The Union Ministry of Health confirmed that the death of a 76-year-old man from Karnataka’s Kalburgi occurred due to COVID-19, making him the first Indian to die from the viral infection.
The official twitter handle of the ministry tweeted: ‘Death of a 76-year-old male from #Karnataka is confirmed to be caused due to co-morbidity and he has also tested positive for #COVID19’.
#CoronaVirusUpdate:Death of a 76 year old male from #Karnataka is confirmed to be caused due to co-morbidity and he has also tested positive for #COVID19. The details are here: pic.twitter.com/6Vou8iVOo9
â Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) March 12, 2020
The man had visited Saudi Arabia from 29th January 2020 till 29th February 2020. He was suffering from Hypertension and Asthma. On his return to Hyderabad in the end of February, he was asymptomatic, but on March 6, he developed symptoms of fever and cough.
He was then diagnosed with ‘mild zone viral pneumonia’ and ‘suspected COVID-19’ at a private hospital, on March 9, 2020.
The samples were collected on the same day by Viral research Diagnostic Laboratory, GIMS, Kalaburgi to rule out COVID-19. The attendees insisted on discharging the patient against medical advice without waiting for the test results.
Based on the instructions of Deputy Commissioner, Kalaburgi District, the DHO met the attendees to convince them to admit the patient to the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Science (GIMS), Kalaburgi. The attendees refused and transferred him to Hyderabad without informing the patient.
The patient was treated in a private hospital in Hyderabad and was later discharged. He died on the way to the GIMS on 10th March 2020.
According to the District Health and Family Welfare Department, Karnataka, all the precautionary measures such as contact tracing, screening and home quarantine of the contacts have been initiated as per protocol and is being monitored continuously.
