People in panic as once-safe Davanagere awaits results of coronanvirus tests
Hubballi: People in Davanagere district in Karnataka are on the edge of panic with 29 positive cases and two deaths being recorded there in a short span of five days. The district had been a certified orange zone, with no positive cases for more than a month.
A number of reasons are being cited for the return of the coronavirus to Davanagere, ranging from people sneaking out of the district dodging the total ban imposed in interr-district movement, and lapses on the part of the administration in implementing it.
Things were going well when three corona-infected patients recovered after voluntarily undergoing testing when they returned from abroad. The district administration turned its attention to managing the lockdown.
But then the virus was found to have infected a staff nurse, and suddenly a 69-year old man died of the virus after complaining of high blood pressure and diabetes within just a few hours of infection. The infection then spread to some members of his family.
Interestingly, both the staff nurse and the deceased man don't have a travel history. It has become a challenging task for the district administration to find out how the virus resurfaced in the district after a 30-day hiatus.
Sources said it could have been on account of the hundreds of people including lorry drivers visiting localities in Davangere to supply essential commodities during the lockdown. Conversely, many people from Davanagere travelled to other districts, violating the orders of the deputy commissioner. They are suspected to have brought the virus back into Davangere.
Deputy commissioner Mahantesh Bilagi said many citizens sneaked out of the district there was a ban on such movement.
The 21 corona cases reported in Davangere this Sunday have put people on the edge of panic in the district. These new positives were from a lot of only 37 throat swabs sent by the district administration to a Shivamogga laboratory.
The throat swabs of 330 other people who had had contact with the staff nurse and the deceased 69-year old man have also been taken. The officials are yet to receive test report of around 293 corona-suspected persons who had primary and secondary contact with both persons. Therefore, this has caused anxiety among the people as the possibility of more cases cannot be ruled out.
Sources said that health officials are finding it difficult to get the travel history of the virus-infected nurse due to her confusing statements about travel history of her family members.
Deputy commissioner Mahantesh Bilagi also said that the administration has sealed off Basha Nagar amd Jali Nagar localities where most of the new positive cases were found.
