Udupi accounts for 40% of Karnataka’s Covid-19 cases with highest single-day spike of 204

MANGALURU/UDUPI: Of the 515 Covid-19 cases reported in Karnataka on Friday, Udupi accounted for 40%, registering its highest one-day spike with 204 patients being confirmed infected. Of the 204 who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Friday, 203 had returned to Udupi from Maharashtra.
The spike on Friday took the district tally in Udupi to 768, with 685 active cases. Udupi, which has also reported 150 Covid-19 cases on June 2, has had one fatality from Covid-19 thus far.
Udupi deputy commissioner G Jagadeesha attributed the spike to the increase in the number of tests being conducted in the district. “We tested more than 2,000 samples on Friday. The only local who tested positive for the novel coronavirus is a cop. All 204 patients have been admitted to the designated Covid-19 hospital, and officials of the health department have been asked to ensure they are provided necessary treatment,” he said.
The Udupi district administration had taken all necessary measures to complete testing all the 8,500 people who had arrived from other states after the lockdown was relaxed, Jagadeesha said. “The number of Covid-19 cases will reduce once we complete testing all the samples. We will also intensify surveillance for people with influenza like illnesses (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) in Udupi,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada district administration confirmed that eight people had been confirmed infected on Friday.“Of the eight cases, sever were of those who had returned from Maharashtra, and the officials are tracing the contacts of the other patient. On the other hand, 12 patients who recovered from the infection at the designated Covid-19 hospital in Mangaluru were discharged on Friday.
The seven people who had returned from Maharashtra to Dakshina Kannada and were confirmed infected on Friday had been quarantined in Udupi on arrival in Karnataka. They entered Dakshina Kannada after completing the stipulated quarantine period, said DC Sindhu B Rupesh.