Kerala: Recovered Covid-19 patient dies in Manjeri, govt says he had comorbidities

Coronavirus (COVID-19): The death of an 85-year-old man in Kerala's Malappuram district cannot be ascribed to the novel coronavirus infection, state health minister KK Shailaja said Saturday.

The resident of Manjeri, who had long-time heart and respiratory complications, had tested positive for Covid-19 on April 2 at the Manjeri Medical College. He was subsequently isolated and his family quarantined at home. Due to his comorbidities, an expert medical team was constituted to work on his treatment.

"Due to his age and other complications, he had already been physically exhausted when he was brought in. But he was given the best care by doctors and other staff. Over time, he recovered and began to even talk to his family over the phone. He was tested thrice and all of them had come back negative. So we categorised him as a recovered patient," the health minister said.

"But earlier today, we learnt that he had passed away. He had developed some kidney-related complications in the meantime. We were very happy to see him recover, but unfortunately he passed away. Since he tested negative thrice, his death cannot be classified as Covid-death," she added.

The body will be handed over to his family who have been advised to involve few people for the last rites in the backdrop of the lockdown.

(Inputs and image from theindianexpress.com)