Padma Shri Recipient and Sikh Spiritual Singer Nirmal Singh Dies of COVID-19

New Delhi, April 2, 2020:

Padma Shri recipient and Sikh spiritual Singer Giani Nirmal Singh, who tested positive for the COVID-19 passed away on Thursday.

According to reports, the Padma Shri awardee had returned from abroad recently and was admitted to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar after he complained of breathlessness and dizziness on March 30.

Special Chief Secretary, Punjab Disaster Management (COVID-19), KBS Sidhu confirmed the reports of Singh's death. "Giani Nirmal Singh, former Hazoori Ragi of Golden Temple, Amritsar, has passed away at around 4.30 am today. Nirmal Singh had tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday," KBS Sidhu said in a statement.

It may be mentioned here that Nirmal Singh was put on ventilator on Wednesday in the GMC hospital in Amritsar.

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"His risk factor increased due to his bronchial asthma. He had tested positive for Covid-19," Sidhu added.

According to reports, the spiritual Singer had hosted a large religious gathering in Delhi and some other places after his return from abroad. Along with his family members and other relatives, Nirmal Singh had also performed a kirtan in Chandigarh on March 19.

Owing to the mass gathering for the religious gathering, now the Government will have to trace the ones who had participated in the religious function hosted by Singh. Amritsar administration has written to Chandigarh in order to track all the attendees and make them undergo COVID-19 tests.

ALSO READ: 2nd Corona Positive Case Detected in Manipur; Total 19 in Northeast

It needs mention here that Punjab recorded over 40 novel coronavirus cases, as of March 31. In India, cases have risen to 2,032 and 58 people have died from complications related to the COVID-19. 34 new cases have been reported on Thursday till the filing of this report. Among these, a lot has been linked to an Islamic congregation hosted at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi.

Assam

The number of COVID-19 cases in Assam continue to see a spike, with the Government of Assam now confirming that as many as 16 people are carriers of the contagion in the State. 3 more cases have been detected in Goalpara, and all had reportedly joined the Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin.

In the wee hours of the morning, Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that 3 more cases were detected, all the cases were detected in Goalpara in Assam. At 12:15 am, the Health Minister took to Twitter to inform that “3 more COVID 19 positive cases in Goalpara, Assam, taking the total to 16. These three new cases are also of those who joined Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz.”

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As many as 19 cases have been reported from the Northeastern part of the country with Manipur recording its second COVID-19 case and Tezu, Arunachal Pradesh recording its first COVID-19 case.

Meanwhile, the number of cases of the new coronavirus or COVID-19 across the world have risen to 937,167, with 47,267 cases reported so far. 195,143 people have recovered so far.

Of the 694,757 cases which are active, 35,772 (or 5%) are said to be in critical condition. In the United States, 215,344 people have been infected so far (5,112 have died).

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