Covid-19: How Karnataka added 6 red zones from 1 in a month

The southern state’s districts have been divided into four colour-coded zones—six red zones, including Bengaluru and Mysuru, five each in orange and yellow, and 10 green with zero cases of Covid-19.

Karnataka, which has reported more than 500 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) so far, has at least 16 of its 30 districts classified as coronavirus hotspots.

A vendor carries packed food to sell during a nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Chikmagalur. (PTI)

The southern state’s districts have been divided into four colour-coded zones—six red zones, including Bengaluru and Mysuru, five each in orange and yellow, and 10 green with zero cases of Covid-19.

According to the containment guidelines released by the Union health ministry for large outbreaks, an area from where either one person has tested positive on or after April 11 or which has at least 50 contacts of a Covid-19 patient living in the same place, can be declared as a coronavirus hotspot or containment zone.

Only one district in Karnataka, Bengaluru Urban, was more than 15 active Covid-19 cases on March 25, when the country went into lockdown mode.

Mysuru and Belagavi were added in the red zone halfway through April and three more districts of Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Kalaburagi were put on the list on Monday.

The last three districts were in the orange zone with 6-14 active cases in mid-April.

Districts like Kodagu, Davanagere and Udupi that were in yellow zone with one to five cases at the beginning of the lockdown are now in green with not a single active case.

They have joined 10 other districts which have not reported a single case of Covid-19 throughout.

Several areas in the state’s capital of Bengaluru have been identified as containment zones where the government has ordered complete lockdown and aggressive restrictions to avoid further spread of the disease.

Eight new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections in the state to 520, the state health department said on Tuesday. This includes 20 deaths and 198 discharges.

Out of eight new cases, six are from Kalaburagi and all are contacts of a person, who already tested positive. Among them four are women.

Of the fresh cases is a man from Bengaluru Urban, who was in contact with those in containment zone of BBMP Ward-135; and the other from Gadag, who has a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).

Eight districts from the state have now been identified as Covid-19 hotspots or containment zones.

• Bengaluru Urban

• Mysuru

• Belagavi

• Dakshina Kannada

• Bidar

• Kalaburugi

• Bagalkot

• Dharward

These 10 districts are in the category of green zone:

• Chamrajnagar

• Chikmagalur

• Hassan

• Haveri

• Kolar

• Koppala

• Raichur

• Ramanagar

• Shimoga

• Yadgiri

• Kodagu

• Davanagere

• Udupi