Elderly man in Dhaka’s Tolarbagh dies; police say he caught coronavirus

An elderly man of Tolarbagh in Dhaka’s Mirpur, who was close to a COVID-19 casualty, has died.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 March 2020, 05:29 PM
Updated : 22 March 2020, 10:15 PM

The 76-year-old died around 7:45pm on Sunday and he was also infected with the coronavirus, police said.

“The IEDCR has confirmed that he had tested positive for coronavirus,” said Mahmuda Afroza Lucky, the additional deputy commissioner for Darussalam Zone at Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

The resident of North Tolarbagh was the secretary of the Darul Ihsan Jame Mosque’s governing body in the neighbourhood, said Shubhashish Biswas, president of the local building owners’ association.

The person who died on Sunday was a neighbour and close to the one who passes away on Saturday, Biswas said.

The second man had fever and respiratory problem for two to three days and was taken to the Kurmitola General Hospital, where the coronavirus patients or suspected cases are kept in isolation, Biswas said. The IEDCR took specimens from his body for coronavirus test later.

A police officer, requesting anonymity, said the second victim was rushed to the hospital on Sunday when his condition deteriorated in the afternoon after he had stayed at home for days. Doctors at the hospital declared him dead.

Mahmuda said the burial will be conducted under the IEDCR’s supervision.

The two deaths in as many days have spread panic in Tolarbagh.

Some of the residents, who pray at the mosque regularly, said the authorities collected specimens from five to six of them after they had fallen sick.

‘NEGLIGENCE, FALSE REPORT’

The son of the first victim has alleged negligence by the authorities and some hospitals.

“I had to haul my father to different hospitals. The IEDCR did not want to test the sample first. They only did it under pressure from the health ministry after we contacted it,” he told bdnews24.com.

In a Facebook post, he described “a son’s failure to save his father from death”.

He said no hospital was agreeing to admit his father after learning about the symptoms.

The Delta Hospital in Mirpur admitted him finally, but did not treat him properly after receiving the confirmation on his diagnosis from the IEDCR, the son alleged.

He also alleged some media outlets and Facebook users wrongly reported that his father came into contact with their relatives who live abroad.

He said her elder sister and her husband live in Chattogram and the couple were under home quarantine in Tolarbagh after they came to visit the father on Mar 19.

The husband of his younger sister lives in Japan and he has not come to Bangladesh for a year, the man said.

He also said his younger brother and chauffeur had felt ill but tested negative for coronavirus.