The kaleidoscope of changing messages has created more fear, confusion and distrust.
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Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Testing blindspots will make it harder to slow the spread of disease
The next coronavirus hotspots are in states like Georgia, Oklahoma and Michigan, that aren’t testing enough.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2020
K’taka healthcare workers to be given antimalarial drug to prevent COVID-19 infection
Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug that has shown to be effective in protecting against the coronavirus, but use of the drug has been debated.
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Healthcare workers in Karnataka will now be given an antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), as a preventive measure against coronavirus disease, state health department officials said. “As per state guidelines, all health workers and contacts will be given this in the entire state. It has to be given weekly, for three weeks for family members and seven weeks for healthcare workers. We have stock for the first dose and we have put in order for large stock beyond our requirement. It will reach in a couple of days,” stated Karnataka Minister for Medical Education Dr Sudhakar during a press briefing on Tuesday evening. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved the use of the antimalarial drug for individuals identified to be at a ‘high risk’ of possibly contracting coronavirus disease. This includes healthcare professionals and (currently) asymptomatic family members of those who have tested positive for COVID-19. As per the advisory issued by the ICMR, these two groups have been identified as ‘high risk’ groups. However, several concerns have also been raised about the use of the drug as a preventive measure, due to some of its more severe side effects. These include hypersensitivity, irregular heart rate and even retinal damage. Medical professionals have urged that the drug not be readily available over the counter, and have asked for the drug only to be sold with a prescription over fears that individuals may self-medicate. The death of an Assamese doctor who had started taking the drug in view of the novel coronavirus pandemic raised several concerns. Several medical professionals have also expressed their staunch disapproval of using HCQ to prevent COVID-19, stating that it could do ‘more damage than good.’ However, officials from the ICMR have stated that the drug is largely considered to be safe and that only those with certain heart conditions would develop such a severe reaction to the drug. Also read: Self-medicating with HCQ for COVID-19 dangerous, warn experts
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Karnataka farmers forced to dump produce, face heavy losses amid lockdown
The lockdown is expected to have a lasting impact on crops being harvested for the next season as well.
The 21-day national lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has created significant additional stress on farmers across Karnataka, who have been suffering from successive years of drought and floods. Even though the lockdown included exceptions on all forms of agricultural and allied activities, police action and stringent imposition of the lockdown by district authorities have curtailed the farmers’ ability to arrange transport to ferry their produce. And even if they managed to get their produce to the markets, the lockdown has deeply cut down the number of wholesale buyers. Experts and farmers who spoke to TNM believe that the impact of the lockdown will not be temporary and will have a lasting impact on the crop being harvested for the next season as well. Speaking to TNM, Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, a major farmers’ collective and political outfit, said, “Agricultural markets are closing abruptly and farmers are unable to sell their produce. Turmeric, grapes and pineapple are the major crops being harvested now in Karnataka. This is also the time that ginger is harvested and transported to north India.” He added, “Bananas need to be harvested by now and it is already two weeks late. They are rotting in the plantations. In the Tungabhadra belt, the rice harvest usually begins this week but for this, we need people to do it and even if it is harvested somehow, we need it to be sold in the market. Cotton needs to be extracted from the plants in northern Karnataka districts of Koppal, Ballari, Yadgir, Raichur, Belagavi. We need labourers to do this. How will this be done? What will be the condition of farmers who are facing losses due to this? Do the decision makers know the costs of cultivating these crops?” The lockdown has not only led to loss of income for farmers but also significant food wastage. With much of the produce unable to reach its destination due to major supply chain issues, vegetables, milk and the like have either been dumped into cattle feed or discarded. This kind of waste is occurring even as those who are economically disadvantaged, especially migrant workers, have been left to manage without two square meals a day in the state. In a viral video, a milk producer is seen pouring a huge quantity of milk into a canal in Chikkodi taluk of Belagavi district. Mahesh Bhat, a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker closely following the agri sector in Karnataka, said the entire supply chain has been broken. He said, “I am in touch with many of the farmers directly and they have said produce worth lakhs of rupees are left on the farms. They are unable to do anything with it. There is no supply chain, and there is no way to send products to the market as not all district administrations have allowed movement of these vehicles. Many of the mandis are even closed or partially open. The truth is there is a lot of food that is stuck in the supply chain and this really needs to restart.” Reports said that the producer threw away around 1,500 litres of milk as he could not get any buyers. Usually, milk which is sold for Rs 30 per litre was being bargained for Rs 10, The Hindu reported. The Karnataka Milk Federation has also stopped taking milk from local producers in many places. The Deccan Herald reported that Rs 600 crore worth of grapes, grown less than 100 km away from Bengaluru in rural Bengauru, Chikkaballapura and Kolar districts, also are at the risk of being discarded. A video from Mysuru of tomatoes left by a farmer for cows to feast on as he failed to get enough buyers in the wholesale market has also been shared widely. (With inputs from Prajwal Bhat)
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No workers, no markets: Losses loom for pineapple, paddy farmers in Kerala, Karnataka
Farmers in both states, who are already crores in debt, have called for interest rate deductions and an extension of repayment deadlines.
April is not harvest season for many crops in Kerala, but there are some farmers badly affected by the lockdown implemented by the government to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Few days ago, the Kerala government had said that harvesting would be considered an essential service and would be excluded from the lockdown. The ripe paddy in Kuttanad was harvested following the Government Order and the Agriculture Ministry undertook steps to procure the paddy. However, this is the season of pineapple-harvesting in the state. Though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayam has assured that harvesting in pineapple plantations would be done without any issues, farmers are struggling to find a market for the harvested fruits. The lockdown means that there is also a shortage of labourers in small-scale farms. Vazhakulam, the hub of pineapple cultivation in Kerala, will face huge losses if the present situation continues, say farmers. “We would face a huge loss if the fruits are not sent to other states. Usually, we have a huge market outside Kerala. They have said that lockdown rules are eased and some of our loads can be taken outside. Around 5,000 tonnes are ready for harvest in Vazhakulam,” Baby John of Pineapple Farmers’ Association told TNM. “In big plantations, the labourers will be living in the premises. So harvesting will not be a trouble. But for small scale farmers, who depend on daily wage labourers, it is difficult. For them, the marketing is also in trouble as the local markets are totally full,” he pointed out. Baby John said that pineapple farmers are already around Rs 700 crore in debt and the present situation will only worsen it. “There should be deductions in the interest rates and repayment time should be extended for farmers,” he suggested. A continued lockdown would mean only 10 percent of the production would be sold out, he added. Another major setback will be for cardamom farms, where labourers are unavailable for the harvest season. “The harvesting of cardamom in Idukki district is pending as most of the labourers are from Tamil Nadu and they are not available. The industry will incur a huge loss due to this. Apart from that, people in local markets buy only essential things and they don't even think about buying fruits. This also brings a huge loss to farmers,” said Joshy Joseph, General Secretary of the Kerala Farmers Federation. Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister VS Sunilkumar's office told TNM that the government has initiated measures to ensure the harvesting of crops, classifying it under essential services. The Minister has said that pineapples would be collected from farmers through the state's Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (HORTICORP) Mission. Karnataka In neighboring Karnataka though, the situation is slightly different for it is the harvest season of many crops and vegetables in the state. “It is the harvest season of turmeric, grapes and pineapple. This is the time ginger is also harvested and transported to north India. Bananas need to be harvested by now and we are already behind by two weeks. They are rotting in the plantations. In the Tungabhadra belt, rice harvest usually begins in the last week of March. But we need labourers and even if it is harvested, we need it to be sold in the market. Cotton needs to be extracted from plants in the northern Karnataka districts of Koppal, Ballari, Yadagiri, Raichur and Belagavi. How will this be done? What will be the condition of farmers who are facing losses due to this? Do the decision-makers know the cost of cultivating these crops?” Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, President, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, told TNM. “Agricultural markets are closing and farmers are unable to sell their produce,” he added.
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10 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, state tally now at 98
Two of the new cases came in contact with the pharmaceutical company employee in Mysuru taking the number of cases in the cluster to 12.
Ten more people were tested positive for coronavirus infection on Tuesday, taking Karnataka’s tally to 98. The Karnataka Health Department said that of the 10 new cases, two are the contacts of patient 52, who worked at the pharmaceutical company in Mysuru. The two new cases from Mysuru include a 35-year-old man and a 41-year-old man, both of whom had come into contact with patient 52. This takes the total number of cases in the cluster of the pharmaceutical company to 12. None of the patients in the Mysuru cluster had travel history abroad. Three cases were reported from Hospet in Ballari including a 52-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman and a 26-year-old woman. All three of them had no travel history abroad, but they had visited Bengaluru on March 16. The Ballari district administration has launched a probe into the movements of the three patients to identify how they contracted the infection. The three persons are of the same family. Deputy Commissioner of Ballari, Nakul, said that Hospet has been declared a containment zone and is under complete lockdown. The police also barricaded the road leading up to the family’s residence in Hospet. The other cases include a 40-year-old man from Bengaluru, who came into contact with patient 59. Patient 59 is the domestic help of patient 25, a 51-year-old man who returned to Bengaluru from London; a 19-year-old man, who has travel history to New York and returned to Bengaluru on March 22; a 40-year-old woman from Gauribidanur in Chikkaballpura; a 34-year-old resident of Dakshina Kannada, who returned to the district from Dubai on March 18; and a 26-year-old man from Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada, who returned to his home town from Dubai on March 20. Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that 24 people from Karnataka had attended the congregation in New Delhi's Hazrat Nizmuddin dargah and of them one person from Bidar was tested positive. So far, three people have died due to COVID-19 including the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi, a 70-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh, who was being treated in Bengaluru, and a 65-year-old man from Sira in Tumakuru, who had attended the congregation at Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah in New Delhi. Read: Will do How a Jamaat meeting links COVID-19 cases in TN, Telangana and Delhi
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Video: Karnataka officials turn to drones to fight against COVID-19
The drones were used as part of the sanitation drive in Bengaluru and to check for areas where people are congregating in Raichur and Uttara Kannada.
Remote-controlled drones are now becoming a tool to fight the spread of coronavirus in Karnataka. Drones were used to spray disinfectants at major spots in Bengaluru on Monday including the typically high-footfall area of Church Street. The drones were used as part of the sanitation drive in Bengaluru by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). "BBMP is using drones to spray disinfectants across the city. Today, drones were used at Victoria Hospital, KC General Hospital, Malleswaram and Shivajinagar Bus Station," BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said. BBMP is using drones to spray disinfectants across the city. Today, drones were used at Victoria Hospital, KC General Hospital, Malleswaram & Shivajinagar @BMTC_BENGALURU Bus Station.#StayAtHomeAndStaySafe #BreakTheChain @CMofKarnataka @DHFWKA @sriramulubjp @mla_sudhakar #BBMP pic.twitter.com/Vcjwgesj5s — B.H.Anil Kumar,IAS (@BBMPCOMM) March 29, 2020 The drones were hired last week to spray disinfectants in the major footfall areas in the city. Similarly, drones were also used in other parts of Karnataka. In Uttara Kannada and Raichur, they were used to identify places where people were congregating despite the lockdown enforced in the country till April 14. A bunch of youngsters in Kotekere in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada were spotted playing outside and told to return to their homes by the police. "Drones are being utilised by the police to identify areas where many people are congregating. This is being done to ensure that the lockdown is enforced and people do not venture outside without reason," Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner Harish Kumar told TNM. In Raichur,drones were operated over areas like Siaya-talab, Jalal Nagar, Kalidas Nagar, LBS Nagar, and Harijanwada.
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