City declares virus epidemic as first indian dies in k’taka

Schools, colleges, cinemas shut; US imposes curbs on travel

BENGALURU/NEWDELHI: Officials in Karnataka confirmed India’s first fatality due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Thursday, opening a worrying new chapter in the pandemic’s spread in the country where 74 people have now been sickened and tens of thousands more put under surveillance for possible exposure to the infected.

The confirmation came on a day when 14 more people tested positive for the infection across the country, and authorities at various levels announced unprecedented new curbs.

Delhi declared Covid-19 an epidemic and ordered all cinema halls shut, Mumbai banned all public events, and at least four states said they were suspending regular classes in schools and colleges.

“A 76-year-old man from Kalburgi who passed away (on Tuesday) and was a suspected Covid-19 patient has been confirmed for Covid-19. The necessary contact tracing, isolation and other measures as per protocol are being carried out,” said a statement by the Karnataka government.

The death was confirmed by the Union health secretary Preeti Sudan, who said the man also suffered from other conditions such as high blood pressure and asthma. “While he was asymptomatic on his return, he developed symptoms of fever and cough on March 6, 2020,” the ministry added in a statement.

The victim returned from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia on February 29 and died while being moved from a hospital in Hyderabad to his hometown. Officials suspect he may have acquired the infection abroad, as has been the case with all index patients in India.

From 60 on Wednesday, the rise in Thursday’s tally of active cases makes it the biggest single

day jump in cases in over a week when infections of a cluster of 17 Italian tourists were detected.

The patients confirmed on Thursday included nine in Maharashtra, two in Uttar Pradesh, and one each in Delhi, Ladakh and Andhra Pradesh.

“About 1,500 people who came in contact with the positive cases are under observation while about 35,000 people across the country are under community surveillance as part of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) that monitors suspected cases at the commu