Kerala: India's first Islamic bank gets RBI approval

Bengaluru, May 5: The Karnataka government is planning to maintain a Health database of its citizens in the backdrop of experience gained from the COVID-19 pandemic, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said on Tuesday.

In a statement issued here, he said a “Health Register” will be maintained to keep track of all health issues of the people and the project will be implemented first in Chikkaballapur district on an experimental basis.

“COVID-19 has provided enough experience for all of us and therefore, there is a need to maintain health data of each person. The government will be undertaking a survey using a team of Primary Health Centre officials, Revenue officials, Education department staff and Asha Workers,” the Minister said in a release here.

Kozhikode, Jun 14: A mosque in Kuttichira of Kozhikode has found a unique way to avoid crowding amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee that runs the mosque has started issuing smart cards to people for offering prayers and simultaneously encouraging social distancing.

"The committee has given smart cards with numbers to the people in the surroundings of the Masjid. One who enters the mosque premises has to rub their hands with sanitizers. They also have to tell their identity on camera. The automatic system has been put in place to save the address and phone number. Next time onwards they have to say their smart card number only so that other details will be automatically filled," said Muhammad Sajjad, who is part of the Mosque committee.

"The door of the mosque will open automatically after swiping the card. We have fit in a sensor on the doors. We have also made marks inside the mosque area so that people can abide by social distancing norm," he added.

A couple of days back the Kerala government has rolled out an order allowing the opening of places of worship, malls and restaurants from June 9 in strict accordance with guidelines and social distancing norms. As per the guidelines, pregnant women and those with co-morbidities should not visit any places of worship. Those with symptoms should not be allowed.