Kushtia man who died with respiratory trouble tests negative for Covid-19

A 51-year-old man who died at Kushtia General Hospital on the morning of March 30, has tested negative for coronavirus.

A report from IEDCR came at 11:30pm yesterday, confirming that the patient was not infected with coronavirus, Dr Tapos Kumar Sarkar, resident medical officer of the hospital, told our Kushtia correspondent.

The man died after he was admitted to the hospital with cold, cough, fever and breathing problems for the previous three days.

Reports came in late last night of two people who died in Rajshahi and Shariatpur districts after suffering from severe respiratory complications, among other symptoms.

In Rajshahi, a 22-year old man died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital yesterday evening.

The Natore native, who returned from Dhaka three months ago, has been suffering from severe respiratory complications, reports our Rajshahi correspondent quoting Sayed Shatil Mustahid, emergency medical officer at the hospital.

The patient died around 7:30pm, two hours after he was admitted to the hospital, the official said.

"We are suspecting he died of cardiac arrest, but we still advise coronavirus test for confirmation," Sayed Shatil said, adding that the patient did not have fever when he was admitted to the hospital.

Samples of the deceased have been collected to be sent to IEDCR to test for coronavirus, the official added.

In Shariatpur, a 35-year-old man died last night after he was admitted to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital and placed in isolation for suspected coronavirus infection.

"The patient was in very critical condition complaining of severe breathing problems. He died around 9:30pm," Dr Munir Ahmed Khan, superintendent of the hospital, told The Daily Star.

The deceased, hailing from Naria upazila where many expatriates of Italy have come recently, was previously diagnosed with tuberculosis, the superintendent said.

However, it could not be confirmed whether the patient had come in contact with any expatriate in the upazila, he also said.

"We have collected samples from the deceased and will send those to IEDCR for coronavirus test tomorrow [Wednesday]," Dr Munir added.

Earlier yesterday, at least four people, including a teenage boy, died of Covid-19-like symptoms in four districts yesterday, while three patients exhibiting similar symptoms and fever have been kept in isolation in Chattogram.