Baby abandoned by mom at Udupi hospital in 1970 is now Swiss Parliamentarian!

New Delhi, July 29: The government of India today announced Unlock 3.0, lifting of night curfew from August 1 and opening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums from August 5 while educational institutes will remain closed throughout August.

According to the Unlock 3.0 guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the lockdown in containment zones will be extended until August 30. The new guidelines will be in effect from August 1.

The operation of Metro rail and international flights will remain suspended. Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places will remain shut. Large gatherings are also prohibited.

Yoga institutes and gymnasiums will start operating from August 5 for which the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be issuing Standard Operating Procedures. 

Independence Day celebrations will be held with social distancing norms in place.

Restrictions on the movement of individuals during the night (Night curfew between 10 PM and 5 AM) have been removed.

According to the order, states have been given powers to prohibit certain activities outside containment zones or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary based on their assessment of the situation.

"However, there shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods. No separate permission/approval/e-permit will be required for such movements," the order said. 

In the previous two Unlock guidelines, the government had substantially opened various activities.

Bengaluru, July 31: Denying irregularities in covid-19 equipment purchase by the Karnataka government, the state unit of the BJP has issued legal notices to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar demanding that they apologize or face a defamation suit. 

The notices seek a public apology for the allegations levelled against the government on irregularities in the procurement of Covid-19 equipment and supplies. 

Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, have been doggedly pursuing allegations of corruption against the BJP government and have demanded a judicial inquiry. 

BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar said that while the Congress leaders claimed that Rs 4,157 crore was spent during Covid-19, they also allege that the government has not responded to any of the 20 letters written by them. "If the government has not provided any answer to the Opposition, where did they get the figures from," he said.

None of the allegations of corruption is specific and the statements made are factually incorrect. "These statements, without any basis, have been issued calculatedly to lower the image and damage the reputation of the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, representatives of the party and the ministers in the government," the notice issued on behalf of Ravi Kumar read.

Bengaluru, Aug 3: All those who met Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who has tested positive for Covid-19, in the last three-four days will have to be quarantined, Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K said on Monday.

He also said those who came in contact with Yediyurappa in a couple of programmes in the past week are being traced.

Sudhakar, a medical doctor himself, said Yediyurappa has "very mild cough and his chest is clear."

"I think eight to ten days," he told news agency when asked how long the Chief Minister would have to remain in hospital.

Sudhakar said he is also getting himself tested as a few of his office staff had tested positive.

"All those who met the Chief Minister in the last 3-4 days...ideally they should be quarantined till they receive their results/report. Those who came in contact with him in a couple of programmes will have to isolate themselves and subject themselves for testing," the Minister said.

On the Chief Minister meeting Governor Vajubhai Vala, along with Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai last Friday, Sudhakar said as a result "They also become primary contacts. Ideally, they should also be quarantined and tested."

Yediyurappa who was hospitalised on Sunday night after testing positive for Covid-19 was "doing well" and is "clinically stable", the hospital treating him said.

The 77-year old leader is being monitored by a team of doctors at the Manipal hospital here.

"He is doing well, is clinically stable and will be monitored closely by our team," the hospital said in a statement late last night.

"I have tested positive for coronavirus. Whilst I am fine, I am being hospitalised as a precaution on the recommendation of doctors. I request those who have come in contact with me recently to be observant and exercise self-quarantine," Yediyurappa had said in his tweet.

Yediyurappa was in home quarantine a couple of weeks ago, after some staff members in his home office were found infected with the virus. Subsequently, he tested negative for Covid-19.