IT professional airlifted from UK to Kerala in April passes away

Kozhikode: A seriously ill IT professional, who was airlifted from the United Kingdom (UK) to Kerala in April amid the COVID-19 lockdown, died at a private hospital in Kozhikode on Monday.

Prasad Das, who was brought to Kozhikode in a special chartered flight to undergo treatment for gastrointestinal cancer, passed away at the Aster MIMS hospital. He was 37 years old.

The hospital's Chief Executive Officer Farhaan Yasin said that Prasad was discharged a month ago after treatment and was in his house under palliative care.

However, Prasad, a fourth stage cancer patient, was brought to the hospital on Sunday after his condition worsened and he breathed his last on Monday.

As the death was due to cancer, there will not be any test for COVID-19, Farhaan said.

Prasad Das, a software engineer with UST Global at Nottingham, was brought to Kerala for treatment on April 25.

The evacuation of Prasad Das was possible due to the efforts of a WhatsApp group Distress Management Collective led by Retired Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph and former Union Minister of State Alphons Kannanthanam, who got ready the required clearances from various ministries within two days.

The request for bringing the patient to Kerala had come from Tom Aditya, Mayor of a UK city.

The same day, there was also the confirmation that one more person, who died on June 12, had COVID-19. A heart patient, he was also under treatment for chronic pulmonary disease. His death would take the toll to 21 in the state.

On Monday, Kerala reported 82 more cases of COVID-19, with returned from abroad and other states accounting for 72 of them.

The COVID-19 tally in the state has climbed to 2,543, while 1,174 have recovered, including 73 who were discharged on Monday, Health minister K K Shailaja said in a press release.