Yet another daylight murder rocks Mangaluru

Bengaluru, Apr 9: 10 new positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka, apart from the recent fatality of an 80-year-old woman from Gadag district, the health department said on Thursday.

The fresh cases have been reported in the state from last evening to Thursday noon.

Till date, 191 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed, which includes 6 deaths and 28 discharges, the update said.

Among the 10 positive cases, eight are contacts of patients who have already tested positive- one each from Belagavi, Mandya and Chikkaballapura, two from Mysuru, and three from Bagalkote; while two from Bengaluru city are with a travel history to Delhi.

Three cases from Bagalkote are children- two boys of 4 and 13 years of age, and one girl of 9 years old.

The elderly woman died on April 8 in Gadag, the department said in its mid-day situation update.

Confirming that her reports tested positive on April 7, officials had said, she had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).

Bengaluru, Jul 8: Kannada television actor Susheel Gowda has reportedly committed suicide in his home town Mandya.

 According to reports, the actor killed himself yesterday. The exact reason for suicide hasn't been revealed yet. 

The news has come as a shock to many celebrities. The actor was over 30 years of age and had acted in TV shows. 

He played a role in serial Anthapura and was looking forward to establishing himself in the Kannada Film Industry. Other than an actor, he was also a fitness trainer. 

Shocked by the news of Susheel Gowda's death, Duniya Vijay wrote on Facebook (translated), "When I first saw him I thought he is a hero material. Even before the movie got released he has left us too soon. Whatever may be the problem suicide is not the answer. I think the series of deaths will not end this year. It is not only because of Coronavirus people fear, people are losing faith because they don’t have job which can give them the money to lead a life. It is high time to stay stronger to overcome the crisis."

Susheel Gowda has played the role of a cop in the upcoming film Salaga. It stars Duniya Vijay in the leading role.

Susheel's co-star Amita Ranganath said, "I got the news from my friend. I still can’t believe that he is no more. He was such a sweet and soft hearted person who never loses his cool. It’s been very sad to know that he has left us so early. He had the talent to achieve more in the entertainment industry.” 

Director of the serial Anthpura, Aravind Koushik on his face book page posted "Sad news I heard . Susheel Gowda who played the lead in the tv serial Antahpura that I directed is no more . Rest in Peace."

She also shared a picture with Susheel on her Instagram story and expressed her grief.

Mysuru, Mar 13: A state-of-the-art viral research laboratory in the city has been identified as one of the testing laboratories for the detection of COVID-19, official sources said here on Friday.

The samples of suspected cases could be sent to the lab for analysis and it would take about three hours to get the results.

The Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), which was set up from Central grants and functions at the Microbiology Department of K.R. Hospital, has been authorised to carry out the tests. This lab in Mysuru is among the 52-plus laboratories in the country.

Though the VRDL is equipped to carry out the tests, the sole authority of confirming the virus lies with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. VRDL is also the sole agency for collection and transportation of suspected samples of COVID-19 to NIV.

VRDL, which is part of the Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, functions on the advice of NIV.

According to the guidelines issued by ICMR, the results of the tests done here have to be shared with NIV the same day and the labs are not supposed to disclose the results since the NIV is the only authority to declare positive cases. Also, confirmation from the NIV should be awaited in case the samples test negative for COVID-19. The ICMR, in the guidelines made available on its website, has advised clinicians at labs to isolate the patient tested positive for COVID-19 in the identified facility and follow bio-safety precautions.

VRDL is a part of a network of labs established by the Department of Health Research, Government of India. The rise in the number of viral outbreaks and the resultant mortality had been cited as key reasons for the launch of network of such hi-tech labs in the country.

The NIV and the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, are the top laboratories for the network, while the National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, is the supervising authority for the data generated by the network of labs, sources added.