68-year-old man from Kolhapur died of lung disease, not coronavirus, says doctor

Kolhapur, Mar 16: A 68-year-old man who died in Maharashtra's Kolhapur on Sunday was suffering from chronic lung disease and was not infected with the novel coronavirus, a senior health official said.

Since deceased Virendra Singh Yadav's samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing, it was being speculated that he was a casualty of Covid-19. "His samples, in fact, were rejected by NIV as he did fit into the guidelines laid down for novel coronavirus suspects. Yadav (68) died of chronic lung disease," District Civil Surgeon Dr B C Kemp-Patil said on Monday.

Yadav, the official said, was admitted in Chhatrapati Pramilaraje Rugnalaya in Kolhapur on March 3. He had travelled to places like Pune, Haryana and Delhi, all regions which have been affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak and have Covid-19 patients.