A 69-year-old man who was under treatment for COVID-19 at the Government Medical College Hospital, Ernakulam, died on Saturday morning.
The body was buried following all precautions and as per his religious custom. Five of his kin, five volunteers, and five representatives of the district administration, district health department, and the Kochi Corporation took part in the funeral.
The man had returned from Dubai on March 16 and was under observation at home. However, his swab sample was taken when he showed symptoms and was admitted to the hospital on March 22 with acute pneumonia.
The daily bulletin from the district administration said he had earlier undergone a bypass surgery and was on medication for blood pressure and heart ailments. As his condition worsened, he was put on ventilator support, but his life could not be saved.
As per protocol, his body was covered in a triple-layer bag before being loaded to a 108 ambulance. The district administration and the Health Department oversaw the funeral. Volunteers wore masks and hand gloves and all religious rites were performed without touching the body.
The bulletin said there were 148 passengers on the plane which flew him from Dubai to Kochi. Of these, 34 were from Ernakulam. A total of 83 people from his contact list were under observation in the district. The deceased man’s wife and the online taxi driver who ferried him from the airport had tested positive and were under treatment and remained stable at the MCH, which had been recognised as a COVID-19 care centre.
While four more people were admitted to the isolation ward on Saturday, the number of those in quarantine at home in the district was 4,949.
