BAGALKOT: The Bagalkot district administration seems to have finally unearthed the mystery behind the death of a septuagenarian, who had no travel history abroad, due to coronavirus. The man’s brother had reportedly travelled to Kalaburagi, a COVID hotspot, and might have carried the virus, officials said. The baffled health authorities were trying to identify the source of the infection, especially after two more positive cases were reported from the district on Monday.
While tracing the travel history of the patient’s brother, they found that he had gone to Kalaburagi for two days on March 15 and 16. He had stayed in the same locality where positive cases had been reported. Deputy Chief Minister and district incharge minister of B a g a l k o t a n d Kalaburagi Govind Karjol said, “During the primary investigation, it is revealed that the third case in the district had a travel history to Kalaburagi, and his wife’s home is in the same locality where positive cases were found.
He had visited restaurants and other spots before the lockdown.” He said, “On March 16, he travelled via Vijayapura in a KSRTC bus and reached B a g a l k o t t h e same night. We believe that this might be the main source of infection. The investigation, however, is still underway.” Medical teams have screened 12,300 people over the last five days in the cordoned off Old Bagalkot town.
Among them, 823 people have been categorised as ‘high-risk’ , while another 250 are suffering from fever and cold. Authorities have put 23 people under quarantine. Deputy Commissioner Captain Dr K Rajendra said, “We have alerted the district administration in Kalaburagi about the travel history of 58-year-old male (brother of patient), but can only confirm if he was the main source of the infection once test results return. Five more samples have been collected and sent for testing.”