Two deaths take Karnataka toll to 12; 19 test positive in a day for COVID

BENGALURU: It was a double whammy for Karnataka on Wednesday. The state witnessed the highest single-day spike so far in COVID-19 positive cases at 19, and also two deaths on the same day. In the last four days, there have been six deaths, taking the toll to 12. The latest deaths were reported from Chikkaballapur and Belagavi. Shockingly, of the 19 who tested positive, the majority of 10 cases were linked to the Nanjangud pharma company in Mysuru district. It 

was also the highest single-day rise in Mysuru so far, taking the total number of infected persons to 58. Of this, 46 cases are related to the pharma firm. Referring to the fatalities in the state, Health and Family Welfare Department Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said, “So far, among the fatalities in the state, most were aged over 60 years. Among the recent deaths, we have seen co-morbidities in patients like diabetes, hypertension, heart problems and others.

When they came to us, they were already in a bad shape.” Despite the spurt in cases, the rate of patients testing positive in Karnataka is still low at 2.25%, which is lesser than Kerala (2.37%), Gujarat (4.6%), Maharashtra (6.7%) and even the USA, which is at 19.7%. This apart, 80 patients have been discharged so far, with nine on Wednesday alone. The State Government has also identified eight districts — Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru, Belagavi, Dakshina Kannada, Bidar, Kalaburgi, Bagalkot and Dharwad — as hotspots. 

Containment zones data today: Health dept

PANKAJ Kumar Pandey said, “We have identified these eight districts on the basis of over 15 COVID- 19 positive cases or a huge cluster of cases being reported. We will come out with the latest figures on the number of districts and containment zones on Thursday.” Late on Wednesday, a man from Kodagu who was discharged from hospital on April 7, developed flulike symptoms and was hospitalised. His samples have been collected for testing. Patient 250, a 65-year-old man from Chikkaballapur, was referred from a private hospital to a COVID-19 designated hospital in Bengaluru late on March 13.

He had tested positive for H1N1, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with obstructive sleep apnea and had a history of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The patient tested positive for COVID-19 on April 14 and died on April 15. The other fatality on Wednesday was Patient 279, an 80-year-old woman from Hirebagewadi in Belagavi district who had co-morbidities like heart problem, asthma and blood pressure. Among the 19 positive cases, 10 are from Mysuru while the rest are from Bagalkot, Bengaluru Urban, Belagavi, Vijayapura and Kalaburagi. Patient 263, a 39-yearold police officer posted on duty at a madrasa in Mudhol, became the first policeman in the state to contract the disease.

Patient 261 is a 59-year-old man from Ananthpur, Bengaluru, with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). Patient 262 is a 52-year-old man from Bagalkot and contact of Patient 186, the four-year-old son of Patient 165 from Bagalkot. Patients 264-272 are males from Mysuru, working at the Nanjangud pharmaceutical company.

They are aged between 23 and 41 years. Patient 273, also from Mysuru, is a 72-year-old male with SARI. Patient 274 is a one-year-old male child from Kalaburagi with Influenza-like Illness. Patients 275, 276 and 278 are residents from Vijayapura with contact of Patient 221, a 60-yearold female with SARI. Patient 275 is a 38-year-old male, Patient 276 is a 25-year-old male and Patient 278 is a 28-year-old female. Patient 277 is a 32-year-old female from Bengaluru Urban and contact of Patient 252, a 65-year-old male with SARI from Bengaluru.

With respect to the Nanjangud pharmaceutical company cases, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said, “We have got to know that some foreign nationals from China, Japan, the USA and Germany visited Nanjangud between February 4 and 18. Patient 52, who was the first employee to develop symptoms on March 13, tested positive on March 24. There are over 1,000 workers employed at the firm. We are trying to get details from the owner who is in Delhi.”