mandya registers first case; dist tally rises to 5

Mandya/Hubballi: Following the reporting of the first Covid-19 case in the district headquarters,
the total number of infected patients in Mandya has now risen to five. The latest addition
to the list of infected patients is an employee of Jubilant Life Sciences, the
pharmaceutical company based in Nanjangud, Mysuru – the epicentre of India’s first
Covid-19 ‘cluster case’.
The 35-year-old man, who works as a microbiologist at the firm, had been stamped as a
primary contact by the authorities in Mysuru and sent home subsequently.He had been
directed by the authorities to stay quarantined at home for the prescribed period, and had
additionally been asked to report to the designated healthcare centre should he display
any of the symptoms of Covid-19.
Mandya deputy commissioner MV Venkatesh said that, the patient in question had been
quarantined at home from March 26 to March 30, after which he had been shifted to a
public healthcare facility. “The doctors discharged him when he did not display any
symptoms,” the DC said.
However, his throat swab samples were sent for examination before he was due to be
discharged, in accordance with protocol. When the results confirmed that he was positive
for the infection, he was shifted to an isolation ward at the Mandya Institute of Medical
Sciences (MIMS).
Prior to his isolation at home on March 26, the 35-year-old had been commuting to and
from Mysuru by bus every day, authorities said. “The patient’s parents, sister and nephew
have now been placed under quarantine at home,” said an official.
After it was confirmed that the patient in question tested positive, the district
administration wasted no time in declaring the locality of which he was a resident –
Swarnasandra Colony – a buffer zone, besides stepping up precautionary measures across
Mandya town.
Police personnel have barred entry and exit to Swarnasandra Colony, and the residents
are all being supplied essential commodities at their doorstep. Health teams have been
constituted to screen all the residents of the locality.
Mandya town tahsildar Nagesh, accompanied by many senior officers on Thursday
visited Swarnasandra Colony and interacted with the residents, who were instructed to
intimate the authorities on the district helpline number should anyone display any
symptoms.
Meanwhile, lockdown remained strictly enforced in Malavalli town. As was the case at
Mandya town, ingress and egress to Malavalli have been sealed and workers at the health
department workers are screening all the residents in the buffer zone.
Patient had a cardiac arrest
Two days after she tested positive for Covid-19, an 80-year-old woman from Rangawadi in Gadag succumbed in the wee hours of Thursday, becoming the first person to die of the infection in the district.
The elderly woman had been admitted to the Gadag Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) on April 4, when she complained of having difficulty in breathing. Staff at GIMS who attended to her said that she did not respond to the treatment.
Gadag deputy commissioner MG Hiremath said that the patient in question suffered a cardiac arrest around 1am on Thursday. “Last rites for her will be performed in accordance with the established procedure,” said Hiremath, adding that the throat swabs of 47 residents of Gadag district that had been sent to a virology laboratory, had tested negative for the infection.
Following the first recorded death owing to Covid-19 in Gadag, the district administration is ramping up precautionary measures. Ranganwadi and its surrounding areas have been declared ‘containment zone’, which essentially means that none can enter or leave these spaces. Police presence in the areas has been increased, with the authorities assuring residents that all essential commodities would be delivered to their doorstep.
The authorities suspect that the deceased contracted the infection at a family gathering held recently at SM Krishna Nagar in Gadag. Sources at GIMS said that they had managed to track all her primary contacts. “All of them are being kept in quarantine,” a source said.