BENGALURU: Four journalists, who had interviewed the son of the person who died after testing positive for novel coronavirus, have been quarantined, according to officials in Kalaburagi, about 575 km from Bengaluru.
“They have come in contact with the primary contacts,” Sharat.S, deputy commissioner of Kalaburagi said via text message.
“Therefore, as per government of India’s Medical Precautionary directions, they have been asked to be at home,” he added.
The video of Friday's interview, posted on Facebook, went viral, as the interviewee countered the allegations made against his family by the Karnataka health department, including the decision to disregard medical advice and take the patient to Hyderabad for treatment.
The video, posted on the Facebook site of Gulbarga Live, a local TV channel is at least eight minutes long. The interaction could have been longer, it is suspected.
The decision to quarantine the journalists adds to the complications in the case, that has raised doubts due to conflicting versions of what transpired in Kalaburagi and possible procedural lapses that may have delayed the confirmation of the cause of death for several hours.
The delay in confirmation raised concerns that people who might have come in contact with the deceased might not have been able to reach out to doctors for precautionary treatment.
The health department has denied any delay or procedural lapses.
A report in the Times of India on Saturday stated that the wife of one IT executive who tested positive in Bengaluru, resisted attempts to go into quarantine and fled to her home town in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
The versions reported in the article contradicted the timeline of events shared by the Karnataka health department.
“Will issue (a) detailed note this evening,” said one health department official.
A total of 1,345 persons have enrolled for observation and 302 people so far have completed the 28-day observation period. A total of 1,012 people are in home quarantine and 32 in total are currently in health facilities, according to state government data.
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