A senior government doctor in West Bengal died on Sunday, days after testing positive for the coronavirus, PTI reported. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted her condolences, saying that the doctor’s “sacrifice for the cause of ailing humanity will ever be in our hearts” and will make Covid-19 “warriors” fight the virus with “even greater determination”.

The 60-year-old doctor was a top official in West Bengal Health Services. He was initially admitted to Beliaghata Infectious Diseases Hospital and then taken to a private hospital in Salt Lake on April 18, where he died.

Unidentified officials told PTI that the doctor was suffering from respiratory illness, among other co-morbid health conditions, and had been on ventilator support. However, the state government has not confirmed him to be a Covid-19 death yet. “The reason behind the death...is still under investigation,” an unidentified official told PTI.

Until Sunday evening, the West Bengal government has confirmed 18 deaths due to Covid-19. However, on Friday, the state said it had had 57 deaths linked to Covid-19, but 39 of these were due to co-morbidities in patients who had contracted the virus. The state’s audit committee said that only 18 of the 57 deaths were caused due to Covid-19, four days after a central team visited the state to examine the implementation of the national lockdown and the Covid-19 situation.