The son of the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi in Karnataka, who was recorded as India's first coronavirus death, criticised health officials in Karnataka for their handling of his father's health. He denied the statements made by officials of the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department, that the family of the 76-year-old man went against medical advice to discharge him from a private hospital in Kalaburagi and shift him to Care Hospital in Hyderabad on 10 March.
Speaking to Gulbarga Live, he said, “If they had told us to go to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Science (GIMS) we would have gone there. I did not know there was an isolated ward there. From 4 am to 2 pm, we kept going around Hyderabad. The patient was struggling for water. I hold the health department here responsible. They did not inform us properly, that is why my father died."