Karnataka government to hire over 1,900 doctors via direct recruitment

Health

According to reports, the government will bypass the Karnataka Public Service Commission.

TNM Staff

File photo

The Karnataka government is hastening the recruitment process of doctors in light of reports of staff shortages. Times of India reported that the government is set to hire over 1,900 doctors through the direct recruitment route, bypassing the Karnataka Public Service Commission. A special recruitment committee would be in charge of choosing the doctors to become part of the government workforce instead. Healthcare professionals who are interested in being recruited through this system can find further information through this link. Doctors who are recruited would be required to sign a bond stating that they would not take a long leave or leave the job for a period of six months at least. As with all other public services, KPSC usually conducts exams to shortlist doctors to become a regularised government doctor, but the government has decided to scrap this process due to the urgent necessity of doctors during the pandemic. The government will conduct recruitments through the Karnataka Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This comes after an announcement made in January by the Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu about his intention to begin direct recruitments of doctors, taking cognizance of the massive shortage of doctors in the state. Deccan Herald had reported in an article dated January 23 that Minister B Sriramulu, in a hospital inauguration function in Mysuru district, had announced that the state government would fill up the 3,500 doctors’ posts vacancies through direct recruitment. Meanwhile, the contract doctors who had threatened to put in their resignations due to lower pay have withdrawn their resignations, state health director Omprakash Patil told TNM. Around 500 contractual doctors had threatened to resign for failure to make them into regularised doctors. Those doctors who have been regularised are entitled to higher pay than contractual doctors, and additionally have the assurance of job security. Read: Doctors working on contract in Karnataka threaten mass resignation

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HAL market, CMH road shopkeepers lose business as fake COVID-19 messages spread

Coronavirus

Another fake news that was spread far and wide was about a shop in Cambridge Layout.

Soumya Chatterjee

Top in Town in Cambridge Layout in Bengaluru is a popular grocery store that has been operating in the area for many years now. While business has been dull ever since the lockdown started, the last two days have been terrible in particular. All thanks to a viral message that falsely claims, “Top in Town Cambridge Layout also sealed about half an hour back the owner is tested positive.” (sic) Abdullah Ismayil, the owner of the store, is baffled as to how the news started. “I have come to know about this fake news. I think this has been done by a rival store owner. On June 15 I had closed the store to do a stock check as I usually do once in six months. I had put a board outside declaring that the same. But despite this, this rumour was spread. This is hurting my business,” he says. With the number of COVID-19 patients in Bengaluru increasing steadily (though not at an alarming rate), citizens are understandably more concerned about the situation. However, this has also given way to rumours and fake news being circulated on Whatsapp, other instant messaging and social media platforms, impacting individuals and local businesses.  One such fake news message which has been going viral says, “Breaking HAL MARKET has been sealed because a vegetable vendor and his family have tested positive for the Corona Virus. Please avoid going that way. Also, Krishna Temple Road and CMH Road and in the affected areas since yesterday afternoon.” (sic) There is no containment zone in HAL Market or in the entire HAL Airport ward, as published by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in its daily bulletin. Ward corporator Manjunath N speaking with TNM confirmed the same and said the market is open as usual. In CMH Road too, businesses are open as usual. There is no containment zone in Jeevan Bhima Nagar ward as well. However, there is one containment zone in Krishna Temple Road in Bengaluru which comes in Domlur ward. NS Ramamohan, president of CMH Road Shops and Establishments' Association, laments that these fake messages have ensured that they lose whatever little business they had gained after the lockdown was lifted. “We are losing business. We have suffered a lot during the lockdown. We are all open for business but customers may be afraid. In reality, they have put up a containment zone in an area surrounding a house on Krishna Temple Road.” Sunil Agarwal, owner of Karthik Mithai, a sweet shop on CMH Road says business has anyway been slower than usual for weeks, but the viral messages have come as a death blow. BBMP has been marking areas as containment zones only if they fall in a 100 metre perimeter of an affected independent house. Sometimes these zones are individual houses or a floor above and below where the person with the infection lives. But this has not stopped people from blindly forwarding messages that claim that an entire area has been sealed off. Another viral fake news message says, “IMP Announcement!! There has been a death due to COVID19 case on Krishna Temple Road. The exact lane is the lane where 'spoonful of sugar' is there. The house is in that lane. Please AVOID: Nilgiris, and other shopping options on Krishna Temple Road and also CMH Road for a few days IF YOU CAN! Stay safe. Bangalore, Ulsoor Area is surrounded by covid 19, It's on our door steps, infected in Ulsoor Bazar, Cambridge layout, Lakshmipuram, Indiranagar. Minimize & Avoid unwanted outings.” (sic) At present Ulsoor ward has two active patients. And terming the entire area as a no-go zone on that basis is nothing but alarming, say officials.  Dr Lokesh, BBMP Special Commissioner and COVID-19 surveillance-in-charge, says, “There is no major reason for worry. There were some patients in the CMH Hospital and we had closed it down for two days and tested all necessary contacts. Following that on the third day services resumed as normal. Presently, there are no active cases.”  Officials add that it is important that people step out only if necessary and should not crowd markets or shops. However, messages targeting individual shops or areas are hurting local businesses, delivering a serious economic blow to them. (IWith input from Alithea Stepahnie Mounika)

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Mask day in Karnataka on Thursday, in an effort to spread awareness

Coronavirus

An awareness walk will be held at district, taluk, corporation and ward levels.

TNM Staff

Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K

On Thursday, Karnataka is set to hold a 'mask day' event in places across the state to spread awareness among residents to wear masks and maintain physical distancing during the COVID-19 crisis.  An awareness walk will be held at district, taluk, corporation and ward levels to remind residents in the state to follow the national guidelines on the COVID-19 crisis. The walk will be attended by district administration officials, elected representatives and healthcare workers.  "A maximum of 50 people will take part in this walk wearing masks and maintaining distancing. They will spread awareness about the need to wear masks, maintain distancing and sanitising with soap regularly," an order issued by Karnataka Chief Secretary TN Vijay Bhaskar read. Posters and other material will be encouraged for effective communication of the messages.  Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announced on Monday that a group of film actors and athletes from Bengaluru will spread awareness about the need to wear masks by gathering at the Ambedkar statue in Vidhana Soudha.  Yediyurappa stated that an overwhelming majority of coronavirus patients do not exhibit symptoms of the disease and hence, it is important for people to wear masks and maintain distancing.  "Action will be taken against people not wearing masks and this will start with a Rs 100 fine. Wearing masks and maintaining distancing is crucial to saving lives"  Yediyurappa had said in a briefing on Tuesday.  The Karnataka High Court on Monday declined a plea questioning norms of mandatory wearing of masks in public and workspaces in the state. The petition had also questioned the restrictions imposed from 9 pm to 5 am as part of the Unlock 1.0 guidelines  

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COVID-19 containment zones in Bengaluru city increase to 191

Coronavirus

However, data from the bulletin shows that the cases in the city have not gone up drastically.

TNM Staff

Containment zones in Bengaluru city are rising, even as more people with COVID-19 are being detected across the city’s zones. According to the latest bulletin put out by the Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) COVID-19 war room, there are 191 containment areas in the city as of Wednesday. There were 47 new coronavirus cases in the city, as of Tuesday evening, bringing the total reported cases in the city to 779. Of this, 342 people have recovered. Bengaluru Urban is among the worst affected districts in the state in terms of mortality rates, and has so far reported 41 COVID deaths out of the total 94 deaths reported in the state. The city has now moved away from the concept of marking entire areas as “containment zones” and has restricted these zones to a particular street, building or a house. Without this concept, one health official told TNM that, “Then many large areas in the city would be a containment zone.” Most of the places which have been deemed as containment zones have reported only one case of coronavirus in that area. Certain containment zones have a larger cluster- SK Garden has reported 24 cases, Padarayanapura reported 70 cases, Mangammanapalya has reported 15 cases and Vishveshwara Puram has 8 cases. Jagjeevanramnagar, Malleshwaram, Hoodi and Puttenahalli have 4 cases each. Many other residential areas like Ulsoor, Thanisandra, HSR Layout, Hogasandra, Horamavu and Marathahalli have reported just one case each. TNM had previously reported that containment zones had increased by 77 zones in the span of ten days. Read: Containment zones in Bengaluru increase from 36 to 113 in ten days Containment zones are usually marked so for a period of three weeks. The latest containment zones will be declared inactive after 9 July, except if new cases are found in the area. In case there are coronavirus cases reported amongst hospital staff, however, the hospital is not considered a containment zone. The hospital is closed for a couple of days, and fumigated and sanitized. When the health inspector gives a clean chit, then the hospital would become functional again, an official told TNM. Containment zones are usually marked so for a period of three weeks. The latest containment zones will be declared inactive after 9 July, except if new cases are found in the area. In case there are coronavirus cases reported amongst hospital staff, however, the hospital is not considered a containment zone. The hospital is closed for a couple of days, and fumigated and sanitized. When the health inspector gives a clean chit, then the hospital would become functional again, an official told TNM.

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Doctors working on contract in Karnataka threaten mass resignation

Coronavirus

The doctors claim that their services have not been regularised and there is widespread pay disparity.

TNM Staff

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As many as 507 doctors working on contract under the Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department have threatened to resign on Wednesday as their services have not been regularised and the issue of pay disparity has not been addressed, they said. However, due to the current situation of COVID-19, they will continue to serve patients. While regularised doctors get a starting monthly salary of Rs 80,000, they are getting only Rs 45,000. Incidentally new contract staff who have been recruited after the onset of the pandemic get Rs 60,000 per month. These doctors claim absorption of doctors appointed on contract basis to government service has not taken place, even though it is legally mandated to do so. They cited the Karnataka Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services Special Rules, notified in 2002, which dictates that after three years of service in rural areas, these doctors should be absorbed into government service. They say the move to resign came after repeated petitions by the Contract Doctors’ Association of Karnataka (CDAK) to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Health MInister B Sriramulu have failed to make a difference. The Hindu reported that association members across districts in the state will reach Bengaluru to jointly submit their resignations to the CM and Health Minister. These contract doctors are usually appointed in primary health centres. In wake of the pandemic, they have been deputed to district hospitals. Deccan Herald quoted a letter by the association to the CM which stated that there is currently a 30% vacancy in posts in government hospitals in the state and while these contract doctors can fill up the vacancies by doing the same work, there is a huge pay disparity. The Hindu quoted another doctor who said that while more than 2,000 doctors from 2002 to 2016 have been regularised, there has been no such recent regularisation by the Health Department.

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Karnataka govt to set up COVID-19 care centres to treat asymptomatic cases

Coronavirus

Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said an expert committee has been formed to advise on the type of treatment and care needed for COVID-19 cases in different stages.

TNM Staff

Representational image/ PTI

Soon, the Karnataka government will establish COVID-19 care centres to monitor and treat asymptomatic cases in a move to keep hospital beds free for patients who require more regular medical supervision. "As the number of cases is increasing since the last two weeks, COVID-19 Care Centres will be established to monitor and treat infected persons who are asymptomatic," said Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar. He said an expert committee has been formed to advise on the type of treatment and care needed for COVID-19 cases in different stages. "BBMP commissioner has been directed to ensure that 20,000 beds are available in COVID-19 Care Centres in Bengaluru city. This will reduce the burden on hospitals and ensure that beds are available for those who need it," said Sudhakar. On Tuesday, the minister deliberated with senior officials and experts on the best practices and the effective steps taken by other states. He called upon the private hospitals to proactively participate in the fight against the virus and warned them of strict action in case they refuse to treat COVID-19 patients, despite possessing the capability. "Detailed guidelines will soon be released regarding the number of beds, ICU (facilities) and ventilators to be reserved for treatment of COVID-19 cases," he added. This decision has been taken keeping in mind the rapid rise in the number of cases in the last few weeks. The minister said that the number of cases have tripled in the last 2 weeks and deaths have doubled. These steps are being taken as part of the state government’s fight against COVID-19 under the leadership of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, the minister added.  He said that the state is leaving no stone unturned to contain the spread of the virus and has effectively managed the situation so far.  The government is committed to fight this battle against the pandemic on all fronts, the minister added.

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What Colorado is getting right about reopening

While surrounding states see spike in virus, Colorado’s methodical approach is working.

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