Bengaluru, Apr 17 (IANS): Karnataka registered a record 44 coronavirus positive cases, raising the total to 359, an official said on Friday.

"As of 5 p.m. on Friday, a total of 359 Covid positive cases have been confirmed in the state. There are 13 deaths and 88 discharges," said a health official.

Excluding 88 discharges and 13 deaths, 255 Covid patients, including a pregnant woman are isolated at designated hospitals across the state, except three in ICU.

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Among the 258 active cases, Bengaluru Urban leads with 42, followed by Belagavi, 40, Bidar and Kalaburagi, 14 each, Bagalkote and Ballari, 13 each and Bengaluru Rural, 12 and others.

Of the 88 discharges, Bengaluru Urban recorded the highest, 41, followed by Mysuru, 12, Chikkaballapura, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada, 8 each and others.

Interestingly, among the places with high case-load, Bagalkote, Ballari, Belagavi, Bengaluru Rural, Bidar, Mandya and Vijayapura are yet see a discharge.

In 19 hours from Thursday evening 5 p.m. to Friday noon, 38 new cases surfaced, followed by six more in the next five hours, totaling 44 in the last 24 hours.

Among the 44 new Covid patients, 36 are male and eight female -- including two girls and three boys.

Of the new cases, 41 are contacts of earlier cases while two sexagenarian women from Bengaluru Urban are also suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).

Mysuru accounted for the lion's share with 12 cases, followed by Bengaluru 10, Ballari 7, Belagavi 5, Mandya and Chikkaballapura 3 each, Vijayapura 2, and Dakshina Kannada and Bidar one each.

As many as 11 contacts of an earlier case, Mysuru pharmaceutical company employee, have tested positive in the past 24 hours.

All the new cases are isolated in designated hospitals across the state.

Meanwhile, state health department allowed private laboratories to test for Covid with conditions, fixing the cost at Rs 2,250.