Senior heart surgeon at Cardiff hospital dies from coronavirus

An experienced and admired heart surgeon has died in an intensive care unit in Wales after testing positive for Covid-19.

Jitendra Rathod, a 62-year-old father of two, died at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on Monday.

Symptoms are defined by the NHS as either:

• a high temperature - you feel hot to touch on your chest or back

• a new continuous cough - this means you've started coughing repeatedly

NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days.

If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.

After 14 days, anyone you live with who does not have symptoms can return to their normal routine. But, if anyone in your home gets symptoms, they should stay at home for 7 days from the day their symptoms start. Even if it means they're at home for longer than 14 days.

If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days.

If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible.

After 7 days, if you no longer have a high temperature you can return to your normal routine.

If you still have a high temperature, stay at home until your temperature returns to normal.

If you still have a cough after 7 days, but your temperature is normal, you do not need to continue staying at home. A cough can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.

Staying at home means you should:

• not go to work, school or public areas

• not use public transport or taxis

• not have visitors, such as friends and family, in your home

• not go out to buy food or collect medicine – order them by phone or online, or ask someone else to drop them off at your home

You can use your garden, if you have one. You can also leave the house to exercise – but stay at least 2 metres away from other people.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus, use the NHS 111 coronavirus service to find out what to do.

Source: NHS England on 23 March 2020

Rathod was an associate specialist in cardiothoracic surgery at the hospital. He is thought to be the first health worker in Wales to die after a Covid-19 diagnosis.

A statement posted on the Cardiff and Vale University health board website paid tribute to Rathod, saying that he had worked in the cardiothoracic surgery department since the mid-1990s.

After a brief stint abroad, Rathod – known as Jitu to colleagues and friends – returned to the University Hospital of Wales.

“He was an incredibly dedicated surgeon who cared deeply for his patients,” the health board said. “He was well liked and greatly respected by one and all. He was a very compassionate and a wonderful human being.

“His commitment to the speciality was exemplary. He is survived by his wife and two sons. We will miss him greatly.”

No details have been released on how Rathod contracted the virus.

The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, paid tribute to Rathod. He told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday: “We have other clinicians who have been on the front line who have suffered from coronavirus and it just tells us … this virus is no respecter of persons or place, which it is why it is so important we all do absolutely everything we can to protect one another of its impact.”

The former Welsh Conservative party leader Andrew RT Davies said the news was “incredibly sad”, adding: “He was highly regarded in the medical profession in Wales. My thoughts with his wife and two sons.”

On Monday, Public Health Wales said there were 302 new cases of coronavirus. A further 27 deaths were reported of people who had tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total in Wales to 193.

There were 66 new cases in the Cardiff and Vale area, bringing the total there to 888.

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