Record single day COVID cases spike in Karnataka; 8 spl trains

leave with over 9,000 people (Eds: Adds details, combines related stories)

Bengaluru, May 10 () Karnataka witnessed its highestsingle day spike of 54 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking thetally to 847 as the government announced guidelines forreturning stranded people while eight special trains carryingover 9,000 migrant workers and others left the state fordifferent destinations. One more COVID-19 death was reported in the state, as thetoll due to the disease rose to 31. Belagavi bordering Maharashtra with 22 cases, Bagalkoteand Shivamogga with eight cases each and Bhatkal in UttaraKannada with seven, were the biggest contributors to the tallyon Sunday, the health department said. This was the highest number of cases for a single day inthe state so far, a senior government officer told . Shivamogga, home district of Chief Minister B SYediyurappa, lost its green zone tag with eight people,testing positive for the deadly virus. Kalaburugi (4), Bengaluru (3) and Chintamani inChikkaballapura district and Davangere accounted for one eachamong the new cases. Eight of the nine people affected in Shivamogga hadreturned from Ahmedabad and were contacts of infected peoplebelonging to Tablighi Jamaat, district administration sourcessaid. A 56-year-old woman in Bengaluru Urban district becamethe latest fatality. The woman, also a case of Severe AcuteRespiratory Illness (SARI), had been admitted to a privatehospital on May 4 and shifted to another two days later. She died on May 7 and the lab reports on Saturdayconfirmed that she had COVID-19, the health department said. While Karnataka battled to contain the rising number ofcoronavirus cases, government sources said a special flightcarrying 240 people would land here from London in the earlyhours of Monday.

The government took a slew of decisions with regard tothe stranded people returning to Karnataka from abroad andother states. At a meeting chaired by Yediyurappa, it was decided theywill have to undergo tests and compulsory 14 days quarantine. The government also agreed to foot the train fare of thosereturning from other states but they will be allowed based onthe availability of quarantine facilities. According to an official release, it was decided that ifsomeone from Karnataka dies in other state, the body shall notbe brought back and similar would be the rule for those fromoutside whose death occurs in the state. The last rites shallbe performed wherever a person died.

Meanwhile, eight special trains -- six from Bengalururegion and two from Mangaluru -- left for various destinationsin the country carrying over 9,000 passengers, a large numberof them migrant workers and students. The trains that left Bengaluru headed for Udhampur,Bankura, Gwalior, Danapur, Gorakhpur, Dinapur and Agartalawhile the other two were bound for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,South Western Railway sources said. All the passengers were provided with meal and drinkingwater bottles. Each pack contained rice, chapati, biscuits,pickles and buttermilk, they said.

"No pantry car is there as a precautionary measure.Throughout the journey food will be provided from IRCTC basekitchens. Number of meals depend on duration of journey," theofficials added.

A report from Mangaluru said the train to UP left around2 pm, while the train to Bihar in the evening. Both the trainscarried 1,150 passengers each. Earlier on Saturday night, a special train carrying 1,140migrant workers stranded in Mangaluru due to the lockdownleft for Jharkhand.

These passengers were selected from among those who hadregistered for return to home states on the state governmentsSeva Sindhu portal.

The report also said no new cases of coronavirus wasreported from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts on Sunday. GMS MVGVS VS