In the last one week, at least six districts in central and north Karnataka have seen a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases, with an average rise of 10.
The highest spike has been in Davangere, where the number of cases shot up from four on April 30 to 61 on May 8. With 55 active cases, the district is second only to Bengaluru Urban.
The total number of cases in the State has risen from 565 to 753, while the death toll is up from 21 to 30 in the last one week.
Davangere, which has also seen four deaths during this period, has now become a cluster hotspot, and two patients — P-533 and P-556 — together spread the infection to 55 others in the district. While P-533 is a nurse at a primary health centre, who had attended a wedding in Bagalkot before she tested positive, the other super spreader has “some links with people in Gujarat,” according to officials. On Friday, 14 persons tested positive in Davangere district, and all of them were contacts of these two patients.
The next highest spurt has been in Belagavi, where the number of cases went from 67 on April 30 to 83 on May 8. On Friday alone, 11 new cases were reported. Although officials said the infection spread from previous positive patients, the sudden spurt has raised concerns. Despite the spike, both Davangere and Belagavi continue to remain in the orange zone.
Similarly, Bagalkot has also seen a sudden spurt, from 29 cases on April 30 to 51 this week. Kalaburagi, which recorded the country’s first COVID-19 fatality, saw the number of positive patients go up from 53 on April 30 to 67 on May 8. The district saw one death in the last one week.
In Uttara Kannada, the number of cases went from 11 to 24 in the last one week. Twelve cases from this district were reported on Friday, and 11 of these are members of a single family; the 12th is their neighbour.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said the family had not sought medical advice when the members developed symptoms. “One of the family members had visited a hospital in Mangaluru, and he developed symptoms after returning from there. The family went for self-medication. However, the good thing is that they have not been in contact with anyone outside the district,” he said. Bidar and Vijayapura saw a rise of eight and five cases, respectively, in the last one week. While the cases rose from 43 on April 30 to 48 till date in Vijayapura, the increase was from 14 to 22 in Bidar.
Haveri, which had been COVID-19-free till April 30, recorded two cases in the last one week. Dakshina Kannada recorded six cases (from 16 on April 30 to 22 till date), Ballari one (from 13 to 14), and Dharwad three (from 9 to 12) in this period.
Down south in Mandya, the number of cases shot up from eight to 18 in the last one week. While Chickballapur and Tumakuru recorded three and two new cases, respectively, Bengaluru Urban saw a sharp increase from 141 cases on April 30 to 163 on Friday.
Asked if the sudden spike was owing to the relaxation of the lockdown in the State, the Minister said the spread of infection was through contacts of patients. “People have to take precautions and maintain social distancing at all times. This should now become a part of their lives,” he said.
