TUMAKURU: Authorities of Chikkanayakanahalli taluk have been on the hunt for a herd of 50 sheep to draw their throat samples for testing, after coming to know that a shepherd has contracted COVID-19.
The incident took place at Gollarahatti hamlet near the Godekere village in the taluk, represented by district BJP leader J C Madhu Swamy.
"The samples will be sent to a laboratory at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. Until then, there will be a ban on the butchering of the sheep in the region", informed Madhu Swamy.
The MLA added that the sheep will have to be quarantined until further notice following a report from the laboratory.
If all goes well and if the experts can trace and identify the animals, as there were over 200 sheep that grazed along with the fifty suspects (sheep), the samples would be drawn on Tuesday.
The relatives of the shepherd took the animals away to Jakkanahalli in the neighbouring Tiptur taluk for quarantine.
The 22-year-old hailed from family of shepherds and had been to Nelamangala in Bengaluru for work and might have contracted the virus there.
He developed the symptoms of fever and cough and had been to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Godekere.
"I had treated him with azithromycin and paracetamol and referred the case to Chikkanayakanahalli taluk hospital on June 22. On June 26 when he tested positive, he was asymptomatic. However he was isolated at the designated COVID-19 hospital at the district level," informed Dr S T Naveen.