Sirsi reports nine cases in one day; infection spreading to Uttara Kannada’s interior regions

Karwar/ Dharwad/ Ballari: Covid-19 had, by and large, been restricted to one or two taluks in Uttara Kannada district, and most other towns and villages had managed to stay secure from the threat of the pandemic, are now reporting cases. In Sirsi, where not a single Covid-19 case had been reported thus far, nine individuals were confirmed infected with the novel coronavirus on Thursday. Residents are pointing out that this is an indication of the infection, by and large restricted to the coastal towns, spreading to the interior regions of the district.
All the nine individuals who have tested positive had returned to Sirsi from Mumbai and Gujarat. They are currently being housed at the Morarji Desai School in Kalli village. Among the nine who have been confirmed infected in Sirsi are a three-year-old child and her mother. Throat swabs of the child’s father have been sent to the laboratory for examination. The tally in the district has gone up to 65, of whom 12 have been cured. With the easing of the restrictions, people from neighbouring Maharashtra and Dubai are returning to all parts of the district and towns and taluks hitherto not infected are now reporting positive cases.
Sirsi assistant commissioner Eshwar Ullagaddi said that all the infected patients would be shifted to the Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences, while all those in quarantine would be strictly monitored.
Tally rises to 31 in Dharwad, active cases at 22
In Dharwad district, five cases of Covid-19 were reported on Thursday, pushing its tally to 31, of which 22 are active. As many as nine individuals have effected a recovery and have been discharged thus far. Two girls – one six-year-old and the other nine years of age – are among the five who tested positive. Two women and one man are the other individuals who have been confirmed infected in the district. The six-year-old girl, and her mother, 29, had returned to Dharwad from Telangana and had been in a government quarantine facility at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. While the other girl and her parents, who have also tested positive, had returned from Mumbai.
Fishermen who returned from Mumbai test +ve in Ballari
As many as 11 fishermen who returned to Ballari district from Mumbai and had been quarantined at a government facility have tested positive. The number of active cases in the district has risen to 16 as a result.
Ballari deputy commissioner SS Nakul said that all the 11 individuals confirmed infected on Thursday were members of a single family. Addressing the media after chairing a meeting attended by Ballari superintendent of police CK Baba and district health officer Dr Janardhan, Nakul said that all those who had tested positive had been in quarantine in Ballari district since May 6.
Of the 11 people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, seven are women. “One of them is pregnant. While six are residents of Ballari city, three are from Rupanagudi and the remaining two are from Chaganur village. All of them have been shifted to the district Covid-19 hospital. We will not designate any locality as ‘containment zone’ since all of them have stayed in quarantine since their arrival from Mumbai,” said Nakul.
Health department personnel have collected throat swabs from a nine-month-old infant, whose mother is among those who has tested positive.
Four more recover in Vijayapura
In Vijayapura district, four patients who recovered from Covid-19 were discharged from the district hospital on Thursday. As many as 41 people have recovered from the pandemic in Vijayapura in all.