It has been confirmed that a 76-year-old man from Karnataka's Kalaburagi, who passed away on Tuesday night, is India's first case of coronavirus death.
"The 76 year old man from Kalburgi who passed away & was a suspected #COVID19 patient has been Confirmed for #COVID19. The necessary contact tracing, isolation & other measures as per protocol are being carried out," tweeted Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu.
“Telegana government has also been informed since he went to a private hospital there,’’ health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said.
“The patient had asthma and hypertension as well,’’ said Javed Akhtar, additional chief secretary to the department of health and family welfare told THE WEEK.
The man had recently returned from Saudi Arabia. Earlier, the district health and family welfare department said the man was suspected to be infected with coronavirus.
On his return, he was down with fever and took treatment at a private hospital. Later, on the advice of doctors or family he had gone to Hyderabad, Sriramulu said on Wednesday. The person had severe asthma history, blood pressure, and appendicitis, among other things, and he died, the minister further said.
A senior health department official later clarified the man died on the way back from Hyderabad around 11 pm on Tuesday.
Listing the chronology of events, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Jawaid Akhtar said the person got treated at an OPD of a private hospital in Kalaburagi on March 5, the next day he got admitted and on March 9 he got shifted to Hyderabad.
(With PTI inputs)