india

Updated: Mar 28, 2020 16:31 IST

Kerala reported its first Covid-19 death on Saturday after a 69-year-old man, who came from back from Dubai in the UAE, succumbed to the coronavirus disease in a hospital in Kochi.

VS Sunil Kumar, the state’s agriculture minister, said the small-time businessman died at the Government Medical College in Ernakulam in the morning.

“We tried our best to save his life. It is really sad,” KK Shailaja, health minister, said.

The man, who had bypass surgery five years ago, came to the country on March 16 from Dubai. He tested positive on March 22, six days after he returned.

Of his two dozen contacts, only his wife and driver have tested positive for the coronavirus disease, officials said.

At least seven people from his apartment complex and 200 passengers, who travelled in the flight he took from Dubai, are also under observation.

Officials said his body will be buried according to the protocols of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and only four family members will be allowed for the last rites.

District collector S Suhas said no one will be allowed to touch his body and his family will have to stand three meters away. The cleric who performs the last rites will be under observation for 15 days, he added.

The Centre is yet to confirm the death.

Kerala has reported that 176 people have tested positive for the coronavirus so far, including 12 who have been cured, according to the state government.

There are eight foreign nationals who have been infected by Sars-Cov-2 as well in the tally.

There have been 19 coronavirus-related deaths before this in the country.