HJV leader Jagadish Karanth arrested over communal remarks against Puttur cop

Bengaluru, May 12: Karnataka sees the highest single day spike since the start of the pandemic in the state, higher than Sunday's spike in cases. 63 new cases have been reported in last 24 hours. 

With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases rises to 925, said the state health department's bulletin on Tuesday.

While 42 new positive cases reported from May 11, 5 pm to May 12, noon, another 21 fresh 21 cases reported by 5 pm on May 12.

To date, 921 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed. This includes 31 deaths and 426 discharged," the bulletin read further.

Morning Bulletin

New cases in Bengaluru Urban 3,  Yadgir 2, Bagalkote 15, Dakshina Kannada 2, Dharwad 9, Bidar 2, Hassan 5, Ballari, Mandya, Chikkaballapura, Kalaburagi (one each).  

Evening Bulletin

Cases in Gadag (3), Kolar (5), Bengaluru Urban (1) and Davangere (11) cases. 

Cases reported on 12 May: 63

Total cases in state: 925
 

Lucknow, Jun 20: A media body on Saturday described as "an act of intimidation" the filing of an FIR in Uttar Pradesh against a journalist over a report on the impact of the lockdown on a village, saying it was part of an "established pattern" of harassment of independent scribes.

In a statement, the Media Foundation put on record its strong protest over the FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh government against Supriya Sharma, executive editor of news portal Scroll.in.

The case was filed against Sharma for allegedly misrepresenting facts in a report on the impact of the lockdown in a village adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, police sources had said on Thursday.

The FIR against Sharma and the Scroll editor-in-chief is an "an act of intimidation and a case of abuse of process", intended to discourage honest and critical reporting, the Media Foundation said.

The Media Foundation was started in 1979 with the aim of upholding freedom of speech, expression and information.

The FIR against Sharma is only the latest instance of similar coercive actions against professional journalists, part of "an established pattern of harassment and humiliation of independent journalists", it said,

"It is an unacceptable encroachment on press freedom," said the foundation, whose chairperson is veteran journalist Harish Khare.

The Media Foundation called upon the judiciary, and central and state governments to uphold the spirit of freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed in the Constitution.

New Delhi, May 30: The COVID-19 pandemic has left the Indian private healthcare sector in acute financial distress, a new survey said on Friday adding that the healthcare facilities in the country have witnessed at least 80 per cent fall in average revenue.

Post the lockdown from March 24, Indian hospitals have seen a large impact, especially among small and medium-sized hospitals, which are now facing existential challenges.

The survey by healthcare industry body NATHEALTH was conducted in 251 healthcare facilities across nine states and 69 cities to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the domestic healthcare industry.

The findings showed that 90 per cent of the surveyed healthcare facilities are facing financial challenges with 21 per cent facilities facing an existential threat.

"There is a need for a stimulus package to revive the Indian healthcare industry which will be crucial to provide much-needed relief to the healthcare sector which is the frontline defence in this fight against COVID-19," said Dr Sudarshan Ballal, President NATHEALTH.

According to the survey, hospitals in tier 1 and tier 2 cities are experiencing a 78 per cent reduction in OPD footfalls, and a drop of 79 per cent in in-patient admissions.

The study found that 90 per cent of organisations require some form of financial assistance.

The findings indicated that even after the lockdown lift, the situation will remain difficult for the hospitals and nursing homes as patients will hesitate from visiting hospitals.