Bengaluru stadiums and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ashram to house COVID-19 patients

Coronavirus

The notification comes at a time when Bengaluru has witnessed an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients.

Prajwal Bhat

PTI : Image for representation

The Karnataka government has issued a notification to use stadiums and ashrams in Bengaluru as COVID Care Centres (CCC) to treat asymptomatic patients who test positive for the coronavirus.  The notification dated June 20 lists the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Koramangala Indoor Stadium and the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ashram in the city as centres where asymptomatic patients will be treated. Such centres will be identified across the state since 75% of COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic, states the notification.  "The Administrative Head of all these facilities are instructed to get in touch with the Commissioner, BBMP immediately for making necessary arrangements for receiving & managing patients. They shall provide their infrastructure, staffs, resources etc for appropriate management of COVID patients," the notification read. Until now, COVID-19 patients in Bengaluru were treated at the government-run Victoria Hospital in the city, irrespective of severity of symptoms. Similarly, COVID-19 patients in other districts were treated at government-run hospitals designated by the district administration. The notification comes at a time when Bengaluru recorded 232 COVID-19 cases in the last two days including 102 cases with no known contact or travel history. These patients reported in hospitals with symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and Influenza-like illness (ILI) As the cases increase, the state government has decided to follow the triaging protocol set by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). Patients who are asymptomatic will be treated at CCCs; patients who have mild to moderate symptoms will be managed at Dedicated Covid Health Centres (DCHCs); and patients who are seriously will be treated at Dedicated Covid Hospitals (DCHs).  The state health department has also identified 16 government hospitals in and around Bengaluru where beds will be set aside to treat patients with mild to moderate symptoms.  The DCHC hospitals identified include CV Raman General Hospital, KC General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital and ESI Hospital in Indiranagar among other facilities in and around the city.   While all 250 beds in CV Raman General Hospital will be reserved for COVID-19 patients, a part of the other hospitals will be allocated for COVID-19 patients.  In addition, as many as 518 private hospitals and medical colleges empanelled under the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) have been allowed to treat COVID-19 patients. This includes 44 private hospitals in Bengaluru. The entire list is available at https://ift.tt/2BtZcjb and also on the Health Department's website. The private hospitals can treat patients only if referred by public authorities such as BBMP Commissioner, Health department Director, District Health Officers and others.  The hospitals will be paid an appropriate package rate for Covid management, stated a health department official. The state has not barred private hospitals from treating COVID-19 patients but they have to mandatorily report all positive cases. As per the health department, hospital care will be prioritised for symptomatic patients, elderly persons and patients with comorbidities.   Karnataka has reported 8697 COVID-19 cases with 3170 cases currently active in the state. The number of cases in Bengaluru crossed 1,000 on Saturday and is now 1076, of which 621 patients are currently hospitalised. 

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Two more cops in Bengaluru succumb to COVID-19, 13 others test positive

Coronavirus

This is the third policeman who is dying due to coronavirus in the state.

TNM Staff

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A 59-year-old assistant sub-inspector attached to Wilson Garden Traffic police station passed away due to COVID-19 on Sunday morning. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on June 18 and was undergoing treatment at Sparsh Hospital after complaints of high fever. This is the third death of a ‘Corona Warrior’ reported this week. The policeman who died had contacts with five other police staff, as well as 20 primary contacts, according to a statement from the Bengaluru East Deputy Commission of Police (Traffic). The contacts have been tested as of Saturday and the results are awaited. They have all been admitted in a city hospital. Traffic police Hiremath (59) who succumbed to coronavirus. On Saturday, a 56-year-old police constable attached to the Kalasipalyam police station succumbed to the disease at Victoria Hospital. He was admitted in the hospital on June 18, the same day he tested positive for the novel coronavirus, reported The Hindu. The two deaths come days after a traffic assistant sub-inspector, who was attached to the VV Puram Traffic police, tested positive following his death on Tuesday. Meanwhile, in another cause for concern among the state police, 13 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) personnel, who reached Mysuru from Bengaluru, tested positive for the virus. All the 13 persons have been sent to a COVID-19 designated hospital. All of them were posted for duty at the Padarayanapura ward in Bengaluru, which was initially entirely sealed as a containment zone to contain the spread of the disease. The Times of India reported that a 25-member team of the fifth battalion of the KSRP had returned to Mysuru from Bengaluru on June 17 and were put in institutional quarantine. Another 12 persons will continue to be in quarantine for another seven days and will undergo another round of testing. Mysuru Police Commissioner Chandragupta told TOI that all these police personnel did not meet anybody, including their family members, and that the police department has communicated with them and given them confidence. Following this, all police teams returning from Bengaluru and reporting back to Mysuru district will be tested. On Saturday, Bhaskar Rao, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, issued a directive to the police force to subject every arrested or detained persons to COVID-19 tests and keep them at a distance till the results come back. TOI also reported that at present, 39 Bengaluru police staff been diagnosed with COVID-19, including the three deceased.

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279 containment zones in Bengaluru as of Saturday, 31 apartments marked as zones

Coronavirus

While 1076 people have been discharged in Bengaluru from the time the pandemic started, 61 deaths too have been reported.

TNM Staff

On Saturday, Bengaluru recorded 94 more COVID-19 patients, taking the total number of active patients in Bengaluru Urban to 621. While 1076 people have been discharged in Bengaluru from the time the pandemic started, 61 deaths too have been reported. With cases rising, the containment zones in the city too have gone up. As of Saturday, there are 279 containment zones in the city, including 31 apartments in the city. If a person living in an apartment gets the infection, the BBMP normally marks the person is living in, one floor above and below as containment zones. Containment zones are usually marked so for a period of three weeks. The latest containment zones will be declared inactive after 3 weeks, except if new cases are found in the area. In it’s daily bulletin, BBMP has stopped giving names of all containment zones and instead only gives details of number of zones. As of Saturday, the South zone has the most number of containment zones. While the South zone has 81 containment zones, East came next with 45 zones and West with 38 containment zones. Bommanahalli has 38 containment zones, Mahadevapura has 31, RR Nagara has 12 and Dasarahalli has 9 containment zones. 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.  Most of the places which have been deemed as containment zones have reported only one case of coronavirus in that area.  As of Saturday, 196 of the 621 patients in Bengaluru, who are currently in isolation, have ILI (Influenza like symptoms), while 107 of them have SARI. The number of ILI and SARI cases can be attributed to the increased number of tests for patients with these illnesses.   

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Man held for allegedly sexually assaulting women in Bengaluru quarantine centre

Crime

The incident, which took place on Friday, has been reported from the facility in HSR Layout in Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru police, on Saturday, arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting two women at a COVID-19 institutional quarantine facility. The incident, which took place on Friday, was reported from the facility in HSR Layout in south Bengaluru and a complaint has been registered against the accused at HSR Layout police station.  The Times of India reported that the accused has been identified as one Shankar alias Jaishankar. His samples have been sent for a COVID-19 test following the allegation. Until the report is out, he will be isolated in a room inside the HSR Layout police station. The report said that Shankar had returned from Mumbai on Thursday and was taken to HSR Sector 4 government hostel, which has been transformed into a quarantine facility. He is a resident of Subramanyanagar and had travelled to Mumbai to meet a relative in March. According to the police, Shankar, working as an artisan for an interior design company, has been accused of sexually assaulting a 30-year-old woman near a common bathroom, and soon after this, he allegedly sexually assaulted another woman, a 22-year-old, inside her room. TOI quoted a policeman saying that Shankar misbehaved with the 30-year-old when both of them were near the common bathroom. Following this, the woman pushed him and fled to her room. When Shankar tried to follow her, he spotted the 22-year-old sleeping in her room and allegedly sexually assaulted her. Two other women in the same room immediately raised the alarm. Two men from another room then caught Shankar.   According to a report by Vartha Bharati, the police have registered a case based on the complaint of the 30-year-old woman. The police complaint stated that the woman had returned from Mumbai and was staying in the hostel for her seven-day quarantine. That report said that Shankar entered the washroom after the woman and locked it from inside but the woman managed to resist him.

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Bengaluru has 196 COVID-19 patients with Influenza-Like Illness and 107 with SARI

Coronavirus

The number of ILI and SARI cases can be attributed to the increased number of tests for patients with these illnesses.

TNM Staff

PTI/Representation Photo

Karnataka reported 416 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday taking the state's total number of active patients with COVID-19 to 3,170.  While 94 of the 416 new patients were from Bengaluru, the second highest number of patients with COVID-19 were in Bidar district with 73 new cases. Ramanagara and Ballari districts reported 38 new cases each, while there are 34 new patients in Kalaburagi, 22 in Mysuru, 16 in Hassan, 15 in Raichur, 13 in Udupi and 12 in Haveri districts.  In those included in Saturday's bulletin, 43 of the patients have Influenza-like Illness, while 18 of them have Severe Acute Respiratory Illness. As of Saturday, 196 of the 621 patients in Bengaluru, who are currently in isolation, have ILI, while 107 of them have SARI. The number of ILI and SARI cases can be attributed to the increased number of tests for patients with these illnesses.  Nine new deaths were reported in Karnataka on Saturday taking the state’s total death toll to 132. Three of them were from Bengaluru, two from Bidar, one each from Chikkamagaluru, Davangere and Udupi, and a 66-year-old woman, who was brought dead to a hospital on Friday.  A hundred and eighty one patients were discharged on Saturday, taking the state’s total number of people discharged to 5,391, which is higher than the number of patients, who are currently in isolation.  Among the patients who tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, 116 were inter-state passengers, while 16 were returnees from other countries. There are 74 patients lodged in the ICU across the state with 36 from Bengaluru, 11 from Kalaburagi, 5 each from Bidar, Ballari and Dharwad, 3 from Davangere, 2 each from Dakshina Kannada and Hassan, and one each from Vijayapura, Raichur, Haveri, Dharwad and Belagavi districts.   

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Bengaluru’s Sai Baba temple trustees booked for allegedly denying wages to Dalit employee

Law and order

The complaint against the Trust officials was made by a Dalit employee, stating that he had not been paid wages due to him for over a year.

Prajwal Bhat

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against two members of the Sri Gajanana Seva Mandali Trust and four others in Bengaluru's RT Nagar after a complaint of caste-based discrimination made by an employee of a temple managed by the Trust.  The trust manages the Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in RT Nagar, which is one of the oldest Sai Baba temples in Bengaluru. Sadashiva, 41, has worked as manager of the temple for the last 15 years.  The complaint against the Trust officials was made by Sadashiva, stating that he had not been paid wages due to him for over a year. Sadashiva said that he was discriminated against by members of the Trust during the allotment of a house belonging to the Trust. Two members of the Trust, Ramamurthy and Ramesh K, and four others —  Vishwanatha, Bhaskar, Murali, Shankar — are named in the FIR. They have been booked under various Sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. “I am the manager of the trust and I have been denied my wages, even though I have continued working at this time. After this issue was not resolved for over a year, I decided to file a police complaint. I have been borrowing money from people for the past year,” Sadashiva told TNM.  He alleged that he was denied a residence in the staff quarters built by the Trust.  “I was also denied a staff quarters because of my Dalit identity. I was supposed to be allotted a staff quarters, but it was given to someone who is not an employee of the Trust,” Sadashiva said.  RT Nagar police officials are currently investigating the allegations. An FIR was filed after repeated complaints were made at the police station.  “The temple Trust members were urging Sadashiva to leave his job by denying him wages and a staff quarters. He is facing an issue of his house flooding in his current accommodation, which was allotted by a former Trust official,” Mariswamy, a Dalit activist said. He added that temple officials were threatening Sadashiva to leave his job immediately. 

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In a relief to K'taka authorities, PU student who wrote exams tests negative for coronavirus

Coronavirus

Her father, a health department official, had tested positive for the virus on Friday, a day after the examination.

TNM Staff

A Pre-University student who wrote the English board examination on June 18 has tested negative for coronavirus. She was in institutional quarantine after the examination since her father tested positive for the virus on Friday, a day after the examination.  However, her sample results returned negative around 3 pm on Saturday in a relief to Karnataka government officials. The student from Bengaluru had written the English board examination on June 18. Media reports had suggested that she had written the exam despite being in home quarantine and had erased the quarantine stamp on her hand.  Karnataka Education Minister S Suresh Kumar refuted the reports and stated that the student was not in quarantine when she wrote the examination. "I want to clarify that the student was not in quarantine and did not attend the exam by erasing the quarantine seal. Her father is in quarantine but she was not," he said in a press briefing on Saturday.  The student's father, a health department official, tested positive on Friday, a day after the examination. He was asymptomatic. Even though his swab was taken earlier, he dropped his daughter to the examination centre on June 18. "We will be enquiring into the incident. We won't entertain breezy attitude among officials and we will be informing the health department to remind officials of their responsibilities," Suresh Kumar said. He added that no student who attended the examination is required to be quarantined. Following the news of the father testing positive, 23 students in her examination centre were asked to be quarantined at home.  The scare comes just days before the class 10 board exam which is set to begin from June 25. Suresh Kumar admitted that in some examination centres in the state, physical distancing norms were not followed during the second PU English examination.  "We will be taking action against the centres where distancing norms were not followed. The education department officials spoke to Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) in all districts and checked the progress of the preparation for the upcoming class 10 exams. We will be following the norms presented to the High Court and Supreme Court," Suresh Kumar said. 

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