Coronavirus spread from four patients to at least 149 others in Karnataka

coronavirus

The Karnataka Health Department is yet to trace how these for patients contracted the virus.

Soumya Chatterjee

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On Friday morning, 45 new COVID-19 cases were detected in Karnataka. The source of infection of all of these patients barring three have been traced to a person who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Karnataka has a total of 750 confirmed cases, including 30 deaths with 371 recoveries. So just how has the disease COVID-19 been spreading across the state?  Every individual who is thought to have been the carrier of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and has no known source of the infection is being termed as a ‘root patient’. As of May 5, 62 persons have been identified by the Karnataka Health Department as the root of infection for a total of 426 patients. Among the 62 root patients, health officials in Karnataka have identified four individuals who transmitted the virus to at least 149 others. However, how these four individuals contracted the virus is still unclear, having no known travel history to other countries or states. The patient who was first to test positive in the Nanjangud pharmaceutical cluster has been classified as the person from whom most others contracted the infection. However till date, there is no concrete information how he got infected. Government data shows that he is the primary source of infection for 76 patients. In that cluster, 48 patients are thought to be infected through the root patient himself and the level 2 spread had infected 24 persons and the lever 3 spread had infected 4 persons. READ| ‘I have no passport, didn’t go to China’: Mysuru pharma’s patient zero speaks to TNM The second person in Karnataka's 'super spreader' category is a 60-year-old woman in a north Karnataka district whose source of infection is also unknown. She is thought to be the source for 37 cases in total. Officials said that the level 1 spread was to 29 contacts and the level 2 spread was to 8 patients. The third such person from whom the infection spread to 36 patients is a 45-year-old man from another north Karnataka district. A 54-year-old man in a city suffering from (Severe Acute Respiratory Illness) SARI is the fourth highest spreader with 29 infections. The source of infection is still a mystery for all these cases. How the categories work Root patients have been categorised based on their travel history into three classes a) international travellers b) domestic travellers c) SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Illness) or ILI (Influenza Like Illness) [with no known viral contact]. The spread analysis report prepared by the Karnataka government COVID-19 War Room said that 72% were infected due to contact history, 11% got the virus from international travel, 9% was from domestic travel and 8% were SARI/ILI patients. Data showed that on average an international traveller spread the infection to 2.26 persons while a domestic traveller passed the infection to 6.16 persons on average. The SARI/ILI patients transmitted the virus to 10 patients on average. On average, every root patient infects 6.87 persons, states the spread analysis report. Based on the degree of the spread, these root patients have been designated into three categories: a) super spreaders—10 cases or more b) spreaders— 5 cases or more and c) light spreaders— less than 5 cases. The transmission pattern has been further categorised as primary or ‘Level 1 spread’ if a person comes in direct contact with the root patient and tests positive. These are typically immediate family members or those who have been in close contact with the root patient. These level 1 contacts in turn become carriers and transmit the virus to others. ‘Level 2 spread’ is when persons who have not come in direct contact with the root patient get infected through level 1 contacts. They are likely to catch the infection from public places. ‘Level 3 spread’ is when persons were infected by level 2 contacts, but were not in contact with the root patient or with level 1 contacts. ‘Wake up administration than shame the patient’ A senior officer said there may be unfounded animosity towards these ‘super spreader’ patients and their families. “More spread by a patient can happen simply as he or she was asymptomatic. Or the person they contracted the disease from was asymptomatic, but a medically fragile person shows symptoms first and gets recognized as a spreader.” He added, “Every patient and contact is equally critical to be traced and tracked. One never knows who will end up spreading the virus to a large number of persons. Higher numbers in a district or area indicates local authorities need to work harder to identify contacts and control the spread. So it's more for the administration to wake up rather than shaming the patients.”

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Union govt asks Twitter to remove BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s tweet on Islam

The move comes after one of Tejasvi Surya’s tweets resulted in backlash from several leaders in Western Asia.

TNM Staff

BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya has been called out multiple times in the past for the contents of his tweets. But it seems it’s not just people on social media who have objections, but even the Union government. In a list of more than hundred tweets by various users that the Union Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology asked Twitter to take down, it has also included the tweet by the ‘young face’ of the party, According to The Wire which first published the article, Twitter’s filings with a third party database, which publishes requests to remove content from the social media platform, shows that the MoEIT had requested Twitter to take down Tejasvi Surya’s tweet.  The tweet, stated that in most cases terrorists are from the Muslim community. “In short: true, terror has no religion. But the terrorist definitely has a religion, and in most cases it’s Islam”. Tejasvi Surya’s tweet is the 65th among 121 tweets that the ministry wanted Twitter to remove. The request, which was filed on April 28, 2020, has cited section 69A of the Information Technology Act as the reason for the request. This provision allows the government powers to issue directions for the interception, monitoring and decrypting of any information online.  The notice sent by the government to the Lumen database, shows that several tweets by right wing handles and pro-Pakistani handles were requested to be deleted. The Lumen database run by Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Centre compiles requests to remove content from Twitter. Lumen gathers this data from Google and Twitter.  Speaking to TNM, BJP sources in Karnataka say that BJP National President JP Nadda was unhappy ever since Tejasvi Surya’s tweet from 2015 about Arab women had sparked a row. Surya claimed in a tweet in 2015, which he later deleted, that 95% of Arab women have never had an orgasm in a hundred years and that Arab women produced babies as an act of sex and not love.  The United Arab Emirates, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Kuwait government, and a few prominent names from the Arab community called for “an India without Islamophobia”. The Union government went into damage-control mode on April 28, after the issue escalated. Reports stated that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had to make numerous phone calls to ensure the India-UAE relations remained intact.  UAE law applies on nationals and non-nationals in terms of hate speech. pic.twitter.com/bWN3StUkRN — Princess Hend Al Qassimi (@LadyVelvet_HFQ) April 20, 2020 This is also not the only time Tejasvi Surya has made Islamophobic statements. In December 2019, when protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Indian Citizens erupted across the country, Tejasvi Surya and right wing groups had held a pro-CAA, pro-NRC event in Bengaluru.  “People of Bengaluru’s IT sector, BT sector, those contributing to the nation’s economy like lawyers, bank employees, ordinary citizens including auto-rickshaw drivers have gathered here today. Only the uneducated, illiterate puncture shop wallahs are against it. If you split open their chests, you cannot find even four words. These are the people protesting against CAA,” he had said.  Read: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya says opposers of CAA are 'puncturewallas', faces backlash  Just two days ago, Tejasvi Surya landed in yet another controversy after tweeting a statement supporting the Karnatka government's decision to stop trains to transport migrant workers.   “Stoppage of inter-state trains by BS Yediyurappa is a bold and necessary move. It will help migrant labourers who came here with hopes of a better life to restart their dreams. Also, it will kickstart economic activities full throttle. Karnataka will emerge out of this stronger!” he had tweeted.  Stoppage of inter-state trains by Sri @BSYBJP is a bold and necessary move. It will help migrant labourers who came here with hopes of a better life to restart their dreams. Also, it will kickstart economic activities full throttle. Karnataka will emerge out of this stronger! — Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) May 6, 2020 His tweet resulted in huge backlash against the government, with many calling for the government to reverse its decision. BS Yediyurappa and Tejasvi Surya were criticised for forcing people into labour and for disregarding the migrant workers’ fundamental right to movement.   

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45 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, seven from Bengaluru

Coronavirus

This takes the total number of cases in the state to 750.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image/PTI

As many as 45 new cases of COVID-19 were reported from Karnataka on Friday, according to the morning health department bulletin. Seven of these cases have been reported from Bengaluru, while the other new cases are from Belagavi (11), Uttara Kannada (12), Davangere (14) and Ballari (1).  With this, the total number of cases in the state jumps to 750, including 30 deaths and 371 persons who have been recovered. The trend of discharged patients being less than active cases is still maintained (353). Incidentally, this is the highest daily increase of cases in the state since the onset of the pandemic. Among these 45 new cases reported on Friday, except for three patients, two from Bengaluru and one from Ballari, all of the patients are contacts of an already infected patient. ALSO READ| Karnataka govt restarts trains after outrage, but migrant workers are already walking home Seven new cases were reported from Bengaluru city and they are from Shivajinagar and Padarayanapura wards. While the contacts of three cases have not been traced yet, the rest of the four cases have been traced to patient number 653. P-653 is a contact of patient 208, who in turn is a contact of Patient-196, a 42-year-old SARI patient (Severe Acute Respiratory Illness) who got COVID-19. 14 of the patients are from Davanagere, which saw the biggest spike. While some new cases in Davanagere are contacts of patient 556, a SARI patient who died of COVID-19, others are contacts of patient 533, who is a 35-year-old woman with Influenza-Like Illness (ILI). 12 of the new cases are from Uttara Kannada’s Bhatkal town. All of these patients are contacts of Patient  659, who is an 18-year-old woman with Influenza-Like Illness (ILI). 11 of the new cases are from Belagavi district of which 10 patients are from Hirebagewadi. All of them are contacts of various previously detected cases.

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Karnataka govt to reduce syllabus for Classes 1 to 10 if lockdown extended

Education

The department, however, has not decided on when admissions for Pre-University Colleges will begin.

TNM Staff

PTI/Representation Photo

The Karnataka government on Thursday issued guidelines for a possible change in the syllabus for Classes 1 to 10 for the upcoming academic year 2020-21. In the wake of the lockdown, uncertainty about the reopening of schools prevails. The department has said that schools will reopen in June if the lockdown is not extended. However, the Department has formulated a plan to reduce the syllabus in case the lockdown is extended.  The Minister for Primary and Secondary Education B Suresh Kumar on Thursday held a meeting with the department officials to chalk out a plan. According to the notification issued on Thursday after the meeting, the department is planning to omit certain chapters that it deems relatively unimportant for the upcoming year if the lockdown continues.  “I have asked the department officials to identify those chapters in all subjects that we can term as additional ones. Those which are not extremely important. I have asked them to list how many such chapters can be exempted from the syllabus for different time periods including 15 days, one month, one-and-a-half month and two months,” Suresh Kumar said.  The department has also decided to include sessions on the coronavirus pandemic in state-run schools for Class 6 to 10.  “All state government-run schools will have a teaching on COVID-19 scenario for our children from Class 6 to 10. They will have first-hand knowledge of these kinds of diseases from this year onwards. I have asked officers to publish a learning module for circulation to all the schools and examinations on the subject will be conducted at the end of the year. Teacher training will also have content on COVID-19,” Suresh Kumar added. The department also said that it is going to come up with a YouTube channel titled ‘Makkalavani’ in the next few days. This channel will have videos by teachers on all subjects of all classes.  “I have instructed the officials to use this YouTube channel as an alternative learning tool. And also to make such tools available on all mediums on a permanent basis for reference and learning for our students and teachers,” Suresh Kumar added.  Education department officials said that no decision has been made regarding the admissions for Pre-University College students.  “PUC admission can start only after the Class 10 results come out. If the lockdown is not extended, then the admissions may start in late August. But if the lockdown is extended, it may take longer. We are yet to decide how to go about it,” the official said.   

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Karnataka govt mulls allowing bars, restaurants to sell liquor at MRP

Alcohol

The state is mulling over this decision as bar and restaurant owners petitioned the government to help them clear existing stocks of liquor.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka government is mulling over allowing bars and restaurants in the state to sell alcohol at the maximum retail price after May 18. This comes in the wake of bar and restaurant owners requesting the government to help ease the economic burden of the lockdown. The story was first reported by The Hindu. Speaking to TNM, Karnataka Excise Minister H Nagesh said that the state government is mulling over this decision as there is a need to revive the economy. Minister Nagesh said that the permission will be granted to CL-7 and CL-9 license holders. This includes bars and restaurants and also boarding and lodging facilities that have licenses to sell liquor.  "Bars and restaurants have different guidelines and rules. According to the excise rules, bars and restaurants are issued licences where they can serve alcohol within the premises of their establishments. If bars and restaurants have to be able to sell alcohol at MRP, we have to make certain amendments to existing rules and issue a government order for the same," the minister added.  He said that the excise officials are currently chalking out a plan where people can go to the respective restaurants and buy liquor just like MRP outlets until the situation eases.  Minister Nagesh said that the government has not discussed the issue of home delivery of alcohol yet.  "A lot of changes need to be made for this. Like amending existing laws or bringing in a new one. For that, an Assembly session must be convened. We have not thought about home delivery at all," he said.  Excise Department officials said that microbreweries will not be allowed to sell beer as the licences issued to these establishments are different. He further stated that the decision would apply only to those selling packed bottles of liquor. "There are no plans to allow them to sell alcohol as their pricing modules are different from MRP alcohol and the licensing rules are different," he said. The Karnataka Hotel Owners' Association and the owners of various bars had requested the state government to allow them to sell the alcohol at MRP rates so they can clear the existing stocks.  "This may be only a temporary solution. The government cannot take back the alcohol stock. So we are thinking about allowing them to sell whatever stock they have now," Minister Nagesh added.   

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Karnataka Labour Dept withdraws decision to issue notice to employers on wages

Employment

The decision to issue notices, which was communicated on Wednesday, was withdrawn in less than 24 hours after the department received more than 700 complaints from workers.

TNM Staff

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The Karnataka Labour Department, which had earlier decided to issue a notice to employers not paying full wages for April, has made a U-turn and will not be executing this order. The decision, which was communicated on Wednesday, was withdrawn in less than 24 hours after the department received more than 700 complaints from workers, The Hindu reported. P Manivannan, Secretary of the Labour Department had announced that the Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar had directed officials to issue notice to employers who had not paid the salary or full wages to workers in April. He urged people who wished to make a complaint to report to the department helpline. However, on Thursday, the Minister directed officials not to issue notices. “As per the request from the Industries dept, the notices have been put ON-HOLD. There will be a joint meeting of Labour and Industries dept to sort out the issue of non-payment of wages to workers (sic)," P Manivannan said in a tweet.  The decision came on a day the Karnataka government made another U-turn to restart train services for the interstate travel of migrant workers. The state government had come under pressure from the public after cancellation of the trains earlier this week.  Eight trains had operated from May 3 to May 5, taking 1200 workers each back to their homes in Rajasthan, Odisha and Bihar before the service was stopped. Hundreds of migrant workers then began walking to far-off places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on Thursday, prompting the state government to revoke its earlier decision.  The state government has so far confirmed that one train will be leaving Bengaluru for Danapur in Bihar on Friday. 

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Arrival of stranded Karnataka residents from abroad delayed

Coronavirus

Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department officials stated that the Centre has released a new schedule for arrival of residents from foreign countries.

TNM Staff

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The arrival of more than 10,000 residents of Karnataka stranded in foreign countries, which was set to begin on Friday, has been delayed by a few days, the Karnataka government said.  Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department officials stated that the Centre has released a new schedule for arrival of residents from foreign countries.  The department officials have a list of over 10,000 people looking to return to the state. Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey confirmed that all arrangements for the screening and quarantine of international passengers have been made in the state. The passengers will be arriving at Bengaluru and Mangaluru airports and the sea ports at Karwar and Mangaluru.  People arriving will be divided into two categories - symptomatic travellers and asymptomatic travellers - after a screening process.  "Those who are symptomatic, will be sent to a designated government hospital where they will be isolated and tested three times over a period of 14 days. Those who are asymptomatic will be sent to hotels where they will be tested twice over a period of seven days," says Pankaj Kumar Pandey. If the test results of asymptomatic persons return negative, they will be sent to home quarantine. The passengers will bear the costs of their stay in the hotel, officials said. In Bengaluru, officials have identified KC General Hospital and CV Raman General Hospital for quarantining people.    Officials stated that details of all travellers landing at airports and seaports will be collected and they will be asked to download the Aarogya Setu application and the Quarantine Watch application on their phones. Flights will be arriving over a period of 8-10 days when the process is in place. 

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