Karnataka's fourth COVID-19 casualty buried on April 3 night in solitude

With no dear ones to bid him a final farewell, Karnataka’s fourth COVID-19 casualty, a 75-year-old man from Bagalkot, was buried on Friday night, Bagalkot Deputy Commissioner K Rajendra confirmed to DH. The burial happened just three hours after his death. The man was diagnosed with the virus only 24 hours before his death.

The deep burial happened in solitude at 1 am in the absence of all his family members and relatives. District surgeon Dr Prakash Biradar said, “As his wife, son and daughter were isolated at the hospital, they were not allowed to come to the burial ground. Four doctors along with district officials were present. The last they saw of this man was in the hospital.”

Rajendra said that though they suspect he contracted the virus after his son and daughter from Bengaluru visited him, they had no international travel history. “They came in contact with him on March 24. So far, five of his family members have been quarantined -- his wife, son and daughter aged 24 and 22, his brother and his brother’s wife,” he said.

The district health officer of Bagalkot Dr Anant Desai told DH that he, along with the taluk health officer, district surgeon and resident medical officer of the district hospital where he passed away, were present during the burial. The protocol stipulates at least one medical officer is present for the burial. The body was sprayed with hypochlorite. The personnel had worn two-layers of personal protection equipment.

“We have to take the medical history of people who came in contact with him before administering prophylaxis hydroxychloroquine. Twenty-one primary contacts and 51 secondary contacts are under observation. These include doctors who treated him, his house help and secondary contacts like those who worked in the doctors’ houses,” he said.

“The patient had bilateral pneumonia and then his sample turned out to be positive for COVID-19 positive as well,” he added.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and COVID-19 spokesperson S Suresh Kumar said, “He went to a local ayurveda doctor first and then to a private hospital. An ECG was done at Amareshwara Hospital. He was at another private hospital for four days. When COVID-19 was suspected, he was sent to a designated public hospital. He already had a cardiac stent and uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension. One of his lungs was affected.”