Bengaluru: Six primary contacts from Hongasandra test coronavirus positive

The outbreak of Covid-19 in Hongasandra had prompted the state to move 96 primary contacts to the Sir C V Raman General Hospital, Indiranagar, in the early hours of Thursday.

Medical staff at the hospital said the 96 people arrived in a dishevelled and frantic state. Swab samples were collected from the group on Thursday and the individuals nervously waited for the results.

For six of them, the wait ended on Friday as they tested positive. The men — Patients 458, 459, 471, 472, 473 and 474 — have been moved to Victoria Hospital. They are in the age group of 22 to 58.

Results for the rest are expected either late Friday night or early Saturday morning. Those testing negative will be moved to a designated quarantine facility for 14 days.

“They will have to come back for a second swab test on day 12 to ensure that they have not developed the symptoms,” Dr Radhakrishna said.

The 96 primary contacts had 80 men and 16 women, with nine children, they ranged from a one-and-a-half-year baby to a 60-year-old man.

Medical staff at the Sir C V Raman Hospital described the group as largely under-educated. “They are being held in wards, each of which contains six to 12 beds. There is nothing to keep them entertained as such, and they pass time speaking to each other,” a staffer said.

The staff found it harder to make the group practice the social distancing protocol. The medical superintendent clarified that there are no other suspected Covid-19 cases at the hospital.

Others are at Bowring

According to Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, there are 185 primary contacts identified out of the Hongasandra outbreak, in addition to 60 secondary contacts. A health official told DH that all the affected individuals are scrap metal workers from Bihar or Odisha or their families.

“The remaining 116 contacts are at Bowring Hospital. All the secondary contacts are under observation at a hotel in JC Nagar,” he added.