Karnataka's corona complacency blown open as 136 new cases found

Bengaluru: It's now looking increasingly unlikely that Karnataka will be spared the deep coronavirus trauma of the kind Maharashtra is currently undergoing. After seeming to have slowed the virus in the early days of May, the state is now hurtling towards a full-blown epidemic.

New cases of coronavirus infection again topped 100 on Sunday, 130 to be precise, which took the total number past the 2,000 mark. It stood at 2089 on Sunday evening.

In mid-May, Karnataka had seemed to have succeeded in containing the virus, a feat only Kerala can claim in the country. Coronavirus cases in Karnataka were the second lowest in the south, and far lower than Mahararashtra and lower even than Telangana whose low numbers are due to limited testing.

But the influx of workers from Maharashtra in the past week or so has blown open Karnataka's complacency. Out of the 130 new cases recorded on Sunday evening, 105 are cases of people with interstate travel, majorly from Maharashtra.

The fresh cases have been reported from Chikkaballapura (27, Yadagiri (24), Udupi (23), Mandya (15), Hassan (14), Bidar (6) and Kalburgi (6), Davangere (4), Shivamogga, Tumkur and Dakshin Kannada (2 each) and one each from Dakshin Kannada, Vijayapura, Dharwad, Bengaluru and Kodagu.

Inter-state cases from Maharashtra are recorded from Chikkaballapura, Udupi, Mandya, Hassan, Yadagiri, Kalburgi, Uttara Kannada, Tumkur and Kodagu.

In four out of 15 cases from Mandya, a positive patient with a travel history to Maharashtra infected 4 of his primary contacts.

Three cases from Udupi are from its containment zones and in three cases officials have not been able to identify the source of infection yet. Udupi has one case of an international traveller from Dubai.

Four cases from Hassan is reported from its containment zone.

One case from Kalburgi and Dharwad has a travel history to Andhra Pradesh.

The case from Vijayapura has a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection.

The case from Bengaluru is a international traveller with a history of travel to UK. He has been shifted from quarantine facility to designated Covid 19 hospital.

While there is only one case from Bengaluru, health officials have not yet traced the source of infection of a head constable attached to Pulikeshinagar traffic station. He tested positive on Thursday and some of his primary contacts were quarantined. Just to reaffirm his results, his samples are sent to Covid 19 test and the results are awaited. Sources claimed that the cop was posted on duty at different points to enforce curfew and he could have got infected during vehicle checking.