BENGALURU: A 32-year-old male techie from Bengaluru tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, and was admitted to a hospital in Bengaluru. He was the co-passenger of ‘patient 4’, who travelled from USA via London on March 8.
Late night reports said two more tested positive -- one in Kalaburagi and another in Bengaluru. This brings the total cases of COVID-19 in the state to ten -- five in Bengaluru, and the wife and daughter of a techie who tested positive. The three other cases include the 76-year-old man who died, and his daughter, who is undergoing treatment, and another person, all from Kalaburagi.
“The techie was home-quarantined and didn’t show symptoms until March 14, when he went for a test, and the results were positive. He has two primary contacts, a wife and a maid. Preventive measures are being taken to trace his secondary contacts,” Minister for Medical Education K Sudhakar told reporters on Monday.
Sudhakar said that government medical colleges in 19 districts will be converted into war rooms, with an entire floor meant for isolation of patients affected by coronavirus. In districts where there are no government medical colleges, private hospitals will be roped in.
On Monday, 42,000 airport travellers who gave their email IDs and mobile numbers in the self-declaration form, were contacted through IVR.
“The automated caller asks 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 the infection at stage 1 itself,” Sudhakar said.IVR was used to contact international passengers who have flown into Bengaluru in the past 14 days.