Covid cases in Karnataka dip for fourth straight day on Wednesday

BENGALURU: The number of daily new coronavirus cases in Karnataka fell for the fourth straight day on Wednesday. Authorities said samples taken from nine people came positive for Covid-19, taking the state’s count of infected persons to 427.

Of the nine new cases, five are from Kalaburgi, and two each from Bengaluru and Nanjangud. Bengaluru had not reported any new case in the previous three days.

The downtrend comes after a sudden spurt in infections in the state last week.


S Suresh Kumar, the minister who is in-charge of media briefings on Covid-19 in the state, said Karnataka has notified 359 containment zones in 21 districts, including Bengaluru, where stringent measures are in place. “The government has directed deputy commissioners to decide on the selected additional activities that could be allowed in their districts as per the requirement,” Kumar said.

Testing of journalists and police Meanwhile, the state government has issued a circular to test 1,000 journalists and all symptomatic police personnel involved in quarantine/surveillance activities for coronavirus infection, starting from Thursday. Swab samples of 200 journalists will be collected every day for five days at Bengaluru’s CV Raman Hospital. The government will take up a polled sampling method to save resources, Kumar said. The decision to screen journalists for coronavirus infection was taken after over 50 journalists in Mumbai tested positive for the virus.