Confirming that the senior citizen from Gowribidanur, who died on Wednesday, was infected with COVID-19, the State Health Department has said that three other new cases have been reported today.
With this the total number of positive cases in the State including two deaths and three persons who were discharged is 55.
“The 70-year year old female, resident of Gowribidanur in Chikkaballapura district, had a history of travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and arrived in India on March 14. The patient died on March 24 at a designated hospital in Bengaluru. The funeral rites have been performed with all the precautionary measures as per the guidelines issued by GoI for COVID-19 suspect deaths,” stated the department’s midday bulletin.
First case of community transmission?
A 35-year-old male, resident of Mysuru, who does not have any travel history and contact history, has tested positive. While officials said it was yet to be ascertained if this is the first case of community transmission, they said it was confirmed that the person has no travel and contact history.
“He is working with the quality assurance section of a pharmaceutical company in Nanjangud and has been in contact with many healthcare professionals. A detailed investigation is under progress,” said a senior official.
He has been isolated at a designated hospital in Mysuru. Seven primary contacts have been traced and they are under house quarantine.
Another 64-year-old male, resident of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, who had a history of travel to France and arrived in India on March 1,has also tested positive. He had travelled to Himachal Pradesh and Puttaparthi and arrived in Bengaluru on March 21. He has been isolated and treated at a designated hospital in Bengaluru Rural District.
That apart, a 45-year-old male, resident of Bengaluru, and contact of another positive patient has also tested positive. The case is isolated at a designated hospital in Bengaluru.
Telemedicine
The State government has issued an Order allowing all Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) to practice telemedicine consultation with certain restrictions. The guidelines have been published on the website: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/telemedicine.pdf.
Passengers alerted
As one of the positive patients from Uttara Kannada had travelled in S3 coach lower berth in Mangalore Express from Mumbai which departed on March 17 and arrived in Bhatkal on March 18, the department has alerted passengers who travelled in the same coach to contact the helpline numbers 104, 080-46848600 or 080-66692000.
Corona watch app
A Corona Watch mobile application has been launched and can be downloaded from www.karnataka.gov.in. In the application, the spots visited by positive patients upto 14 days prior to testing positive can be seen. It also shows the nearest First Respondent Hospitals, the bulletin added.
