Bengaluru civic body to increase COVID-19 test due to spike in cases

Coronavirus

Bengaluru has two COVID-19 clusters: A residential apartment complex and a nursing college.

Prajwal Bhat

In light of the spike in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru, the city civic body Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad on Monday announced that the testing for the novel coronavirus will be ramped up. Since Friday, the number of COVID-19 cases in the city has seen a spike as some areas have turned hotspots. On Saturday, 42 students at a nursing college tested positive for coronavirus. A total of 105 residents of a south Bengaluru apartment tested positive over Sunday and Monday. Between February 9 and 12, Bengaluru, on an average, daily saw around 200 COVID-19 cases. Over the last two days, the number of daily cases has been averaging 250 cases. COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru  February 9 195 February 10 208 February 11 228 February 12 194 February 13 258 February 14 241 "Since the COVID-19 cases are increasing, the officials have been instructed to increase testing in places where more cases have surfaced. We currently have 141 Primary Health Centres and an additional 200 teams, making it a total of 341 teams to perform COVID-19 testing. Put together, if each team can do 100 tests, we can conduct 34,000 tests per day. Currently, we are conducting 20,000 to 22,000 tests every day. We have issued orders to increase the number of COVID-19 tests," Manjunath Prasad told reporters on Monday. He also said since these hotspots could become super-spreaders, appropriate measures have been taken to prevent further spread. He further said that he has given orders to the officials to take immediate measures for isolation in case of further spread. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials have attributed the spike in COVID-19 cases to the lack of restriction on travel from Kerala to Karnataka. Currently, Kerala has the most number of active COVID-19 cases, reporting 4,000 to 5,000 cases every day. "Around 70% of the students who are studying in the nursing college, where over 40 COVID-19 cases were reported, are from Kerala," the Commissioner said. However, the lack of precautionary measures among the public could also be attributed to the rising cases

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Travelers from Kerala must undergo RT-PCR test before checking into Karnataka hotels, hostels

Coronavirus

The state has also issued new rules for containment zones.

Shishir Rao

PTI

Karnataka has now mandated that all those arriving in the state from Kerala and checking into hotels, resorts, hostels, home stays, and dormitories will have to compulsorily produce a negative RT-PCR certificate that is not older than 72 hours. Owners of these establishments will have to ensure that COVID-19 negative certificates are produced by the residents. The above was among the several new protocols regarding COVID-19 in the state announced by the Karnataka government, after a spike in COVID-19 cases recently. The rules also said that if a cluster of five or more people are identified in places such as hostels and educational institutions, those places will be declared ‘contamination zones’ and additional steps, such as re-testing after seven days, will be taken. These measures were put in place after several cases were identified in Manjushree Nursing College where several students had travelled from Kerala to attend exams. More than 105 COVID-19 cases were also detected in SNN Raj Lake View Apartment in Bengaluru. The apartment became a cluster after an anniversary party was held in which more than 100 people attended. Several of the new rules pertain to students. For instance, a competent authority at an educational institution will have to maintain a list of students travelling to and from Kerala from the hostel or college. Kerala has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the country. “The students shall compulsorily produce RT PCR negative test reports, not older than 72 hours, each time they return from Kerala and till the situation improves,” the state government has said. The following public health measures have also been recommended by the state government: - Only urgent/necessary needs for taking things from the room are allowed; and students staying in campus or security guards can help in picking and moving. - As for as possible, all the students residing in the hostel should stay in separate rooms to maintain adequate physical distance and avoid crowding. - Any potential for super spreading avenues (such as crowding in dining areas, waiting for halls, reading rooms, indoor playing areas, gymnasium etc.) should be prevented inside the hostel and colleges/schools. - The meal timings should be staggered to ensure that there is no crowding in the dining area. - Day scholars travelling from Kerala to schools or colleges in any part of Karnataka shall be subjected to RT-PCR testing fortnightly. Further, college hostels are not to allow any visitors for any purpose. “Residents should not be allowed to have visitors/relatives without obtaining express permission from the Covid nodal officers.” For employees working in MultiNational Companies the government has mandated that they should get the RT PCR test done at their own cost. Furthermore, the general COVID-19 protocols such as wearing masks, physical distance and preventing crowds along with increased surveillance has been recommended in the circular.

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‘Horrifying, unacceptable’: Mount Carmel alumni support Disha Ravi, condemn her arrest

Sedition

"The blatant targeting of a young woman citizen expressing her support with the nation’s protesting farmers is horrifying and completely unacceptable," reads the statement.

Prajwal Bhat

Alumni from Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru released a statement on Tuesday extending support to 22-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi and condemned her arrest. Disha is an alumnus of the college and studied business administration there before she joined Goodmylk, a company that makes plant-based alternatives for dairy products. "The blatant targeting of a young woman citizen expressing her support with the nation’s protesting farmers is horrifying and completely unacceptable. We demand that the Delhi Police release her and the Bengaluru Police and Karnataka government act to protect the constitutional rights of a woman resident of the state of Karnataka," said the statement. It added that Disha Ravi coordinated with climate activists from around the world to highlight issues related to climate change. “She has coordinated with climate activists across the world to get politicians and corporations to act and undertake measures to prevent the world from getting worse. Her participation as a young woman of colour in climate change activism has been important in bringing attention to the vulnerabilities faced by marginalised communities in countries of Global South.” The statement goes on to add that Disha drew inspiration from the freedom struggle to protest and lend a voice to the farmers’ movement. “Her sense of history is remarkable as she has drawn from her personal, familial history of farmer-grandparents and the difficulties they suffered due to the impact of climate change on agricultural practices. She has also drawn her inspiration to protest and lend her voice to farmers’ protests in the country from the greatest of people’s movements in India—the Independence struggle.” There are currently 330 signatories to the statement by Mount Carmel College alumni. Disha Ravi was arrested by Delhi police on Saturday from her home in north Bengaluru for editing parts of the ‘toolkit’ shared by Greta Thunberg, an international climate activist. The toolkit was a Google document on farmers’ protests. Though toolkits are Google documents routinely used for social media campaigns and planning protests, the Delhi police registered an FIR against Disha under charges of conspiracy and sedition. The police alleged that the toolkit was being used to malign India. Disha was remanded to five days in police custody. It was only on Tuesday that Disha that a Delhi court allowed Disha access to her lawyer, talktime with her family, and warm clothes while in police custody. Disha's arrest sparked protests in Bengaluru with activists questioning whether procedures were followed during her arrest. In particular, activists asked how Disha was picked up by the Delhi Police from Bengaluru without first securing a transit remand from a magistrate in Bengaluru.  The Delhi Police’s FIR mentioned the toolkit that Greta Thunberg shared. It included text that could be shared by those who support the farmer protests. However, Greta deleted her February 3 tweet that had a link to the toolkit, as it contained dates from January, and replaced it with a new one. The modified tweet is still on her profile.

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Bengaluru to face power cuts on Feb 17: Full list of areas

Electricity

The interruption will be due to the quarterly maintenance at the ‘66/11KV Pottery Road Station’ by Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL).

TNM Staff

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) has released a statement which says there will be power outages across several areas majorly in the eastern part of the city and several other areas. The outages will occur from 10 am to 4 pm on Wednesday, February 17. The affected areas announced by BESCOM will include Bore Bank Road, Haris Road, SK garden, ITI Layout, Chinnappa Garden, Gandhi Grama, Williams Town, Pottery Town, Cox Town, Doddigunta, CC Road, RK Road, Wheeler Road, Thambu Chetty Road. MM Road, Mosque Road, More Road, Coles Road, Stephens Road, Roberson Road, Rathan Singh Road. Kumaraswamy Naidu Road, Andhra Bank Road, Nagayana Palya, Sathya Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Gajendra Nagar, Old Byappanahalli, Sadashiva Temple Road, KSFC Layout, KHB Colony, Kanakadasa Layout, Orion Mall, Pottery Road, Hutchins Road, Desi Nagar Slum, Viviani Road, Wheelers Road, Carlston Road, Lewis Road, Lloyd Road, Richard Park Road, Hall road, Davis Road, Hutchins road Ist and 6th cross, Wheeler road Extension, Ashoka Road, North Road, D'crosta square, D'costa Layout. Vivekananda Nagar Ist and 3rd Cross. The interruption will be due to the quarterly maintenance at the ‘66/11KV Pottery Road Station’ by Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). Other areas that may face outages are C.K.Garden, Mariyamma Temple Street, Jai Bharath Nagar, M.S.Nagar, Lingarajapuram Village, Kariyannanapalya, Ramachandrappa Layout, Oil Mill Road, Lokesh Tent Road, Divya Shanti Church, High Street, Banaswadi Main Road, Puravankara Apartments, MSO Colony, ITC Colony. Jeevanahalli Park Road. Heerachand Layout, Rose Garden, Chattappa Garden, Motwani Apartment. Banaswadi Main road, Mc'person Road, BWSSB Junction, Muniga Layout, Indian Tobacco Company, Hall Road, Davis Road. Pillanna Garden Ist stage, Sagayapuram. Kandaswamy Mudaliar Road, P&T Colony. Venkateshpuram, Arokyamma I/o. Bharath Matha I/o, Tannery Main Road, Masjid Street, NC Colony, Giddappa Block, AK Colony, Basappa lane, Pillanna Garden 3rd stage. Railway I/o, New Bagalur I/o and old Bagalur I/o, Hennur main road, Sonappa block. Dhobi ghat, and Surrounding areas.

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Travellers from Kerala to Bengaluru to compulsorily carry negative COVID-19 test

Coronavirus

The announcement comes in light of the surge in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru.

TNM Staff

PTI

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Manjunath Prasad on Tuesday stated that all travellers coming to Bengaluru from Kerala must carry a negative COVID-19 test certificate that is not older than 72 hours. The commissioner further said that those who arrive from Kerala without a negative RT-PCR test result will be asked to get tested in Bengaluru and quarantine themselves if found to be positive. They will be able to move freely only if their test result comes back negative, Manjunath Prasad said. The decision comes a week after the health department in Karnataka issued an order stating that students coming from Kerala to Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Mysuru, Kodagu and Chamarajanagar districts must carry a negative COVID-19 test certificate that is not older than 72 hours. The commissioner made the announcement about testing in an online meeting on Tuesday morning, discussing COVID-19 clusters emerging in Bengaluru. The meeting was attended by members of resident welfare associations (RWA). He cited the cluster of cases at Manjushree Nursing College in the city’s RT Nagar, where 42 students tested positive for the coronavirus. At the college, many students were from Kerala, officials said.  In another case, 105 residents of an apartment complex in the city’s Bommanahalli zone tested positive for the coronavirus, BBMP said. According to officials, those who tested positive had attended a party at the complex.  A cluster of COVID-19 cases was also reported in a nursing college in Mangaluru where 49 students tested positive for the virus two weeks ago. The college — Aaliyah Institute of Nursing — at Ullal in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district was sealed after the cases emerged. In this case too, most students were from Kerala.   The BBMP Commissioner also announced on Monday that testing for the coronavirus will be increased in the city. This is in light of the fact that, between February 9 and 12, Bengaluru saw an average of 200 cases per day, which increased to an average of 250 over the next few days.    

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‘Bigg Boss’ Kannada season 8 premiere date is here

Entertainment

The news was announced by Colors Kannada recently with a promo starring the show’s host, Sudeep.

TNM Staff

Screengrab

Colors Kannada recently released a promo announcing that Bigg Boss Kannada season 8 will premiere on February 28. Popular Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep, who has been hosting the widely watched reality show since season 1, appears in a dual avatar in the promo. The actor plays the role of an astrologer narrating the horoscope for the upcoming season of the show. The 47-year-old actor also makes an appearance as himself and can be seen listening to the astrologer. Towards the end of the promo, details pertaining to the date and timings of the show is revealed for viewers.         View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Colors Kannada Official (@colorskannadaofficial) The promo of Bigg Boss Kannada season 8 was not only shared from Colors Kannada’s official Instagram handle, but Sudeep also promoted it on his Instagram profile. Much like its counterparts from the Bigg Boss franchise, Bigg Boss Kannada season 8 faced unprecedented hurdles due to the pandemic, which in turn delayed the release of its premiere. The makers of the show have clarified that it’s compulsory for all contestants entering the house to undertake COVID-19 tests and undergo quarantine prior to the premiere. The candidates will reportedly be quarantined from February 17 and are likely to stay in different hotels across Bengaluru. The crew will adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols and take all precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The makers are expected to conduct COVID-19 tests, routine medical check-ups, and sanitise the house regularly. A special medical team will be staying with the crew during the entire duration of the show. The contestants will enter the Bigg Boss house only when they shoot for the grand premiere. This season too will follow the celebrity-only format like the previous season. However, fans can expect new developments since the creators of the show have promised to make changes to the show’s format this time. According to the latest reports, former contestants like Sanjjanaa Galrani and Karthik Jayaram might re-enter the show this season. Fans now eagerly await updates about the contestants for this season.

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Bengaluru doctors successfully remove 3.5-kg tumour from teenager

Medicine

The doctors at Bengaluru’s Aster CMI Hospital said that Surbhi’s condition was very critical when the parents first approached them in 2020.

Sanjana Deshpande

Aster CMI

A team of 21 doctors at Aster CMI hospital in Bengaluru have successfully managed to remove a 3.5 kilo tumour from a teenager hailing from Gujarat. Surbhi Ben, a 15-year-old from Amerli, had a benign (mass of cells that lacks the ability to spread) tumour extending from her neck onto her chest. She had to undergo five surgeries over the course of a year to get rid of the tumour. The doctors at the hospital said that the procedure was difficult and Surbhi is now recovering from the surgeries. The team, involving Dr Chetan Ginigeri (Paediatrics & Paediatric Intensive Care), Dr Girish (Surgical Oncology), Dr Madhusudan G (Plastic Surgery) and Dr Ganeshakrishnan Iyer (Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery), while speaking to the press, said that her case was rare as the tumour had developed genetically. Dr Chetan said, “Surbhi first came to us in January 2020. At the time, she had three tumours present in her throat, which were intertwined with the nerves making the surgery extremely complicated. Despite taking precautions, the uncertainty of the outcome loomed large over us. She had to undergo five surgeries and is now recovering.” Surbhi after her tumour was debulked and was recovering in the hospital (Source: Aster CMI) Explaining the procedure, Dr Chetan said that she had to undergo interventional radiology before the tumour was surgically debulked (reduction of mass). She also had to undergo reconstruction for the affected area.  The doctor also told that she is undergoing voice training and it will take another three to four months to fully recover. Surbhi was six years old when her parents, Parshottam Bhai and Rekha, spotted the growth. Several appointments with doctors in and around Amerli ended in despair for they all had one reply: visit a hospital in a metropolitan city. However, the financial constraints bound them to their home, hoping for a miracle. Meanwhile, the tumour kept intruding, making it difficult for Surbhi to carry out routine tasks. Eventually, she had to drop out of school in 2019. Speaking about her difficulty, Surbhi said, “I had to struggle a lot. Unlike others, I could not go out and enjoy, people would constantly make fun of me. I even had to stop going to school because of the pain. Even while stepping out, I had to cover myself and unlike other girls, I could not wear normal clothes and dresses due to the ailment. I often used to ask my mother, why am I the only one who is suffering and there were several moments where I used to feel hopeless and frustrated.”  The NewsLions – a media outlet – helped facilitate the treatment along with Milaap. They raised over Rs 70 lakhs through a crowdfunding effort to provide her with this "life-changing surgery" of multiple sittings over last year.  She did face a hiccup when there was a recurrence 10 months after she first underwent surgery. An oncology surgeon, Dr Girish, said, “Her case was also immensely critical as the tumour had grown in the neck region where all the essential structures of life are located; then we had to take extra precautions during the surgery. We had expected the recurrence and have excised it; she is presently fine.” Upon being quizzed whether Surbhi has to take precautionary measures to avoid recurrence and further treatment, Dr Ginigeri said, “We have arranged a team for Surbhi in Surat who are well-versed with her condition and should be able to help her. There are no hard and fast precautions she has to take except regularly going for tests and check-ups to monitor if there is any growth.” Expressing her gratitude, Surbhi’s mother Rekha said that she is happy to see her daughter cheery again and not be subjected to rude remarks. Surbhi, Rekha said, has resumed her life post-treatment. She is all set to resume her education.

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