Hyderabad: A journalist who tested positive for COVID-19 and was suffering from severe comorbidities died on Sunday. This is the first case of a journalist’s death arising due to the virus in the state.
According to Doctor Raja Rao, Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital Hyderabad, the deceased, D Manoj Kumar (33), a resident of Siadabad, was admitted to the hospital on June 4 after getting referred from Fever hospital due to testing positive for the infection.
He was admitted immediately and treatment started. The patient developed breathlessness by afternoon on the same day of admission and was shifted to ICU.
“A team of doctors, including physicians, anesthetists, pulmonologists, treated him round the clock. But today morning, he suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be revived and declared dead at 9:37 am,” the Superintendent Gandhi Hospital said on Sunday.
According to the Superintendent, Manoj was already suffering from Myasthenia Gravis, in which all the muscles, including respiratory muscles, develop weakness. For this condition, he had undergone surgery before and was on steroids. Along with this, he became COVID-19 positive and had bilateral pneumonia with type 1 respiratory failure and ARDS.
D Manoj was working with a Telugu News channel as a crime reporter. The journalist is survived by his wife, who is expecting.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao conveyed condolences on the demise of the young journalist.