16 People with Travel History Abroad Home Quarantined in Karnataka's Kalaburagi District

Bengaluru: Sixteen people with a travel history abroad have been home quarantined in Kalaburagi district, Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu said here on Sunday.

The minister said he was visiting hospitals on the directions of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa after India's first COVID-19 death was reported from the district.

"I am visiting hospitals and seeing how the isolation wards are maintained. There are 16 people in Kalaburagi who had returned from abroad. They have been home quarantined for 14 days. We are closely monitoring them," he told reporters in Kalaburagi.

He said the chief minister had directed him to visit the district, inspect hospitals and isolation wards and submit a report. Sriramulu said a 5-km buffer zone has been created around the area where the 72-year-old died on March 10.

Of the four suspected coronavirus cases in the family of the deceased, three have tested negative, he added.

"There is no need to panic even if they test positive or negative because there is no need to fear of losing life after contracting the virus," he said, adding there were reports from across the world that about 63,000 people were cured from this disease.

He said coronavirus tests would be mandatory for whoever arrives in the state from abroad and they would be kept under observation for 14 days. On wearing masks, the minister said only those having cold and cough need to do so.

Meanwhile, the health department said contacts of positive cases reported so far were being monitored out and community checks done as a precautionary measure.

"Fifty-six primary contacts and 400 secondary contacts have been identified. Seven members of the family have been isolated at the District Hospital, Kalaburagi," it said.

It said the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court has been briefed about the COVID-19 situation in the state and the steps taken to control it.

Additional health check-up desks at the Kempegowda International Airport are being established to facilitate easy check-up for passengers arriving from abroad.

In a fresh circular,the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner directed people organising functions at marriage halls or hotels to ensure gatherings do not exceed 100.

The organisers have to ensure utmost hygiene is maintained and that the places are periodically cleaned with effective disinfectants, the Commissioner said.