76-year-old Karnataka man tested positive for coronavirus dies

Delhi: Death of a 76-year-old man, who was tested positive for coronavirus, is confirmed to be due to co-morbidity. 

The man visited Saudi Arabia on January 29 and returned to Hyderabad on February 29 following which he went to  Kalaburgi. 

The patient had severe co-morbidities such as history of hypertension, diabetes, asthma and appendicitis.

While he displayed no symptoms on his return, he developed fever and cough on March 6. A private doctor treated him at his home. 

After three days, he was shifted to a private hospital in Kalaburgi when his symptoms aggravated. He was provisionally diagnosed as "mid zone viral pneumonia" and "suspected COVID-19" at the hospital. 

His sample was collected on March 9 by Viral  Research Diagnostic Laboratory, Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Kalaburgi to rule out COVID-19 and was dispatched to VRDL, BMC&RI, Bengaluru. 

The man's family discharged him before test results and against medical advice. 

As per the instructions of Deputy Commissioner, Kalaburgi District, district health officers met the man's family to convince them to admit him to the GIMS, Kalaburgi in an isolation ward. But the family refused and transferred him to a private hospital in Hyderabad. 

The patient was treated in Hyderabad and discharged later. He died while on his way to GIMS on March 10. 

All the precautionary measures as per protocol such as contact tracing, screening and home quarantine of the contacts have been initiated by the District Health and Family Welfare Department, Karnataka and being monitored continuously.