Karnataka minister's father tests positive for Covid-19

Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Monday said his 82-year old father had been tested positive for Covid-19. He is in hospital and his health condition is stable. This is the first case in Karnataka where a family member of an elected representative is tested positive for the virus.
The Minister confirmed the test report on social media and said that his father was admitted in the hospital after he developed fever and cough. "Anxiously waiting for reports of the family members. Praying for speedy recovery of my father," Sudhakar tweeted.

His father is a sitting-member of Chikkaballapur zilla panchayat and had earlier served as ZP president. According to sources close to the minister, his father was actively in public life, and routinely travelled and met people in the district after the lockdown was lifted. “We do not know the source of infection yet,” the person said. Meanwhile, Bengaluru city continued to report a high number of Covid-19 cases even on Monday. In the majority of cases, the source of infection was unknown.

Of the 249 cases confirmed in Karnataka on Monday, 126 cases were reported in Bengaluru alone. The state also reported five Covid related deaths, three in Bengaluru and one each in Ballari and Ramanagar. Four of the deceased had comorbidities, and the fifth deceased, a 38-year-old woman in Bengaluru, had no pre-existing health conditions. Karnataka has reported 9,399 Covid cases since the first week of March when the state confirmed its first case of Covid. Only 3,523 cases are active.