India has registered its first death on Thursday due to the novel coronavirus after a 76-year-old man in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district who died on Tuesday tested positive, reported The News Minute, citing the state’s health ministry. There are reportedly 78 cases of the coronavirus in the country, of which the Ministry of Health has confirmed 74 so far.
“The 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who passed away and was a suspected COVID-19 patient has been confirmed for COVID-19,” the state ministry said in a statement. “The necessary contact tracing, isolation and other measures as per protocol are being carried out. Telangana government has also been informed since he went to a private hospital there.”
The man had returned from Saudi Arabia on February 29, and arrived in Hyderabad after which he travelled to Kalaburagi. He was hospitalised on March 5, but his condition worsened even after being moved to another hospital in Hyderabad. His family reportedly brought him back to Kalaburagi on March 9, and he died the following day.
The 76-year-old man’s samples were sent for testing in Kalaburagi on March 10, and later sent to a laboratory in Bengaluru. The state health minister finally confirmed he had tested positive after receiving reports on Thursday evening.
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