COVID-19: Two new containment zones in Bengaluru as total cases in city rise to 256

Coronavirus

With this, 19 wards in the city have been declared as containment zones as of Friday.

TNM Staff

Screengrab| @BBMPCOMM/Twitter

Bengaluru civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has declared two places in the city as new containment zones in the past two days, owing to rising COVID-19 cases, an official said on Thursday. The city incidentally saw six new cases on Thursday taking the total cases to 256. Among these, 124 people have recovered and another 122 are still being treated. Nine persons have succumbed to their comorbidities. "Mallathahalli in Nagarbhavi 2nd stage has been declared a containment zone. This area in Jnanabharathi Ward number 129 under RR Nagar zone is being sealed down," tweeted BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar. With this, 19 wards in the city have been declared as containment zones as of Friday, where strict lockdown rules are imposed as opposed to the rest of the city. While Bommanahalli, West and South zones have 4 wards each with containment zones, East zone and Rajarajeshwari Nagar have three wards while Mahadevpura has one ward with containment zone respectively. Kumar said the civic body is taking all measures to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. On Wednesday too, BBMP declared new containment zones in the city. "With fresh cases reported from Jnanabharathi Nagar and Nagawara, BBMP has declared new containment zones. Inspected Ward 23 and directed a complete seal down of Nagawara," he said. Contact tracing in the containment zones is in progress. The civic body workers barricaded Nagawara Ward 23 at the entry and exit points. Meanwhile, BBMP has also deputed three teams to look into the complaints of returnees from abroad and other states who chose to quarantine themselves in hotels at their own expense. "BBMP has set up 3 teams to look into issues raised by returnees in hotel and hostel quarantine with regard to cleanliness, hygiene, food arrangements and other issues," Kumar said. He said the teams will also handle the complaints of hotels overcharging the quarantined returnees. The commissioner shared a list of room tariffs approved by the civic body which the hotels can charge the returnees. Bengaluru Urban is grappling with the second highest number of COVID cases in the state at 122. It has also seen nine deaths, highest in Karnataka. (with IANS inputs)

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/36kiR0F
via IFTTT

‘Unbecoming of a minister’: K’taka CM reprimands Madhuswamy for verbally abusing woman

Controversy

After the video of Madhuswamy went viral, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah had said CM Yediyurappa should make the minister apologise to the woman, and sack him.

PTI

Screengrab

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday openly reprimanded his senior cabinet colleague JC Madhuswamy for verbally abusing a woman representing a farmers' organisation, saying his behaviour is "unbecoming of a minister." "What he (Madhuswamy) has said is not right, I will warn him. No one can forgive speaking to a woman in such an explicit manner.His behaviour is unbecoming of a minister," Yediyurappa said. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the chief minister said "I'm aware of the matter, I will speak to the woman.I will see to it that such incidents don't repeat." Madhuswamy on his part has apologised and said he felt "intimidated." The woman is a representative of Karnataka Raita Sangha and Hasiru Sene in Kolar and the alleged incident occurred on Wednesday during an inspection. The video footage of the incident in which Madhuswamy, who is minister for Minor irrigation and Law and Parliamentary Affairs, is heard asking her to air her grievance and not to command, has been aired by local news channels. He is purportedly heard saying he is a "very bad man". READ| Karnataka minister JC Madhuswamy caught on video verbally abusing woman in Kolar The minister also asks police to take her away as she questions him about encroachment of a lake. Criticising Madhuswamy for his conduct, the Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah said Yediyurappa should make the minister apologise to the woman, and drop him from the ministry. Expressing surprise about the conduct of Madhuswamy being a senior minister, Congress state president DK Shivakumar said being in public life, one should hear grievances of people with patience. "I support Siddaramaiah's demand to drop him (Madhuswamy) from the ministry," he added. Speaking to reporters, Madhuswamy said if he has hurt the feelings of any woman, he will apologise. "I did not speak identifying the person as a woman or from farmers' organisation. When an individual spoke crossing the limits, as some one having self-respect, I reacted. If the wording is wrong, I apologise......the way she behaved was very bad. I too should not have used (the words)...I spoke the way I did because I was intimidated," he added.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2ZphXOK
via IFTTT

Weddings already scheduled on Sundays can take place: Karnataka CM

Coronavirus

The Karnataka government has announced a complete lockdown on Sundays as part of the fourth phase of COVID-19 shutdown till the month-end.

TNM Staff

Representational image

In a relief to hundreds of brides and bridegrooms in Karnataka, the state government modified the sunday lockdown order to allow their wedding on the coming two Sundays, which will otherwise see full lockdown.  The Karnataka government on Thursday clarified that marriages that have been already scheduled for May 24 and 31 will be exempted from "Sunday complete lockdown" measure prescribed by the administration as part of the fourth phase of COVID-19 shutdown till month end. The clarification comes following a petition from the public seeking clarification or permission to go ahead with the marriages that were already scheduled on Sundays. Announcing the fourth phase of lockdown restrictions, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had on Monday said that curfew would continue from 7 pm to 7 am and there would be a complete lockdown on Sundays till May 31, other than essential services. This measure imposes restrictions on public transport, shops and establishments and movement of people on Sundays. "It was ordered that there will be complete lockdown on Sundays, but as marriages have been scheduled already on these days, they will be considered as a special case," Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority member-secretary TK Anil Kumar said in the clarification. According to it, Deputy commissioners are informed that marriages can be permitted by ensuring social distancing, capping the number of guests at 50 and strict compliance with all other guidelines. Not more than 50 guests, no AC, no consumption of liquor and paan, no invitation to people aged above 65 and below 10 and also pregnant women are some of the guidelines to be followed for holding marriages or events in Karnataka, according to the advisory issued by the state health department last week. Prohibiting people from containment zones from attending such events, it mandated the use of sanitisers and thermal screening at the entry of the venue, among other things. (PTI/IANS inputs)

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2WSVicf
via IFTTT

Quarantined in Karnataka after returning from Maharashtra, 55-yr-old kills himself

Coronavirus

The man had returned with his family to his hometown in Dakshina Karnataka.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Image for representation

A 55-year-old man who returned to his hometown in Dakshina Karnataka district with his family recently, died in a quarantine facility on Thursday in a suspected case of suicide. The deceased, Dayananda Poojary, a native of Moodabidri, had been sent to institutional quarantine after he returned from Mumbai, officials said.  Dakshina Karnataka District Health Officer said that, “Dayananda had been put into a hostel in Moodabidri and he was found dead.” The DHO said that the incident took place even before he had been tested for the coronavirus. Now, officials have taken a swab sample from the patient, and the results would come only on Friday at around 11 am, 24 hours after the sample was taken, the DHO said. “The body has not yet been taken and processed for post-mortem, and we will do so only after the COVID results come in. This is a medico-legal case,” he added.  According to some reports, the fear of having COVID-19 led to the suicide. Mangaluru Commissioner PS Harsha however said that it is not clear what had happened. “Why don’t know why he might have done this, so we are investigating,” he said.  The body is currently being kept at Wenlock hospital, media reports stated. This is not the first time that a person has been reported to have killed themselves due to the fear of coronavirus. Earlier, the Karnataka government has reported the death of a COVID-19 positive patient ‘due to non-COVID reasons’, who took his own life after being admitted to a hospital on April 27. In another instance, a 46-year-old man who was under home quarantine instructions in Hassan district was found dead at his residence on March 30. The man had returned from Maharashtra and was asked to stay in quarantine.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2zXowxz
via IFTTT

How coronavirus is changing access to abortion

Health care practitioners are struggling to maintain access to contraception and abortions during the pandemic.

from Health Care https://ift.tt/3bQdkQC
via IFTTT

FIR in Karnataka against Sonia Gandhi over Congress tweet on PM-CARES fund

PM Cares

”If the PM-CARES Fund is not being used for transport of migrants, repatriation of Indians from abroad or providing a financial stimulus, what is it being used for," read the tweet.

IANS

File image/PTI

An advocate from Karnataka's Shivamogga district has lodged a complaint with the police against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi based on a tweet by the party's twitter handle alleging not proper use of the Prime Minister Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency (PM-CARES) Fund, according to an official here on Thursday. "An FIR has been registered against Gandhi under IPC Section 153 and 505(1)(B). We are investigating the complaint," a police officer told IANS. The FIR was registered at 10.30 a.m on Wednesday on the compalaints of K.V. Praveen from Sagara town of Shivamogga. According to the official, Praveen complained that the tweets cast aspersions on use of the PM-CARES Fund. Praveen also submitted hardcopies of tweets with the compliant. "If the PM-CARES Fund is not being used for transport of migrants, repatriation of Indians from abroad or providing a financial stimulus, what is it being used for," read one of the tweets. Meanwhile, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief D.K. Shivakumar in a letter to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa demanded withdrawal of the FIR. "We hereby demand your goodself to withdraw the said FIR (on Gandhi)," said Shivakumar. Claiming that Praveen is a BJP activist, he said, "The complainant has filed it with a political motive on false information stating Gandhi tweeted that the Prime Minister has been misusing the PM-CARES fund.". Agreeing that Gandhi had indeed tweeted in the capacity of MP and the chief of a political party, Shivakumar said her intention was to force Modi use the PM-CARES Fund for welfare of the people. "Unfortunately, it was misinterpreted by the BJP leadership. It instigated Praveen to file the complaint against Gandhi, based on false information without examining its truthfulness," he said. According to Shivakumar, Sagar police officials have misused the process of law by registering an FIR and have snubbed her right to do healthy criticism. "Suspend the said police officer immediately. We also urge you to register and FIR against the officer for misusing the process of law in the interest of justice and equity," he demanded.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2AMK4ND
via IFTTT

What is cytokine therapy? Karnataka to try new treatment for COVID-19

Health

The target group of this therapy is elderly patients who have been diagnosed with the virus at an early stage.

Soumya Chatterjee

File Image

In order to limit the number of COVID-19 related mortalities in Karnataka, authorities are planning to try cytokine therapy. This comes after the government was one of the first in the country to introduce convalescent plasma therapy. Bengaluru-headquartered HCG Cancer Hospital has received grant from Directorate General of Healthcare Services (DGHS), Government of India under the provisions of New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules, 2019 to begin trial for cytokine therapy. Earlier, the hospital received permission for plasma therapy as well. Cytokine therapy is currently undergoing the first phase of safety trials and may be introduced for COVID-19 cure within the next month if all subsequent stages of tests show encouraging results. The target group of this therapy is elderly patients who have been diagnosed with the virus at an early stage. Incidentally 26 out of the 41 deaths in the state are of patients in the 60+ age group. Speaking with TNM, Dr Gururaj, director of iCREST the collaborative initiative of International Stemcell Services and HCG Hospitals said, “We are basically trying to mimic an efficient immune response among older patients where often there is a lag time before the response kicks in and it allows the virus to multiply within the body and take over the body. Eventually it results in an overactive immune system at the end stage. And for that the body needs to mount a massive response and that response kind of gets out of hand itself. So then we see massive inflammation and pneumonia and other conditions.” He explained the treatment involves injecting cytokines intramuscularly which in turn will modulate the immune system. Cytokines are proteins secreted by the immune system in response to any infection. “We are trying to target the disease at the early stage. We don't want a patient to get to the point where the body has to fight the big challenge. So the idea is to treat patients early on when they have just contracted the virus showing mild symptoms and has not progressed to any respiratory distress. At that time we propose to augment the immune system by bridging the gap between the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. In other words we can call it immune balancing, essentially trying to get the right kind of immune response at the right time,” he added. He said the concept of this therapy has originated from HCG’s efforts in cancer cure. “So at this point at phase 1 of safety trials. We are trying out therapy with healthy persons. We will carry on with this for at least 15 days and everything works out fine then we will present to the regulators and if they are okay with it, then they will give us permission for clinical trials,” he said.

Body 2: 

from Karnataka https://ift.tt/2ZrMU4W
via IFTTT