Coronavirus: DMK MLA Anbazhagan succumbs to COVID-19 in Chennai

DMK MLA J Anbazhagan died on Wednesday morning due to coronavirus, on his 62nd birthday.  

Chennai: DMK MLA from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency in Chennai district, J Anbazhagan, has died of COVID-19. He becomes the first VIP victim from Tamil Nadu to succumb to the novel coronavirus.

The 62-year-old legislator breathed his last at the Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre in the city. He was admitted to the hospital on June 2 after testing positive for coronavirus. The leader passed away on his 62nd birthday.

"Thiru Anbazhagan J, who has been fighting for his life with severe COVID-19 pneumonia rapidly deteriorated early this morning. In spite of full medical support, including mechanical ventilation at our COVID facility, he succumbed to his illness. He was declared dead at 08:05 hours on the 10 of June 2020," a statement by the Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre said.

Last week, Anbazhagan, who is among the party district secretaries in the state capital and a senior functionary, complained of severe acute respiratory distress and tested positive for coronavirus on admission. Initially, he was managed with high flow oxygen therapy through facemask and he was put on ventilator support on June 3 as his respiratory distress worsened.

The MLA had undergone a liver transplant about 15 years ago.

After showing improvement, his health condition had significantly deteriorated and turned critical. The 61-year old legislator's health, which saw improvement with oxygen requirement sliding to half, deteriorated on Monday, Dr Rela institute and Medical Centre then said. "His oxygen requirement has gone up once again and his cardiac function also is deteriorating, requiring medicine support for blood pressure."

"His existing chronic kidney disease worsened and his condition turned critical," CEO of the hospital Dr Ilankumaran Kaliamoorthy said in a statement.

(With Inputs from PTI)