india

Updated: Mar 20, 2020 14:12 IST

An Italian tourist, who was successfully treated after contracting coronavirus, has died at a private hospital in Jaipur. Doctors said the 69-year-old man died of a heart attack on Friday morning.

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Health minister Raghu Sharam said the man did not die of coronavirus.

“He had become corona negative after treatment at SMS hospital. However, he had other complications. He was a heavy smoker. The Italian embassy had contacted us and said they wanted to shift him to Fortis hospital for treatment. He died there of a heart attack. The cause of death is not coronavirus,” said Sharma.

The Italian man was admitted to the SMS hospital on February 29 and had tested positive for the virus on March 2. His wife too had tested positive but was cured after treatment.

The Italian couple was part of a tourist group that visited several places in Rajasthan last month. After being detected with the virus on March 2, the couple was isolated and under treatment at SMS Hospital.

On March 14, doctors at SMS hospital had declared the man free of coronavirus after he tested negative for the virus twice. At that time too, doctors had said that the man, who was a chain smoker, had lung infection.

SMS hospital medical superintendent Dr DS Meena said while the man had recovered from coronavirus, he was still admitted in the ICU due to a lung infection.

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A total of nine coronavirus patients have been reported in Rajasthan, though doctors said three of them have been cured. Along with the Italian man, his wife and an 85-year-old Jaipur resident had recently recovered from the virus.

The doctors at SMS treated the three patients with a regimen of combination drugs used for malaria, HIV and swine flu. The patients had twice tested negative for the virus and the doctors had said they were free of the virus.