Cops nab two for cattle transportation; seize vehicle, five animals

Bengaluru, May 27: A 69-year-old woman from Yadgiri became the 45th COVID-19 related fatality in Karnataka, where 122 fresh cases have been reported, taking the total number of infections in the state to 2,405, the health department said on Wednesday.

With 45 deaths and 762 discharges, there are 1,596 active coronavirus cases in the state, the department said in its mid-day bulletin. It said, the deceased woman, a returnee from Maharashtra was brought dead to designated hospital in Yadgiri on May 20 and tested positive for COVID-19.

Fourteen patients have been discharged in the state so far on Wednesday. Of the 122 new cases, 108 are returnees from neighboring Maharashtra, three from Tamil Nadu, and one each from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi. While two are returnees from foreign countries- one each from UAE and Nepal.

Remaining four cases are contact of patients earlier tested positive.

Among the districts where new cases were reported, Kalaburagi accounted for 28, Yadgiri 16, Hassan 15, Bidar 13, Dakshina Kannada 11, Udupi 9, Bengaluru Urban 6, five each from Uttara Kannada and Raichur, Belagavi 4, Chikkamagaluru 3, two each from Bengaluru Rural and Vijayapura, and one each from Ballari, Mandya and Tumakuru.

Karnataka, Mar 18: Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has asked its administrative staff to work from home until further order amid coronavirus outbreak.

KSCA has taken various measures to mitigate the risk of spreading coronavirus. The association had already closed down all section of the sports centre and also given off to all the sports centre staff from March 14.

"Ksca had already closed down all section of the sports centre and also given off to all the sports centre staff w.e.f 14th March 2020. Further to that, now it is decided that most of the KSCA administrative staff will be working from home until further orders," KSCA Treasurer and official spokesperson Vinay Mruthyunjaya said in a statement.

"All the KSCA employees have been advised strictly to be at home and should not travel and be available on phones and mails. However skeleton staff will be deputed at KSCA to make sure ongoing works like grounds maintenance, regular maintenance etc., is not affected," he added.

The United States of America has bought almost the entire world's supply of remdesivir, one of just two drugs proven to treat COVID-19. 

“President Trump has struck an amazing deal to ensure Americans have access to the first authorised therapeutic for Covid-19,” said the US health and human services secretary, Alex Azar. 

“To the extent possible, we want to ensure that any American patient who needs remdesivir can get it. The Trump administration is doing everything in our power to learn more about life-saving therapeutics for Covid-19 and secure access to these options for the American people.”

The announcement implies that no other country in the world will be able to buy remdesivir for next three months at least.

The anti-viral drug patented by the US-based Gilead biotech firm is the only one approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat patients with the novel coronavirus.

The Trump administration has already shown that it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.

“They’ve got access to most of the drug supply [of remdesivir], so there’s nothing for Europe,” said Dr Andrew Hill, senior visiting research fellow at Liverpool University.

Remdesivir, the first drug approved by licensing authorities in the US to treat Covid-19, is made by Gilead and has been shown to help people recover faster from the disease. 

The first 140,000 doses, supplied to drug trials around the world, have been used up. The Trump administration has now bought more than 500,000 doses, which is all of Gilead’s production for July and 90% of August and September.