Karnataka reported its 11th positive case of COVID-19 on Tuesday, 17 March, in Bengaluru, medical education minister Dr K Sudhakar told media persons.
The latest patient is a 67-year-old woman with travel history to Dubai who has been in home quarantine ever since her return to the city on 9 March. She was in Dubai from 3-5 March and returned to Bengaluru via Goa. The minister said that her detailed travel history and movement will be provided.
As of now, 21 high-risk primary contacts of the patient have been traced including five family members, who have all been placed under quarantine. The senior citizen was admitted to hospital on 16 March and also has a known history of chronic kidney disease.
At the moment, 58 people have been kept in isolated wards at various government hospitals in the state while 2,146 are in home quarantine. Two new cases were reported in the state late on Monday night, one each in Bengaluru and Kalaburagi, which witnessed the first COVID-19 fatality in the country.
A 20-year-old from Bengaluru and a 63-year-old doctor who had treated the patient had tested positive.
Sudha Murthy’s Infosys Foundation to Assist Govt
Following reports that Infosys Foundation, the charitable wing of the tech giant led by Sudha Murthy had come forward to assist the government, Dr Sudhakar on Tuesday said that Broadway hospital in Bengaluru had been identified for the purpose.
“Sudha Murthy has come forward to help us. Infosys Foundation will help us setting up facilities at the Broadway hospital. They will help us add 150-200 beds. They will help us with adding medical equipment like ventilators etc. We are thankful for their support,” he said.
Sudha Murthy, along with Dr Devi Shetty, a renowned surgeon of Narayana Health, had earlier offered to help tackling the spread of COVID-19 by taking over a dedicated government hospital.
Non-essential Medical Services to be Stopped; No AC in Restaurants
The minister also advised that all essential medical services like dentists to close immediately.
He also said that AC restaurants must stop using them and discouraged people from gathering in large numbers. “A distance of one metre must be there between two chairs in any restaurant. We want AC restaurants to switch them off as chances of the virus spreading are more,” he said.
He also advised the media on the usage of words like ‘deadly virus’ stating that it would affect people negatively.
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