Patna, May 18: A leading cardiologist of Bihar, who was recently airlifted to Hyderabad for treatment of COVID- related complications, on Tuesday breathed his last at a hospital in the southern city, according to information received here. Condolences came pouring in for Dr Prabhat Kumar, credited with having launched the first angioplasty facility in the city, as the news of his death spread.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union minister and local MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, state health minister Mangal Pandey and leader of opposition in the assembly Tejashwi Yadav were among those who expressed their shock and surprise over the death.

Dr Kumar had tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus in the beginning of the month, admitted to a hospital here and taken to Hyderabad a few weeks later by an air ambulance after his condition deteriorated. India Reports 4,529 COVID-19 Deaths in Past 24 Hours, Highest Single-Day Rise Since Pandemic Began; Daily Count Dips.

Tejashwi Yadav also alleged on Twitter that Bihar has lost the maximum number of medical practitioners to COVID 19 because the state "failed to provide protective gears... as per standard safety protocols".

He also posted a list titled "state wise doctors martyrs IMA COVID registry" as per which 269 doctors have lost their lives to the deadly coronavirus across the country, out of whom 78 from Bihar followed by Uttar Pradesh (37), Delhi (28) and Andhra Pradesh (22).

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)