Sabarimala row | Muslim Jama-ath Council expels Rehna Famtima for hurting Hindu sentiments

Bengaluru, Mar 21: Appealing for support to the Prime Minister's call for observing 'Janata Curfew' on Sunday to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has asked people not to come on roads immediately after the end of curfew time as it can nullify the measure.

Noting that people have extended both moral and societal support to this unique curfew, he said "Now, my appeal to people on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modiji is, don't come on roads and out of your dwellings immediately after nine in the night when curfew time ends. Remain settled in your houses and bungalows avoiding all public appearances on roads and other public places."

"Your coming out in open can nullify the 14-hour measure to contain the spread of virus. As a co-operation to authorities and the society, please remain indoors and stay with your near and dear ones," he said in a release.

Calling for "resolve and restraint" to fight the virus, the Prime Minister during his address to the nation on Thursday had asked the entire country to observe 'Janata curfew' on Sunday.

Calling for a 'Janata curfew' on March 22 from 7 am-9 pm, Modi had said no citizen, barring those in essential services, should get out of their house, and asserted that it will be a litmus test to show how much India is ready to take on the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

Stating the Karnataka government has so far been dealing successfully in containing the Covid-19 virus, Yediyurappa said this has happened because of people's co- operation.

He also asked people not to forget to involve in a bout of applause as a mark of appreciation to people involved in containing the spread of the virus and treating those affected by it.

Three new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Karnataka on Saturday, taking the total number of infections to 18 in the state.

Bengaluru, Mar 11: The Insurance Regulatory Authority of India has asked insurers to settle all claims related to coronavirus expeditiously under existing health policies that provide for treatment of hospitalisation expenses.

It has also asked insurers to design products covering the cost of treatment of coronavirus that has fast spread across the world and also resulted in increasing number of infections in India. There has been over 3,000 deaths globally and 58 cases tested positive in India.

In order to provide need-based health insurance coverage, insurers are intro ducing products for various specific diseases, including vector borne diseases. "For the purpose of meeting health insurance requirements of various sections, insurers are advised to design products covering the costs of treatment for coronavirus," the IRDAI said in a circular.

The regulator said that under existing health insurance policies where hospitalisation is covered, not only the cases related to coronvirus disease (COVID-19) shall be expeditiously handled, but all the costs of admissible medic al expenses during the course of treatment, including the treatment during quarantine period, should be settled in accordance to the applicable terms and conditions of policy contract and the extant regulatory framework.

This would bring much needed relief to policy holders some of whom were facing difficulty in getting coverage for treatment takers to coronavirus. In the absence of clear information, a few hospitals were reportedly denying for forward such claims of policy holders to the insurers.

IRDAI has now said that all the claims reported under COVID-19 shall be thoro ughly reviewed by review committee before repudiating the claims. This would prevent blanket rejection of such claims.

But to get full claim for treatment of coronavirus, industry experts said, a person should be hospitalised at least for 24 hours. Most insurers do not c over outpatient treatment.

Bengaluru, Apr 20: Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, reacting to the incident which happened in Padarayanapura area of the city last night, in which a group of men vandalised a police barricade, said that the perpetrators of the violence should be dealt with severely.

He further said, "It was not at all needed to attack Asha workers, police or doctors. These kinds of incidents are not acceptable. It is an act of shame. It does not matter which community the perpetrators belong to, each and everyone must follow the guidelines and law. Whoever indulged in such an act must be punished."

Earlier on Sunday, a ruckus erupted in Padarayanapura on Sunday allegedly over the shifting of suspected COVID-19 persons to a quarantine facility by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials.

The incident occurred in the late evening at Padarayanapura, which is recognized as a 'Red Zone', when BBMP officials went to shift 15 secondary contacts of corona positive patients. However, some people created a ruckus, broke the barricade and removed the police post in the area.

In Karnataka, 390 people have detected positive for COVID-19, of which 16 people have succumbed to the infection, as per the Union Health Ministry.