C M Ibrahim seeks Karnataka govt nod for mass Eid-ul-Fitr prayers

Mangaluru, Mar 9: Deputy Commissioner Dakshina Kannada, Sindhu B Rupesh on Monday refuted reports that a passenger who arrived in Mangaluru from Dubai showed coronavirus symptoms had skipped a hospital visit.

While replying to reporters on the issue, Rupesh said: "Passenger who arrived from Dubai has not shown any coronavirus related symptoms. He just had a fever. He was shifted to district hospital last night, but he is not cooperating with us. He is not ready to stay in a hospital. We are convincing him".

"Till now, no positive case of coronavirus has been found in Mangaluru", she added.

Earlier, the Centre had suspended visas and e-visas granted on or before March 3 to people travelling from Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan, effective immediately, after a surge in cases of COVID-19 in these countries.

The coronavirus has affected 43 people in India so far and caused the deaths of over 3,800 people globally.

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."