A divided three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a lower court ruling blocking the ban.
from Health Care https://ift.tt/3aN6hIB
via IFTTT
Body 2:
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Ola, Uber to run 'medical cabs' in Bengaluru for non-COVID-19 emergencies
These vehicles can be booked by calling dedicated numbers 9154153917, 9154153918 or by logging in to the respective apps.
Leading app-based cab hailing companies, Ola and Uber, will operate round-the-clock ‘medical emergency services’ for patients who are advised non-ambulatory, prolonged treatment in Bengaluru. In light of the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the cab aggregators have partnered with the Karnataka Health Department. The Department said that the aim of the service, launched on Tuesday, is to ensure that other medical emergency services do not get ignored, given the continued focus on COVID-19. These vehicles can be booked by calling dedicated numbers— 9154153917, 9154153918 — or by logging in to the apps. The first such service was flagged off by B Sriramulu, Minister for Health, in the presence of other Department officials, said an official release. The Minister said, “With the increasing number of cases related to COVID-19, 108 ambulance services are being utilised entirely to ferry COVID-19 patients to hospitals and quarantine centers. In order for other patients, who have medical emergencies and require medical procedures such as dialysis, chemotherapy, organ transplant, radiation therapy etc., not to be inconvenienced, the state government has tied up with ride-hailing apps, Uber and Ola, to provide 100 cabs each for the benefit of such patients.” He added, “Services provided will include only shifting of patients from home to hospital and hospital to home and not for any other medical emergencies, including suspected and positive cases of COVID-19.” Prior to this service, police vehicles were being used for these emergency purposes. The Health Department said drivers of these vehicles will be specially trained and well-versed with necessary protocols. The cars will have masks and sanitisers provided by the respective aggregators. All drivers and passengers of these vehicles will be made to wear these masks and it will be compulsory for the air-conditioning in each of these vehicles to be switched off. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner, Department of Health and Family Welfare, said, “The service providers will provide details of drivers and vehicles to the Deputy Director (Emergency Management and Research Institute) and will also submit a daily report on the number of cases shifted on a daily basis. These vehicles will have signage on the front and rear which will read ‘Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, Medical Emergency Service Vehicle (Non COVID-19) in red letters.” Ola in a statement said, “To book an ‘Ola emergency’ cab, citizens can select the category ‘Enabled for Hospitals’ on their Ola app, and enter the drop location from a list of available hospitals in the city. Ola has enabled over 200 hospitals on its app to provide the service and ensure cabs are used only for essential medical travel. The service will be available across Bengaluru and is slated to soon launch in other major cities.”
from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2JJCd4P
via IFTTT
Eight Kyrgyzstan nationals who attended Tablighi meet booked for visa violation
According to the Bidar SP, the 8 foreign nationals were quarantined.
Representational image/PTI
Eight Kyrgyzstan nationals who were quarantined in Bidar, have been booked for violating visa norms on Tuesday. The eight foreign nationals were religious missionaries, who had come to Karnataka on a tourist visa. The tourists had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi. “We have booked them under Section 14 (b) (does any act in violation of the conditions of the valid visa) of the Foreigners Act. They had come here on a tourist visa but were actually religious missionaries. That is not allowed in a tourist visa,” Bidar SP Nagaraj told TNM. FIR’s regarding the same have been registered against four of them in Gandhi Gunj Police Station and against four others in the Bidar Town Police Station. The eight Kyrgyzstan nationals arrived in Karnataka’s Bidar after March 10. They allegedly lived in a mosque in the town for a few days. They are in quarantine currently at the Ratkalpura mosque in Bidar. “The men who came here had enlisted the help of people in Odisha to carry out religious activities in Bidar. We have informed the Kyrgyzstan Embassy about the visa violation, and their travel history. Their quarantine period ends on April 21. The government officials must take a call on it,” SP Nagaraj added. Till date, 27 people from the state, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation between March 13 and 18 in Delhi, have tested positive for SARS-Cov-2. In total, 175 people have tested positive in the state. Of the 12 new cases reported on Tuesday, two people suffer from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection. One of them is an 80-year-old woman from Gadag district, the other was a 52-year-old man from Kalaburagi. Among the 12 new cases, 6 of them had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation. Three of the 175 patients are on ventilator. This includes a 63-year-old woman from Bengaluru, with travel history to Brazil, a 62-year-old woman from Bengaluru with no travel history abroad and a 24-year-old man from Bengaluru with no travel history abroad.
Body 2:
from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2xZsW68
via IFTTT
Many BJP supporters are angry with Yediyurappa – but Karnataka CM has an unlikely ally
Yediyurappa’s condemnation of those communalising the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a war between his supporters and detractors within his own party.
File image
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is no stranger to controversy. And the latest is over his remarks made during a television interview that are seemingly quite straightforward and befitting for a man who leads a state. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yediyurappa took a strong stand against communalising the health issue and warned those who are indulging in Muslim bashing over coronavirus. However, his own party men believe this was wrong – they say this is ‘Muslim appeasement’ by the BJP leader, and they say, #WeLostHopeBSY. In an interview with TV9, Yediyurappa on Monday had spoken against the targeting of Muslims over COVID-19. This is in light of a section of the public blaming the Muslim community after the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi in March emerged as an epicentre for the spread of COVID-19 in many parts of the country. The CM warned that he will not hesitate to take action against those indulging in Muslim blaming. The extract of the video interview where Yediyurappa takes the anti-communal stand had gone viral on social media platforms on Monday, with many praising Yediyurappa for his progressive stand. But many, seemingly BJP supporters, were not happy and alleged that Yediyurappa was indulging in ‘Muslim appeasement’. In fact, a BJP insider said that a section of the party including active members of the state IT cell are so upset with Yediyurappa that they pushed the #WeLostHopeBSY trend online. There is also a reactionary trend – #IStandWithBSY – that many others are participating in. The online war has highlighted the divisions within the BJP – many new appointments in the social media cell were made by the BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, who has a much more hardline Hindutva approach than CM Yediyurappa. However, Yediyurappa’s camp is firm in their stand. A close aide of the Chief Minister told TNM, “The CM’s statements were fashioned to protect the secular credentials of the country. A CM or a PM cannot be only a representative of a particular political party or a community. So in this event, he has spoken like a statesman should, in protecting the interest of the minority community who are being wrongly targeted.” “Regarding the Tablighi Jamaat, there was a mistake committed by a small number of Muslims – but that cannot be made as a weapon to stigmatise the entire Muslim population. And this is the perception of the CM. He is not speaking against or for a community,” he added. But Yediyurappa’s stand is not shared by many in the party – including his close aide Shobha Karandlaje. Incidentally, the same day when CM made the comment, the Member of Parliament falsely claimed that some attendees of the Jamaat spat on doctors at a hospital in Belagavi – a claim that was debunked. Read: Fact check: BJP MP’s claim that Jamaat attendees spat at Belagavi hospital staff is fake While the online war rages however, Yediyurappa has found an unlikely ally in the opposition party, Congress. Speaking with TNM, DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Congress chief and former minister, said that those trending #WeLostHopeBSY should be booked under the country’s cyber crime laws. “We welcome the CM’s statements. We want everyone to be treated equally, there is no virus for any particular caste or religion,” DKS said. “The CM holding a constitutional post has sent the message that had to be sent. Today I have written to him that this should be followed in the right spirit, and a circular has to be issued to the local level. A proper direction should be given to all the police stations, wards and panchayats. This is because some sort of social boycott is being engineered by the BJP and RSS workers,” he added. “The IT Cell guys and other BJP party guys are behind this type of misrepresentations and they are misleading the people. I appeal to the Chief Minister to register a cyber crime case against all these people,” the Congress leader said. Meanwhile, the Twitter trend saw people calling for ‘intervention’ from the BJP central leadership as they thought Yediyurappa’s anti-communal stand move might cost the party electorally. #WeLostHopeBSY Its Muslim Appeasement Y Didn't BSY CALL Priest ,Fathers,Sikhs n leaders for Meeting Y isn't he Requesting Hindus to close temples like As for Mosque — Akhilesh Neelagund (@Akhil__INDIAN) April 7, 2020 #WeLostHopeBSY Dear @BSYBJP , Rather Taking Actions against Tabliqi people like @myogiadityanath . U r Doing Requesting n Abusing Hindus — Akhilesh Neelagund (@Akhil__INDIAN) April 7, 2020 @narendramodi @AmitShah @JPNadda please make sure you change the CM of Karnataka or else you would lose the Karnataka in future too....#WeLostHopeBSY #BSYNotMyCM #Karnataka #Corona — Rohith S (@SRohithrao118) April 7, 2020 How many Muslim minorities are supported to Mr BSY to become CM #WeLostHopeBSY — Ramu Kuligod (@RamuKuligod1) April 7, 2020 #WeLostHopeBSY a bad statement and hearts the Hindu sentiments. — Venkatesh R Kamat (@VenkateshRKamat) April 7, 2020 @AnantkumarH ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಯಾಗಿ ಹುಟ್ಟು ಇಲ್ಲ. ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಯಾಗಿ ಸಾಯೋದು ಇಲ್ಲ. ಹಿಂದೂ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರನ್ನು ಕಡೆಗಣಿಸಿ ಓಲೈ ಕೆಯ ರಾಜಕಾರಣ ಮಾಡೋದು ಸರಿಯಲ್ಲ.@BSYBJP@narendramodi#WeLostHopeBSY pic.twitter.com/0B30aaAs5P — ಸಚಿನ್ ಅಂಡಿಂಜೆ (@MaroliSachin) April 7, 2020 #WeLostHopeBSY He is as good as @ChouhanShivraj BSY is more lucky and got a bit educated crowd (not citizens). So Bangalore did not become Indore & Bhopal. 2 worst CM @BJP4India has choosen. Wish @myogiadityanath kind of more performers BJP can have. — Adi (@AdityaM60339939) April 7, 2020 On the other hand, the trend was criticised by some – they reasoned that the IT cell should focus on the priorities of the state. Instead of demanding funds from centers, some bots are busy in trending #WeLostHopeBSY For last two weeks, his statesmanship is very matured. He knows for sure that fake news , hate mongering are more pandemic and dangerous than covid. That's why we say #WeStandWithBSY — Praveen Shankar (@praveenbs) April 7, 2020 Instead of demanding funds from centers, some bots are busy in trending #WeLostHopeBSY For last two weeks, his statesmanship is very matured. He knows for sure that fake news , hate mongering are more pandemic and dangerous than covid. That's why we say #WeStandWithBSY — Praveen Shankar (@praveenbs) April 7, 2020 Shameless Bhakts are trending #WeLostHopeBSY just because he warned people not to target a specific community. Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The venom in their minds is incurable. No wonder the supreme leader wins handsomely despite his abysmal governance #Covid-19 — Ramachandra.M/ ರಾಮಚಂದ್ರ.ಎಮ್ (@nanuramu) April 7, 2020 People who are complaining about @BSYBJP for statement he made about Muslim can leave Karnataka and go join Yogi in UP. What Mr. Yeddiyurappa did was a right thing to do as a Cheif Minister. He is a Mass leaders and definitely doesn’t need support of Hate mongers #WeLostHopeBSY pic.twitter.com/EM0YF8ZH1A — Tulsi (@tereaangnki_) April 7, 2020 (With inputs from Prajwal Bhat)
Body 2:
from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2wr05Hq
via IFTTT
Bengaluru's Karaga festival won't have a procession for first time in over a century
The ancient 11-day festival is typically celebrated every year with lakhs of people congregating for the grand procession.
Pictures of the Karaga in 2019 by Narayana Swamy
For the first time in over a century, the Bengaluru Karaga Shaktiyotsava will take place on Wednesday, April 8 without a procession. The eleven-day festival, which is believed to have been celebrated for more than a century, generally has lakhs of devotees gather for multiple processions. But with the lockdown in place, only 13 people are taking part in the festival at the city’s Sri Dharmarayana Swamy Temple, located in Nagarathpet. Though some records suggest that the festival began during the reign of Kempegowda in the 16th century, experts say the procession itself likely only began about 800 to 1,000 years ago. Narayana Swamy, one of the primary organisers of the festival, says that the procession had not been halted even when the plague hit Bengaluru in 1898. “We have asked all devotees to pray at home and perform puja at home this year. We have asked the government to allow Doordarshan to broadcast the rituals so people can watch it from home,” he adds. The main procession has been replaced by a ceremony inside the temple with the four primary priests and nine others from the Thigala community. Every year, the celebrations begin on Chiatra Pournami, which comes right after the Ugadi festival. The myth stems from Mahabharata and the story is that of Draupadi defeating the demon Thimirasura. “During the battle, Draupadi’s saree comes off. She turns it into veerakumaras and gante pujaris. After the battle is won, Draupadi promises to visit the veerakumaras and gante pujaris once in a year. The procession is held due to the belief that she returns every year for a visit,” says Narayana Swamy, one of the organisers of the Karaga. Narayana Swamy says that according to the myth, the veerakumars belonged to the Vanikula Kshatriya community and the gante pujaris to the Thigala community. “Hence members of these two communities are at the forefront of organising the 11-day celebrations,” he says. What happens during the Karaga? Speaking to TNM, PR Ramesh, the Member of the State Legislative Council (MLC) from Congress, who is from the Thigala community, says that the festival was an ode to the various water bodies that helped farming communities thrive in the city. “Most of the ceremonies take place at various tanks or kalyanis (man-made tanks in temples). Out of the 11 days, seven of them are all about gange puje. Processions start from various kalyanis, which are now bus stops or have drains built there. Back in Kempegowda’s time, these tanks were considered as gods. People pray to the water goddess. It's sad to see that so many water bodies are gone now,” Ramesh laments. The 11-day ode to the city’s disappearing water bodies On the first day, a bamboo stick, which is about 120 ft in height with 32 knots or markings is handpicked by one of the nine members from the Thigala community. A flag is hoisted on the bamboo stick at the Dharmarayana Swamy Temple in Bengaluru. A procession with idols of Arjuna and goddess Adi Shakti are taken out on the first night. The flag and bamboo stick are brought back to the temple. This process is called patta kudisodu. From the second day till the eighth day, ceremonies are held at various kalyanis in the city. According to PR Ramesh, the first gange puje or prayers offered to a water body is performed at the small pond near Kanteerava Stadium. Before Bengaluru grew to be a city, the pond was a rather large lake with salty water and was commonly known as Uppuneerina Kunte. “Now there is a small pond. It’s not even a pond but a small square cement structure with water in it. Now, the puja is performed here because the lake no longer exists,” he adds. During the times of Kempegowda’s reign in Bengaluru, there was a giant man-made well where the current BMTC depot stands in Shantinagar. This well was surrounded by farm lands where members of the Thigala community grew vegetables. This is where the third ceremony would take place. Since the well no longer exists, the celebrations currently take place in Mahabaleshwara Temple near Poornima Talkies in Shantinagar. The fourth day’s ceremony happens in Mavalli, near the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. Prior to the garden’s existence, the land belonged to farmers. Here too, there were several man-made tanks that were meant for irrigation. “Earlier, the gange puje happened at one of these tanks. Now the ceremony happens in Maramma Temple in Mavalli,” PR Ramesh says. The fifth day, the gange puje happens at the kalyani located in Gavipuram inside a wedding hall. The sixth day’s celebrations earlier took place in the periphery of the numerous lakes that once surrounded the Dodda Annamma Temple in Majestic area. The Kempambudhi Tank, where the Majestic Bus Stop stands currently, was once a spot for the sixth-day rituals. On the seventh day, gange puje happens at the Hasi Karagada Kunte in Sampangi Ramanagar. The final kalyani, where the ceremony takes place on the eight day, is at the Mariswamappa Mutt in Kalasipalya, close to KR Market. Day nine is when the grand celebrations take place. The various idols of goddess Shakti that are located across seven different places in the city, are taken out for a procession, which meets at the Sri Dharmarayana Swamy Temple. “Tomorrow (April 8) is when the big procession was supposed to take place. With the lockdown, we have decided to not hold processions but to just install the seven different idols inside the temple itself,” Narayana Swamy says. The tenth and eleventh days do not witness grand processions. However, the huvina karaga (flower karaga) is taken out of the Sri Dharamrayana Swamy Temple in the morning for a procession. The ceremony ends with a ritual sacrifice and vanotstava in the evening. On day 11, the flag that was hoisted on the first day of celebrations is brought down, to mark the conclusion of the festival. “The temple was built during the reign of the Ganga Dynasty. This time, our prayers are for the pandemic to leave the world,” Narayana Swamy adds.
Body 2:
from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2URJrtY
via IFTTT
Former FDA chiefs outline plan to reopen the economy — when broad testing in place
Mark McClellan and Scott Gottlieb write that Congress has "no time to lose" in building public health capacity.
from Health Care https://ift.tt/3c9Rqsb
via IFTTT
from Health Care https://ift.tt/3c9Rqsb
via IFTTT
No public interest in this: Karnataka HC dismisses plea seeking opening of wine shops
The court imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the petitioner and asked him to donate the amount to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for COVID-19.
Representative image
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions for the opening of wine shops amid the lockdown in place across the country, and imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the petitioner. A division bench of Justice SA Oka and Justice BV Nagarathna conducted a hearing over video conferencing and dismissed the plea, stating that there was no public interest in the petition, as there are many people who are currently deprived of the basic necessity of food. In a video conference hearing, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice BV Nagarathna expressed that there is no public interest in the present petition as there is a large section of people deprived of the basic requirement of food right now. The petitioner, Dr Vinod Kulkarni, who is the President of GB Kulkarni Memorial Legal Trust, stated that he would withdraw the PIL and donate the cost of Rs 10,000 to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for COVID-19. The court said it would not pass an order imposing the cost but asked Kulkarni to forward the receipt of the amount to the judicial registrar within two weeks. In his plea, Kulkarni had asked the court to pass directions to the Karnataka government to keep wine shops open for a few hours, if not the full day. The petition stated that during the lockdown, people were deprived of consuming alcohol in any form or quantity and depriving social drinkers of alcohol consumption amounts to a violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution (protection of life and personal liberty). The petitioner cited earlier instances of people suffering alcohol withdrawal symptoms and taking their own lives and added that the public is deprived of procuring liquor which is resulting in mental depression, anxiety states, hysterical outbursts and abnormal behaviour. “‘Social drinking of alcohol’ has been in existence in India from time immemorial. Our ancient Hindu scriptures mention that people during the period then did consume SOMA RASA", regularly. This soma rasa is nothing but the present day alcohol. Almost on a daily basis the population consumed soma rasa then, in limited quantities, to undo the exhaustion of the day (sic),” the plea added. The petition in the Karnataka High Court comes days after the Kerala High Court stayed the state government’s decision to allow liquor to be supplied to those suffering from alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Also read: ‘Recipe for disaster’: Kerala HC stays liquor supply for persons with alcohol withdrawal
Body 2:
from Karnataka https://ift.tt/3e7sbIP
via IFTTT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)