3 from Kerala feared killed in US apartment fire

Bengaluru, Jul 1: Eighteen private hospitals here have been slapped with a show-cause notice after a 52-year old patient with influenza-like illness symptoms died here on being allegedly denied admission by them citing "non- availability" of beds. 

Health Minister B Sriramulu on Wednesdy said refusal to provide treatment was not only inhuman but also illegal as he tagged a copy of the notice in a tweet. 

"Notice has been served to the hospitals taking cognisance of the (media) reports about the denial of admission to a patient in emergency. Denying medical assistance during emergency is not only inhuman but also illegal," he tweeted. According to a report, the son and nephew of the patient took him to the 18 hospitals on Saturday and Sunday but he was not admitted on the pretext of non-availability of beds or ventilators. 

The man died later. The Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare issued the show-cause notice to the top authorities of the hospitals under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment (KPME) Act, 2007. 

"By denying admission to the patient, your hospitals have violated the provisions of the KPME Act. You are liable for legal action," the notice said, seeking replies within 24 hours as to why action should not be against the hospitals. 

This was a "clear violation" of providing medical assistance and admission necessitated under the agreed provision of the KPME registration. Private medical establishments cannot refuse or avoid treatment to patients suffering from COVID-19 or having symptoms, the common notice added. 

The incident comes in the backdop of repeated instructions by the government that hospitals cannot deny admission to the patients suffering from coronavirus or having symptoms.

Bengaluru, Jul 10: Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers under the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Friday held protests in different parts of Karnataka, demanding personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and a salary of at least Rs 12,000 per month.

According to Madhu Kumari, an ASHA worker from Kalaburgi, ASHA workers currently receive a salary of Rs 3,000 per month.

"Our demand is to increase our wages to at least Rs 12,000 per month. We have been making this demand for the last six months but we have not received any response from the authorities. We will not go back to work until we are given an appropriate response. We did not want to create a difficult situation but the government has given us no choice," Kumari told ANI.

Clad in their signature pink saris, the women were holding posters in their hands and raising slogans to demand appropriate salary for their work and the necessary equipment to protect themselves from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Farhana, an ASHA worker protesting in Shivamogga, said that the women have been making demands for PPE kits since June 30. "We have been taking care of COVID patients for the last few weeks but have not received adequate PPE kits. A few of us received some in the beginning but they were not enough. We are not even given hand sanitiser or masks to protect ourselves," she added.

"We have sent letters to the District Commissioner's Office and to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare but our pleas have gone unheard. We are protesting to get the attention of the concerned authorities," she added.

They also demanded that authorities to conduct their COVID-19 tests as they have to deal with patients infected with the virus.

Sajida, an ASHA worker in Kalaburagi said, "We are very stressed about the COVID situation. We take care of sick people day in and day out, but no one is there to take care of us. We want the government to conduct COVID tests for all ASHA workers in the state."

Mangaluru, Apr 19: District-in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary said that Rs 2000 each has been deposited in the bank accounts of 6,122 construction workers, who are registered with the labour department in the Dakshina Kannada district. The amount will be deposited in the accounts of other registered construction workers at the earliest.

The state government had announced Rs 2000 to construction labourers who are registered and have lost their livelihood due to the on-going nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The curbs, which were imposed on March 24, have been extended till May 3. "The labourers were reeling under hardship after construction activities came to a halt," said the Minister.

Supply food

Local bodies should make arrangements to supply food for stranded labourers, destitutes and beggars in all the ULBs in Dakshina Kannada district, Poojary said. 

"No one should starve during the lockdown period. All the ULBs should identify destitutes, migrant labourers in their jurisdiction and arrange food for them. In case of necessity, the help of NGOs can also be taken," he added
The minister announced that Asha workers and health workers would collect information on people's health by visiting the houses in the district and submit a report within 10 days.