A 42-year-old person from Hallibailu village in Tirthahalli taluk, who returned from Mumbai recently, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
With this, the total number of positive cases in the district has risen to nine. He had come to Hallibailu on May 7 in an unauthorised manner. The local Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) alerted the Department of Health and Family Welfare about his arrival on May 12, following which he was immediately sent to an institutional quarantine facility.
On Friday, his swab samples tested positive for COVID-19. Subsequently, he was shifted to a designated hospital in Shivamogga city. As many as 12 persons, including six of his family members, identified as his primary contacts have been quarantined. Their throat and nasal samples have been sent to the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory on the campus of Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences for tests. The results are awaited.
Meanwhile, the Tirthahalli taluk administration has demarcated Hallibailu village as a containment zone. Entry of outsiders to the village has been barred. The department has commenced door-to-door survey in Hallibailu and the nearby Bheemanakatte, Meenugunda and Mulubagilu villages to identify persons with symptoms of COVID-19. The taluk administration has also made arrangements for on-demand delivery of ration and other essential goods to households in the containment zone.