2 days after Padma Shri awardee Nirmal Singh died of COVID-19, daughter tests positive

Mangalore Today News Network

Punjab, Apr 04, 2020: The 35-year-old daughter of Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa (67), a Padma Shri awardee and the former hazoori ragi of Harmandar Sahib, or the Golden Temple, in Amritsar, tested coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive on Saturday morning, two days after the Sikh spiritual singer died of the viral infection. She is undergoing treatment at an isolation ward in Jalandhar’s Civil Hospital, Hindustan Times reported.

 

The daughter, a resident of Lohian Khas under Shahkot sub-division in Jalandhar district, came in contact with her father after he had contracted the SARS-Cov-2 virus that causes Covid-19. The Sikh spiritual singer, who tested Covid-19 positive on Wednesday and days after returning from abroad, died the following day.

Punjab special chief secretary Karanbir Singh Sidhu tweeted that the late Khalsa’s daughter has tested Covid-19 positive, but the state health department is yet to make any formal announcement.

Earlier on Friday, two more close contacts of the deceased spiritual singer tested Covid-19 positive, including his US-returned aunt and another ragi. The infected ragi recently accompanied Khalsa to Chandigarh for a religious congregation.

Several others who recently met the late Khalsa, including reputed environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and 16 others, have tested Covid-19 negative. They had met Khalsa at Lohian Khas on March 12, where Seechewal and the local residents were performing desilting of the Satluj river.

In Punjab’s Doaba region, which lies between Beas and Satluj rivers, 32 Covid-19 positive cases, including two deaths, have been reported so far.

Punjab has reported 59 Covid-19 positive cases, including five deaths, to date.