"Fifteen new positive cases have been reported from last evening till this noon...Till date 489 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in the state. This includes 18 deaths and 153 discharges," the department said in its mid-day situation update.

Bengaluru: A journalist is among the 15 new coronavirus cases reported in Karnataka, taking the total number of infections to 489, the state government said on Saturday.

Add Asianet Newsable as a Preferred SourcegooglePreferred

"Fifteen new positive cases have been reported from last evening till this noon...Till date 489 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 18 deaths and 153 discharges," the department said in its mid-day update.

Medical education minister K Sudhakar, who also leads the government's efforts against COVID-19 in Bengaluru and is in charge of the state war room, in a tweet confirmed that one journalist from Bengaluru had tested positive.

"#COVID19 Update: From 5 pm, 24th April till 12 noon today A total of 489 cases, 15 positives, 18 deaths & 153 discharges. Positive cases: 15 Bangalore Urban 6 (01 Journalist, 05 from Hongasandra) Belagavi 06 Mandya 01 Chikkaballapura 01 Dakshin Kannada 01," he tweeted.

Scroll to load tweet…

Five out of six confirmed for infection in Bengaluru are contacts of a 54-year-old labourer, who tested positive earlier this week; while the other, the journalist visited Containment Zones demarcated by BBMP.

All six tested positive in Hirebagewadi in Belagavi are secondary contacts of a patient earlier tested positive.

Nine of the 15 cases are men and six are women.

According to sources, the journalist who tested positive is a cameraman with a Kannada news channel.