KOCHI: Sixty days after the state reported the first Covid19 case when a Thrissur native was diagnosed with the deadly disease, Kerala reported the first death on Saturday morning.
The 69-year-old patient, a native of Chullikkal in Ernakulam district had returned from Dubai on March 16. However, he did not show any symptoms at the time when he arrived. Later on March 22, he was admitted to the isolation ward of Ernakulam Medical College at Kalamassery with symptoms of acute
pneumonia.
A cardiac patient with high blood pressure, the victim had also undergone a bypass surgery. His 56-year-old wife also has contracted the disease and is undergoing treatment at the same hospital. He was surviving with ventilator support and took his last breath at 8 am on Saturday.
The taxi driver who picked up the victim on his return from Dubai had also tested positive in the swab test conducted at NIV Alappuzha on March 25. The 37-year-old driver has been admitted to the Isolation ward at Ernakulam Medical College Hospital after he showed symptoms of Covid-19.
Three individuals who were in close contact with the wife of the Dubai returnee have also been put under home quarantine.
Kerala had reported the first Covid19 positive case in the country on January 30 and the first three cases in India were also from the state. As many as 176 people have tested positive for Covid-19 as on March 28. Most of the affected patients are people who returned from Dubai.