New Delhi: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) claimed its second victim in India as a 68-year-old woman died at a Delhi hospital on Friday.
India’s first fatality from the virus was confirmed on Thursday.
The woman, who had underlying health conditions like diabetes and hypertension, is thought to have been infected by her son who had caught the bug during travel to Japan, Switzerland and Italy last month.
“The Delhi woman’s son was initially asymptomatic but developed fever and cough after one day”, a government statement said.
She and her son were screened and admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on March 7. Her samples were collected on March 8. However, her condition worsened on March 9 as she developed pneumonia. The samples later tested positive for COVID-19.
On Tuesday, a 76-year-old man, from the southern state of Karnataka, had died after returning from a month-long visit to Saudi Arabia on February 29. The lab reports on Thursday confirmed that his death was due to the novel coronavirus.
India has 82 confirmed cases of the virus.
