Karnataka reports 11 new COVID-19 cases, total count spikes to 534

Bengaluru, April 2: At least three people have been arrested by police in connection with the attack on ASHA worker Krishnaveni in Bengaluru's Byatarayanapura area.

Earlier in the day, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said that an investigation was initiated into the incident in which ASHA workers were attacked.

"I have appointed Pulikeshi Nagar ACP, Tabarak Fathima, to investigate the matter. A case will be registered and action will be taken. ASHA workers will be protected by the police to carry out their functions," Rao told ANI here.

Earlier, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan visited one of the ASHA workers who was allegedly attacked by unidentified miscreants and termed the incident as "completely demoralising" for the workers.

ASHA workers, who were deployed to spread awareness about coronavirus and identify suspected cases, were allegedly attacked by a group of locals in Byatarayanapura here on Wednesday.

The workers said that the locals did not allow them to work and around 100 people gathered at the spot and harassed them.

This comes as the country is under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 24: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that there is no community spread or the expected phase three spread of coronavirus in the state so far but the threat continues.

Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, Vijayan said that Kasargod, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram districts will be in the red zone with full restrictions.

"All the other ten districts in the State will be in the orange zone. With the detection of new cases today, the status of Kottayam and Idukki districts have been changed from green to orange. The district administration will decide on the hotspot areas to be closed," he said.

He said there would be an increase in the number of random tests in the red zones.

"In an effort to confirm that there is no community spread in the State, random antibody tests would be conducted among health workers, police personnel, home delivery persons, volunteers and migrant labourers," he added.

The Chief Minister said that COVID-19 labs set up at the Pariyaram Government Medical College at Kannur and the Kottayam Medical College have got the approval from the ICMR for coronavirus testing. The lab at Kannur Medical College will start functioning from Friday.

The UV sterilised lab, spread over 2,200 sq ft is equipped with four real-time PCR machines. In the first phase, this lab will be able to do 15 tests per day, which will be gradually increased to conduct 60 tests in the next phase.

"With the opening of these two new labs, tests to detect COVID-19 will be conducted in 14 government labs in Kerala. Apart from this, there are two private labs also in Kerala which are doing these tests. Since the number of coronavirus cases is again increasing in the State, the government has decided to procure ten real-time PCR machines to ramp up testing," he added.

Bengaluru, Feb 14: BJP leader and Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashok refused to comment on the Bellary car accident case, allegedly involving his son, saying that the matter was still under investigation and that they did not have anything to do with the said car.

The car crash took place on February 10, when a speeding red Mercedes Benz allegedly driven by Ashok's son rammed into a tea stall by the roadside killing two people. While a 16-year-old boy Ravi died on the spot, one of the car's passengers was also killed in the accident.

"I came to know about the incident and also heard that two people have died and a few others have sustained injuries. Everybody is equal under the law. It is not fair to comment as a minister when the case is being investigated," Ashok told reporters here on Thursday.

However, the minister avoided answering questions about his son's presence in the car and said that they had "no connection" with the car.

"The case is in the investigation stage, I don't want to comment on anything. My son's name is not present in the FIR. We have no connection with the car," he said.

Superintendent of Police CK Baba told reporters that Ashok's son was not present in the car.

"There was no senior BJP leader and Revenue Ministers's son in the car. We will not hide anything and the case will be investigated," Baba said.