The bright side: Family members of corona-positive IT guy have all gotten better

Bengaluru: The coronavirus positive number rose to 11 in Karnataka today but here's the good news first: Three of them are family members of the IT guy who turned up positive in Hyderabad 10 days ago, and they have all gotten better. They'll soon be discharged but advised to stay in isolation at home.

The 11 positive count includes the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who died of lung complications on the way back from Hyderabad last Tuesday, thereby becoming India's first coronavirus casualty.

Remarkably, the doctor who treated the coronavirus fatality at the latter’s residence in ward 30 of Kalaburagi has been detected positive, and will now have to spend the next 14 days in quarantine.

Some fifty people he came in contact with have been traced including seven of his family members. All are asymptomatic but are being observed.

Another new positive result today was of a 20-year old woman from Bengaluru, who returned from the UK on March 14.

A 67-year-old woman who returned from Dubai via Goa also tested positive. As she has a kidney ailment, extra care is being taken of her.

However, there are signs that the number is poised to rise further. In a mere four days since Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa declared a health emergency and shut down all places where people might gather -- schools, colleges, malls, cinemas, seminars, mass marriages, workshops and fairs -- for one week, the number of coronavirus positives has risen from 6 to 11.

A total of 2575 people are now under the scanner, with 2146 people advised to stay at home. Some 319 people have passed through the 28-day quarantine mandated by the World Health Organisation.

With the number of cases reaching double digits today, the state government is considering tightening restrictions further, shutting down super market and weekly fairs in the districts.

Bengaluru’s present Metro and public bus transport services are still in operation but there is a possibility their services will be curtailed to keep people from travelling.

The government has decided to issue a circular directing hotels and business establishments to avoid using air-conditioning because it spreads the virus.