Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi district B. Sharat, who had put the district administration on high alert on Friday after the country’s first COVID-19 death was reported from Kalaburagi city, went a step ahead to advise the residents not to come out of their houses unless it was absolutely necessary.
“There is a good chance that the virus has spread to many people. There is a possibility of you coming across infected people and get infected in turn. I strongly advise the residents to confine themselves to their homes. A family member can go and buy necessary commodities, taking adequate care. We are not declaring curfew, but advising people to restrict their mobility. We are going to close down all non-essential shops. Only those that sell essential commodities would be open,” Mr. Sharat said in a media conference on Saturday morning.
The number of people who were kept in isolation and being monitored has jumped from 46 on Friday to 71 on Saturday. The officer also expressed helplessness as the victim’s family members were not cooperating to trace the people who had come in direct contact with the victim.
“We are facing great difficulties in tracing the people whom the victim had met directly as the family members are not providing correct and all necessary information about the movements of the victim and the people he met after his return from abroad. But we continued the interrogation and got some information based on which we have kept 25 more people under home-isolation. We will supply the food kits to them in the same manner we normally do during a flood situation,” Mr. Sharat said.
No mass gathering
In addition to the restrictions on all the government events that would attract people, the Deputy Commissioner imposed curbs on private events such as wedding ceremonies and birthday celebrations.
“The people need to get permission from the authorities for conducting the events. We will give permission only to such events that will be attended by only family members. We are also reducing the frequency of public transport buses. All the students who are staying in hostels are advised not to return to their native places, but to remain at their hostels. We are going to close the sections in government offices that offer services to the public such as issuance of land records and driving licences,” he said.
Journalists isolated
Three journalists who met and interviewed the victim’s son, the primary contact of the victim, were asked to get isolated. The journalists had come to attend the Deputy Commissioner’s press conference and he told them that they were now secondary contact to the victim and asked them to get isolated from other journalists. He also directed his officers to keep them in home-isolation.
