BENGALURU: Karnataka reported 29 COVID-19 cases on Friday with 19 among them from Bengaluru Urban alone. Among the others, two are from Raibagh (Belagavi), three from Bagalakot district, two from Vijayapura, and one each from Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur and Malavalli (Mandya). No deaths have been reported and the toll stands at 18. The number of discharges is 152. While 11 were male patients from Bengaluru who were contacts of the Hongasandra migrant labourer, all below the age of 50, another five are male patients related to the Padarayanapura case, who were arrested in connection with the violence.

While there were two cases from Bengaluru infected with SARI -- a 45-year-old female and 50-year-old male, there were two cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) -- a 49-year-old female from Bengaluru Urban and 46-year-old male from Jamkhandi, Bagalkot.

Meanwhile, the increasing number of positive cases from Hongasandra, contacts of a 54-year-old migrant worker from Bihar who tested positive, is becoming worrisome. On Friday, 11 more contacts of the same patient tested positive while on Thursday, it was 9, bringing the total cases to 20. Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said, “We have identified 185 primary contacts and 60 secondary contacts of the  patient. We have also decided to check on the labourers working at different construction sites.”

He said that all the arrested people including the prisoners moved to Ramanagara jail are shifted to Bengaluru’s Haj Bhavan where they are quarantined. In Raibhag (Belagavi), two cases have been reported -- a 10-yearold female who was a contact of Patient 150 and a 15-year-old male, contact of Patient 148. In Mudhol, Bagalkot district, two cases of contact with Patient 380 have tested positive. One is a 28-year-old male and another 14-year-old male.

And two cases from Vijayapura were reported -- one is aged 17 and the other 27. A 32-year-old male patient from Tumakuru who had a travel history to Surat, Gujarat, has tested positive. Another patient is a 39-year-old male from Chikkaballapur who is contact of Patient 250, who died with co-morbid conditions. A 60-year-old male from Malavalli, Mandya who tested positive is a contact of Patient 179, a 35-year-old who was in contact with patients who had travelled to Delhi.

SPURT IN POSITIVE CASES OF MINORS

Bagalkot/Vijayapura: Amidst the spike in positive cases, a worrying trend has emerged – that of a high percentage of minors getting infected. At least 33 minors have tested positive across the state, excluding Bengaluru. While Kalaburagi reported six cases of infection in minors, Belagavi saw five, Bagalkot and Dharwad four each and Mysuru, Mandya, Mangaluru and Ballari one each. In Vijayapura district alone, 25 per cent of cases are patients under the age of 18.

In the last 12 days, 39 people contracted the virus here, with 10 of them being minors. Among the districts of North Karnataka, Vijayapura has the highest number of minor cases. Among the minors, P425 – a four-month-old infant from Kalaburagi – was the youngest to test positive in the state. The 10-month-old baby from Udupi — the second youngest positive case in the state — was discharged a few days ago after testing negative. Meanwhile, a few district administrations have allowed mothers to stay with their infants on humanitarian grounds.