A brigadier, who was down with Covid 19, died on Thursday.

Brigadier Vikas Samyal was posted at Fort William and was admitted to Command Hospital in Alipore. He was shifted there from the military hospital in Barrackpore a few days ago after he developed complications.

Brigadier Samyal is survived by his wife and two daughters.

There was no official statement from the army but officers said Brigadier Samyal was in his mid-50s. Doctors treating him said he had developed pneumonia following the coronavirus infection and was put on ventilator. “Brigadier Samyal succumbed to acute respiratory problems arising because of pneumonia and Covid complications on Thursday,” said a senior officer of the Eastern Command.

This is the first instance when a senior army officer died because of coronavirus at the Eastern Command, senior officers said.

Soon after he had tested positive, the state health department had sought details of the persons who had come in close contact with the officer for immediate isolation.

“The process of contact-tracing is on,” said a senior official of the health department.

Body in shop till Covid result

The body of an employee of a sweet shop in Ultadanga’s Gouribari lay inside the shop for over 10 hours as the Covid-19 test result had not arrived by the time he had died, Calcutta Municipal Corporation officials said on Thursday.

The man died on Wednesday. The test result, which was positive, arrived on Thursday. The CMC then took the body for cremation.
A family had to preserve a body in a freezer for two days from Monday, awaiting the Covid test report.