Nagamangala man returns from Mumbai, tests +ve

Nagamangala taluk in the district saw its first Covid-19 case on Monday. A 50-year-old man from Sathenahalli (Patient 505), who returned from Mumbai recently, tested positive for the virus during a random testing.

The man’s travel history and his stay at native village is a cause of concern to the district administration as many are exposed to risk of infection.

Deputy Commissioner Dr M V Venkatesh told reporters that Patient 505, a 50-year-old man from Sathenahalli in Nagamangala taluk, was into hotel business in Mumbai for the past 20 years.

“He had started his journey from a market in Mumbai in a canter vehicle, transporting Dates (khajur). He had taken bath at a petrol bunk in Udupi, during the transit. The vehicle reached Channarayapatna in Hassan district, via Mangaluru, on April 22.”

“His brother-in-law ferried him to Sathenahalli in a car. The Health department personnel, who examined him while random checking, found him positive on Monday. He has been shifted to the designated hospital in Mandya,” the DC said.

The driver of the canter, a co-passenger from Mumbai, his brother-in-law and wife have been identified as primary contacts of P 505. His children, relatives and other secondary contacts are being traced, the DC informed.

The fact that he travelled from Mumbai to Nagamangala when the nationwide lockdown to mitigate the virus spread is on, is a clear case of violation of lockdown rules, M V Venkatesh added.

Sathenahalli village has been sealed after it was declared as containment zone.

Two new cases on Monday has taken the district’s tally to 18 in Mandya district. The number of active cases is 14. Four persons have been discharged from the designated Covid Hospital in Mandya, and are placed under public quarantine in a hostel in the Sugar Town.