COVID-19: Karnataka govt orders shutdown of schools, malls; bans wedding ceremonies

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 10: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said that it has been 100 days since the first COVID-19 case was reported and shared the updated figures of positive cases, along with the efforts made by the state government to contain the virus.

"100 Days of #COVID19 | Kerala Story It's been 100 days since the first case was reported. 258 active cases, 97 recovered, Total confirmed: 357 Deaths: 2. 12,710 samples tested Special COVID-19 Hospital, 1,251 Community Kitchens, 28,08,650 Individuals Served, 3,676 Destitutes Rehabilitated," Vijayan tweeted.

India's first case was reported in Kerala in January. The patient was a student, who was studying at Wuhan University in China.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday informed that India's total number of COVID-19 positive cases now stands at 6,412. Out of these, 5,709 are active patients and 504 of them have been cured/discharged and migrated.

With 30 new deaths reported in the last 12 hours, the death toll has reached 199.

Bengaluru, May 2: Former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah have urged the state government to arrange free-transport facilities to those stranded labourers and their family members to return their native places.

In a statement issued here on Friday, the former chief minister criticised the State Government for having decided to collect bur fare from them, ''three-times more than the regular fare''.

Stating that the migrant labourers, who had been stranded ever since lockdown had been clamped in the entire country are not in a position to pay for their travel, Siddaramaiah urged the state government to treat them with human face.

Bengaluru, Mar 19: To better enforce social distancing and prevent further spread of Covid-19, the Karnataka health and family welfare department on Wednesday said it will "stamp the back of the palm" of international passengers advised to be on home quarantine, along with the date they are allowed to get out of home. The stamping process began at 12am Thursday.

Pankaj Kumar Pandey, commissioner, health and family welfare, said: "It is noted that a few passengers under home quarantine are not following the instructions. Therefore, it has been decided to stamp the back of the palm of their left hand with a specially designed stamp which will indicate the last day of quarantine."

He said the special stamp will use an indelible ink and "airports in Karnataka have been instructed to follow this without fail". On average, about 3,000 people are arriving in Bengaluru on international flights every day.

The department said social distancing is the only known method of combating the spread of Covid-19 and added, "International passengers are segregated as symptomatic and asymptomatic."

High-risk flyers kept at mass quarantine unit

The symptomatic passengers (Group-A) are taken to designated hospitals; asymptomatic ones, depending on the port of origin, are taken to the quarantine centre or permitted to go on home quarantine.

At the mass quarantine centre, the asymptomatic passengers are divided into moderate-risk (Group-B) and high-risk (Group-C) categories.

“The high-risk passengers are kept at a mass quarantine centre for medical observation. The moderate-risk passengers are being sent for home quarantine where they need to spend 14 days,” the statement added.

Pandey said: “International passengers changing flights within the country cannot be stopped. Ideally, they should be stamped at the first port of entry when they arrive from a foreign country which is not happening.” He said this issue will be brought to the notice of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation.