12 new COVID-19 cases reported in Karnataka;Total rises to 163

www.mangaloretoday.com

Bengaluru, April 6, 2020: Twelve new positive cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of affected in the state to 163, the Health department said on Monday.

The active cases stood at 139 and of them three - two on ventilator support and one on oxygen - were in intensive care units (ICUs) while the others, including a pregnant woman, stable in isolation wards of designated hospitals, it said. "As of 5:00 PM of 6th April 2020, cumulatively 163 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 4 deaths and 20 discharges," a bulletin said.

Out of total 163 cases detected and confirmed in the state so far, nine were transit passengers of Kerala who landed in airports in Karnataka.

Among the 12 new cases, one from Bengaluru rural had attended Tablighi-Jamaat congregation at Delhi from March 13- 18, seven are from Mysuru, and two from Bagalkote -- wife and brother of a 75-year old man who died on April 3. Others include a woman, a resident of Kerala, with a history of travel to Germany and contact of patients already tested positive; and a man from Bengaluru, who is son of two patients already tested positive.

Contact tracing has been initiated for all the cases, the department said. Among the 163 positive cases, 59 were reported from Bengaluru, 35 from Mysuru, 12 from Dakshina Kannada, ten from Bidar, eight from Uttara Kannada, seven from Chikkaballapur and Belagavi, five from Kalaburgai, six from Ballari, three each from Davangere, Bagalkote and Udupi, two from Bengaluru Rural and one each from Kodagu, Tumakuru and Dharwad.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health Research has notified 10 dedicated laboratories supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for COVID-19 in Karnataka. They areHassan Institute of Medical Sciences, Mysore Medical College & Research Institute, Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences, Command Hospital (Airforce), Bengaluru, Bengaluru Medical College & Research Institute, National Institute of Virology, Bengaluru Field Unit. Also, Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences, Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences, Ballari, National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, and Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru.

The Karnataka State Board for Auqaf on Monday issued orders suspending congregational prayers and visit to the Qabrasthans (Muslim graveyards), Dargahs on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat on April 9 in view of the coronavirus pandemic. It said, no public shall be allowed to perform religious rituals in the Qabrasthans/Dargahs and all their gates shall be kept closed.

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Siddaramaiah on Monday urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to announce a special package to help farmers, agriculture labourers and also the working class in various sectors who are affected by the lockdown. Siddaramaiah put forth his demands during a telephonic conversation and the Chief Minister positively responded to it, informing that he will formulate a programme keeping in mind the suggestions made by the opposition, a statement from the LoP’’s office said.

Amid complaints of the entire Muslim community being targeted on the social media over the coronavirus spread in the backdrop of the Tablighi event, police in communally sensitive Dakshina Kannada district warned of strict action, including seizure of mobile phones, of those indulging in such acts. During this difficult period of COVID-19 crisis, some people are known to have been posting provocative and derogatory messages against a particular religious community, District superintendent of Police B M Laxmi Prasad said in a release in Mangaluru. Four cases have already been registered in connection with such incidents reported to the police, he said.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda also flagged concerns over the trend and sought action against those trying to project the entire minority community in bad light on social media for the spread of the pandemic. Appreciating efforts of Karnatka government in identifying and testing Tablighi event returnees for COVID-19, in a letter to Yediyurappa, he also condemned incidents of attacks on doctors and health department workers and sought protection for them.

Officials said the Home Quarantine Enforcement squad have shifted 15 home quarantined people to institutions on Sunday based on complaints from public about their movement. So far, 386 have been shifted from home quarantine to institutional quarantine in the state.

The state government on Monday exemptedbakery and biscuit, condiments, confectionery and sweet units from lockdown and permitted them to operate with minimum staff. The units shall notpermit serving or dinning in the premises and only takeaways would be allowed, state Nodal Officer for Essential Commodities and Supply Chain Management Rajender Kumar Kataria said in a circular.

A report from Mangaluru also said four patients who were undergoing treatment at the Wenlock hospital were discharged Monday after revovery. Of this, three patients belong to neighbouring Kasaragod district in Kerala and were admitted here after they showed symptoms of coronavirus infection on their arrival from Dubai at the Mangaluru International Airport on March 24.