Tamil Nadu, March 25: A COVID19 positive patient who was admitted at Rajaji Hospital in Madurai died early Wednesday. Dr C Vijayabaskar, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare took to Twitter to inform the tragic news. He said, "Despite our best efforts, the coronavirus patient at Rajaji Hospital passed away. He had a medical history of prolonged illness with steroid-dependent COPD, uncontrolled diabetes with hypertension." With this, the death toll in the country due to novel coronavirus stands at 11.

On Tuesday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 18 after six more people, including three women, tested positive for coronavirus. Over 50 fresh cases of novel coronavirus cases were reported from across the country on Tuesday, taking India’s tally to 560. Total Lockdown Is Only Way to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic, Says PM Narendra Modi.

Check Dr C Vijayabaskar's tweet:

On account of the rising number of coronavirus cases in India, PM Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown across the country which started from Tuesday midnight. In a television address at 8 PM, Modi highlighted that the need for this step was to contain the spread of the deadly virus. He urged people to maintain social distancing and to not step out of their homes.  Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with 106 cases and three deaths followed by Kerala. The national capital has also reported 30 positive cases for COVID-19 according to the last update by the Health Ministry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 25, 2020 07:58 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).