Thrissur: Kerala reported another COVID-19 death on Sunday. Kumar, 87, hailing from Engandiyoor in Kerala's Thrissur district was under treatment for the coronavirus at a private hospital here. He suffered from respiratory ailments and severe pneumonia.
He succumbed to the disease soon after being brought to the Thrissur Medical College Hospital. He was declared COVID-19 positive only on Sunday morning.
Kumar's mortal remains will be cremated according to the COVID-19 protocol.
Forty individuals, including doctors who were in contact with the patient at the Thrissur Jubilee Hospital have been placed under observation.
Since the patient was in the isolation ward of the hospital, the chances of community spread are low, health experts say.
Kumar was admitted to the hospital on June 2 with breathing ailments. His sample was sent for COVID-19 testing as he was affected by pneumonia. When his test returned positive on Sunday, he was shifted to the Medical College's isolation ward.
This is the second COVID-19 death in Thrissur and the 17th in Kerala.
COVID deaths in Kerala
Former Santosh Trophy footballer, E Hamza Koya, had succumbed to the virus early on Saturday. 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.
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 Sunday, Kerala recorded 107 COVID-19 cases. Total cases in the state surged to 1,915. Of them, 1,095 are active cases.
