Karnataka govt not doing enough to curb child abuse: Rajeev Chandrashekar

Bengaluru, Apr 14: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to extend COVID-19 lockdown till May 3.

"Our government will strictly implement the Government of India guidelines, which will be issued tomorrow. Lockdown will be followed more stringently till April 20 as Prime Minister said and the situation will be closely monitored. I appeal to the people of Karnataka to voluntarily cooperate with us to contain this disease," Yediyurappa said.

The chief minister urged the people to respect seven major points that Prime Minister Modi raised in his televised address to the nation on Tuesday, while announcing the extension of coronavirus-induced lockdown.

"I appeal to people to follow the seven measures Prime Minister advised to follow, such as taking care of elders in the house especially those suffering from chronicle illness; strictly maintaining social distancing; enhancing immunity by following guidelines of Ayush Department; download Arogyasetu app; help the poor and needy; to be considerate about your colleagues and employees and not to sack them; and respect the police, healthcare professionals," Yediyurappa added.

The chief minister also assured that there is no scarcity of medicines, essential services and goods.

"We will make all efforts to carry out agriculture activities without any hurdle. I make a special appeal to migrant labours to stay wherever they are and be safe... Stay home and be safe," he said.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 247 COVID-19 positive cases in Karnataka including 59 cured, discharged, migrated and six deaths.

Dubai, Apr 14: Around 2,500 Indians have approached Indian missions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seeking help to be flown home during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, top diplomats have said.

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai together have received requests from "a little more than 1,000 individuals" while the latter has received an additional request from an employer who has laid-off around 1,000 Indian workers, reports Gulf News on Monday.

According to the Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor, the missions have not been bombarded with mass requests from the people who wish to take an immediate flight home unlike widespread reports on social media.

Most of the individuals who have expressed their interest to return home are visitors and those who lost their jobs, he told Gulf News.

Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul said his mission had received nearly 1000 requests via email and phone from people who want to return home.

"A majority of them are visit visa holders. On Sunday, we got information about another large group of around 1,000 Indian workers who have lost jobs. The employer has got in touch to know the options to send them back home as early as possible," he told Gulf News.

However, the diplomatic heads refuted unverified reports that claim tens of thousands of Indians were scrambling to fly home during the pandemic.

They added that the missions have been aiding hundreds of workers, who have been left in the lurch by their employers, with provisions.

The Indian government had said that flight services cannot be resumed during the lockdown period, which has now been extended till May 3.

Bengaluru, May 22: Karnataka reported 138 fresh cases of coronavirus on Friday, taking the state tally to 1743.

26 patients have been discharged on Friday and in total, 597 people have been discharged in Karnataka while total number of active cases in the state is 1,100. 41 people have succumbed to the virus, informed the state health department.

Out of the 138 cases, 111 are returnees from Maharashtra.Out of the 138 cases, 47 are from Chikkaballapura alone, 10 cases from Raichur eight cases each from Bidar and Mandya, five cases each from Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru Urban, and 14 are from Hassan.

From Bengaluru Rural, three patients are returnees from Maharashtra. A fifty-five year old female from Bengaluru Rural, has contracted the virus and has been diagnosed with a history of SARI. She is currently under observation at a designated city hospital.

Five patients have tested positive from Bengaluru Urban. A 42-year-old woman tested positive in Bengaluru Urban and has been diagnosed with a history of Influenza-like Illness (ILI). She is currently under observation at a designated city hospital.

Two men, who have tested positive from Dharwad are returnees from Delhi. Both of them are currently under observation at a designated hospital in Hubli. A seventy-five year old male who has contracted the coronavirus has returned from Jharkhand.