BJP releases manifesto for Karnataka polls, reaches out to farmers

Bengaluru, Apr 14: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to extend COVID-19 lockdown till May 3.

"Our government will strictly implement the Government of India guidelines, which will be issued tomorrow. Lockdown will be followed more stringently till April 20 as Prime Minister said and the situation will be closely monitored. I appeal to the people of Karnataka to voluntarily cooperate with us to contain this disease," Yediyurappa said.

The chief minister urged the people to respect seven major points that Prime Minister Modi raised in his televised address to the nation on Tuesday, while announcing the extension of coronavirus-induced lockdown.

"I appeal to people to follow the seven measures Prime Minister advised to follow, such as taking care of elders in the house especially those suffering from chronicle illness; strictly maintaining social distancing; enhancing immunity by following guidelines of Ayush Department; download Arogyasetu app; help the poor and needy; to be considerate about your colleagues and employees and not to sack them; and respect the police, healthcare professionals," Yediyurappa added.

The chief minister also assured that there is no scarcity of medicines, essential services and goods.

"We will make all efforts to carry out agriculture activities without any hurdle. I make a special appeal to migrant labours to stay wherever they are and be safe... Stay home and be safe," he said.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 247 COVID-19 positive cases in Karnataka including 59 cured, discharged, migrated and six deaths.

Bengaluru,  Jun 19: Following the coronavirus outbreak, Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport has introduced ultraviolet treatment while scanning outbound baggage apart from other measures to enhance passenger and staff safety.

"Two custom-designed UV tunnels have been created to disinfect trolleys after every use. Two custom-designed UV tunnels have been created to disinfect trolleys after every use. These Tunnels are located at a cordoned-off area of the Terminal," according to a statement by the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).

The airport plans to use an ultra-low volume (ULV) spray treatment for check-in bags: all outbound passenger baggage is sanitised before dispatch to the aircraft

Authorities also plan to minimise use of additional trays for footwear by introducing specially designed trays; the trays that are in use are UV treated and sanitised manually after every use.

Officials are currently in the process of implementing silver nano-coating for frequently used touchpoints for self disinfection like check-in counters, Immigration counters, ATRS trays, etc. Currently, sanitisation of high-traffic areas and frequently touched surfaces continues to be done every thirty minutes manually without disrupting the flow of passengers.

All high-traffic areas are sanitised once every three hours by using ULV machines - eight times in 24 hours.

Washrooms across the Airport premises are sanitised on a regular basis with dedicated manpower, irrespective of the frequency of use. 456 units of tabletop hand sanitiser and 107 units of sensor-based hand sanitisers have been placed across the Terminal.

120 biowaste bins located across the Airport campus enable passengers and staff to dispose of their masks, gloves and other PPE conveniently and safely. This bio-waste is managed by a dedicated team and handed over to a Pollution Control Board-approved vendor and taken away for incineration.

The Airport said that the passenger feedback for the contactless process has been positive. "The objective of the process is to minimise physical contact and enhance passenger throughput," it said.

These sanitisation measures come in light of the highly infectious COVID-19 pandemic which spreads through person-to-person contact. Small droplets from the nose or mouth can spread the virus when they land on objects and surfaces around the person.

Bengaluru, Jul 6: With a record 1,925 new cases across the state during the last 24 hours, Karnataka's Covid-19 tally rose to 23,474 including 13,251 active after 9,847 were discharged till date, an official said on Sunday.

"Of the total cases across the state on a single day, Bengaluru accounted for 1,235, taking its positive tally to 9,580, including 8,167 active," said the health official in a statement.

With 37 succumbing to the disease in the state, including 16 from Bengaluru, the state's death toll increased to 372, with 145 from this tech city since March 9.

Of the 603 discharged from across the state during the day, 302 were from Bengaluru, taking its total number of cured to 1,267 so far.

Of the 243 cases in the intensive care unit (ICU) across the state, 132 are in Bengaluru, 15 at Dharwad, 12 at Kalaburagi and 10 each at Ballari and Raichur.

Of the 16,899 samples tested in the day, 14,649 were negative and 1,925 positive. Of the total 7,06,425 samples tested so far, 6,65,525 were negative and 23,474 positive.

After Bengaluru, Dakshina Kannada reported 142 positive cases followed by Ballari 90, Vijayapura 57, Kalaburagi 49 and Udupi and Dharwad 45 each.

Of the total 603 discharged, 52 were from Kalaburagi, 37 from Ballari, 36 from Dakshina Kannada and 22 each from Udupi and Dharwad.