Second COVID-19 death in Karnataka; India’s death toll at 16

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 26, 2020: India enters the second day of lockdown. The number of positive cases is pouring in and the total has climbed to 662. Gujarat, Srinagar, and Karnataka reported coronavirus deaths, taking India’s toll to 16.

While the union health ministry put the number of deaths at 13 till 10:15am, officials of the three states have confirmed the deaths were due to Coronavirus.

In Gujarat, a 70-year-old COVID-19 patient died in Bhavnagar district early Thursday morning, health department officials said. "The 70-year-old man died at a government hospital in Bhavnagar," state principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi said. This is the third death from the virus in the state as the number of cases increased to 43.

Earlier, one patient each from Ahmedabad and Surat had succumbed to the viral infection, Ravi said.

Jammu and Kashmir reported its first death as a 65-year-old man passed away due to the coronavirus infection. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state stands at 11 as four more people tested positive. All of them had come in contact with the patient who died in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Principal Secretary (Planning Commission) Rohit Kansal said.

Officials said 48 people who had come in contact with the 65-year-old are in quarantine and authorities are in touch with the states visited by the man to track those who may have been infected by him.

The death toll in Maharashtra rose to four on Thursday, the highest in the country, as the test report of a woman who died on Tuesday turned out positive for coronavirus.

The woman, who hailed from Navi Mumbai, had symptoms similar to the coronavirus infection. Thus, as a precautionary measure, her samples were taken and sent for testing, he said. "The test came out positive this morning. We are now taking the necessary precautions for her relatives as well," the official said.

So far, Maharashtra has reported four deaths, Gujarat three, while Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Karnataka, Punjab, Delhi, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have reported one death each.

According to the data provided by the health ministry, at least 42 people have recovered from Coronavirus in the country so far. The total number of 649 also includes 47 foreign nationals, the ministry said.