Kerala registered its first coronavirus death as a 69-year-old man, who was under treatment at the Kalamasserry Government Medical College in Kochi, passed away on Saturday. The patient had recently returned from Dubai and was admitted for coronavirus treatment on March 22.
The patient was of high-risk category as he was a cardiac patient, Kerala minister V.S. Sunil Kumar said in Kochi. The patient's condition worsened due to co-morbid heart conditions and high blood pressure before he succumbed to the infection.
The wife and taxi driver of the deceased have also been tested coronavirus positive. Meawhile, all the residents at the apartment in which he was staying in Mattancherry's Chullikal area have been under surveillance and quarantine. The patient had arrived at the Cochin International Airport on his return from Dubai. All those who might have come in contact with him are being traced, the government informed.
This is the first COVID-19 death in the state which reported its first coronavirus case in January.
With this, the total number of deaths in India have risen to 20. At the same time, the total number of coronavirus positive cases in India has risen to 873, the health ministery said on Saturday. The virus saw the highest single-day jump in India in the last 24 hours with 149 patients testing positive for the highly contagious illness in different parts of the country.
Of the total 873 cases, 775 are active while 78 patients have been discharged. Maharashtra has reported six new cases with the tally rising to 159. Gujarat reported six new coronavirus positive cases, with the total tally at 53. The six new cases were reported since Friday evening, the official said.
"As many as six new cases were reported since last evening, taking the number of such cases in the state to 53," Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said.
Three COVID-19 patients have so far died in the state- one each in Surat, Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar.
In Rajasthan, two more coronavirus positive cases were reported on Saturday. One was a 23-year-old man in Ajmer, who travelled to Punjab and the other a 21-year-old woman in Bhilwara. The total number of positive cases in the state now rises to 52, according to the Rajasthan Health Department.
Kerala has the highest number of coronavirus patients in the country as 39 new cases were reported on Friday, taking the total to 176. More than a lakh people are under surveillance in the state.
So far, Maharashtra has reported five deaths, Gujarat has reported three fatalities, two have been reported from Karnataka, two from Madhya Pradesh, and one each death has been reported from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government said the arrangement of 1000 buses has been made to take the migrant workers to their respective hometowns amid lockdown. Transportation Officers, bus drivers and conductors were called by the CM last night to make all the arrangements, officials said.
Globally, the death toll rose to 27,333 on Saturday, with the highest number of deaths in Italy. There are 5,95,953 people infected by the virus across the world, with the US alone reporting 1,00,000 on Friday. New York is still the worst-hit country in the US.
