A youth working as an emergency medical technician with the 108 ambulance service on Wednesday became the first person in Tiruppur district to die of COVID-19. Tiruppur had recorded its first COVID-19 case over three months ago.
The 22-year-old died early Wednesday at the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital in Coimbatore. Health Department sources said that he resided in Mangalam, in the outskirts of Tiruppur city. On June 9, he visited his family in Vedasandur, Dindigul, and returned to Mangalam on June 12. On the night of June 16, he went to the Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital with complaints of high fever, headache and muscle pain (myalgia). He was admitted to the hospital the next day and his swab lifted.
On June 18, his test results returned positive for COVID-19, following which he was shifted to the ESI Hospital. Four days later, he developed shortness of breath and died while undergoing treatment at 5 a.m. on Wednesday.
Employees at GVK EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Institute), the emergency response service provider which operates the 108 ambulances along with the State government, arranged an ambulance to ferry the deceased’s kin from Dindigul-Tiruppur border, as they were stopped at the checkpost. The body was cremated as per safety protocol at the crematorium in Aathupalam, Coimbatore, on Wednesday, at around 11 a.m. Sources at GVK EMRI said that the employees requested Tiruppur Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan to ensure that the deceased’s kin receive adequate compensation and employment, from the State government, for a family member, considering their financial situation.
In a tweet, Tiruppur Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan said that all contacts of the deceased had tested negative for COVID-19.
