A 76-year-old man from Karnataka who was suspected of coronavirus and died on Tuesday, 10th March, is India’s first death linked to COVID-19, reported The Quint.
Karnataka State Health Minister B Sriramulu confirmed this news in a tweet.
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.
— B Sriramulu (@sriramulubjp) March 12, 2020
The man from Kalaburgi in Karnataka had returned from Saudi Arabia on 29th February. Reports suggest that he was screened at the airport when he arrived from Saudi Arabia, but showed no symptoms at the time.
While he already had hypertension and asthma, he developed symptoms of fever and cough on 6th March. He was then kept in isolation at the government hospital in Kalaburgi and was later shifted to a private hospital in Hyderabad when symptoms aggravated.
Earlier there were rumours that his death was not linked to COVID-19, but now it has been confirmed.
