Mysuru loses COVID-free tag after new surge in coronavirus cases

Mysuru: Mysuru, which was considered corona-free after all its 90 cases were cured and discharged, and its 43 containment zones nullified a month ago, has once again become a coronavirus hotspot. The number of cases have doubled in the past one month, especially since the last week.

Earlier, a cluster related to a Nanjangud-based pharma company, Dubai returnees and Tablighi Jamaat returnees were major vectors of the virus. Now, the sources have multipled, with Maharashtra returnees, travellers from Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and people who visited Bengaluru testing positive for COVID-19.

In the past three days, as many as five cases of Influenza like Illness (with no contact with COVID positives or travel history), including a fruit vendor of Rammanahalli in Mysuru taluk and a textile owner at Hullalli of Nanjangud taluk have created the fear of community spread in Mysuru.

Two city-based doctors, including a lady doctor from Bharath Cancer hospital who had returned from Bengaluru, a Syndicate Bank employee, and a merchant from Krishnavilas road here, have tested positive for COVID-19, creating panic.

After a cop from Nanjangud rural police station, who had worked for 15 days at the Southern Range IGP and Mysuru SP office building in Mysuru, tested positive for Covid 19, Southern Range IGP Vipul Kumar, Mysuru district SP Rishyanth, ASP Sneha and entire team of officers who served at the building have been home quarantined and told to work from home.

The Nanjangud rural police station cop is among the 18 cops from Mysuru, including 16 KSRP cops who had returned from duty in Bengaluru (including containment zones there) and a CISF cop of the RBI printing press, who have tested positive for COVID-19.

With a 32 year-old-man, who had come from Delhi to Organic Research Centre at Bylkuppe Tibetan settlement in Periyapatna taluk, and a person from Ankanahalli in Narsipur taluk (with Influenza like Illness), COVID-19 has now spread its wings across all taluks of Mysuru district except HD Kote taluk.

In fact, the number of COVID-19 cases have doubled in less than a week in Mysuru. Since June 17, 50 cases have been reported and more than 10 containment zones have sprung up across the district.

In just three days, 26 returnees from Bengaluru (including 17 cops), a BMTC driver and his wife, who is a staff nurse at a quarantine facility at Hura in Nanjangud taluk, and a Bengaluru returnee with ILI have tested positive.

Mysuru district now has 58 active cases, out of the total of 80 cases reported in the past one month.

Before the onset of the second wave of infections, at least 90 cases were cured and discharged, including 74 related to cluster case of a pharma company, 10 religious preachers from Tablighi Jamaat from Delhi in January, one person who returned from Dubai, one Keralite from Dubai, one primary contact of the Keralite, and two cases of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) who later tested positive for COVID-19.

When Deccan Chronicle contacted and asked if ILI cases indicate community spread in Mysuru, Mysuru DC Abhiram G Shankar said, "That's something the experts should say. But all we can say now is we have to be prepared for tougher times".