Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has yet to track down 75 people who arrived from the UK after November 25.
Three more people in Bengaluru have tested positive for the new UK genome variant of SARS-CoV-2. With this, a total of 10 people in Karnataka who have recently returned from the UK have been infected with the new UK variant of the novel coronavirus as of Friday. The UK variant is believed to be more infectious than other variants of the novel coronavirus. Earlier it was reported that a family of four with two Shivamogga children, a woman and her son, and another man in Bengaluru were also infected with the new variant. All of them are being treated in government facilities even though they are asymptomatic.
Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar also said on Friday that the Interior Department had not yet followed up on 75 people who returned to the state from England after November 25. The minister told reporters that of the 75 people, 70 are within the boundaries of the Bangalore civic body. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and five are from other districts.
“The Department of the Interior had assured me that the 75 passengers will be tracked on Friday night, as they are already in contact with the immigration department to obtain data on them. Among the 75 patients, many are from Karnataka and only a few they are foreigners, “he said. .
In response to a question, the minister claimed that most of these passengers had not provided their addresses and phone numbers correctly, which is why the state government has difficulties in tracking them down.
“The Department of the Interior is already in contact with the immigration department to collect all the information on these missing passengers,” he said.
According to him, a total of 5,068 passengers have returned to the state from England from November 25 to December 31 on Air India and British Airways flights.
“Of these 5,068 passengers, 4,238 passengers landed in Bengaluru from December 9 to December 31 and among them 810 are from other states. The Karnataka Health and Home departments have taken steps to inform their counterparts in those states,” he reported.
The minister added that some 38 people, including five who came into contact as primary or secondary contacts with the COVID-19 positive patients, have been admitted to government hospitals.
.
