Not Covid-19, but fear of the disease kills two in Karnataka

After consuming the herbal concoction Francis Rego died and his father who was rushed to Sirsi government hospital is battling for his life.

Fear of contracting the dreaded coronavirus has led to two deaths in two separate incidents in Karnataka, officials said.

Civil defence officials wear protective suits to help a man who was lying on the roadside near Hebbal flyover during a nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic, in Bengaluru, Sunday, April 26, 2020/ representative. (PTI)

In the first instance a father-son duo N Anthony (70) and Francis Rego (42) of Ramanbail village of Sirsi taluk in Uttara Kannada district who were both suffering from cough and breathing issues decided to take a ‘native herbal medicine’ as they were apprehensive that a conventional medical doctor might ask them to get checked for Covid-19. After consuming the herbal concoction Francis Rego died and his father who was rushed to Sirsi government hospital is battling for his life.

Sirsi police who have registered a case said that they are investigating and getting details of what the two men had drunk and on whose advice.

In a separate incident a 53-year old native of Koppa in Chikmagalur who was sent to a quarantine centre on May 20, after he displayed fever and cough hung himself in the toilet of the building in the early hours of Sunday fearing he had Covid-19. The results of his throat swab test which came a few hours later in the morning indicated that he did not have the virus. His body has been shifted to the district government hospital for post-mortem and authorities said that they are investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, Karnataka continued to record a high number of Covid-19 cases with 130 more being registered on Sunday, even as the state observed curfew-like conditions with very little movement of traffic. The government has said that till the end of May all businesses and non-essential services will be shut on Sundays to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission.

The state has recorded 2,089 Covid-19 cases so far which include 42 deaths and 654 recoveries. A large number of cases have been attributed to migrants returning to the state primarily from Maharashtra.

Interestingly Mandya district in Southern Karnataka with 226 active cases has overtaken the capital city Bangalore which has 127 active cases. The state, therefore, has made it mandatory for all inter-state travellers to compulsorily undergo a 14-day quarantine.

There were subdued Eid celebrations in coastal Karnataka which observed the festival on Sunday while other parts of the state will observe it on Monday.

Prayers were offered at homes with no congregations at any of the major mosques across the coastal belt.