68-Year-Old Woman In Delhi Dies Of Coronavirus, Second Death In India

[Kool_SRG]

A resident of West Delhi, she had come in contact with her son who had contracted coronavirus after travelling to Switzerland and Italy last month.

New Delhi:

A 68-year-old woman has died of coronavirus in Delhi, the government said on Friday, in the second death linked to the global pandemic in the country.

The woman was the sixth case of coronavirus to be reported from the capital and had other conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes.

A resident of West Delhi, she had come in contact with her son who had contracted the virus after travelling to Switzerland and Italy last month.

While her son had not shown any symptoms of an infection initially, he reported to Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on March 7 with a fever and cough.

As per protocol, the family was screened and since he and the mother had the symptoms of COVID-19, both were admitted, the government said in a statement.

The woman's condition worsened on March 9, with the development of pneumonia and was shifted to the intensive care unit or ICU. She tested positive for coronavirus on the same day.

"Since 9th March 2020, she was having respiratory fluctuations and was provided ventilator support. However, due to comorbid conditions, she died on 13th March," the government said.

Her death comes on a day when the number of cases in India rose to 85, including a 76-year-old man who died in Karnataka on Thursday.

Warning against mass panic, the Health Ministry said the situation in India so far is "not a health emergency".

Besides three patients from Kerala who were released last month after recovering, seven more people have been cured and they will be discharged soon, government officials said.

Around 4,000 people who had come in contact with the infected people have been identified and were being tracked while 42,000 people across the country are under community surveillance, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Aggarwal said at a news conference.

The World Health Organization meanwhile said that Europe was now the "epicentre" for the global coronavirus pandemic that has now killed more than 5,000 people, with cases around the world topping 1.34 lakh, according to news agency AFP

[Kool_SRG]