Odisha reports first coronavirus COVID-19 death from Bhubaneswar

Image courtesy: ANI

Bhubaneswar: Odisha reported its first COVID-19 fatality as a 72-year-old man infected with coronavirus died, officials said on Tuesday. The victim had died on Monday and the report confirming that he tested positive for the virus arrived on Tuesday.

The man from Jharpada locality in Bhubaneswar was admitted to AIIMS in the Odisha capital on April 4 with complaint of respiratory distress, they said. The patient who had a history of chronic hypertension died on April 6, the Health and Family Welfare department tweeted, adding contact tracing and containment is going on.

Meanwhile, a fresh COVID-19 case was confirmed in Bhubaneswar during the day. "The man (45) belonged to Madhusudan Nagar, Unit IV in the state capital," the health department said on Twitter. It was not immediately known whether he had any recent travel history.

With this, the number of coronavirus cases in the state has gone up to 42. The fresh cases came to light a day after a 32-year-old man from Kendrapara district having travel history to Dubai tested positive of novel coronavirus on Monday.

The man had returned from Dubai on March 24, an official said, adding on his return from Dubai, he stayed at the house of a friend in Bhubaneswar before visiting his native place in Kendrapara district. The state had on Sunday reported 18 new COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the first two COVID-19 cases of the state recovered from the disease and were discharged from the hospital, the official said. A total of 87 persons continue to remain in isolation in different hospitals in the state, he added.

The Odisha government has launched aggressive contact tracing of coronavirus patients in different districts of the state.