Around 67.91 percent of the total COVID-19 patients in Karnataka are asymptomatic, data collated by the Karnataka government as on 6 pm of April 22 showed. 290 patients out of a total 427 confirmed cases recorded on the date are asymptomatic, while 137 patients (32.08%) showed symptoms of coronavirus and tested positive.
The most number of asymptomatic patients are in Mysuru, which has a total of 87 cases — 66 of these are asymptomatic. In Bengaluru, 44 are asymptomatic while 56 are symptomatic. In Kalaburagi district, 26 are asymptomatic while 9 people showed symptoms. In Belagavi, while seven of the 43 patients showed symptoms, the other 36 are asymptomatic. In Vijayapura, out of the total 35 cases, 34 are asymptomatic and only one is symptomatic.
The data released by the government also shows that out of 425 cases, 268 (63.05%) have been contacts, 73 (17.17%) are those with international travel history, 48 (11.29%) are those with domestic travel history, 33 (7.7%) cases are those patients who had SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infection), and three (0.7%) are ILI (influenza-like illness) cases.
Of the positive patients, most number of patients are between the ages 20-40. 102 (23.88%) patients each are from the age group 20-30 and 30-40. 57 (13.34%) patients are aged between 40-50 years and 66 patients (15.45%) are aged above 60.
Karnataka has seen a total of 443 cases, with 16 new cases being reported on April 23. 17 people have died and 141 people have recovered till date.
In India, at a national level, around 69 percent of confirmed cases so far have been asymptomatic, the Indian Council of Medical Research’s Dr Gangakhedkar told the media a couple of days ago. These are all mostly contacts of those who were COVID-19 positive, he said. He added that there are lesser chances of asymptomatic people self-reporting to authorities.
At the same press briefing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of the Health Ministry, told the media that 80 percent of patients in India are asymptomatic and/or have mild symptoms, 15% become severe cases and 5% are critical cases. “The incubation period of the virus is 2-16 days and during the first three to five days, a patient may not exhibit symptoms but can be pre-symptomatic or what you call asymptomatic. So the government is doing preemptive work and is testing all asymptomatic high-risk contacts,” he said.