Bengaluru, Apr 21 (IANS): Karnataka recorded 17th Covid-19 death and 10 new positive cases, raising the state's tally to 418. "As of 5 p.m, cumulatively 418 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 17 deaths and 129 discharges," said a health official, here on Tuesday.

In the past 19 hours till Tuesday noon, an 80-year-old man died and seven new cases surfaced, followed by three more cases in the next five hours.

However, 15 Covid-19 patients were discharged from Tuesday noon to 5 p.m, rising the number of cured cases from 114 to 129.

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Among the places with high case load, Ballari, Bidar, Vijayapura and Mandya are yet to report any discharge.

Of the new cases, Vijayapura and Kalaburagi accounted for three each, Nanjanagudu, Mysuru (two each) and Bantwala, Dakshina Kannada and Belagavi (one each).

Interestingly, no new case was reported from Bengaluru in the past three days.

Six of the new cases are contacts of earlier cases, including two secondary contacts of the Mysuru pharmaceutical company employee, while two suffer from the severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and another from influenza like illness (ILI).

In the next 10 days, Karnataka is set to test 13,546 people, including 3,871 primary and 9,673 secondary contacts.

"Results of these tests will be crucial for the state in the runup to the extended lockdown being lifted after May 3," said an official.

Chief Minister B. S. Yediyuraapa has issued a circular allowing 17 departments to work with full staff from April 20 and the rest with 33 per cent staff till May 3.

The state government has also extended free supply of half litre milk per family in notified, unnotified slums and other places from Wednesday to April 30.