Staff Reporter :
Coronavirus has finally laid its icy hand on an elderly man in Bangladesh as the country experienced first death due to the mysterious virus.
The 70-year-old man who came contact with his expatriate relative died on Wednesday, according to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
“We’ve lost a human life in the country for the first time due to Covid-19. He was an elderly man and had many medical complications, including damaged lungs, diabetes and high blood pressure,” IEDCR Director Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora announced the death at its regular media briefing.
She said the patient belonged to the high-vulnerability group and had been in intensive care.
Meerjady Sabrina Flora also announced four new cases, totaling the tally of Bangladesh’s coronavirus patients at 14.
The new cases include two returnees from Italy, one from Kuwait and a family member of one of the returnees. Local authorities said one of the new Italy returnee patients was quarantined with dozens of others in a facility in Gazipur.
“A total of 16 people have been kept in isolation while 42 are kept in institutionalised quarantine,” she added.
IEDCR has tested samples of 49 people in the last 24 hours. So far the institution has tested 341 samples, she added.
Almost 200,000 persons have been infected with the virus in 164 countries and territories and over 8,400 fatalities.
