'Communists and Congis boast of Kerala healthcare. Why come to Mangaluru?’: BJP Min

Coronavirus

However, several people criticised Karnataka Minister CT Ravi for being opportunistic and inhumane during a public health emergency.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka government has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court order directing the Central government to intervene and remove blockades erected on the national highways connecting Karnataka and Kerala for medical emergencies.  Politicians cutting across party lines opposed the Kerala High Court's April 1 order directing the Central government to intervene and allow movement of people for medical emergencies from border areas of Kerala to Mangaluru, which is 35 km away. The border was sealed due to the lockdown implemented over the outbreak of COVID-19. Five deaths were reported from Manjeswaram of Kasaragod district after Karnataka closed its borders. BJP leaders including Karnataka Tourism and Culture Minister CT Ravi took to social media to voice their opposition against the Kerala High Court's decision asking the Centre to open the state highways leading to Kasaragod district.   "Communists and Congis always boasted that Kerala has the best healthcare facilities in the country. Then, why is CM Pinarayi Vijayan trying to push coronavirus infected patients to Mangaluru? Should Karnataka suffer due to the lack of vision and incompetence of Kerala's leaders?," CT Ravi said in a social media post. Communists and CONgis always boasted that Kerala has the best healthcare facilities in the country. Then, why is CM @vijayanpinarayi trying to push #CoronaVirus infected patients to Mangaluru? Should Karnataka suffer due to the lack of vision & incompetence of Kerala's leaders? — C T Ravi ಸಿ ಟಿ ರವಿ (@CTRavi_BJP) April 2, 2020 BJP leaders taunted Kerala's famed healthcare facilities in social media posts.  "One of the basic facility for citizens is health care and people of Kasargod rely on Mangalore for it. What kind of development is yours then which you boast. No,we will not allow Borders to open what so ever," Mangaluru (South) BJP MLA Vedavyas Kamath said. One of the Basic Facility for citizens is Health care and people of Kasargod rely on Mangalore for it. @vijayanpinarayi What kind of development is your's then which u boast. No,we will not allow Borders to open what so ever. #SaveKarnatakaFromPinarayI #savekarnataka — Vedavyas Kamath (@vedavyasbjp) April 2, 2020 Congress leader Mithun Rai, who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha Elections from Dakshina Kannada constituency in 2019, filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court's order of April 1. "This is not done as people in Karnataka as well as in Kerala are very much aware of the facts that the pandemic has been getting spread through the people traveling from Kerala to Karnataka through Mangalore. Then why are we interested in digging our own graves!," he said. At least seven people have died from Manjeswaram of Kasaragod district after Karnataka closed its borders amid the lockdown. Residents in Manjeswaram travel to Mangaluru as its hospitals are just 15 kilometres away as opposed to hospitals in Kerala, where they have to travel 45 kilometres by road.  Read: After Karnataka lockdown, Kerala patients on state border struggle to get treatment The decision to block the movement of people, even in case of medical emergencies, was taken last week after Dakshina Kannada district authorities decided to impose stringent lockdown measures. The move came after a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Kasaragod district of Kerala which neighbors Dakshina Kannada. However, Karnataka’s blockade was opposed by politicians including former Indian Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah, two key opposition leaders in the state. "Critical and essential travel from Kasaragod to Mangaluru should be allowed on humanitarian grounds. Patients from Kerala seeking medical assistance in Karnataka can be allowed with adequate precautionary measures. Our fight against Corona is beyond caste, religion and boundary.," Siddaramaiah said.  Critical & essential travel from Kasaragod to Mangaluru should be allowed on humanitarian grounds. Patients from Kerala seeking medical assistance in Karnataka can be allowed with adequate precautionary measures. Our fight against Corona is beyond caste, religion & boundary. — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 1, 2020 HD Deve Gowda, in a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, condemned the Karnataka government's decision to block the border. "I very strongly condemn the actions of the BJP government in Karnataka denying access to people from Kerala state to avail medical facilities on emergency and also the movement of essential goods for the survival of people and the deprivation of emergency services amounts to violation of human rights and opposed to all norms of humanity and humanitarian considerations," Deve Gowda said in a letter. Several others also slammed Karnataka Minister CT Ravi for his political opportunism and for being inhumane during a public emergency.  you have been MLA of Chikmagluru for many years, why Chikmagalur residents come to Manipal and mangaluru. — ಗೌತಮ್ ಹೆಗ್ಡೆ (@karavallihuduga) April 2, 2020 Anna aware, why every damn thing opportunism for politicians?. Mangalore has got the best medical facilities throughout the costal belt & be proud of it. People across border states shares the value & travel to nearest best facilities. Mansharu jeevana nimde aradu aata alla. — The Cat Guy (@TweetsOfMerlin) April 2, 2020 it's not COVID patients, The state of Kerala has some effective and efficient public health care system no doubt in that The problem is that the district has low no of the hospital so it might be easy to transfer patient to nearer hospital in KARNATAKA than to interior KL — Chowkidar dasan (@Akhil10394) April 2, 2020 It's time we stop politicising this. And instead give enough space for District administration of the two districts to coordinate closely to sort it out. This is a pandemic. — Pearl Dsouza (@pearl_tnie) April 2, 2020 Kerala CM @vijayanpinarayi has been pleading with @PMOIndia @narendramodi that the Karnataka border should be opened to allow the flow of essential goods. What is the idea behind choking of supplies of essential goods including food and medicine from reaching people? Heartless. https://t.co/Nzxm9JeNMm — Rupa Subramanya (@rupasubramanya) March 29, 2020

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10 Tablighi Jamaat participants, 1 contact among 14 new cases in Karnataka on Thursday

Coronavirus

The state tally is now up to 124.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

The total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases have increased to 124 in Karnataka with the addition of 14 new cases since Wednesday. The 14 new patients who tested positive include 10 patients who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat markaz in Nizamuddin in Delhi held between March 8 to 21. While nine of them are from Bidar district, one is a native of Hyderabad. A contact of one of the attendees from Kalaburagi has also tested positive. The other three cases are from two from Mysuru and one from Ballari district. Among the 124 total cases in the state, three persons have died and another 11 people have been discharged following their recovery. Among the active cases, all are in stable condition except three requiring intensive care. While one among them is on oxygen the other two are on ventilator support. The two new cases in Mysuru are contacts of a patient who was infected in the Nanjangud cluster. So far, 16 people have contracted the virus there but there has been no breakthrough in finding the source. The 35-year-old who first tested positive in Nanjangud was said to have no foreign travel history and no contact with an infected person. However, health department officials said that he was in touch with healthcare professionals. Incidentally, the Mysuru cluster is the biggest in the state. Currently the Mysuru district administration is also looking at shipments made from China as a possible source of infection. Further, the district officials are probing the visitors’ log book of the pharma unit as it had visitors from foreign countries as well.  Further the 35-year-old’s movements are also being probed in detail. The Ballari case is the son of an already infected patient (P-81). As of Thursday evening, the state has conducted 4,181 tests out of which 3,910 are negative. Rest of the results are awaited.

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Two private labs in Bengaluru to double up as fever clinics

Coronavirus

The fever clinics are for people to go and check if they have symptoms of COVID-19. Now, labs have been asked to do this as well.

TNM Staff

PTI

The two private labs in Karnataka, which have been allowed by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to do COVID-19 testing have now been directed to be used as fever clinics as well. The two labs- Neuberg Anand Diagnostic Laboratory in Bowring hospital and Cancyte Technologies Pvt Ltd- are situated in Bengaluru: There are 31 fever clinics which have come up across the city, while there are 30 more across the state, especially in those districts which are seeing a bigger number of COVID-19 cases. The fever clinics are where people can go if they suspect that they have symptoms of coronavirus, especially when it comes to people who are the primary contacts of confirmed cases, or they have recently visited a foreign country. The Times of India reported that the procedure for the fever clinic is that people are supposed to fill in a form for an appointment at the nearest fever clinic, or go through the helpline number for assistance. After they visit the clinic, they are screened by checking their symptoms to see whether they are suspected to have the virus. The people who are not suspected of having coronavirus are sent home with a prescription to treat whatever kind of flu they have, while samples are collected from those who are suspected of having coronavirus. Read: Bengaluru has 31 fever clinics now: What this means for you Bangalore mirror reported that the screening procedure and testing for COVID-19 is completed free of cost in government facilities. However, if the fever clinic is located in the private testing labs, then the test is chargeable up to Rs 4,500 based on the government guidelines for pricing the test for COVID-19. So far, there have been 121 cases of coronavirus reported in Karnataka as of the evening of April 2. Three people have passed away due to the virus, while 9 people have recovered and have been discharged from the hospital after they tested negative for COVID-19 twice.

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