Qutbiddin Qodirov, the deputy chief of the Khatlon Traffic Police Directorate, died on May 4 in the Jomi central district hospital in two hours after being hospitalized.

“He was taken to the hospital in the evening with fever and shortness of breath,” the hospital head doctor Amriddin Soliyev told Asia-Plus in an interview.  

“Qutbiddin Qodirov died in our infectious diseases department in two hours after being hospitalized,” Soliyev said, noting that Qodirov had self-medicated and had not paid much attention to the symptoms.

Meanwhile, Khatlon chief sanitary inspector Abduhamid Karimzoda said that it could not be ruled out that Qodirov died of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Therefore, Qodirov was buried in accordance with epidemiological requirements,” Karimzoda said.

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP), twenty-one officially detected cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) haven reported in the Khatlon province as of the evening of May 4.