D’gere, Belagavi, U-K dists see rapid surge in Covid-19 cases

There is no let-up in Covid-19 cases in Karnataka. The state on Friday saw a staggering 48 cases, its biggest single-day spike, so far. Four districts - Belagavi, Uttara Kannada Davangere and Chitradurga - alone have accounted for 40 cases.

Covid-19 cases continued to swell in Davangere. As many as 14 people, including four children in the age-group of three to nine, contracted novel coronavirus on Friday.

Among them, 10 people are the contacts of Patient 533, a staff nurse of a CHC in Davangere while four others are the contacts of Patient 556, an elderly man from Jalinagar in the city, Health department sources said.

The district had just three cases till April 28. But since then, Davangere city saw a flurry of cases. A staff nurse (Patient 533) alone is said to have infected 30 of her contacts. As on May 8, the district’s tally of cases stands at 61.

With four deaths and two discharges post-recovery, Davangere has 55 active cases.

Belagavi records
11 new cases

The Covid-19 hotspots in Belagavi district - Hirebagewadi and Kuduchi - witnessed a sudden surge in coronavirus cases on Friday. Hirebagewadi village reported 10 new cases, which include five women. All the 10 cases are contacts of Patients 547 and 552.

A 20-year-old youth from Kuduchi in Raibag taluk, a contact of Patient 723, tested positive for the virus.

The 11 fresh cases have taken Belagavi district’s tally to 85, most of which are either members of Tablighi Jamaat who attended Nizamuddin congregation or their contacts.

Flurry of cases in Bhatkal

Infections continued to swell in Bhatkal, Uttara Kannada, as 12 new cases emerged from the port town on Friday.

All 12 cases, including 10 of a family, are contacts of Patient 659, an 18-year-old girl, who tested positive on April 5. Among the fresh cases are a five-month-old baby and a three-year-old kid. A friend and a neighbour of P-659 are also among the infected.

Deputy Commissioner K Harish Kumar told reporters, “Three families from Bhatkal, including the family members of Patient 659, had visited First Neuro Hospital in Mangaluru in April third week. The families had not informed the district administration of their visit to Mangaluru hospital. Two weeks after their visit, the town is seeing a surge in cases.”

Throat swab samples of more than 50 secondary contacts have been sent to lab for examination, he said.

C’durga slips to Orange Zone

Chitradurga district on Friday slipped to Orange Zone from Green after three people with travel history to Ahmedabad tested positive for the virus.

“All three, part of a 15-member Tablighi Jamaat team, had contracted virus durng their visit to Ahmedabad for a congregation. Post-recoveRy, they returned to Chitradurga. All 15 members were put up in a quarantine facility in the fort city. Three members have again tested positive for coronavirus and have been sent to the designated hospital,” Deputy Commissioner R Vinoth Priya told reporters.

Sandur in Ballari district saw its first Covid-19 case on Friday. A woman from Krishna Nagar has contracted virus. Investigations are underway to trace the source of her infection.