Chandigarh sees 1st Covid death in N India as patient from Ludh dies in hosp

Time of India

7 days ago

Chandigarh/Ludhiana: As Covid-19 cases surge in the country, Chandigarh saw the first Covid death on Wednesday, with a 40-year-old patient, originally from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, and referred from a Ludhiana hospital, succumbing at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh.
Seven patients have reportedly died due to the virus recently, and this is the eighth death in the country and the first in North India. The earlier deaths were reported from Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
Confirming the death, Dr GP Thami, Medical Superintendent at GMCH, said the patient, who worked in Ludhiana, was admitted to the hospital two days ago with severe respiratory problems. He tested positive for Covid on Tuesday and passed away early Wednesday morning.He did not have a recent travel history, as per his family.
"We tested him on the second day as he came with respiratory distress and was put on a ventilator," said Dr Thami. The patient was immediately placed in isolation within the hospital's Covid ward. The body of the deceased was packed and handed over to his relatives.
A health department official in Ludhiana said that the deceased used to work as a gardener and is survived by a wife and four children. The official added that the patient had suffered from fever, cough and breathlessness for three-four days before he went to a hospital on May 22.
"On May 23, the patient was admitted to the hospital before his oxygen level dropped, and he was referred to a Chandigarh hospital on May 26. The patient was sent in an ambulance. After his death, his body was properly packed and sent to Ludhiana in an ambulance, and his family members have cremated him," the official added. The family members are asymptomatic as of now.
According to the health department, about a year ago, the patient was initially admitted to SPS Hospital for fever and abdominal problems, where he was diagnosed with Hepatitis B.
More recently, on May 23, 2025, he was admitted to ESI Hospital experiencing breathlessness and pneumonia.
Health authorities in Chandigarh are working to detect the variant of Covid responsible for this infection. Dr Suman Singh, Director Health Services, Chandigarh, urged citizens to adhere to preventive measures. "Do not go to crowded places, wash hands, and observe hygiene. Do not self-medicate in case you have flu-like symptoms.
Wear masks wherever necessary," advised Dr Singh.
The administration is on high alert, emphasising the need for public vigilance and strict adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour to contain the spread of the virus in the city. She said, "We will not have routine screening but test only suspected cases with influenza-like illness, pneumonia, etc." Regarding the testing for the new JN1 variant, the epidemiologists and public health experts in PGI have requested Punjab to send the sample for genomic surveillance to know the prevalent strain.