'Kundapur accident that claimed lives of 8 students could have been avoided'

Shivamogga, May 10: Karnataka Minister KS Eshwarappa on Sunday informed that eight people who returned to the state from Gujarat have tested positive for COVID-19 in Shivamogga district.

Shivamogga district is under the green zone category.

"Eight people who have returned from Ahmedabad, Gujarat have tested positive for COVID-19 in Shivamogga," said Eshwarappa.

Last week, the district administration had asked shopkeepers to open their shops on alternate days in order to avoid crowding.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the state has so far 794 confirmed COVID-19 cases which include 386 cured or discharged cases and 30 deaths.

Mangaluru/Udupi: A total 237 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Dakshina Kannada (DK) and Udupi on Sunday, a day that DK scaled yet another peak with 196 cases and Udupi tallied 41. 

The grim reaper came calling on patients with co-morbidities, harvesting five souls, to take the total tally of deaths in DK to 46. The spurt also saw DK’s tally of positive cases rise to 2,230 and Udupi’s to 1,608.

The 196 fresh cases in DK included 91 cases of influenza like illness (ILI), the cause of infection in 57 people is yet to be known, 20 are primary contacts, 16 are those with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI), 10 are those with international travel history and two are pre-surgery samples, said deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh. The five deceased include three men and two women, the youngest victim being a 50-year-old man and oldest a 72-year-old man.

A total 94 patients were discharged from the designated Covid-19 and private hospitals in the city, taking the total number those discharged to 876, and paring down the number of active cases to 1,309. The commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunda. Deputy Commissioner (revenue), MCC, a primary contact, has home quarantined himself in the wake of this development.

In neighbouring Udupi, the double-digit blip on the Covid-19 radar included 32 primary contacts, six with inter-district travel history, two with inter-state travel history and one patient with international travel history, said district health officer Sudhir Chandra Sooda. The fresh cases also included four children. The discharge of 28 patients took the total numbers of those discharged to 1,273, and there are 332 active cases now. The district has recorded three deaths due to the pandemic thus far. 

Bengaluru, May 22: Karnataka government on Thursday announced that weddings scheduled for May 24 and May 31 are exempted from complete lockdown on Sundays.

As per an earlier advisory issued by the State government with regard to weddings, not more than 50 guests shall be allowed and the consumption of liquor on the occasion will be prohibited.

According to the advisory, sanitisers should be provided at the entry and other appropriate places at the venue. Also, thermal screening of all persons shall be conducted at the entry of the venue. The scanner should be held 3-15 cms away from a person's forehead.

Apart from this, the venue shall be "clean and hygienic," and a "nodal person shall be identified for overseeing the arrangements and coordination at the venue."

Also, a list of attendees with contact details has to be maintained and all guests should have downloaded Aarogya Setu app.