Of the 87 COVID-19 cases reported in Mandya district, 65 are linked to Maharashtra.
Mumbai is considered as the employment hub particularly for K.R. Pet taluk residents since the past several decades. Every household in this eternally-drought affected taluk has one or more relative working/settled in Mumbai. They work as waiters and helpers at hotels, attendants at lodges, as dabbawallahs, rickshaw pullers, cooks, gardeners, and in factories/industrial units.
The first case linked to Maharashtra was reported on May 1 with four persons visiting the district on April 24 along with the body of an autorickshaw driver who had died in Maharashtra on April 23.
The body was cremated amidst heavy security on the outskirts of B. Kodagahalli near Melkote of Pandavapura district on April 24. Though there was no medical report that said that the deceased was positive, three who arrived with the body and one from K.R. Pet (daughter of the deceased) who attended the cremation had tested positive for the virus on May 1.
Two Mumbai returnees had tested positive for COVID-19 on May 4, while two more on May 11. The number of positive cases linked to Maharashtra was 1 on May 12, four on May 14, 13 on May 15, 18 on May 17, and 17 on May 18. Four primary/secondary contacts of a Mumbai returnee, who skipped the quarantine conditions in Mysuru and tested positive in Mandya, also tested positive for the virus on Sunday.
