Nirmal Singh, Gurbaani singer and Padma Shri awardee, passes away in Amritsar after testing positive for COVID-19

Nirmal Singh Khalsa, noted Gurbaani singer and Padma Shri awardee, died on Thursday morning, a day after he tested positive for coronavirus. (Click  here  to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak)   [caption id=“attachment_8219071” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa/ Photo from Twitter @shersin63793647[/caption] The 67-year-old died after a heart attack around 4 am on Thursday. Amritsar civil surgeon Prabhdeep Kaur Johal said Nirmal Singh was put on ventilator after his condition worsened on Wednesday night. Nirmal Singh was a former hazoori raagi (Gurbaani singer) at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. He had visited the United Kingdom in November last year. The area surrounding his residence was sealed by the police to negate any possibility of coronavirus transmission. Singh had addressed large religious gatherings in Delhi and in some other places after his return from abroad, news agency PTI reported. He had also taken part in a kirtan along with his family members at a house in Chandigarh on 19 March. Singh’s two daughters, wife, son, driver and six others who went with him to the kirtan have been put in quarantine at a hospital in Chandigarh and they would be tested for coronavirus. Authorities have also been informed by the hospital about the religious gathering organised by him. He was the first hazoori raagi to receive the Padma Shri Award, India’s fourth-highest civilian award.