Padma Shri recipient and former "Hazoori Raagi" at the Golden Temple, Nirmal Singh Khalsa, who had tested positive for Coronavirus died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Amritsar city of Punjab in the wee hours of Thursday. He died in Amritsar around 4.30 am.

With this the death toll owing to COVID-19 has risen to five in Punjab, while the number of confirmed cases has reached 46.

62-year-old Nirmal Singh, who recently returned from the United Kingdom, was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital after he complained of breathlessness and dizziness on March 31.

On March 29, tests were carried out in Shri Guru Ramdas Research Institute of Medical Sciences after which he was referred to the Guru Nanak Hospital for advanced diagnosis.

The local police have sealed the nearby residences of Nirmal Singh in Amritsar to contain the spread of the virus.

The Gurbani exponent was put on ventilator on Wednesday.

Nirmal Singh was the first 'Hazoori Raagi' of the Golden Temple to be bestowed with the Padma Shri award. He had held large religious gatherings in Delhi, Chandigarh and some other places after returning from abroad.

Along with his family members and relatives, he had also performed a "kirtan" at a house in Chandigarh on March 19.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases has risen to 1,965 (including 1764 active cases, 151 cured/discharged/migrated people and 50 deaths).

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