India confirmed on Thursday its first case of death from COVID-19 after a 76-year-old man from Kalburgi city, 575 km north of Bengaluru in the country's southwestern state of Karnataka passed away on Wednesday.
"The 76-year-old man from Kalburgi who passed away & was a suspected #COVID19 patient has been confirmed for #COVID19. The necessary contact tracing, isolation & other measures as per protocol are being carried out," said Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare B. Sriramulu in his tweet.
The deceased person had returned to Karnataka from Saudi Arabia about 10 days back on Feb. 29 and his throat swab was tested positive for COVID-19.
As per Indian government update on Thursday afternoon, there have been 74 confirmed cases nationwide.