69-year-old woman in Delhi dies of coronavirus, second death in India
India recorded its first case of coronavirus caused death in Karnataka on Thursday with the passing away of a 76-year-old man on Tuesday who had tested positive after his return from Saudi Arabia.
Coronavirus took second life in India on Friday when a 69-year-old woman who had tested positive for the infection died in a Delhi hospital, said health ministry and Delhi government officials. The first casualty was also a senior citizen from Karnataka’s Kalburgi.
The development comes on a day when the positive cases of infection within the country jumped to 81 from 74 reported till Thursday evening.
India recorded its first case of coronavirus caused death in Karnataka on Thursday with the passing away of a 76-year-old man on Tuesday who had tested positive after his return from Saudi Arabia.
Health official in Karnataka were initially unsure if the death was due to coronavirus but confirmed after results from Pune’s NIV lab was obtained. The man was also suffering from pneumonia, hypertension and asthma.
Several official communications have pointed out that the disease is more fatal among the elderly.
A news agency report said Telangana authorities had identified 34 people who had come in contact with the deceased and placed them under home quarantine. All of them are said to be medical professionals. The deceased was also treated at a Hyderabad hospital before he was shifted to Karnataka.
The agency quoted the Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao, who said all those quarantined were kept under strict isolation and were stable.
State officials were ascertaining if some more people had come in contact with the dead man.
The second case of coronavirus death was reported from RML hospital in Delhi. PTI said it was caused due to co-morbidity (diabetes and hypertension). The victim had also tested positive for the virus.
Delhi Epidemic Disease COVID-19 Regulations, 2020, which aims at containing the spread of coronavirus in the national capital was invoked by the lieutenant governor on Friday and the Arvind Kejriwal government announced several measures to contain its spread including cancellation of IPL matches in Delhi.
A ban has also been put on hosting of seminars, conferences or any big event that requires assembly of 200 people or more in the national capital. Cinema theatres have been shut down till the end of the month and all offices, shopping malls and other public places have been directed to daily disinfect their premises.
All buses operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) have been disinfected. Coaches of the Delhi Metro were also disinfected on the night of March 12 and 13, said officials.
In another related development, over 770 people who came in contact with a 46-year-old Janakpur resident of Delhi who tested positive for coronavirus have been traced, said officials.
