High School teacher from Mangaluru succumbs to Covid-19

A high school teacher from Mangaluru, Padmakshi, who was shifted to the ICU in a private hospital after testing positive for Covid-19, breathed her last in the wee hours on Friday.

As Padmakshi's health deteriorated on Thursday, the district administration in consultation with elected representatives toyed with the decision to airlift Padmakshi for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy, which was available only in Bengaluru. Hours later, the teacher lost her battle to the coronavirus.

Padmakshi, who taught at Jawahar Nehru School in Makki near Shirtady, first contracted the infection while conducting classes under Vidyagama. Her husband, Sashikant, who served as a headmaster in D J Higher Primary school in Moodbidri had also tested positive for Covid-19. While Sashikant recovered and was discharged from the hospital, Padmakshi's health continued to worsen.

Padmakshi's deteriorating health and mounting hospital bills grabbed the attention of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and the district administration when her daughter, Aishwarya Jain, took to social media and sought help for her ailing mother. Both the Chief Minister and Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar along with district administration responded swiftly.

Even as the district administration was discussing therapies to ensure the survival of teacher, Padmakshi passed away on succumbed to the fatal virus.