With 21 new cases in a day, Davanagere turns hotspot

Davanagere reported 21 new positive cases of Covid-19 infections on Monday, emerging as the new hotpot in Karnataka even as the number of cases elsewhere in the state fell over the last few days. Of the reported cases, 18 were primary contacts of a 35-year-old staff nurse at a government hospital. Two recent cases in the town have turned out to be major carriers. One of the patients is a 69-year-old man who tested positive after he complained of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI). Eight of his primary contacts have also tested positive. The second is of the nurse who tested positive after she experienced influenza-like illness.

The government tested 36 people belonging to the high-risk category who had come in contact with the nurse, of whom 18 tested positive. The results of over 100 primary contacts are awaited. The government said an initial probe suggests travel links for the two patients. “One of them had attended a wedding in Bagalkot and another patient seems to have some travel links to Gujarat,” education minister S Suresh Kumar who is in charge of Covid-19 related matters told reporters. Despite the increase in the number of cases, Davanagere continues to be under the orange zone as per the central government’s parameters. The state’s tally of positive cases now stands at 651.

The state government issued an order on Monday directing all private medical colleges in the state to establish RTPCR laboratories for Covid-19 infection testing within one month. The decision was taken to augment testing capacity, which has been largely confined to government laboratories. Nimhans-Bengaluru is designated as the mentor institution to coordinate, guide, train and handhold institutions, according to the government order.