Trump’s announcement comes as his administration has rolled out multiple health care announcements in recent weeks.
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Monday, August 3, 2020
Karnataka witnesses acute shortage of organ donors amidst COVID-19 pandemic
Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients are the major affectees due to this prevalent situation as they might not have any eligible donors among the near family members.
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As there is widespread loss to life and livelihoods due to the spike in the novel coronavirus infection, shortage of organ donors has surfaced as another collateral damage of the pandemic era. TNM spoke to doctors and other experts in the field who say, while on the positive side, road accident victims, the major contributors are going down due to less number of fatal road accidents, there are patients who are dying in want of organs. The death of liver donors is a major issue, say doctors. Dr Rajiv Lochan, a senior consultant surgeon at Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru said in all of their branch hospitals across the state there have been no donations in the last five months from deceased donors. “Since the pandemic has kicked in organ donations have stopped in Bengaluru and rest of the state, almost altogether. There are some donations happening in neighbouring states but they are too few and far between,” he said. He added, “There is a significant number of deaths that are occurring on our waiting list due to want of organ donations.” Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients are the major affectees due to this prevalent situation as they might not have any eligible donors among the near family members. He reasoned the crisis is due to multiple reasons. For one, he said there is a significant drop of patients coming in for intensive care for non-COVID-19 reasons, reduction of fatal road accidents, lack of systematic monitoring of the status of brain dead patients owing to the COVID-19 crisis. “Identifying brain stem deaths, identifying donors and maintaining the patients also take a lot of effort and this is difficult given all resources are now concentrated to fight COVID-19. Also there is this issue of counselling the family members of the patients,” he said. “So there is no doubt that this collateral damage of the pandemic is equal to the direct problems of the disease,” he opined. Transplant coordinator at Jeevasarthakathe (a state government body for facilitating cadaveric organ donation) , KU Manjula, said that earlier till March, on an average the state would see organs being harvested from at least eight brain dead patients. But since the onset of the pandemic, there have been no successful transplantations since April. “Right now, we are missing many cases where due to logistical or other reasons we are failing to retrieve the organs. Sometimes due to COVID-19 regulations, patient parties may want to get done with the funeral rites in haste. Last month we had seven missed cases as the patient’s family withdrew the consent,” she said. She said there are more than 3,000 patients awaiting kidney donations alone. Organ donation works in India in two ways--a) the donor can be a living person who volunteers to donate either part of an organ (like a lobe of their liver) or a paired organ (like a kidney) or b) persons who are declared brain-dead after all clinical treatments to bring them back to life fails. All healthy persons can volunteer to donate their kidney, liver, heart, eyes post their death. In Karnataka, there are more than 40 authorised hospitals to carry out organ transplantation with a majority of them being in Bengaluru. He said for all these reasons, only live donations by near relatives are taking place. “But this will only work for patients having eligible family members with the same blood group and the right health condition.” The situation is the same for patients needing heart and lungs but only worse as there is no possibility of live donations. Dr Mohan Kumar, Consultant Urologist and Renal Transplant Surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai raised another important issue. “Even if a patient is brain dead, we can’t be sure if he or she is COVID-19 negative or not as swab tests have only an efficacy of 60% and even for kidney failure patients, their family members do not want to go ahead with the transplantation,” he said. He added that most doctors are also unwilling to do live donations given that recipients need to be administered immunosuppressants and that may prove fatal as that will pose them at a greater risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection. “Since the donor is a healthy person, we as doctors are at a moral dilemma if to put them at a life threatening risk in this post-pandemic time. So for one there is a shortage of cadaver (brain dead) donors and there is the other issue of doctors unwilling to put healthy patients at risk. So we are trying to delay the process by using dialysis even though quality of life is much less compared to those undergoing transplant,” he explained.
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Reshuffle among IPS officers in Karnataka, Bengaluru gets new DCPs
These transfers come just three days after Bengaluru got a new police commissioner Kamal Pant.
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Four Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP) in Bengaluru were among the police officers transferred in a routine reshuffle among the IPS (Indian Police Service) brass in Karnataka as announced on Monday. IPS officers MN Anucheth, D Devaraja, Dharmender Kumar Meena and Harish Pandey are the new DCPs in Bengaluru. MN Anucheth, the DCP of Whitefield Division, was transferred to the role of DCP Bengaluru Central, replacing Chetan Singh Rathor. D Devaraja, an officer of the Select List of 2015, will now take charge as the DCP of Whitefield Division. Harish Pandey, who was Superintendent of Police (SP) Intelligence Bengaluru until now, has been posted as DCP Bengaluru South. Rohini Katoch Sepat, DCP Bengaluru South, was transferred to the role of Superintendent of Police, CID (Criminal Investigation Department), Bengaluru. Nikam Prakash Amrit, who was the SP, CID, Bengaluru until now, will be posted as the SP of Raichur district. B Ramesh, DCP Bengaluru West, was transferred to the role of Superintendent of Police, CID, Bengaluru. N Sashi Kumar, DCP Bengaluru North, was transferred to the role of Superintendent of Police, Wireless in Bengaluru. Dharmender Kumar Meena replaced Sashi Kumar as DCP, Bengaluru North. Meanwhile, Iada Martin Marbaniang was transferred from his role of SP, Kalaburagi and posted as the SP of Anti-Naxal Force, Karkala, Udupi. Suman D Pannekar, a 2013-batch officer, will take charge as Deputy Director, Karnataka Police Academy, Mysuru. Among officers of the rank of Inspector General, IPS officer D Roopa of 2000-batch, who was posted as Inspector General of Police (IGP), Railways, Bengaluru has been made the IGP and Secretary to Government (PCAS), Home Department. She will replace IPS officer Umesh Kumar. Umesh Kumar, who was until now PCAS, will be posted as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), CID, Economic Offences, Bengaluru. These transfer orders were along expected lines as the order for the transfer of Bengaluru City Police Commissioner was made on Friday. While senior IPS officer Bhaskar Rao was transferred out from his position as Commissioner of Police for Bengaluru City, he was replaced by his 1990-batchmate, Kamal Pant. Bhaskar Rao has now taken charge as ADGP Internal Security Division, Bengaluru.
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Unfazed by stigma, Bengaluru migrant labourers queue up to donate blood
As many as 75 migrant workers turned up to donate blood, many of them for the first time in their lives, at the migrant settlement in Thubarahalli in Bengaluru.
Jashmuddin was uncertain entering the make-shift tent set up for the blood donation camp in Thubarahalli, a migrant settlement located close to Whitefield in Bengaluru. The 38-year-old from West Bengal had never donated blood in his life, but that was about to change on Sunday. “I went in (to the tent) and filled up a few forms. I was then asked if I am willing to donate blood and I said, why not? I will do it happily. I thought it would be painful, but I almost didn’t feel it,” he says. Jashmuddin washes cars in luxury apartment blocks that loom large over the settlement of tin-roofed shanties where he lives. “We came to know that there was a shortage of blood in blood banks. We held a discussion in our community and we decided that we would donate blood to help,” says Jashmuddin. A blood donation camp was organised in Thubarahalli on Sunday by Swaraj Abhiyan, supported by the Lions Blood Bank and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, a government hospital in Bengaluru. As many as 75 people in the migrant settlement, mostly comprising Bengali speakers, came forward to donate blood — for many of them, this was their first time doing so. Blood donation camp in Thubarahalli, Bengaluru Shortage of blood in Bengaluru Laxmi Narayan, the blood bank councillor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, told TNM that the hospital has been short of blood since the lockdown. “We have not conducted blood donation camps in the last two months. Very few people have come forward to donate blood since the lockdown, so we are thankful that the people here have donated blood during a pandemic,” says Laxmi Narayan. Read: Shortage of blood in Bengaluru, blood banks seek help from healthy persons Doctors wore protective equipment and maintained distancing measures while collecting blood. “We followed distancing measures and gave masks to those who didn’t have one. We wore PPE, including face shields and gloves, and ensured that those who turned up to give blood did not form a crowd,” adds Laxmi Narayan. Blood donation camp in Thubarahalli, Bengaluru He says that the hospital needs around 15 units of blood everyday, particularly for patients with thalassemia (a blood disorder). Similarly, Lions Blood Bank had not conducted a blood donation drive in the past month. Over 40 units of blood were collected by the Lions Blood Bank and 34 units of blood were collected by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health on Sunday. “The fact that a group of migrant workers donated blood will give confidence to others to come forward and donate blood,” says Prashant, technical supervisor for the Lions Blood Bank. “We tested the units of blood collected on Sunday and it was cleared for distribution. We hope this dispels fears that collecting blood from residents of migrant settlements will lead to complications. This fear stems from the assumption that many of the workers do not take vaccinations,” adds Prashant. Thubarahalli near Whitefield in Bengaluru Residents in Thubarahalli say they are aware of the shortage of blood in Bengaluru. In July, a pregnant woman from the settlement struggled to find a hospital when she was due to deliver. The woman’s family said that government hospitals were treating COVID-19 patients and that they could not afford treatment in a private hospital. The Jayanagar General Hospital was one of few government hospitals admitting pregnant women in the city. “We often go to government hospitals for treatment and we found that even government hospitals were facing a shortage of blood,” Abdul Jabbar Mandal, who works for an online home services aggregator, says. Read: Pregnant woman says Bengaluru hospital refused to treat her because she got COVID-19 Migrant settlement in Thubarahalli ‘We wanted to give something back to the community’ Men in the migrant settlement in Thubarahalli find work as ragpickers, housekeepers, construction workers, security guards, and drivers in high-rise apartments and software parks surrounding their settlement while the women work as cooks and cleaners. But during the lockdown imposed over the outbreak of coronavirus cases in India, most residents of Thubarahalli were left without work. “Around 100 residents left their home and returned to West Bengal during the lockdown because we struggled to arrange ration and food. NGOs came forward to donate rations twice in our settlement,” says Jabbar. He also works as an activist in his free time to organise the residents of Thubarahalli. “We want to give something back to the community for the help we have received. We don’t have money to give because many people have not yet returned to work, so we decided to donate blood,” says Jabbar. Abdul Jabbar Mandal in Thubarahalli “While donating blood, doctors do not differentiate between religion or caste, whether the donor is rich or poor. It is a great example of how everyone is equal. Most workers who donated blood are without work for the last few months and yet, they turned up when we asked them to donate blood,” Kaleemullah, an activist with Swaraj Abhiyan, says. Branded Bangladeshi immigrants and the threat of eviction The settlement in Thubarahalli is home to around 6,700 Bengali-speaking migrant workers and most of the residents are Muslims, according to a survey conducted by Jabbar. Earlier this year, its residents faced the threat of eviction as police officials in Bengaluru searched for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Bengaluru. The residents in Thubarahalli were labeled Bangladeshi immigrants even though this claim is denied by the residents who say that they have produced relevant documents at the local police station in Varthur. It is one of four settlements in the Whitefield area alongside Munnekolala, Kariyammana Agrahara, and Devarabeesanahalli, where police searched for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in January. Read: Migrant workers in Bengaluru live in fear as police search for Bangladeshi immigrants Migrant settlement in Thubarahalli A section of one of the settlements in Kariyammana Agrahara was razed down by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) even though its residents were Indian and had documents proving their citizenship. The move to raze down sheds in the settlement was later deemed to be ‘unauthorised’ by the BBMP. The Karnataka High Court's Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka pointedly asked the civic body and the city police “Can you identify Bangladeshi by looking at face?”‘ Read: ‘Can you identify Bangladeshi by looking at face’: Karnataka HC slams state Sachindra Robin Mondal, a resident of Thubarahalli After the threat of eviction died down, many workers lost their jobs following the lockdown imposed in March. Many workers who turned up to donate blood on Sunday are yet to return to work even though lockdown rules were relaxed in Bengaluru at the end of July. They still struggle to arrange food and groceries for their families. “There are construction workers who are sitting idle because construction activities have stalled. Some women who work in apartments as cooks and cleaners have also not resumed work,” explains Jabbar. He hopes that the blood donation drive encourages residents of apartments near their settlement to allow workers to return to their daily jobs. “During this pandemic, we have seen some apartments issuing blatantly discriminatory orders prohibiting domestic cooks and cleaners from using elevators or even entering the building to work. I hope that with this gesture, apartment residents will realise that the blood of their domestic help is saving lives and might one day save their own life,” says Vinay Kumar, an activist who helped organise the drive.
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Congress member in Bengaluru arrested for ‘derogatory’ post against HM Amit Shah
Anand Prasad, who holds the post of Congress Media Secretary, has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Facebook / Onesimus Anand Prasad
The police in Bengaluru arrested a Congress party functionary on Sunday night allegedly for his “objectionable” social media post on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, after the latter tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunday. Anand Prasad, who holds the post of Congress Social Media Secretary, was arrested by the Cubbon Park police. According to some screenshots posted on Twitter, the Congress member had allegedly put some posts wishing the Home Minister’s death. The police arrested Anand, who is also the KR Puram Block Congress President, based on a complaint. Anand has been booked under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The party condemned the behaviour of its member but alleged selective enforcement of the law on part of the state government. Commenting on the development, Lavanya Ballal, National Co-Coordinator for Social Media of the party based in Bengaluru, said, “We wish the Home Minister a speedy recovery. It is not the Congress culture to wish anyone ill health, no matter how hateful they have been. The BJP has been constantly posting hateful content against Sonia Gandhi and this is nothing but selective enforcement of law and justice.” Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday tweeted that he tested positive for coronavirus and asked all those who had come in contact with him in the recent days to get tested. Incidentally, he is the first minister in the Union Cabinet to be diagnosed with COVID-19. “On getting initial symptoms of coronavirus, I got the test done and the report came back positive. My health is fine, but I am being hospitalised on the advice of doctors. I request that all of you who have come in contact with me in the last few days, please isolate yourself and get your tests done,” Amit Shah had tweeted.
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In pictures: New rail museum opens in Karnataka’s Hubballi district
The museum displays the evolution of advanced systems in railway operations in two cottages named after Ghataprabha and Malaprabha tributaries of the Mahadayi river.
A new rail museum has been set up in north Karnataka's Hubballi that showcases the heritage and artefacts of the Indian Railways, promising to take visitors down its memory lane. Hubballi is about 400km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state and where the South Western Railway (SWR) zone is headquartered. "The new museum, to open for public from Wednesday, will enthrall visitors with its rich heritage and priceless artefacts dating back to over a century when coal-fired steam engines chugged trains across the country," an official told IANS. Located in idyllic settings near the railway station on Gadag road, the museum displays the evolution of advanced systems in railway operations in two cottages named after Ghataprabha and Malaprabha tributaries of the Mahadayi river in the state's northwest region and an outdoor section. "The museum preserves and portrays various facets of the railways' working, including vintage rolling stock (engines), theatre coach, toy train, ticket printing machine, model train run, memorabilia shop and cafeteria," said the official. Under a grand arch of a bygone era, the museum has emblems of the zonal railway's forerunner - Southern Mahratta Railways in the erstwhile Bombay Province. "In the outdoor landscape, two narrow gauge steam engines are a prime attraction and a slew of exhibits on a track such as a coach, wagon and tanker. Old materials like rails, sleepers, level crossing gate and analogue signals are displayed in the galleries amidst greenery. A narrow gauge coach depicting unity in diversity with life-size statues of passengers from across the country is a special attraction for visitors. The twin cottages, built in 1907, and made part of the museum reminds of the old age charm with indoor artefacts. The Ghataprabha cottage features a model room with a running train and old signal instruments. History of locomotives, wagons and coaches is presented along with antique books and plants. It also gives glimpses of railways' working on medical and security fronts. A memorabilia counter where souvenirs can be bought and a history corner on old railway companies are also in the same cottage. The Malaprabha cottage has a series of charcoal sketches in an art gallery at its entrance. An old booking office with a ticket counter, printed tickets and an iron cash chests reflect reminiscences of the ticketing era. A station master room is simulated with a panel, apparatus, registers, furniture and life-size statues of a station master and a points-man. The adjacent room is designed on the theme of a waiting room with antique furniture. A parcel office has been recreated with a 150-year-old parcel weighing machine. In view of the pandemic, only 30 visitors will be allowed inside the museum at a time to maintain social distancing. They have to wear masks and enter the place after washing hands, or use the sanitizer dispensers at the entrance. The museum will be opened to the public from August 5-9 with free entry from 4-7 p.m. It will be open from August 11 between 12 noon and 7 p.m. on working days (Tuesday to Friday) and between 12 noon and 8 p.m. on weekends and public holidays, with a holiday on Monday. The entry fee is Rs 20 for adults and Rs 10 for children of 5-12 years of age.
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Watch: BS Yediyurappa in video message from hospital says he'll recover soon from coronavirus
Yediyurappa assures people that he will continue working from the hospital and that he is in constant touch with officials on the phone.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa who was admitted on Sunday night to the Manipal hospital in Bengaluru after testing positive for the coronavirus, has released a video statement from the hospital. The Chief Minister, who can be seen sitting up, dressed in his signature safari suit and says clearly that he is in touch with senior officers to ensure the administration does not suffer. “I have been in constant touch with all our officials to ensure that the government’s administration does not suffer in any way. This morning too, I had a conversation with all our senior officers,” Yediyurappa said. He also said that the doctors who examined him had expressed confidence he will recover soon. “Doctors who examined me yesterday morning and late last night have assured me that there is nothing to worry about and I will recover very soon,” Yediyurappa said. Yediyurappa said that several political leaders cutting across parties had reached out to him since last night. “Already, JP Nadda, Nirmala Seetharaman, Deve Gowda, Siddaramaiah, HD Kumaraswamy and several pontiffs too have wished me well,” he said. “There is nothing to worry about. I will recover soon and will be out of here at the earliest so I can resume my work. I request for all of your good wishes and support. The health of six and a half crore people of the state is very important. I urge you all to maintain social distancing and wear masks at all times. This is the only way to ensure you don't get coronavirus,” he added. Watch the Chief Minister's statement The Chief Minister announced on Twitter on Sunday night that he had tested positive for coronavirus. His daughter too has tested positive for the virus and is being treated in the same hospital as the chief minister. Several others in his office too are undergoing the test starting Monday morning. "I have tested positive for coronavirus. Whilst I am fine, I am being hospitalised as a precaution on the recommendation of doctors. I request those who have come in contact with me recently to be observant and exercise self quarantine," the 77-year-old BJP leader said. Yediyurappa was in home quarantine a couple of weeks ago, after some staff members in his office-cum-residence were found infected with the virus. Subsequently, his COVID-19 test results were found to be negative.However, his latest test results were positive. Yediyurappa is the fourth member of his cabinet to contract the viral disease. Earlier, Forest Minister Anand Singh, Tourism Minister C T Ravi and Agriculture Minister B C Patil had tested positive for COVID-19. Congress Legislature Party leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah wished Yediyurappa a speedy recovery. "I wish Shri. B S Yediyurappa a speedy recovery & to return with good health to continue his work for the people," Siddaramaiah said in a tweet. Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar and working president of the state Congress Eshwar Khandre also wished the chief minister an early recovery. Karnataka has recorded close to 1.35 lakh COVID-19 cases so far, of which 74,590 are active. The disease has claimed 2,496 lives in the southern state. Last night, at around 8:30 pm, I was informed that I have tested positive for Coronavirus. I immediately got myself admitted to a hospital and am receiving treatment here. Doctors who examined me yesterday morning and late last night have assured me that there is nothing to worry about and I will recover very soon.
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