The man was admitted to the COVID-19 isolation ward in Coimbatore on Saturday.
A 49-year-old man from Thailand, whose samples tested negative for coronavirus virus on Monday, died in Coimbatore on Tuesday. According to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, the man died of sepsis and pulmonary edema (excess fluid in the lungs) and not due to coronavirus.
The man was a citizen of Thailand and had arrived in India on March 6 as a part of a seven-member group. They had travelled from New Delhi to Chennai and Erode for sightseeing. However, since he developed fever shortly after they reached Erode, the others decided to send him back to Thailand from Coimbatore, as per reports.
At the airport, he was screened with high body temperature and was isolated at the coronavirus ward in Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Saturday. The doctors also sent his samples for testing.
Speaking to TNM, Dr B Asokan, the dean of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, said that the man was suffering from a type of skin infection called cellulitis and had diabetes as well, when he was admitted to the hospital on Saturday.
“He had an open wound on his leg and was having a high-grade fever. The screening detects only high temperatures, not the underlying reasons. So based on the existing protocols, they (airport authorities) sent him here suspecting coronavirus infection,” he explained.
Adding that the man’s kidneys were also failing when he was admitted, Dr Asokan said that he underwent dialysis once in the hospital.
“We had sent his samples for testing for coronavirus on Saturday, which came back negative on Monday. In the meantime, we took a sample from his wound and sent for a biopsy on Monday and put him on dialysis. However, he passed away on Tuesday morning,” he added.
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Source: The News Minute