A 68-year-old man, who had been tested positive for Coronavirus, passed away early Tuesday morning, registering Kerala’s second fatality due to the deadly virus.

The man identified Abdul Azeez from Thiruvananthapuram died at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College after suffering from kidney failure.

Azeez, who is learnt to be a former Kerala Police official, neither had a foreign travel history nor any contact with any positive patient, a fact that has baffled the authorities, who have not been able to identify the source of infection.

Local councillor Balamurali said that Azeez sought medical treatment from a state run medical centre near his home on March 18.

“On 21st he again sought treatment at the same place. On 23rd he approached a private medical college hospital from where he was shifted to the state run medical college hospital. He on 14th had taken part in a chitty contest where 100 people also took part. His wife also attended a meeting of women and his daughter is a conductor in the state transport department. Literally,the village is in a state of shock,” said Balamurali.

During treatment, he acquired kidney issues and was also undergoing dialysis.

Health officials point out that the first test turned negative and it was only later it became positive. He was on ventilator for the past five days and breathed his last early Tuesday morning.

The last rites would now be conducted according to the medical protocol and as per religious traditions.

Meanwhile, the test results of his wife and daughter are now awaited.

Kerala has presently 213 positive cases and over 1.60 lakh people under observation.

Kerala on Saturday recorded its first death due to the novel Coronavirus after a 69-year-old man, who returned from Dubai and was under treatment at the Kochi Medical College following symptoms of pneumonia, passed away.

Kerala had reported India’s first case of novel Coronavirus on January 30. A student, who was studying at Wuhan University in China and returned to his home state, had been confirmed of being infected with the virus.

The next two cases of COVID-19 were also reported from Kerala and the patients were also students in Wuhan.

However, all the three patients recovered and were discharged.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to the novel Coronavirus disease has reached 32 in India. On the other hand, the number of infections has risen to 1,251, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.