Bengaluru, Apr 21: Alarmed by reports that 53 media persons have contracted coronavirus in Maharashtra, a Minister on Tuesday urged Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to screen all the journalists in Karnataka.
During the regular Covid-19 related briefing on Monday, a reporter had raised the issue of 53 journalists in the neighbouring state testing positive for the disease, with Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar.
In Maharashtra, out of the 171 scribes examined medically, 53 were found to have the viral infection.
In his letter to the CM, Kumar said a similar test should be carried on the journalists in Karnataka.
"The journalists wanted a similar kind of screening to be carried out on them. Therefore, please direct the health and the information department immediately to conduct the screening of journalists who are in contact with public," Kumar said.
New Delhi, Jun 6: With the coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of abating, it seems unlikely that Muslims from India will be able to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage this year.
However, the government will take a final decision on the matter only after Saudi Arabia makes its position on hosting the pilgrimage clear.
A circular issued by the Hajj Committee of India on Friday said only a few weeks are left for the preparatory work in India for Hajj 2020, yet the Saudi authorities have not communicated any further development regarding the pilgrimage.
"In view of the several inquiries received and concerns expressed over uncertainty over Hajj 2020, it has been decided by the Hajj Committee of India that, those pilgrims who desire to cancel their Hajj journey this year, their 100 per cent amount paid so far will be refunded without any deductions," the circular issued by Hajj Committee of India CEO Maqsood Ahmed Khan said.
"Coronavirus cases are increasing in Saudi Arabia and two lakh people have to go from here. We had made preparations, but now there is very little time left. We are waiting for an official word from Saudi Arabia," a top source said.
In response to a question, the source said, "This time, it is unlikely that people will be able to undertake Hajj from India."
Uncertainty has been looming large over this year's Hajj in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and though Saudi Arabia has not made a decision on whether the annual pilgrimage will be held or not, it did ask Muslims to delay their bookings till there is more clarity.
The bilateral annual Hajj 2020 agreement between India and Saudi Arabia was signed last December. In 2020, a total of 2 lakh Indian Muslims were expected to perform Hajj.
Over 95,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 600 deaths have been reported in Saudi Arabia due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Some countries have decided not to send their people for Hajj this time. The most prominent among these is Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
The Hajj 2020 is proposed in the period between late July and early August.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.
Bengaluru, Feb 20: German software group SAP said on Thursday that it had temporarily shut down its offices across India for sanitisation after two employees in its Bengaluru Ecoworld office tested positive for H1N1 virus.
"Two SAP India employees based in Bangalore (RMZ Ecoworld office) have tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Detailed contact tracing that the infected colleagues may have come into contact with is underway," SAP India said in an emailed statement.
The company said its offices across Bengaluru, Gurugram and Mumbai have been closed for extensive sanitisation. All employees based in these locations have been asked to work from home till further notice
SAP India also advised its employees to seek medical advice if they or their family members have any symptoms of cold, cough with fever.
H1N1 or swine flu can spread through air. Its symptoms are cough, fever, sore throat, running nose, body ache, headache, chills and fatigue.
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We are already facing lot of problems here without food and money.
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