Kannur resident passes away after showing pneumonia symptoms at Ernakulam Medical College

A resident of Kannur district, who was quarantined in Ernakulam Medical College after showing symptoms of pneumonia, passed away on Friday midnight.

Body fluid samples of Jainesh, from Payyannur in Kannur, were tested at the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha for both H1N1 and coronavirus. The result of his first sample was negative while that of the second was awaited.

''Jainesh's body fluid samples, which were tested at the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha, returned negative for both H1N1 and coronavirus. The result of the second sample is awaited,'' Ganesh Mohan, a resident medical officer at the medical college, told ANI.

Thirty-six-year-old Jainesh, who had arrived from Malaysia, was kept on a ventilator following pneumonia. He had landed at Kochi airport yesterday at 1 am and thereafter, he was taken to the medical college.

Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas had visited the patient at the hospital on Friday. At the time of his death, Jainesh's blood sugar was high, Mohan added.

Jainesh was working in Malaysia for two and a half years.

The global coronavirus toll is over 2,800. China, where the outbreak originated, is the worst hit, with more than 78,000 cases and over 2,700 fatalities.

Symptoms of infection range in severity from respiratory problems to cases of pneumonia, kidney failure, and a buildup of fluid in the lungs.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international health emergency and said the global risk level remains high.