Shankar Raj / Bengaluru
Karnataka again recorded another highest spike on Tuesday with the number of Covid positive cases touching the 3-figure mark — 149 — taking the total to 1,395. The state also recorded five more Covid-related deaths, taking the toll to 40.
Mumbai’s Covid shadow seems to be looming large over the sugarcane belt of Mandya, which recorded 71 of the 149 new cases — mostly migrant workers. This was followed by Davanagere (22) and Kalaburgi (13).
Most migrant workers returned from Maharashtra to Mandya, Hassan, Shivamogga, Raichur, Koppal, Vijayapura, Kalaburgi, Yadgir and Uttara Kannada districts. However, many returnees from Maharashtra were from Mandya resulting in a huge spike in the area. Over the last six days, 121 people, or 48.2% of those who returned from Maharashtra were from Mandya.
“Almost everyone who came back from Maharashtra is a migrant worker. Fortunately, we quarantined everyone in government-designated centres as soon as they deboarded the train. They have not come into contact with any local resident of Mandya,” Collector Venkatesh told the media.
In fact, over the last six days, almost 58% of Covid-19 cases can be attributed to people who had returned from Maharashtra, more specifically Mumbai. Karnataka reported 436 COVID-19 cases between May 14 and 19, a relatively higher number than the cases the state had been reporting till then. Of these, 251 were of people who returned from Maharashtra.
One of the primary reasons for stopping the influx of people from Maharashtra was due to the high Covid cases in the state, apart from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. And, the influx of people has increased the cases in Karnataka drastically.
Meanwhile, in a unique protest, taxi and auto drivers in Bengaluru conducted 11th day funeral rites for the Karnataka government’s ‘false promise of compensation’ on Tuesday. The drivers, who have been promised a compensation of Rs5,000 each for the loss of work during the Covid pandemic, are upset and hurt that the process for claiming compensation has not been initiated yet.
