Kashmir: A 65-year-old religious preacher from Kashmir breathed his last today March 26 2020 at Srinagar Hospital. 

The victim was tested positive for the coronavirus disease this week. 

Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu confirmed the death on Twitter minutes later. “As we share the sad news of our first #Covid19 fatality, my heart goes out to the family of the deceased. We stand with you and share your grief,” he tweeted, reminding people that they need to cooperate to break the chain of the infection.

According to sources, before returning back to Kashmir, the victim had extensively travelled in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Samba, Jammu, Srinagar and Sopore to participate in religious events.

Health officials who have been tracing the movements of Jammu and Kashmir’s 11 coronavirus patients have found that 5 of them had attended a religious event where the religious preacher was also present.

Four people, all of them from Bandipore district 30 km north of Srinagar, had tested positive on Wednesday.

Jammu and Kashmir government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said the four had contracted the infection from the 65-year-old.

After the man tested positive two days ago, authorities in Kashmir had placed scores of people including a dozen doctors and paramedics who had examined him earlier, under quarantine. The colony where he stays in Srinagar was also sealed.

Officials haven’t yet revealed how the religious preacher had picked up the infection. There have been contradictory reports that the preacher from a sect that emphasises on converting non-believers had travelled abroad or came in close contact with some people who had travelled abroad.

“He wasn’t very forthcoming… not cooperative,” said a government health department official.