Cong extends Karnataka poll campaign to Saudi Arabia; leaders reach out to NRIs

Thiruvanathapuram, Mar 27: The state is heading for its worst ever crisis with coronavirus cases increasing rapidly and Kasargod district the worst hit. On Friday alone 39 positive cases were reported in the state of which 34 are from Kasargod.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the situation is grave and Kasargod has been the worst hit. More than the positive cases reported in the district, the worrying factor is that many people have come into contact with these positive cases.

The chief minister warned that the government will be forced to declare the names of the people who are defying the quarantine guidelines in the district. More people have been put under risk in the district and the district administration is much concerned since the results of 215 samples are yet to come.

There is no other way but to tighten the restrictions imposed in the district against the people coming out of their houses. The government has decided to provide more facilities to the hospitals in Kasargod and Kannur to meet an emergency.

The medical college hospital in Kannur will be converted into a coronavirus hospital with 200 bed strength. Steps have been taken to equip the medical college hospital with more facilities. The Central University at kasargood will be converted into as a temporary coronavirus treatment centre. 

The state has also requested permission from ICMR to begin the testing facility here, said the chief minister.

The total number of positive cases reported in the state have now become 176 of which 12 have been discharged after testing negative. At present 164 positive people are admitted in several hospitals of the state.

On Friday of the 39 positive cases, two are from Kannur and one each from Thrissur, Kollam and Kozhikode. With this all the districts in the state have been now affected with coronavirus.

Mangaluru, May 5: Even though India is all set to bring back Indian nationals stranded abroad through special commercial flights, no flights have been arranged for the repatriation Kannadigas stuck in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the first phase (May 7 to May 14). However a few flights will fly from Saudi to Kerala and Delhi.

The government is likely to introduce flights from Saudi Arabia to Karnataka (Bengaluru and Mangaluru Airports) in second or third phase.

Fill the Form

All Indian nationals in Saudi Arabia who seek repatriation are supposed to fill form in the following link: https://t.co/K5Hbmr4cFP 

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh has clarified that the purpose is only to collect data and no decision has been taken yet regarding resumption of flights.

High airfare

Even though some GCC governments paid the ticket fares to bring back their citizens, the government of India has clarified that it will not pay the ticket fares of Indian nationals stranded abroad. It is predicted that tickets on repatriation flights from Saudi Arabia to India could be costlier than regular airfare.

Only asymptomatic can travel 

As per Standard Operating Protocol, medical screening of passengers would be done before taking the flight. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel. During the journey, all these passengers would have to follow the protocols, such as the health protocols, issued by the ministry of health and the ministry of civil aviation," it said in a statement.

Mandatory quarantine

The govt has made elaborate arrangements to conduct medical test on arrival at the Airports. As per plan, based on medical check-up, passengers will be categorised as group A/B/C. Later, they will be quarantined for the mandated days

Respective district administrations have taken steps to quarantine people returning from outside India. Marriages halls, general halls and hostels are being identified for the quarantine.

Chitradurga, Apr 11: Akhila Bharata Hindu Mahasabha district president M Kumaraswamy has been arrested by Police on charges of posting provocative posts on Facebook.

Police said on Saturday that Syed Sadath who is the Popular Front of India District Secretary, in Chitradurga filed a complaint stating that Mr Kumaraswamy had posted ''Godhra riots will be repeated by Karsevaks'' on his Facebook page on April 7.

Mr Sadath said that Kumaraswamy was spreading communal hatred and targeting one community, at a time when the world was struggling to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.