Hassan district, which was in a safe position, with a green zone tag, since the lockdown was enforced, registered five positive cases, four of a single family, on Tuesday. The positive cases at the fag end of lockdown 3.0 has come as a shocker to the people of the district. All the five cases, including two girls, have a travel history to Mumbai in Maharashtra.
Patient (P) 900 is a 36-yr-old man; P901, 27-yr-old woman; P902, a 7-year-old girl, P903, a 44-yr-old man and P904, a four-year-old girl. All are being treated at the designated COVID hospital in Hassan. Five people, who returned to Hassan from Mumbai, tested positive for COVID-19, and have been shifted to Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), the designated COVID-19 hospital in Hassan on Tuesday.
The family members had travelled in a car, hired from Mumbai to Channarayapatna via Arsikere, on May 10. They had registered via ‘Seva Sindhu’ mobile App. They were directly sent to quarantine from the checkpost as they had travelled from Mumbai, the COVID-19 hotspot of the country, said Deputy Commissioner R Girish.
Addressing media persons, the DC said, according to the patients, the car driver returned after dropping them. Efforts are on to trace the driver. Another patient had also come from Mumbai, along with his friend from KR Pet, in a car on May 10. He was screened and has tested positive on May 12.
As the Mumbai returnees were directly sent to quarantine and had not roamed around in the district, there is no need for a seal-down of their village, he clarified.
After five persons from Hassan district tested positive, permission to those seeking entry through ‘Seva Sindhu’ App from other states has been temporarily stalled. Migrants from other states will be quarantined in hostels, and those from other districts will be subject to thermal screening and quarantined only if they show symptoms, the DC clarified.
Superintendent of Police R Srinivas Gowda said that those coming from other states are quarantined in the hostels of their respective taluks.
There was a confusion over a positive case from Hassan on Monday evening and later, it was identified from Mandya. It may be mentioned that the district had returned to normalcy and all commercial activities resumed a week ago.