The pharmacist who died on Thursday in T.Nagar after drinking a chemical preparation he reportedly formulated for tackling the Coronavirus, tested positive for COVID-19, the police said.

K.Sivanesan, 47, of Perungudi, was working with a Chennai-based Ayurvedic and herbal products company in its plant at Kashipur, Uttarakhand. He had devised formulas of various products and used to visit his managing director Dr. Rajkumar frequently at latter’s residence in T.Nagar. He came to the city ahead of lockdown and stayed with his family in Perungudi.

On Thursday morning, he procured the chemical component from a market in Parry’s Corner and gave it to Dr. Rajkumar in powder form which made him faint. Sivanesan believed the component would improve immunity and help prevent COVID-19. Even as his boss was being resuscitated, Sivanesan dissolved the chemical in water and drank it. He could not be revived.

A senior police officer said, “The samples collected from him showed that he was positive for COVID-19. We also subjected the police personnel and others who took him to the hospital to tests.”

It is learnt that Sivanesan misunderstood U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech on curing coronavirus and ventured to formulate the product.