Bengaluru Covid death: 84-year-old man with comorbidities dies after testing positive | Bengaluru

An 84-year-old man who was admitted to a private hospital in Whitefield, Bengaluru, died on May 17 and has tested positive for COVID-19, health officials confirmed on Saturday. The man, who had multiple pre-existing health conditions, had been hospitalized since May 13. His COVID-19 test, conducted while he was alive, returned positive posthumously, sparking fresh concerns amid a recent spike in infections.

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Health authorities said Karnataka has reported 38 fresh COVID-19 cases, with 32 of them from Bengaluru alone. Despite the uptick, officials maintain there is no cause for alarm.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao urged residents to remain calm and continue with their regular routines. “When people see headlines suggesting a COVID resurgence, they tend to panic. I want to reassure everyone that the situation is under control,” he said.

Rao appealed to the media to report responsibly and not sensationalise the rise in cases. “COVID-19 is not new. It turned into a pandemic five years ago, and now we’re equipped to deal with it. There is no need to exaggerate its severity,” he added.

The minister noted that the government is on high alert and has implemented precautionary steps to monitor the situation. Referring to the sharp rise in cases in neighbouring Kerala, Rao attributed it to increased testing efforts and said that Karnataka is following the Centre’s advisory, which does not recommend special restrictions at this stage.

“There are no curbs in place. People are free to travel and go about their lives as usual,” Rao clarified.

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On the possible cause behind the recent spike, the minister said it could be linked to a new sub-variant of the coronavirus. “There’s a chance it could be a sub-lineage of the JN.1 variant, which has been reported in Southeast Asian nations like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Even there, the response has been measured, without panic,” he said.

While the elderly man’s death has brought renewed attention to the virus, health officials emphasized that his comorbid conditions played a significant role in the outcome. Nonetheless, they have urged vulnerable individuals to exercise caution and seek timely medical attention if symptoms appear.

(With PTI inputs)