Even as Bengaluru continued to be a Coronavirus hotspot, recording the highest number of cases daily in the southern state, more than 3000 people infected with COVID-19 are untraceable in the capital city of Karnataka, and Health authorities say that search is on to trace them. These missing Coronavirus patients account for seven per cent of the total infected people in the city.
“We could trace some of the positive patients with the help of police but 3,338 are still untraceable. Some of them provided wrong mobile number and address at the time of giving samples. They disappeared after getting positive results,” Commissioner of the city’s civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), N Manjunath Prasad was quoted by News 18 as saying.
According to city authorities, they have no means to track the activities of the missing patients and have they quarantined themselves after they tested positive for the infection, nobody knows.
“We have to ensure that all the infected persons have to be traced and quarantined. We have prioritised it so that they could be traced and isolated,” said the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Ashwat Narayan, reports NDTV.
After the incident, authorities are now planning to introduce government-issued identity cards as proof and verify mobile numbers before testing people for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the city witnessed 2,036 new cases, increasing Bengaluru Urban’s total tally to 43,503, including 31,882 active cases.
The city accounts for 58 per cent of all the active cases in the state.
Belagavi accounted for 341 new cases, followed by Ballari with 222 new cases, Dakshina Kannada had 218 cases, Mysuru reported 187 new Coronavirus cases and Kalaburagi accounts for 183 fresh cases.
On a positive note, 2,403 patients were cured and discharged in the past 24 hours, increasing the total such cases to 33,750. Of the total cases, 55,388 are still active. The number of patients in ICUs declined to 611.
While, Karnataka reported 5,072 new Coronavirus cases in a 24- hour period, taking the state’s total tally to 90,942, even as 72 more patients succumbed to the virus, officials said on Saturday.
The state’s death toll now is 1,796, including Bengaluru’s 862.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru city will observe a lockdown on Sunday. “Please stay at home and stay safe for tomorrow’s (Sunday) lockdown. It’s in your own interest to break the chain. So far, you have been wonderful citizens. We will be out on the streets to ensure your safety,” said Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao.