Bhubaneswar: Senior journalist Pritiman Mohapatra succumbed to COVID-19 in a hospital in the city on Saturday.
Pritiman was having fever and cough for more than a week. After testing positive for COVID-19, he was admitted to Blue Wheel Hospital on April 26.
According to family sources, his oxygen level was constantly remaining below normal since he was admitted to hospital. He was put on ventilator subsequently. But his condition deteriorated in the last three days and he died at 5 pm on Friday.
He is survived by his wife and a school-going daughter. His wife Sasmita and old mother have also tested COVID-19 positive and are undergoing treatment.
A 1996 passout of IIMC-Dhenkanal, 48-year-old Pritiman worked in several national media houses. He was the assistant news editor of The Times of India’s Bhubaneswar edition. Before joining TOI, he was with The New Indian Express from from 2004 to 2012. He also worked in Deccan Chronicle for some time.
He was staying with his mother and family at Ekamra Villa near Jaydev Vihar Chhak in the city.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has expressed his condolence over the death of Pritiman and conveyed his deep sympathy to the bereaved family.