Eminent pulmonologist Dr J N Pande dies

Dr Jitendra Nath Pande, an eminent pulmonologist and former head of the Department of Medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, who had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, died at his residence on Saturday.

He was 79.

Dr Pande and his wife tested positive for the infection on Tuesday with mild symptoms and they decided to remain in home isolation, said AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria.

But his wife was shifted to the AIIMS hospital on Saturday.

"We were following him up regularly and he said he was improving. Yesterday, he had his dinner and went off to sleep and then passed away in sleep possibly because of an acute cardiac event," Dr Guleria said.

Dr Pande had co-morbid conditions.

"Knowledge and humility can coexist and Dr Pande was an epitome of that. He was an excellent human being and it is a great loss to the medical fraternity. AIIMS family will miss him the most because he joined AIIMS as an MBBS student and retired as the head of the Department of Medicine," Dr Guleria said.