A 38-year-old man from Kerala, who died at the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital, has posthumously tested positive for the novel coronavirus. With this, the state’s COVID-19 death toll has increased to 10.

The deceased has been identified as Jose Joy, a 38-year-old native of Pandanad in Chengannur. He was under observation for COVID-19 and was isolated at the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. He had travelled from the UAE recently and was suffering from fatal comorbidities such as liver cirrhosis.

“He was admitted to the Medical College in a serious condition on May 29. At around 2 pm, he vomited blood and passed away in the isolation ward. Since he was under observation, we took his swab test,” an official at the Alappuzha District Medical Office told TNM.

His swab results returned positive for the coronavirus at 10 pm on the same day. With this, the state reported two COVID-19 deaths on Friday. The other deceased is Joshy Mathew (68) who passed away at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital on May 29.

Joshy was a Thiruvalla native who was working in the UAE and had returned from Sharjah on May 11. He was put in an institutional quarantine facility where he was reportedly asymptomatic. However, his swab sample tested positive on May 16, after which he was admitted to the Pathanamthitta district hospital.

According to the doctor, Joshy had several comorbidities, including obesity and diabetes. He was shifted to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital after his heart and kidneys failed a few days later. He was on ventilator support at the medical college.

While the official death count of Kerala remains nine, a total of 10 COVID-19 patients have died in the state. Kerala officials have not included the death of a Mahe native who passed away in the Kannur Medical College Hospital on April 11.

On Friday, the state recorded the highest single-day spike in cases after reporting 84 positive patients. However, the number of patients who were infected by contacts remains low at five.