Coronavirus in Tamil Nadu: Namakkal district reports its first Covid-19 death

NAMAKKAL: A 49-year-old truck driver, who tested positive for Covid-19, died in Tiruchengode Government Hospital in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu on Friday night. This is the first Covid-19 death in the district.

“The man died around 10.30pm on Friday,” Namakkal district deputy director (DD) of health Dr A Somasundaram told TOI.

The man, a native of Kuttapalli village, was working in a truck transport company in Erode district. He went to Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh on May 14 as part of his work. He spent 10 days there.

“On his way back on May 25, the man suffered dizziness. He approached a hospital in Kalahasti in Andhra Pradesh,” Somasundaram said. “The doctors in the Kalahasti hospital may have treated him for dizziness and not for Covid-19,” he added. The man was admitted to hospital for one day.


Later, the driver informed his owners to send an alternate driver to drive the truck back. He returned to Erode on May 27 on the truck driven by an alternate driver. “He returned to Kuttapalli village on the same day, riding on his two-wheeler from Erode,” the DD added.

After his health condition deteriorated, the man was admitted to Government Hospital in Tiruchengode on May 28. The doctors in the hospital collected his swab samples on the same evening. The test result came on Friday evening.

Doctors were planning to shift him to the government hospital in Namakkal. But he died before being shifted.

The body was cremated as per guidelines prescribed by the Centre and the state government,” the DD said.

District collector K Megraj directed health officials to quarantine the driver’s family members, including his 72-year-old mother, 43-year-old wife, two sons aged 13 and 10, in a government facility. “The officials have also collected swab samples from them,” the collector said.