‘October’ actress Banita Sandhu tests COVID-19 positive, refuses treatment from Kolkata Govt Hospital

British actress Banita Sandhu, who made her Bollywood debut opposite Varun Dhawan in the film October has tested positive for COVID-19.

As per reports, Banita reached Kolkata on December 20, where she was shooting for the film ‘Kavita & Teresa'. She she traveled in the same flight with the youth who tested positive for the mutant coronavirus strain on his return from the United Kingdom, post which she was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Monday morning.

The actress was then taken to the Beliaghata Infectious Diseases Hospital to check whether she has been infected with the new strain. However, Banita refused to to be treated in a government facility as per health department sources.

"We had to inform the state secretariat and the health department as she was unwilling to come out of the ambulance and at one point of time, she wanted to leave. The British High Commission was informed as we cannot let her go like this which is against the protocol. We had to inform the police also. They (police personnel) came and surrounded the ambulance so that she cannot leave," an official told PTI.

After several failed attempts to convince her, Banita was then admitted to a private hospital and has been kept in an isolated cabin there.

Before leaving Beliaghata ID hospital, the actress was made to sign a declaration that she was unwilling to get admitted there as "she felt the medical establishment lacked infrastructure".

"We will be sending her samples for genetic analysis to Kalyani's National Institute of Biomedical Genomics to ensure whether the actress is infected with the new strain of the coronavirus or not. After that we will follow the necessary protocol once the result is out," another official of the health department told PTI.

Meanwhile, speaking of 'Kavita & Teresa', the film is inspired by the life of Mother Teresa.