Maulana Muhammad Shafi, father of Abdussalam Puthige, passes away

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.

Bengaluru, June 10: The Department of Primary and Secondary Education of Government of Karnataka today ordered a ban on online classes for children from KG to class 5.

The decision was taken following a report based on the report submitted by director NIMHANS, recommending online classes only above the age of 6 years and also following the complaints from several parents about online classes conducted by private schools even for kindergarten kids.

Briefing the media soon after the meeting with department officials, S Suresh Kumar, primary and secondary education minister said, "We have taken two major decisions today. The online classes for LKG, UKG and primary classes should be stopped immediately."

Even collecting fees in the name of online classes should be stopped, said the minister. "We have already issued a circular about it insisting that schools not collect fees in the name of online classes and also requesting schools not to increase fees for the 2020-21 academic year considering financial constraints of several people due to the COVID-19 pandemic," said the minister.

The department, however, also discussed how to engage children during this period as there was no clarity over the reopening of schools for the 2020-21 academic year. "We have constituted a committee to prepare guidelines on how to engage students and increase their knowledge. The committee is headed by Prof. MK Sridhar," he said.

Before taking this decision, the department had three rounds of discussions with various experts, including Prof. MK Sridhar, Prof. VP Niranjanaradhya, Dr John Vijay Sagar and other departments, including the home and health departments.

Bengaluru, Mar 28: The Karnataka government on Saturday said that the state run Indira Canteens would provide food packets free of cost to the poor and needy in the wake of the lockdown, the government said here on Saturday.

The canteens would operate in three schedules -from 7:30 AM to 10 AM, 12:30 PM to 3 PM and 7:30 PM to 9 PM, the government said in a public announcement

During the scheduled hours, street side vendors, labourers and poor would be provided food free of cost.

After the cabinet meeting on Friday, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had said food packets would be provided to the poor and needy with the help of some organisations through the Canteens and had sought the help of everyone in this regard.

The State-sponsored, subsidised 'Indira Canteens' as of now serves breakfast at Rs five and lunch and dinner at Rs 10.

The government asked people availing the facility to maintain cleanliness at the canteen and staff who serve food to compulsorily use masks and hand gloves.

It also said soaps and sanitizers should be made available at the canteens.

The government also asked people to maintain a minimum distance of one metre while standing in queue and take all precautionary measures.

Earlier, a day after announcing that food would be provided free of cost through the canteens for daily wagers, Yediyurappa on March 24 had said it has been decided that the canteens will not be opened, after realizing that it was leading to crowding, which drew criticism.