window of the intensive care room, watching her last moments," her son was quoted as saying by the Arabic Post.

"Jihad is the youngest child and is indeed close to his mother, especially after the death of our father 15 years ago, our mother had leukemia and was diagnosed with COVID-19 a few weeks ago. When informed of our mother's death, Jihad was angry and in denial," local reports quoted his older brother as saying.

Jihad's older brother told local reporters that he continued to climb the window even after hospital security asked him not to. Jihad's case is one of many of those who have lost family members to the pandemic. As cases continue to surge, there might be many more instances of loss and grieving.  

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