West Bengal reports first coronavirus death

With a 57-year-old man succumbing to coronavirus infection at a private hospital here on Monday, West Bengal reported its first Covid-19 death, an official said.

The man, on ventilator support at the ICCU of the AAMRI Hospital, Salt Lake, died following a cardiac arrest on afternoon. Hospitalised with fever, cold and cough last week, his condition started deteriorating on Sunday night.

The resident of Dum Dum in Kolkata's northern suburb was detected with the infection on Saturday evening after reports from two testing facilities -- SSKM and NICED -- turned positive.

According to sources, the deceased's some family members are in hospital, and few others in home isolation.

He didn't have any recent foreign travel history, but attended a marriage in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, last month. He returned by the Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express, early this month.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee learnt of the death during an all-party meeting on coronavirus at the state secretariat Nabanna. She instructed the police to ensure that the disease didn't spread from the corpse and the last rights were performed as per the advice of doctors.

Six more coronavirus patients are admitted at the special isolation ward of the ID Hospital Beliaghata, state's primary referral hospital for infectious diseases. They include three members of a family - an elderly couple and their 22-year-old son - and the housemaid.

The youth had returned from the United Kingdom recently.

A girl who came back from Scotland and a teenager who studies in the UK have also been afflicted with the disease. IANS