‘Ambala man attended family function with NRIs, was a regular at gurdwara’

The 67-year-old man, who is the first Covid-19 fatality of Haryana, had no history of foreign travel, said Ambala chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Kuldeep Singh on

The 67-year-old man, who is the first Covid-19 fatality of Haryana, had no history of foreign travel, said Ambala chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Kuldeep Singh on Thursday.

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“He had on March 31 reported to the civil hospital in Ambala Cantonment. His samples were not taken here and he was referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh, as he had undergone a bypass surgery and was also suffering from diabetes, hypertension, and acute pneumonitis,” he added.

“At PGIMER, the patient started developing severe acute respiratory illness and his samples were taken. He died on Wednesday night. His reports later confirmed him positive for coronavirus. He will be cremated in Chandigarh,” the doctor said.

The CMO added, “He had no history of foreign travel, but was a regular visitor to a gurdwara. He also took part in a family function at his house on March 20, which was attended by some NRIs as well. One of his relatives is also engaged in some dealings with NRIs and was working till March 21. We are trying to trace all of them and protocol is being followed.”

On sanitisation drives needed to be carried out at his locality, Dr Singh said, “Our teams have already done that, besides taking five samples of his tenants. As many more samples will be taken from his family members.”

Ambala SP Abhishek Jorwal said, “We have placed barricades in the area where he lived. Most of the contacts of the deceased have been quarantined.”