Former Raagi at Golden Temple dies of COVID-19

It was not immediately clear how the celebrated raagi had contracted the virus. He had been under the scanner of health authorities since the first week of March when he had guests from the US, and was admitted in the Government Medical College on March 30.

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It has now been found that on March 19, he visited a house in Sector 27 A, Chandigarh, where performed kirtan in the presence of around 100 people. He returned to Amritsar on March 20. (Representational Image)

Former ‘Hazoori Raagi’ at Sri Harmandir Sahib and Padma Shri recipient Bhai Nirmal Singh ji Khalsa passed away at around 4:30 AM on Thursday, hours after testing posivite for coronavirus. Doctors said he died of cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at the isolation ward of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) in Amritsar.

It was not immediately clear how the celebrated raagi had contracted the virus. He had been under the scanner of health authorities since the first week of March when he had guests from the US, and was admitted in the Government Medical College on March 30. His travel history was not clear till Tuesday evening.

It has now been found that on March 19, he visited a house in Sector 27 A, Chandigarh, where performed kirtan in the presence of around 100 people. He returned to Amritsar on March 20.

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After returning from Chandigarh, the raagi visited Guru Nanak Dev Hospital of Government Medical College Amritsar to report symptoms on March 21. However, doctors sent him back home after prescribing some medicine. His condition didn’t improve, so he contacted Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Science & Research in Amritsar on March 24. He was treated there and sent back home. He was again admitted to SGRIMSR on March 30, from where he was again referred to GNDH.

Despite his history, he was initially treated in the emergency ward, then sent to flu ward, and finally to isolation.

He was fourth coronavirus patient at the Amritsar hospital. So far one patient has been cured and two others under treatment at GNDH have died. Another COVID-19 patient is still undergoing treamtment.