BackTen-month old baby among nine new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka
The nine new cases take the state’s tally to 64 from 55 reported a day earlier
PremiumNine people tested positive for COVID-19 in Karnataka, including a ten-month old baby, for the novel coronavirus, the state health department said on Friday. The death of a 60-year old person was also reported.
Three people have died due to the virus in Karnataka so far.
The nine new cases take the state’s tally to 64 from 55 reported a day earlier.
The 10-month old baby and the 60-year old, who died, do not have any travel history abroad.
The 60-year old male is a resident of Tumakuru District and had a history of travel to Delhi by train. He went to Delhi on 5 March, stayed near the dense Jamia Masjid locality for three days and returned in the early hours of 14 March, to Bengaluru.
He travelled by train till Bengaluru and then took a bus to Tumakuru. He was home till 18 March, when he developed some symptoms and consulted with at least two hospitals where he was treated as an outpatient. He was admitted in a government hospital on 24 March and his samples were sent for testing on the same day.
At least 24 high risk primary contacts have been traced of which 13 are isolated in designated hospitals of which eight have tested negative and three are health care professionals who are under home quarantine.
The death in Tumakuru adds to the challenges of the state health department that is grappling to contain the spread and trace contacts.
The state health department and other agencies are tracking down thousands of people who have returned from destinations abroad since January and placing them under home quarantine.
The mechanism in which an asymptomatic person is sent home unsupervised from airports back to their homes where they are advised to be under quarantine has added to the challenges. Another person who tested positive in Karnataka had also travelled by train and the department has made a public appeal to trace other passengers in the same train.
"P-36 travelled in S3 coach, Lower Berth in Mangalore express from Mumbai which departed on 17.03.2020 and arrived in Bhatkal on 18.03.2020. Any passengers who travelled in the same coach may please contact the helpline numbers 104, 080-46848600 or 080-66692000," the department of health and family welfare posted on Twitter on Thursday.
The department has also issued orders prohibiting the eviction of health workers from their respective residences. There are reports from across the country where landlords and others have tried to evict health workers and other frontline staff battling COVID-19.
A COVID-19 Task Force meeting was held in Bengaluru in which it was decided to form 1000 contact tracing teams in Bengaluru alone.
Bengaluru has so far recorded 39 out of the total 64 cases in Karnataka including one death. Five people from Bengaluru have recovered fully and have been discharged.
Authorities in Karnataka have said that a total of 2838 persons have been tested and 2563 of them are negative. The state government is trying to scale up testing.
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