After a lull of almost two weeks, Hosapete town on Friday witnessed seven of a family contract novel coronavirus. With this the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ballari district has gone up to 13. Hosapete town alone has 11 cases.
On March 30, Hosapete reported its first cases, when the throat swab samples of a couple and their daughter returned positive to virus - A 52-year-old man, his 48-year-old wife and their 26-ye ar-old daughter had contracted Covid-19. On April 4, their 47-year-old relative also tested positive.
On Friday (April 17), seven members of the maternal home of the infected 48-year-old woman contracted Covid-19.
The infected woman’s 68-year-old mother, her brothers, aged 50 and 39, 48-year-old sister and nephews, aged 21 and 24, and a 10-year-old niece have tested positive for the virus.The patients are being treated at the isolation ward of VIMS, Ballari.
All the seven were placed under quarantine at private hotels after their relatives tested positive on March 30.
Apart from Hosapete, Guggarahatti in Ballari and Siruguppa have reported one case each.
Ballari district, until now, was classified as a non-hotspot district as the region had not seen a single case for 12 days. But a sudden surge in cases in Hosapete has transformed the region into the virus hotspot. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is expected to classify the district into
Covid-19 hotspot anytime soon, say Health department officials.
A senior Health official, on the condition of anonymity, told DH, “Until April 16, Ballari had only six case. No fresh cases were reported in almost two weeks. The district was classified as non-hotspot. But a rapid surge in cases on Friday has changed the situation completely. There’s no doubt that Ballari district will be classified as Covid-19 hotspot.”
A senior police officer told DH, ‘‘in Hosapete, people are allowed to step out of their houses to buy provision and other essentials from 7 am to 11 am. However, the spike in cases calls for the complete lockdown. A new lockdown guideline will be issued soon.’’