Bengaluru techie’s wife and kid test positive for coronavirus, total 4 cases in city

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has confirmed three more positive cases of coronavirus in Bengaluru. Of the three new cases confirmed on Tuesday, two were the wife (47) and 13-year-old daughter of a techie who had already tested positive, while the fourth person is a 50-year-old man, who travelled from the US via London. 

 

The 46-year-old Bengaluru-based techie had returned to India from Austin, Texas in the US via Dubai on March 1. 

 

In a press release dated 10am on Tuesday, ICMR stated that in the last 24 hours “3 positives from Bengaluru, Karnataka” were confirmed. This was in addition to the earlier confirmed case of the infection, which was reported on Monday evening by stated health department officials.

 

This has also been confirmed by state Health Minister B Sriramulu.

 

“4 people in Karnataka have tested positive for the COVID-19. All 4 people and their families have been isolated and their health is being monitored. I request the public to take measures to ensure the infection does not spread,” he tweeted.

The techie was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) in Bengaluru on March 8 after developing a mild cough, cold and fever. He was placed under isolation and his samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology’s (NIV) field unit in Bengaluru. The results arrived Monday morning and confirmed that he was positive for coronavirus disease.

 

A colleague of his had travelled with him from Austin to New York and then to India via Dubai. The colleague and family too have been quarantined.

 

A press releaseby the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, Bengaluru states that 2666 contacts have been traced from the Bengaluru techie, while in the case of the 50-year-old man, health officials have traced 12 people has been in close contact with. 

 

Speaking to the media on Monday evening, Dr Sudhakar, Minister of Medical Education, stated that three teams had been formed to undertake contact tracing of those the man may have come in contact with at work, in his travels and at his child’s school in Whitefield. His wife, and child have also been admitted to the isolation ward at RGICD as a precaution. Another colleague of the man who had been on the same flight had also been placed under home quarantine.

 

The total of positive cases in Karnataka now stands at 4, with the nationwide total at 56.

 

As of Tuesday, 760 persons are in home quarantine in Karnataka, while 9 persons are in isolation at health facilities in the state. Six of these persons in isolation in hospitals are in Bengaluru's RGCID, while there are one each in Hassan, Dakshin Kannada, and Bagalkote. 

 

Meanwhile, 95,151 passengers have been screen in Karnataka's airports in Bengaluru and Mangaluru as well as in the Mangaluru and Karwar seaports. Three additional labs have also been approved to receive and test COVID-19 samples. The labs are Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI), Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), Shomoga Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS). This is in addition to the existing labs - National Institute of Virology (NIV) Bengaluru Unit and Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL), Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) 

 

Officials had a scare on Monday after a man who had arrived in Mangaluru was admitted to Wenlock District hospital after flying in from Dubai, had fled from the hospital. He was later tracked down.