UpdatedThu, May 6, 2021 at 2:41 pm ET
Replies(4)
Dr. Rajendra Kapila (Provided by Rutgers University)
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ A highly esteemed Rutgers University professor, who actually founded the department of infectious disease at the university, has died, the university confirmed.
The professor is Dr. Rajendra Kapila, who died at the age of 81, according to reports. ABC 7 and the Hindustan Times, an Indian news outlet, reported that he died of COVID-19.
A Rutgers University spokeswoman confirmed his death, but could not comment on how Dr. Kapila died, saying medical records are private.
Subscribe Both Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and University Hospital are saddened by the untimely passing of Rajendra Kapila, MD, professor of medicine, said Rutgers.
A Rutgers University infectious disease expert who went to India to care for his family has died, according to multiple reports.
India is in a full blown coronavirus with thousands of positive cases daily and 220,000 deaths partially the result of new, more transmissible variants. The country s hospitals were packed with coronavirus patients, relatives of the sick scrambled to find supplies of oxygen, and crematoriums were running near full capacity to handle the dead.
Rutgers confirmed that Dr. Rajenda Kapila had died on Tuesday but did not disclose additional details about his death.
His former wife, Dr. Bina Kapila, told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that Kapilia was 81 years old, had diabetes and heart complications and planned to spend just a week in New Delhi.
What s True
In an email to Snopes, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School confirmed that Dr. Rajendra Kapila died in 2021. The institution did not provide any other details. What s Undetermined
Snopes was not able to determine the circumstances surrounding Kapila s death, including whether he was indeed vaccinated or if he had contracted COVID-19 while caring for a relative in India.
Origin
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(Photo by Anthony Behar/Sipa USA) Albany, NY (77WABC) – New York state hitting another milestone when it comes to the positivity rates across the state. Health officials say the statewide COVID-19 positivity rate dropped to 1.49 percent