HUBBALLI: Dharwad district reported its first COVID-19 death on Tuesday night at KIMS Hospital in Hubballi.
The 58-year-old man from Girani Chawl in the city had tested positive on May 23 along with three of his family members. While the others including a two-year-old boy recovered and were discharged from the KIMS hospital, he did not respond to treatment and spent more than a week on ventilator support. He died at around 10.30 pm on Tuesday.
The man, who had settled in Mumbai, returned home on May 21 with four members of his family after the coronavirus outbreak. All five were kept in institutional quarantine. Four of the five tested positive on May 23 and were shifted to KIMS hospital.
A senior doctor in KIMS said as he had not responded to treatment, doctors thought of plasma therapy for him. But they only got the plasma by the end of May, by which time it was too late as his condition had worsened and he was on ventilator support. “He was stable and we thought he may recover but on Tuesday night he breathed his last,” he added.
Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan said his body was handed over to his family members on Wednesday morning and the last rites were performed by family members and officials as per the standard operating procedure at Heggeri crematorium.
In the last 80 days, the district has reported 66 COVID-19 cases, of which 39 were successfully cured and 26 active cases are getting treatment at KIMS hospital.