Two persons from Ballari who tested positive for the South African strain of COVID-19 on Thursday are doing well.
Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner of Ballari Pavan Kumar Malapati said that both the patients were healthy and doing well.
“This is just another strain of COVID-19. All the protocols meant for handling the pandemic are strictly followed. Both the patients are healthy and doing well. As soon as they got the confirmation of being infected with the new strain, they got isolated. We are going to send their throat swab samples for repeated test to get the negativity of the disease confirmed,” he said.
District Health and Family Welfare Officer Janardhan H.L. was not available for comments on the preventive measures taken for containing the new strain. The infected persons returned from Dubai and landed in Bengaluru on February 24. Their throat swab samples were collected at Kempegowda International Airport and sent to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS).
Ballari is one of the worst-hit districts in the State with 39,386 positive cases and 597 deaths as on Friday. There are still 103 active cases.
