Telangana sees 75 more virus cases

More cases linked to Tablighi Jamaat event confirmed in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka

04/04/2020, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA,HYDERABAD

Standing still: Boats anchored at Jalaripeta, Visakhapatnam, due to the lockdown on Friday. K.R. DEEPAK

Telangana had a fresh spike of 75 new coronavirus infections reported on Friday, taking its tally to 229. Andhra Pradesh confirmed its first COVID-19 death, while Karnataka had four new cases, of which one died, and Kerala registered nine.

Eleven patients have died at various hospitals in Telangana, two of them on Friday, while 32 were discharged after treatment. There were 26,586 persons with a history of foreign travel and their contacts under home quarantine.

In Andhra Pradesh, it was officially confirmed that a 55-year-old man who died a couple of days ago in a government hospital in Vijayawada had succumbed to the virus. This is the first coronavirus death reported in the State, where the total number of cases rose to 161, of which three had recovered.

The man had contracted the disease from his son, who returned from New Delhi after attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation on March 17. “He came to the government hospital at 11.30 a.m. on March 30 for a check-up. His blood swab was sent for examination but in the meantime he died around 12.30 p.m. The patient was also suffering from hypertension and cardiac problems and was diabetic.

The delay in confirming the cause as coronavirus was due to his other ailments, State nodal officer Arja Srikanth said in a press release. The man’s son tested positive for COVID-19 on March 31 and was in quarantine.

“We have identified 29 others who came in contact with him and they were also sent to quarantine,” Mr. Srikanth added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister (Health) A.K.K. Srinivas said over 140 of 161 coronavirus positive cases in A.P. were related to the Jamaat event.

“Of the 881 blood samples of those who attended the Jamaat event, 108 turned positive. Results of another 65 are awaited.”

“Also, 32 of their contacts too tested positive for coronavirus,” Mr. Srinivas told reporters after a high-level review meeting with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The Deputy CM said of the 1,085 people who attended the Jamaat event from A.P., 946 had since returned and among them, only 881 had been traced so far.

Cases from Delhi

In Karnataka, four people, including three who attended the Jamaat meet in Delhi, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, taking the State total to 128, the Health department said in Bengaluru. The three men from Belagavi had attended the Jamaat meeting from March 13 to 18, while the fourth was a 75-year-old resident of Bagalkote, who died late at night.

The official bulletin said as of Friday, 128 COVID-19 cases had been confirmed in Karnataka, including four deaths and 11 who were discharged.

Of 114 active cases in the State, 111 (including a pregnant woman) were in isolation at designated hospitals and were stable, while three were in ICU (one on oxygen and two on ventilator).

Seven of the 128 cases confirmed were transit passengers of Kerala, who landed at airports in Karnataka and were being treated in the State.

Chief Minister B.S. Yediy urappa asked the labour department to deposit an additional ₹1,000 from the Construction Workers Welfare Fund in the accounts of 15 lakh labourers.

More cases in Kasaragod

Kerala reported nine new cases on Friday, with seven from the worst affected Kasaragod district, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. One case each was detected from Thrissur and Idukki.

(With inputs from Vijayawada, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram)