Banita Sandhu, who recently starred in Adithya Varma opposite Dhruv Vikram, tested positive for Covid-19 while she was shooting for the film 'Kavita & Teresa' in Kolkata.

The actress flew down to India from the United Kingdom and reportedly refused to get admitted to a government hospital citing poor infrastructure. Banita had landed in India on December 20 and had travelled with a man who tested positive for the mutant coronavirus strain that is currently spreading at a rapid rate in the UK. Tests are being performed to determine whether the actress has been infected with the mutant virus strain as well. Banita was initially taken to the Beliaghata Infectious Diseases Hospital which holds a separate unit for Covid-19 patients returning from the UK. However, she refused to step out of the ambulance claiming that the government hospital lacked proper infrastructure.

"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 was quoted as saying by a news agency. Despite being counselled by senior doctors, the 23-year-old actress decided to get herself admitted to a private hospital in the city. Banita Sandhu was, however, made to sign a declaration that she was unwilling to get admitted there as "she felt the medical establishment lacked infrastructure."