Ola and Uber launch bike taxi services in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Apr 16: With two more people testing positive for COVID-19 in Karnataka, the state's corona cases count has reached 279, including 80 discharged and 12 deaths, said the government on Wednesday.

A total of 19 corona cases were confirmed in the state on Wednesday. 17 cases were reported earlier in the day, of which 15 are male patients and two are female. Of the 17 cases, nine are workers of a pharmaceutical company in Mysuru, the government stated.

Meanwhile, a 65-year-old from Chikkaballapur, who had tested positive for COVID-19, lost his life this afternoon.

"He was referred to a Bengaluru hospital with complaints of H1N1 positive, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with obstructive sleep apnea and a past history of diabetes and hypertension," the government said.

Bantwal, Jun 26: A day after expressing gratitude for the overwhelming response from students for the SSLC examinations, Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar on Friday took to Twitter to laud a student who didn’t let his physical hurdles deter him from writing the examination.

Sharing image of the student, Kaushik, who wrote the SSLC examination at Bantwal’s SVS High School, the Minister said that he was taken aback by the boy’s spirit for writing the exam independently without relying on anyone’s help. Such individuals give new meaning to life. Others should learn from this.

In the picture, Kaushik is seen seated on the floor and using his toes to write answers.

The United States of America has bought almost the entire world's supply of remdesivir, one of just two drugs proven to treat COVID-19. 

“President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorised therapeutic for Covid-19,” said the US health and human services secretary, Alex Azar. 

“To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it. The Trump administration is doing everything in our power to learn more about life-saving therapeutics for Covid-19 and secure access to these options for the American people.”

The announcement implies that no other country in the world will be able to buy remdesivir for next three months at least.

The anti-viral drug patented by the US-based Gilead biotech firm is the only one approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat patients with the novel coronavirus.

The Trump administration has already shown that it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.

“They’ve got access to most of the drug supply [of remdesivir], so there’s nothing for Europe,” said Dr Andrew Hill, senior visiting research fellow at Liverpool University.

Remdesivir, the first drug approved by licensing authorities in the US to treat Covid-19, is made by Gilead and has been shown to help people recover faster from the disease. 

The first 140,000 doses, supplied to drug trials around the world, have been used up. The Trump administration has now bought more than 500,000 doses, which is all of Gilead’s production for July and 90% of August and September.