Singer Nirmal Singh, a Padma Shri recipient, died in Amritsar on Thursday morning, a day after he tested positive for Covid-19, reports said. He was 62 years old, and had recently returned from abroad.

Singh was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital after he complained of breathlessness and dizziness on March 30, civil surgeon Prabhdeep Kaur Johal told PTI on Wednesday after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

He had been put on a ventilator on Wednesday. “His risk factor increased due to his bronchial asthma,” senior officer KBS Sidhu told NDTV.

Police sealed the area around Singh’s home as a precautionary measure. His family members and others he came in contact with will be quarantined, officials in the health department said.

Officials said Singh had held a large religious gathering in Delhi and some other places after returning from his foreign travel.

Singh was a former “Hazoori Raagi’’ at the Golden Temple. He reportedly knew all the 31 raags in the Gurbani of the Guru Granth Sahib. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2009.

Singh was the second Covid-19 patient in Amritsar and the first one to die, The Tribune reported.