BENGALURU: An octogenarian man from Kalaburagi became the 17th person to die of COVID-19 in Karnataka, taking the death toll from Kalaburagi to four. Also, 10 new COVID-19-positive cases were added, increasing the total to 418, while 17 patients were cured and discharged, taking this heartening tally to 129 on Tuesday. The Kalaburagi patient, who passed away, was 80 years old and was suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). He also had the comorbid condition of Parkinson’s Disease, which had confined him to bed for the last four years.

He died at a designated hospital in Kalaburagi. Of the ten positive cases reported on Tuesday, three each were from Kalaburagi and Vijayapura, two from Nanjangud, Mysuru, and one each from Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada and Belagavi. Incidentally, the deceased man was one of the three who tested positive from Kalaburagi on Tuesday.

The other two were a 29-year-old man with Influenza Like Illness and a 61-yearold man, as health department officials went on a hunt to trace their contacts. All the three positives from Vijayapura were women, two aged 16 and one 30, all contacts of a 65-year-old patient (P306), who in turn was the contact of a 60-year-old woman (Patient 221).

The mystery cluster from Mysuru’s Nanjangud continued to add to the tally, with two more cases linked to Jubilant Pharmaceutical Company returning positive. So far, 70 of the 86 positive cases in Mysuru district are related to the pharma company. The two patients, both 26 years old, are contacts of Patient 52, a 35-year-old man who was the first to test tested positive at the company. Acknowledging that the Nanjangud cluster continues to baffle the government, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said, “We are still finding the source of infection in the Nanjangud case.”

From Bantwal, a 67-year-old woman suffering from SARI, tested positive. A 25-year-old woman from Belagavi, who is a contact of Patient 221, and a 43-year-old man who had travelled to Delhi too tested positive on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar has issued a circular to 17 departments, including health and family welfare, medical education, urban development, home, revenue, energy and transportation, that they should function with full staff, while others can run with one-third employee strength, Kumar said. Kumar said the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has granted permission for convalescent plasma transfusion treatment, following the state’s request. “It is a great achievement for us and for Dr Vishal Rao, HCG, Bangalore Institute Of Oncology, to get clearance to perform clinical trials for the plasma therapy,” he said.