Kolkata, March 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) West Bengal reported its first novel coronavirus death on Monday, with a man in his 50s succumbing to the infection at a private hospital here, an official said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee later said the victim visited Italy - one of the worst coronavirus hit countries - recently with his family.
The 57-year-old man was on ventilator support at the ICCU of the AAMRI Hospital, Salt Lake, and died following a cardiac arrest on Monday afternoon.
The resident of Dum Dum in Kolkata's northern suburb was detected with the disease on Saturday evening after reports from two of the testing facilities -- SSKM and NICED -- returned positive.
The patient was hospitalised with fever, cold and cough last week, and his condition deteriorated from Sunday night.
The victim's family claimed during his admission that he did not have any recent foreign travel history, but only attended a relative's marriage in Bilaspur of Chhattisgarh last month, and returned by the Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express early this month.
But Banerjee, who learnt of the death during an all-party meeting on the deadly disease at the state secretariat Nabanna, claimed he had visited Italy recently.
"This family from Dum Dum had gone to Italy recently. The victim had also gone to the European nation," she said.
The deceased's mother, wife, mother-in-law and house maid are among eight persons quarantined in a South Kolkata government hospital.
Banerjee instructed the police to ensure the disease does not spread from the corpse and the last rights are performed as per the advice of doctors.
Six more confirmed coronavirus patients are now admitted at the special isolation ward of the state's primary referral hospital for infectious diseases ID Hospital Beliaghata.
They include three members of a family - an elderly couple and their 22 year old son - and their house maid.
The youth had returned from United Kingdom recently.
A girl who came back from Scotland and a teenager who studies in UK have also been afflicted with the disease.
Source: IANS
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