KATHMANDU: India has reported a first death case from the novel coronavirus. The decease has is 76-year-old of Kalaburagi, of the Indian State of Karnataka.
According to Indian media reports, the septuagenarian had returned from Saudi Arabia few days ago.
The confirmation came on a day when 14 more people tested positive for the infection across the country, and authorities at various levels announced unprecedented new curbs.
Officials in Karnataka confirmed India’s first fatality due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Thursday, opening a worrying new chapter in the pandemic’s spread in the country where 74 people have now been sickened and tens of thousands more put under surveillance for possible exposure to the infected.
Delhi declared Covid-19 an epidemic and ordered all cinema halls shut, Mumbai banned all public events, and at least four states said they were suspending regular classes in schools and colleges.
“A 76-year-old man from Kalburgi who passed away (on Tuesday) and was a suspected Covid-19 patient has been confirmed for Covid-19. The necessary contact tracing, isolation and other measures as per protocol are being carried out,” said a statement by the Karnataka government.
The death was confirmed by the Union health secretary Preeti Sudan, who said the man also suffered from other conditions such as high blood pressure and asthma. “While he was asymptomatic on his return, he developed symptoms of fever and cough on March 6, 2020,” the ministry added in a statement.
The victim returned from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on February 29 and died while being moved from a hospital in Hyderabad to his hometown. Officials suspect he may have acquired the infection abroad, as has been the case with all index patients in India.
The total confirmed coronavirus cases in India – excluding the deceased – have reached 74 (16 Italian and one Canadian) as of Thursday evening.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Comment