Kolkata, March 23: The eighth coronavirus-linked death in the country took place in Kolkata on Monday.
The patient, a 57-year-old, had no history of foreign travel, said sources in the private hospital where he was admitted – injecting concern about the chain of transmission.
Inability to trace the chain of transmission indicates that the virus has entered the third stage. This was the seventh case of COVID-19 in the state, where the virus made a late appearance last week.
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The first patient detected in Bengal was a student who returned from UK. The young man was out and about and even visited a mall before he tested positive for the virus.
About the latest case, the hospital said the 57-year-old was a resident of Dum Dum, an area near the airport. He was admitted on March 16, with complaints of fever and a dry cough. His symptoms intensified since March 19, with acute respiratory distress syndrome and he was put on ventilator.
His samples were sent to both NICED and the city’s premier SSKM hospital, one of which came positive. Another sample sent on March 21 also turned out to be positive. He died at 3.35 pm after a heart attack.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had strong words for people breaking quarantine and indulging in risky behaviour, has declared a lockdown in all the urban areas of the state.
