Assault on Dalits was a good thing, says BJP MLA; slams media for criticising it

Bengaluru, Jul 23: A city hospital here has banned woman Covid patients from wearing dupatta (long scarf) or similar garments, after two women committed suicide, said an official on Thursday.

"Two patients committed suicides with their sarees, that's why we have changed the dress code," KC General Hospital superintendent Venkateshaiah said.

As part of the new dress code, the hospital has mandated that women patients should wear operation theatre dress, even though some older patients are not in favour of it.

Incidentally, both the deceased women went to the bathroom and hanged themselves with their sarees.

Meanwhile, the hospital has also asked the neighbouring patients to be vigilant and accompany them to the washroom.

"With the advice of our psychologist, two adjacent patients have been given the precaution that whenever a depressed patient goes to the bathroom, please go with them and stand outside to take care of them," said Vekateshaiah.

Similarly, the hospital is also thinking of giving a small dose of sedation to make them sleep in the night to avoid waking up.

To rejuvenate the spirits of the patients, the hospital has arranged televisions to show them the best health practices, programmes on meditation, movies and entertainment.

"We are not showing them only news, but also good food habits, how to take care of oneself amid Covid," he said.

Amidst all these efforts, the hospital's psychologist will continuously monitor the mental health of the patients with an aim to avoid any untoward incident.

Bengaluru continues to report the highest number of Covid cases, recording 2,050 on Wednesday, raising the city tally to 36,993, out of which 27,969 are active.

Bengaluru, Jul 17: Lashing out at Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa-led government over the handling of coronavirus crisis, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Thursday demanded Governor's rule in the state. He also took a dig at Health Minister B Sriramulu's "Only God can save us" remark.

"I heard the statement of Sriramulu and Sudhakar. They have said that they cannot manage this (coronavirus crisis) and they leave it to God who can save Karnataka. If such is the case, they could not solve the problems of the people of Karnataka. It is time now they must resign and let the Governor's rule come into force. The time has come for all of them to step down," Shivakumar said.

Taking to Twitter, Sriramulu said that the KPCC president misinterpreted his statement.

He said that Opposition allegations of negligence and incapability of the government and irresponsibility of ministers are "far from the truth".

The minister said that people should be made aware of the prevention of coronavirus as it plays a very important role in the prevention of infection.

"Here are the cautioning words, 'If you stumble, only God has to save us.' The government, our Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and ministers are working day and night. We are working for the people, to effectively face this century's challenge," he tweeted.

As many as 4,169 new COVID-19 cases and 104 deaths were reported in Karnataka on Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 51,422 cases including 19,729 recoveries and 1,032 deaths.

Bengaluru reported 2,344 new cases and 70 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department.

Bengaluru, Apr 26: Three new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Karnataka in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 503 as per Karnataka government.

There are 302 active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka presently, while 182 patients have been discharged, 19 deaths have been reported, state government informed.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country are 26,917, including 20,177 active cases of the virus. So far, 5,913 patients have either been cured or discharged while 826 deaths have been recorded in the country, as per data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.