RSS chief pays tribute to Gauri Lankesh, Dharam Singh

Bengaluru, Mar 31: With many departmental stores, shops and establishments insisting on people to wear masks, Karnataka government on Tuesday clarified that as a rule every one need not wear a mask.

The Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare Services in an advisory said a person is suppose to wear mask only when he or she has symptoms of cold or cough or fever or any other respiratory problem.

It said a person who is caring for COVID-19 suspect or confirmed patient should wear mask. Also, a health worker who is attending to a patient with respiratory symptoms should wear a mask.

The advisory also noted that those treating or handling COVID-19 suspects or patients need to wear N95 mask, while others can wear triple layer surgical mask.

The advisory from the Commissionerate has come amid shops and establishments, also police on road insisting people to wear masks when they venture out.

Beijing, Feb 18: Police in China have arrested a prominent activist who had been a fugitive for weeks and criticised President Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus epidemic while in hiding, a rights group said Tuesday.

Anti-corruption activist Xu Zhiyong was arrested on Saturday after being on the run since December, according to Amnesty International.

China's ruling Communist Party has severely curtailed civil liberties since Xi took power in 2012, rounding up rights lawyers, labour activists and even Marxist students.

The death this month of a whistleblowing doctor who was reprimanded by police for raising the alarm about the deadly new virus before dying of it himself triggered rare calls for political reform and freedom of speech.

The "Chinese government's battle against the coronavirus has in no way diverted it from its ongoing general campaign to crush all dissenting voices," said Patrick Poon, China researcher at Amnesty International, in an emailed statement.

Another source, who spoke to news agency on the condition of anonymity, said Xu had been arrested in the southern city of Guangzhou.

Guangzhou police did not respond to requests for comment.

Xu went into hiding after authorities broke up a December gathering of intellectuals discussing political reform in the eastern coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province, prior to the coronavirus crisis.

Over a dozen lawyers and activists were detained or disappeared after the Xiamen gathering, according to rights groups -- and Xu's detention appears linked to his presence at the meeting, explained Poon.

But while on the run, Xu continued to post information on Twitter about rights issues.

On February 4 Xu released an article calling on Xi to step down and criticised his leadership across a range of issues including the US-China trade war, Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests and the coronavirus epidemic, which has now killed nearly 1,900 people.

"Medical supplies are tight, hospitals are filled with patients, and a large number of infected people have no way to be diagnosed," he wrote. "It's a mess."

"The coronavirus outbreak shows just how important values like freedom of expression and transparency are -- the exact values that Xu has long advocated," Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, told news agency.

But the disappearance of Xu illustrates how the Chinese state "persists in its old ways" by "silencing its critics", she said.

Xu -- who founded a movement calling for greater transparency among high-ranking officials -- previously served a four-year prison sentence from 2013 to 2017 for organising an "illegal gathering".

"That he was a fugitive for so many days while continuing to speak out, that in itself was... a kind of challenge to (Chinese authorities)," said Hua Ze, a long-time friend of Xu who told AFP she lost contact with the Chinese activist on Saturday morning.

Bengaluru, Mar 21: All bars and pubs in Karnataka will remain closed from Saturday till March 31 as a preventive measure to tackle coronavirus spread, said state Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

As per the government advisory, restaurants including cafes cannot serve food in-house and only takeaways will be allowed.

"All bars/pubs to remain closed from tomorrow till March 31 in Karnataka. In all city municipal corporations across the state, restaurants including cafes cannot serve food in-house, only takeaways will be allowed," said Yeddyurappa in a statement.

15 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state till now, said Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu on Friday.

The Minister told news agency that two COVID-19 patients, who are recovering, will soon be discharged from the hospital.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in India has now climbed up to 223, including 32 foreigners, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. As many as 23 people have been cured of the infection in India.

The disease has claimed over 10,000 lives globally.