Celebrated Russian physicist of Armenian descent Mishik Kazaryan has passed away in a hospital in Moscow shortly after the death of his wife, epidemiologist Arpik Asratyan, RBC reports citing a family member.

According to the person familiar with the matter, both spouses had bilateral pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus.

Kazaryan was 72 years old. The source said the scientist and his wife were both hospitalized on March 23 and had no symptoms other than high fever.

Arpik Asratyan, a doctor of medical sciences and a prominent voice in the treatment of viral hepatitis, died in a Moscow medical center on March 27.