Palakkad: A youth, who was under quarantine after coming from Tamil Nadu, died at a hospital in Sholayur in Kerala's Palakkad district on Friday.
It is still not clear whether he had COVID-19. The 23-year-old youth, Karthik, was taken to Kottathara Government Tribal Speciality Hospital after he complained of severe stomach ache. He died on the way to Manjeri Medical College, Malappuram, on Friday.
Since he had returned recently from Coimbatore, a hotspot, and also because the doctors at Kottathara said Karthik had respiratory distress, a COVID-19 symptom, his sample has been taken for PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing.
The samples of his parents, sister and three close relatives have also been taken. The seven of them had taken a four-hour trek through a secret forest path to cross over to Tamil Nadu to attend the funeral of Karthik's uncle, his father's elder brother.
Since it was lockdown, they did not inform anyone of their cross-border visit fearing they would be prohibited. However, their absence was noted before they returned, and on April 29, when they stealthily crossed back through the same forest path, they were intercepted and asked to undergo strict home quarantine.
According to Sanoj S, the ward member of Varagampadi where Karthik's settlement is, none of the seven who were quarantined had shown any symptoms. "Even Karthk did not have any symptoms before he complained of stomach ache," he told Onmanorama.
