CHANDIGARH: Former Hazoori Ragi ('Gurbani’ exponent) of the Golden Temple, 67-year old Nirmal Singh Khalsa, has died early Thursday morning of cardiac arrest. He had tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. With his death, the toll due to Covid-19 in Punjab has risen to six.
Sources said that Singh, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009, died Thursday morning at 4.30 am in Amritsar.
Amritsar Civil Surgeon Dr Prabhdeep Kaur Johal said that Singh was put on a ventilator on Wednesday night after his condition worsened due to his bronchial asthma.
Special Chief Secretary (Revenue), Punjab, Karan Bir Singh Sidhu tweeted, "Bhai Nirmal Singh passed away during the ambrosial moments of Amrit Vela around 4.30 am on Thursday."
Singh had in November returned from the United Kingdom and then his uncle and aunt visited him from the US. He afterwards attended many religious 'sammelan' (religious gatherings), including one in Delhi and then on March 19 at Chandigarh where 100 people were present. He had also accompanied the renowned tabla player Zakir Hussain to Golden Temple on February 29.
As Hussain has performed at Patiala in the February 27 Patiala Heritage Festival, a health department team visited his house on March 3 and his guests were found asymptomatic but were quarantined for fourteen days till March 17, sources said.
It is learnt that now the officials are trying to gather the details regarding Singh's travel history and the events he was part of.
He had been admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar after he complained of breathlessness and dizziness on March 30. The area around his house in Sultanwind area has been sealed by the police to check the spread of the virus.
As it is a densely-populated area, authorities expect additional woes. His family members and others who came in contact with him will also be quarantined, health department officials said.
Nirmal Singh Khalsa was the second positive case from the Amritsar and the first death from the holy city. Earlier, a coronavirus positive patient from Hoshiarpur had died at the Government Medical College in Amritsar.