Ban circumcision among Muslims before stopping Hindu superstitions: KSE to CM

Bengaluru, Jun 15: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday said those coming to the state from Chennai and Delhi will have to undergo three days of institutional quarantine followed by 11 days of home isolation.

Up till now a seven-day institutional quarantine was prescribed for those returning from Maharashtra, while there was no mandatory institutional quarantine for asymptomatic people returning to Karnataka from other states.

Those returning from states other than Maharashtra were asked to quarantine themselves at home.

"Those coming from Maharashtra are subjected to seven days of institutional quarantine followed by seven days of home quarantine, while those coming from Chennai and Delhi will have to go for three days of institutional quarantine and eleven days of home quarantine," Yediyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the decision has been taken following the increase in the number of coronavirus cases from these states.

"It is because of returnees from other states the cases have increased, not because of the local (intra-state) movement, so we have to control people coming from outside, we have to quarantine them and have to tighten measures.

We are making honest efforts in this regard," he added.

Yediyurappa was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting with top ministers and officials to discuss about the surge in COVID cases in the state.

"There are no plans for any lockdown, and we will request the Prime Minister for more relaxations," the Chief Minister said in response to a question.

Out of total 7,000 cases in the state 4,386 are returnees from Maharashtra and their contacts are 1,340.

Those who returned from abroad comprise 216.

Returnees from other states constitute- Delhi 87, Tamil Nadu 67, Gujarat 62.

Noting that there are indications that the coronavirus infections are expected to increase in the days to come, Yediyurappa assured people that the government will take all precautionary measures required, and appealed to people to cooperate, follow social distancing, and wear masks.

He said it has been decided to observe the coming Thursday as "mask days" by organising a walk across the state and the main event will be held at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.

"Strict measures will be taken against those not wearing masks and not maintaining social distancing here on.

Initially Rs 200 fine will be imposed, this will be throughout the state," he said.

Further stating that the government has made special efforts to control the spread of COVID, he said a special COVID-19 taskforce has been constituted for Bengaluru and surrounding areas, BBMP (city civic body) commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of neighbouring districts have been asked to pay special attention.

As of June 14 evening, cumulatively 7,000 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 86 deaths and 3,955 discharges.

Out of 2,956 active cases in the state till last evening, 2,940 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 16 are in ICU.

Yediyurappa said the state's mortality rate is 1.2 per cent while the national average is 2.8 per cent.

The state's recovery rate is 56.6 per cent and the national average is 51 per cent, he said, adding that 93 per cent of the total cases are asymptomatic while the remaining seven per cent are symptomatic.

In Bengaluru, there are 697 cases and out of them 330 are active. The city has reported 36 deaths.

Mangaluru, May 10: The Yenepoya Medical College Hospital at Deralakatte here has become the first private hospital in Dakshina Kannada district to get coronavirus (COVID-19) testing approval.

The laboratory at the hospital has received the nod from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct tests for COVID-19, a release here said.

Dakshina Kannada will now have two centres for coronavirus tests, the first one being the district Wenlock hospital, the designated hospital for Covid-19.

ICMR has approved 33 testing centres in the state of which 21 are government hospitals and 12 are private hospitals.

Mangaluru, Jun 27: The second flight chartered by the Karnataka Sports and Cultural Club (KSCC) to repatriate stranded Kannadigas in UAE landed at Mangalore International Airport at 6 p.m. today.

The Air Arabia flight with 171 passengers took off from Sharjah international airport around 1 am (UAE Time). The flight had 18 pregnant women, 9 children, 3 infants, 8 senior citizens, 20 people with medical emergencies besides those have lost jobs, stranded visit visa holders and those who had reported deaths in their families.

KSCC had set up help desk to finalize list of passengers and guide them throughout the process. All the legal procedures were carried out smoothly.

KSCC president Mohammed Ismail accorded a warm welcome to all passengers. Rapid tests for Covid-19 were conducted before departure. Mandatory quarantine for all the passengers was arranged in three hotels in Mangaluru for a period of seven days.

KSCC office bearers Ismail, Javed, Safwan and volunteers were present at the airport during the time of departure. KSCC has expressed its gratitude to Consulate General, DC of DK district, Umar U H and Ataullah Jokkate for their support.