12 PU students tested Covid-19 positive in Derebail

MANGALURU: As many as 12 first-year PUC students from a private PU college in Derebail have been tested positive for Covid- 19 on Wednesday. According to the district Covid-19 bulletin, the number of Covid-19 positive cases in the district is 25.

The campus has been converted into a containment zone and classes have been suspended. Dr Ashok H, nodal officer for Covid-19, told TOI that it is suspected at least two students from Kerala and one student who had returned from Bahrain have been tested positive. The student from Bahrain landed at Bengaluru international airport and then travelled to Shivamogga before reaching Mangaluru. He claimed that he was not aware of the home quarantine norms.

Nearly 109 swabs of the students have been collected so far and the swabs of the second year PUC students will be collected on Thursday. The college has suspended its activities till the seventh-day swab is collected and a negative report is obtained.

Based on the data collected, the health department started conducting RT-PCR tests for day scholars from Kerala studying in first-grade colleges of the district.

One death: Dakshina Kannada reported its first death for the month on Wednesday. A senior citizen with comorbidities died. The total samples tested so far is 5,87,244 and the total positive cases reported so far are 34,619. The district has reported 741 death cases so far.