BENGALURU: A 32-year-old male techie from Bengaluru has tested positive for coronavirus and is admitted at KC General Hospital in Malleswaram. He was the co-passenger of the state's fourth patient, who travelled from USA via London on March 8.
"He was home quarantined and did not show symptoms until March 14, when he went for testing and was found positive. He has two primary contacts, a wife and a maid. Preventive measures are being taken to trace his other secondary contacts," said Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Monday, in a press meet.
This brings the total cases of COVID-19 in the state to 8. The other cases include three techies in Bengaluru and one of their wife and daughter. Two other cases include the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who died from coronavirus and his daughter who is undergoing treatment.
On Monday, 42,000 airport travellers who gave their email ID and mobile numbers in the self-declaration form where contacted through IVR ( Interactive Voice Response) to check on their health condition.
"The automated caller will ask the person to press certain numbers if they are experiencing symptoms of cold, cough, etc. This is happening for the first time in the country and we will be able to contain infections at stage-I itself," Sudhakar said.
The IVR has contacted those who travelled in the last 14 days from other countries to Bengaluru. "We will be able to sieve out healthy people from the unhealthy ones. The IVR will direct them to designated hospitals. 17 government hospitals have been selected as first-responder hospitals and 35 private hospitals have been designated to treat Corona Virus, both in Bengaluru," said Commissioner of Health, Pankaj Kumar Pandey.