Another 11 patients in Karnataka have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), according to a government bulletin issued on Sunday afternoon, taking the total tally in the state to 226.
Among the 11 patients who tested positive, one is a 60-year-old woman from the northern district of Vijayapura, which till now had not reported any COVID-19 cases. Incidentally, the bulletin did not state any relevant travel history or any contact with an already infected patient for the woman. While an official statement from the district authorities is awaited, preliminary information suggests that the woman had not travelled outside the district in recent times. She has been categorised as a patient suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI).
The other 10 cases are from Mysuru, Bengaluru, Kalaburagi and Belagavi districts.
The Karnataka government bulletin also said of the total 226 COVID-19 patients, 47 people have been discharged following recovery while six succumbed to their comorbidities as earlier reported. This brings the total number of active cases in the state to 173.
Sunday’s bulletin also provides no relevant information on foreign travel or contact history for a 76-year-old Bengaluru woman who is among the 11 new patients. She has also been categorised as a patient suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI).
All the other nine had either returned recently from foreign countries or were contacts of patients already infected with the disease.
With the first case reported from Vijayapura, the number of districts with no cases of COVID-19 is 11. Those districts are Raichur, Yadgir, Koppal, Haveri, Koppal, Chitradurga, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Hassan, Chamarajanagar and Ramanagara.
Among the districts with COVID-19 cases, Bengaluru Urban has the highest number of active cases with 52 while Mysuru district has 46 cases. Belagavi and Bidar have 14 and 11 cases respectively. Gadag district which had reported one case has no active cases, with the lone patient, an 80-year-old man, passing away on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had on Saturday announced that the ongoing lockdown will be extended till April 30. However, some restrictions will be eased following guidelines issued by the Centre.