Telangana reported more deaths of coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) patients with five more people succumbing to the disease on Thursday. Kerala reported one more death, and so did Andhra Pradesh.
A 73-year-old woman, who had come to Thrissur in Kerala from Mumbai, died of COVID-19 on Thursday taking the death toll in the State to four. The woman, who came by car along with three others, developed breathlessness when they reached Perinthalmanna on Wednesday. Her son took her to the Chavakkad Taluk Hospital in an ambulance.
As her condition turned critical, the hospital authorities were preparing to shift her to the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thrissur. However, she died before being shifted to the MCH. The woman, who was suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and breathlessness, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Her son and the driver of the ambulance were put under observation. Kerala’s COVID-19 case load spiralled on Thursday, with 24 more testing positive as more expatriates and Non-Resident Keralites from other parts of the country returned to the State.
All 24 were imported cases, with 14 cases among those who had returned from abroad and 10 in persons who came from other States, particularly Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Malappuram accounted for five cases, Kannur four, Kottayam and Thrissur three cases each, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Alappuzha two cases each, and Idukki, Palakkad, and Kasaragod one case each. The State also reported the recovery of eight patients.
Andhra Pradesh witnessed the death of a COVID-19 patient in Nellore district, and 45 fresh cases of infection.
The toll rose to 54 and the tally of positive cases touched 2,605, including 153 migrant workers. Two cases each in Nellore and Chittoor were linked to the Koyambedu market in Chennai. Meanwhile, 41 patients recovered.
In all, 1,705 patients, over 65% of the total, had recovered so far and 846 were undergoing treatment.
The Telangana surge in deaths was one of the highest in the State. While four deaths were recorded on May 19, two were reported on May 20. A total of 45 patients had died.
There were 38 more positive cases, including 26 from Greater Hyderabad, two from Rangareddy and 10 were migrants. So far, 99 migrants had tested positive.
Of the total 1,699 cases till date, 618 were active, 1036 were discharged and 45 people died.
143 cases in Karnataka
Till the first week of April, Tablighi Jamaat attendees made up a major chunk of the COVID-19 positive cases in Karnataka. From April 12, the trend changed and those returning from Maharashtra contributed to the spike in numbers.
On Thursday, 143 new cases were reported, and 121 of them were inter-State travellers. Also, 43 of the 143 patients were minors.
While 96 were travellers from Maharashtra, six were from Tamil Nadu, three from Jharkhand, five from Telangana, two from Rajasthan, one each from Chhattisgarh and Kerala, and seven from the United Arab Emirates.
(With inputs from Vijayawada, Hyderabad and Bengaluru Bureaus)
