Chandigarh, Aug 30 (IANS): A 53-year-old government doctor posted in Amritsar's Civil Hospital in Punjab died on Sunday owing to coronavirus.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu attended the cremation of Senior Medical Officer Arun Sharma and described him as the true corona warrior.

Sharma was one of the brilliant and diligent officers of the Health Department. He was enthusiastically battling against the COVID-19 in the frontline since March and passionately performing his duty round the clock in the district hospital, the minister said.

Sidhu said Sharma was a cardiac patient. He was put on a ventilator. Intensivist from the PGI Hospital in Chandigarh was guiding his clinical management and the state was preparing to airlift him either to the PGI or Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.

The victim doctor was survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

"Saddened to lose one of our hardworking corona warrior Dr Arun. It's sad to lose such a brilliant and committed doctor. Heartfelt condolences to his family,a Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tweeted.

Sharma had done doctor of medicine in transfusion from Medical College in Amritsar and also played a key role to establish a blood bank in Amritsar.