Bengaluru, Mar 9 (PTI): A software engineer, who returned here from the US recently, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first COVID-19 patient in Karnataka, state Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Monday.

"Tests were done twice and on both the occasions it was confirmed that he had COVID-19," he told reporters here.

The man had come from Austin in the US along with his wife and daughter on March 1. After going to a private hospital upon noticing symptoms, he had voluntarily approached the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) on March 8, he said.

The man has been kept under strict medical supervision at the RGICD, the minister said adding his family members and a colleague have been placed under quarantine at the hospital.

The engineer's driver and the latter's wife and two children had been put under home quarantine, he said.

The state health department has identified 2,606 people with whom the family had primary and secondary contacts since the time they landed, health department officials said.

They included 60 passengers on the flight.

"Those who were sitting next to him on the plane and were sitting three rows in the front and three rows in the back have also been quarantined, an official said. The officials said he had been to office on March 2 and March 3. On March 4, he did not go to the office and on March 5 went to a private hospital. On March 8 he approached the RGICD on his own where he was quarantined," the officials said.

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