: Even as RT-PCR testing for pilgrims has been stepped up in Mandya amidst the rising infection rate, senior police officers, including the Superintendent of Police, Yatish, have tested positive to COVID-19 on Saturday.
Confirming this to The Hindu, District Health Officer Dhananjay said the SP and a few other officers have contracted the infection and all of them are in home isolation. “They might have contracted the infection as the officers were active in COVID-19 control measures in the district following the recent cluster outbreaks,” he added.
Dr. Dhananjay said police help was sought in identifying and testing the interstate travelers who were returning to the district amidst the surge and the rising threat of a third wave. “They (officers) also helped us in setting COVID-19 Care Centers in the district. They could have come in contact with infected persons and later developed the infection, which seems to be mild.”
183 test positive
On Saturday, 183 persons tested positive in Mandya, which is the highest since many months after the second wave. With this, the active case tally rose to 490.
Barring K.R. Pet, two-digit cases were reported in all other taluks on Saturday. The number of cases: Mandya (32), Maddur (54), Malavalli (17), Pandavapura (23), Srirangapatna (36) and Nagamangala (16). K.R. Pet reported four cases on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the number of persons testing positive on returning from the annual pilgrimage of a famous temple in Tamil Nadu has gone up. As many as 200-plus pilgrims have so far tested positive and most of them are asymptomatic. All of them are in COVID-19 Care Centers in the districts.
Dr. Dhananjay said the cases of pilgrims testing positive are not confined to Srirangapatna like earlier since the returnees of the temple visit from across Mandya were on the pilgrimage and all of them are being tested as a safety precaution. “About 100-plus pilgrims tested positive on Saturday after 1,500 of them were subjected to RT PCR tests,” the DHO said.
