COVID-19: Former footballer dies in Kerala, toll touches 16

COVID-19: 56-day-old baby, former footballer die in Kerala; death toll rises to 17

Malappuram: Former Santosh Trophy footballer, E Hamza Koya, who had tested positive for COVID-19, succumbed to the virus early on Saturday here, taking the toll due to the infection in Kerala to 16.

Hamza Koya, 61, died of comorbidities while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the Manjeri Medical College hospital.

He was also suffering from pneumonia, had acute respiratory distress syndrome and cardiac problems, and underwent plasma therapy on the direction of the medical board as his condition worsened, a medical bulletin said.

Koya is a former football player who played for Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy matches between 1981-86. He has also made a mark playing for Western Railway (1978), Union Bank (1981), RCF (1983), Tata Sports Club (1984) and Orkai Mills (1986).

He was selected for the Indian football camp twice in his career.

Koya, who was settled in Mumbai, had returned to his home town at Parappanangadi in Malappuram district by road on May 21 along with his wife, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren aged three months and three years. All five of them have tested positive for coronavirus.

COVID-19: Former footballer, 56-day-old under observation die in Kerala on Saturday
Hamza Koya

His family members are also being treated for coronavirus at the Manjeri Medical College hospital.

Malappuram District Medical Officer Dr K Sakeena said Hamza Koya's wife and son showed symptoms of COVID-19 first and were admitted to the hospital.

"All possible medical care was given to the deceased, but he breathed his last early this morning," she said.

"His wife and son tested positive for the virus first in his family. Later, Hamsakoya also tested positive for the virus and had been under treatment at the medical college.

"His daughter-in-law and two of his grandchildren have also tested positive and are under medical observation", Dr Sakeena said.

Two infants – both under observation – also died at the hospital on Saturday. However, the COVID test results of both of the newborns are negative, the hospital authorities said.

One of the infants' parents hail from Chethaloor in Palakkad. The 56-day-old child was brought to Kerala from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu recently.

The other newborn, two-month-old child, along with mother arrived in Kerala on May 28 from the Gulf. The child's parents are natives of Pulikkal in Malappuram district.

The mortal remains of the deceased will be buried as per COVID-19 protocol.

COVID deaths in Kerala

Shabnas (Edappal in Malappuram district), Xavier (Kavanad in Kollam district), Meenakshi Ammal (73, Palakkad) Father K G Varghese (77, Nalanchira in Thiruvananthapuram), Sulaikha (56, Kozhikode); Jose Joy (38, Pandanad, Chengannur); Joshy (68, Thiruvalla); Telangana native, Asiya (62, Kozhikode); Amina (52, Wayanad), Khadeejakkutty (73, Thrissur), Yakub Husain Sait (69, Ernakulam), Abdul Azeez (68, Thiruvananthapuram), Mehroof (67, Mahe, UT of Puducherry) and four-month-old baby (Malappuram).

Mehroof and the Telangana native deaths are included in Kerala's list based on a union government guideline, which stated that deaths should be accounted where it occurs irrespective of which state the person hailed from.

On Friday, Kerala registered its biggest single-day spike of COVID cases with 111. Total cases in the state surged to 1,699. Of them, 973 are active cases.

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.