Younten Tshedup 

A 22-year-old man succumbed to blood cancer at the national referral hospital in Thimphu on April 18.

The deceased arrived in the country on April 14 from Kolkata. Given his terminal condition, he was kept at Gidakom hospital, which is a quarantine facility for patients requiring medical attention.

However, he was referred to the national referral hospital when his condition began deteriorating at the quarantine facility.

Medical superintendent at the national referral hospital, Dr Gosar Pemba, said that the deceased was under palliative care, a specialised medical care for people living with serious illness.

His survival chances were very limited, he said.

While at the quarantine facility, Dr Gosar Pemba said that the deceased had initially tested positive to Covid-19.

“However, it was a false positive because upon the confirmatory test, the result was negative,” he said.

He said that although the deceased had tested negative to the virus during the confirmatory test, the hospital had asked his relatives to be careful while handling of the body, and to avoid unnecessary contact.

This was done as a precautionary measure because the deceased was still under quarantine when he died.

Dr Gosar Pemba said that the health staff who attended to the deceased followed the required precautions while carrying out his treatment.  

He added that was no extra people needed to be quarantined.