Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Seema Verma has disputed the report, calling its findings “disingenuous."
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Friday, July 17, 2020
CDC to recommend against retesting coronavirus patients before they end isolation
The change in federal policy comes as surging coronavirus cases have strained the nation's testing capacity
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Thursday, July 16, 2020
Bengaluru reports 2,344 COVID-19 cases, highest single day spike so far
Karnataka reported 4196 COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
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Karnataka reported 4,196 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, making it the highest number of cases to be reported in a single day. Of these cases, 2,344 cases were reported in Bengaluru alone. This is also the highest number of cases reported in Bengaluru in a single day so far. The state also reported 104 deaths on Thursday. The total number of active cases in Karnataka stands at 30,655 of which 18,828 are in Bengaluru city. The other districts that reported a relatively large number of cases include Dakshina Kannada (238), Dharwad (176), Vijayapura (144), Mysuru (130), Kalaburagi (123), Udupi (113), Raichur (101) and Belagavi (92). Of the 104 people who died due to COVID-19 on Thursday, 71 of them were from Bengaluru. The other deaths were from Kolar (6), Dakshina Kannada (7), Ballari (4), Mysuru (3), Hassan (2), Bagalkote (5), Belagavi (3), and one each in Bidar, Kalaburagi and Mandya. As many as 539 patients among the 30,655 active cases in the state are currently lodged in Intensive Care Units in Karnataka. Of these, 317 of them are in Bengaluru city. On Thursday, 1,239 patients were discharged, taking the state’s total discharges to 19,729. The death rate in Karnataka currently stands at 1.9% and the death rate among high risk patients stands at 6.2%, according to the Karnataka War Room data. The recovery rate in Karnataka stands at 39%. Of the total number of people who are currently in isolation, 14% of them have Influenza-Like Illness or Severe Acute Respiratory Illness. Fourteen percent of the active cases are primary or secondary contacts of COVID-19 patients, while 17% of them are domestic travellers. As many as 23,451 samples were tested on Thursday taking the state’s total number of samples tested to 9,25,477. The state government has allocated 29% of the beds available in all government and private hospitals across Karnataka for COVID-19. According to the war room, the occupancy rate is at 16.3%.
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Fear of corona has made it easy to implement lockdown: B'luru Police Commissioner to TNM
Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said a total of around 200 vehicles were seized across Bengaluru on the first day of this phase of lockdown.
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As announced by Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday, both Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts have been put under another phase of stringent lockdown for a week to curb the exponential number of COVID-19 cases. The lockdown orders, which came into effect at 8 pm on Tuesday, will remain till 5 am on July 22. Ahead of the lockdown, City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had warned of strict action against violators, and said that the police will also seize vehicles if the users are found to be heading out without a valid reason. Unlike the previous phases of lockdown, he did not allow issuing of curfew passes. TNM caught up with the city’s police boss for an interview over his thoughts on the first two days of this phase of lockdown. Read the edited excerpt of the same bellow. How have the city residents responded to the lockdown? Are you being lenient? People of the city are responding very responsibly. There is no question of leniency. The fear of corona has got to the people and they have made our job of enforcing the lockdown pretty easy. How have citizen volunteers responded to your call? Citizen volunteers have responded very well, in fact the response has been beyond our expectation and our servers had actually crashed, More than 15,000 people have applied to volunteer with us and about 3,000-4,000 people have already started work. Inviting physically fit n service minded residents of Bengaluru, both men and women, between the age of 18 to 45 to Volunteer as Civil Police Warden to help the local police in regulation and enforcement of anti-Covid measures. To register log on to https://t.co/sPMdHigqYn — Bhaskar Rao IPS (@deepolice12) July 14, 2020 How is the police force taking precautions given there are multiple cases of infections? I have already lost eight people from the force and almost 700 persons are infected, and another 800 police personnel are in quarantine. Another 1200 persons with comorbidities are working from home as a precautionary measure. This is why we needed to take the help of volunteers. Like the first phase of lockdown, are you also seizing vehicles in bulk? It is only Day 2 of this phase of lockdown so we cannot say if we are faced with a similar situation. But we are stringent about this. On the first day, we had seized around 200 vehicles including two wheelers. Are people being arrested for violating the lockdown? What will we do by arresting people? They are not murderers or anything and it will only increase contact and result in more and more cases. We will book cases against violators.
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B'luru residents stop burial of COVID-19 patient, reportedly pelt stones at ambulance
The incident occurred at the MS Palya burial grounds.
A crowd can be seen gathered at a burial ground in Bengaluru, standing in the way of Bengaluru civic body officials, who had arrived at the site to bury the body of a patient, who died due to COVID-19. An earthmover was parked at the entrance, stopping the ambulance from entering the burial ground. A video of this went viral on social media on Thursday. The incident occurred at the burial ground in Bengaluru’s MS Palya on Wednesday evening. Speaking to TNM, Mohammed Ismail, a member of Mercy Angel, an organisation that is helping provide logistical aid to patients with COVID-19, said people in the area had gathered at the burial ground and stopped the ambulance from entering. Local Residents protesting against the Burial at the Christian Cemetery in MS Palya, They attempted to pelt stones at the Ambulance...Police has arrived !@BangaloreMirror @BlrCityPolice @deepolice12 @tv9kannada @publictvnews @suvarnanewstv @TOIIndiaNews @zoo_bear @CMofKarnataka pic.twitter.com/lNQMJKeXCl — Mohammed Ismail (@IsmailMd008) July 16, 2020 The ambulance was carrying the body of an 86-year-old man, who succumbed to COVID-19. His family members had come along with members of Mercy Angels to witness the burial from afar. “They did not want the body of the COVID-19 patient to be buried there,” Ismail added. The crowd reportedly pelted stones at the ambulance that was parked outside the burial ground and Ismail said that the ambulance had to be moved further down the street to avoid any further attack. “We called the Vidyaranyapura Police and a sub inspector came to the spot immediately. She tried to make the people understand that the body will be buried according to the guidelines set for burying bodies of COVID-19 patients. She tried to convince them but the people did not agree,” Ismail said. The Vidyaranyapura Police told TNM that when the people refused to allow the burial to take place, they had to arrange for a cold storage facility for the body. “We helped the activists arrange for the body to be kept in the morgue at Baptist Hospital,” the police added. Ismail said that the man’s body was kept in Baptist Hospital’s morgue until 5.30 pm on Thursday. The police and BBMP arranged for the man’s body to be buried at a burial ground on Hosur Road. “The patient’s family is shattered. They were in trauma because of his death and when people didn’t allow his body to be buried, it just devastated them,” Ismail added.
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K’taka environmentalist Kame Gowda faces opposition in home turf after ‘Mann ki Baat’ fame
The Prime Minister had mentioned Kame Gowda’s feats during his radio speech on June 28.
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Just weeks into his fame after being featured in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat radio programme, Kame Gowda, a 84-year-old shepherd from Mandya’s Mavali taluk is facing hostility in his own village. He had previously won the Rajyotsava award in 2018. His claim to fame as a ‘water warrior’ comes from his afforestation efforts of an entire hillside and also reviving 16 ponds single-handedly over four decades. The Prime Minister had mentioned him during his radio speech on June 28. However, his neighbours have now alleged that Kame Gowda is blocking access to a grazing field following his new found popularity. They have approached the local police and the district administration to air their grievance. Kame Gowda’s neighbours have alleged that the claim that he revived 16 ponds is false. A group of 70 residents of his village and surrounding areas have petitioned the Deputy Commissioner to probe his claim to fame and urged him to take back his honours. The group also levelled allegations of sand mining against him from these ponds. Speaking to reporters, Deputy Commissioner MV Venkatesh acknowledged the issue and said that there is a disagreement between Kame Gowda and other residents of the Dasandoddi village. He said, “Kame Gowda has done excellent work and the Forest Department and several organisations have hailed his work and awarded him. Even PM Modi hailed his social development work in Mann ki Baat.” He added, “This is an issue of misunderstanding and our officials are sorting it out. Otherwise, residents of the area are proud of Kame Gowda and our officials have formed a team to resolve all the issues.” It may be recalled that the state government-run Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation earlier this month awarded a lifetime free bus pass to him as ordered by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. This development came after an interview with a national daily when Kame Gowda had said that while such a pass was promised by ex-CM HD Kumaraswamy during the Rajyotsava Awards, the same did not materialise. Keyword: Environmentalist, Kame, Gowda, HD, Kumaraswamy, Rajyotsava, Awards, Mann, ki, Baat, Modi, Mavali, ponds, water, warrior, bus, ticket
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How Karnataka govt is planning to make the state the ‘factory of the future’
The policy focuses largely on promoting MSMEs, creating large industrial townships and manufacturing hubs.
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Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s office is currently reviewing the Draft Industrial Policy for the state for 2020-25. The policy document has multiple proposals, with the focus on making the state the ‘factory of the future’. How will this be achieved? The draft policy focuses on boosting 13 major sectors: automobiles and auto Components; pharmaceuticals and medical devices; engineering and machine tools; knowledge-based industries; cement; steel; sugar; logistics; renewable energy; aerospace and defence; electric vehicles; healthcare and wellness; higher education; and biofuels. The policy envisions generating investments to the tune of Rs 5 lakh crore and creating employment for 20 lakh people. Here are the major points in the draft police. ‘Land bank’ for industrial development One of the biggest recommendations of the draft policy is large scale land acquisition by the government, to then be sold for industrial development. On April 27 this year, the state government amended the Karnataka Land Reforms Act of 1961, and made it possible for industries to buy land, less than 216 acres, directly from the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). This includes land that was previously prohibited to be sold for industrial purposes. It proposes that the KIADB acquire 20,000 acres of land in a phased manner over the next few years, and create a “land bank”, from which land can be sold for development of industrial areas quickly. A price fixation committee will be consulted to determine the land prices. Industrial parks and industrial townships The draft proposes the development of industrial areas in Mummigatti-Dharwad; Narasapura phase 2 in Gadag; Kanagala in Belagavi; Mulavad in Vijayapura; Kushtagi in Koppal; Kudatini and Mundargi phase 4 in Ballari; Chittapur in Kalaburagi; and Kolhar phase 2 in Bidar. It also proposes utilisation of vacant land of Bharat Gold Mines Limited in the development of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. It proposes construction of Industrial Parks on PPP model, and those that are privately owned. 10-15% of the land in industrial areas is proposed to be earmarked for supporting infrastructure like housing, service apartments, hospitals, and shopping complexes within industrial areas over 1,000 acres. The proposed policy suggests that the Karnataka Industrial Township Area Development Act be passed, for the industrial areas that will be notified in the future. “When a government sets up industrial parks, its maintenance is generally given to the local bodies. In some townships like in Maharashtra, an Industrial Authority is appointed to oversee the maintenance of the industrial township. Local bodies do not maintain infrastructure properly. The draft proposes that the industrialists be in charge of maintaining the civic amenities within the township,” a senior official with the Department of Commerce and Industries said. He further stated that the Industrial Authority would comprise representatives of industrialists and bureaucrats and that the Industrial Authority have powers to collect property taxes, advertisement tax, development cess, sanction of building permits, removal of encroachments, management and maintenance of civic services in said areas. The draft also proposes that these Industrial Authorities monitor the compliance of laws related to manufacturing processes in the said areas. “There are a lot of issues which intersect here like maintaining law and order, the property tax or any cess collected by the IA will go to KIADB. But there are still a lot of issues that need to be addressed, which is why a comprehensive legislation like the Karnataka Industrial Township Area Development Act is required. This does not mean that governance is privatised,” the official said. The policy proposes bringing in amendments to the Karnataka Corporations Act, 1964 and the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 to allow Industrial Authorities to maintain the townships. Dharwad Special Investment Region The policy proposes that a Special Investment Region be established in Dharwad. This will be an Industrial Township with an area of 100-150 sq km, which aims to become a global economic hub, which will also have necessary infrastructure and civic amenities. It proposes enactment of the Special Investment Regions Act to regulate SIRs. It also proposes SIRs in Shivamogga Davangere, Chitradurga, Chikkamagaluru and Kalaburagi districts. Sources in the Department of Industries and Commerce say that the thrust for north Karnataka in the industrial policy is largely a political move by the BJP to retain its vote bank in the northern districts. Hubballi-Dharwad Central is also the home constituency of Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar. Labour reforms The draft has proposed the increase of overtime working hours to 125 hours per quarter. Currently, according to section 64 of the Factories Act, 1948, the total number of overtime hours must not exceed 50 hours per quarter. According to section 65 of the Factories Act, the total number of overtime hours must not exceed 75 hours if the factory has higher workload. However, the draft policy does not mention the pay scale for the proposed revised overtime work. The policy also mentions periodical revision of minimum wages keeping in mind inflation and consumer price index. However, the cycle of pay revision is not suggested in the draft policy. The policy proposes an increase in shift timings and number of shifts for women employees. The existing shift is between 6 am to 7 pm, while the draft proposes that women can be put on shifts between 6 am and 10 pm on multiple shifts. “MSMEs employing up to 50 employees shall be exempt from maintaining cumbersome records, furnishing returns and maintaining registers,” the draft says. The draft, however, does not mention specifics related to the labour reforms it seeks. It, however, mentions that a detailed study needs to be conducted before making further recommendations regarding minimum wages, shift timings for women employees and also relaxations it can offer businesses. Promotion of MSMEs > Sarthak Scheme to boost micro, small and medium enterprises. > A new online platform will have various resources for MSMEs like connecting enterprises with suppliers of raw materials, platform to access retail and wholesale markets, information about global quality control standards, access to credit > Support related to data analytics, market research, intelligence, skill development, technology, knowledge and branding and advertising. > A separate Centre of Excellence to identify the strengths of MSMEs to provide them with “strategic guidance” and required technological options. > KIADB to provide 30% of allottable land in industrial areas to MSMEs. > 22.65% of land reserved for SC/ST entrepreneurs, 10% for Minorities and persons with disabilities, Backward Classes (Category1 and 2A only), ex-servicemen entrepreneurs and 5% for women. > 70% of land acquired by KIADB will be allotted to large, mega, ultra mega and super mega manufacturing enterprises
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