A mad man governing Karnataka: Eshwarappa

Bengaluru, Jun 3: Lack of awareness on rail travel norms led to a tense situation on a Karnataka train as a female passenger was forced to disembark midway after her fellow passengers raised a hue and cry on seeing her knuckle stamped, mistaking it for a quarantine stamp, an official said on Tuesday.

"Many passengers on the train with the woman raised a hue and cry on seeing her stamped and complained to the TTE. She was later disembarked at Tumkur," a South Western Railway (SWR) zone official said.

The woman was travelling from Bengaluru to Belagavi as a transit passenger. Her status as such a passenger was stamped on her knuckle.

However, after some time, her fellow passengers observed her stamped hand and misunderstood that she was violating the quarantine norms.

Without realising that she was just a transit passenger who will be quarantined on reaching her destination, they created pandemonium and complained to the travelling ticket inspector.

"Following the public pressure, she was forcibly disembarked in Tumkur station," said the official.

Incidentally, the railways allows transit passengers to travel.

The official said the TTE would not have been aware of the rules and must have yielded to the passengers' pressure.

Later, the woman was allowed to board another train and reach her destination, the official said.

Mangaluru, Apr 5: As the number of Covid 19 cases continue to spike across Karnataka, there are patients who are recovering from this deadly virus as well. The first case of Covid 19 detected in Mangaluru has fully recovered and all set to return home.

The first case of corona infection was reported on March 22 in Dakshina Kannada district. 

A 22-year-old youth hailing from Bhatkal had landed at Mangaluru International Airport on March 19. 

As he was suffering from mild fever and cold, he was quarantined in Mangaluru. He had come from Dubai.

His throat swabs were sent for testing on the same day and on March 22 he was tested positive for coronavirus. 

He has undergone 14-day long treatment at the Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru. 

On April 2 and 3, his throat swabs were sent for testing again. Both times he was tested negative for coronavirus. He is expected to be discharged on April 6.

So far a dozen coronavirus positive cases have been confirmed in Dakshina Kannada. With the recovery of one patient, there are 11 active cases in the district.

Bengaluru, Jun 2: Karnataka recorded a biggest single day spike of 388 COVID-19 cases, with returnees from neighboring Maharashtra continuing to add to the state's tally, taking the total number of infections in the state to 3,796, the health department said on Tuesday.

With 367 out of 388 new cases being returnees from other states, mostly from neighboring Maharashtra (357), the Karnataka government said it was mulling over increasing institutional quarantine for those returning from the western state. Meanwhile, achieving a milestone in the battle against the coronavirus,the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences at Hubballi has successfully treated a COVID-19 patient through plasma therapy.

"Maharashtra (returnees) is a major worry for us, already 15,000-20,000 people have come from Maharashtra, still 2000 odd people may come to each district, as we have allowed so many people already, we have decided to allow them also, Revenue Minister R Ahoka said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said ".....cases coming from Bombay and Pune are turning out to be positive, we have to take extra caution, seven days quarantine (institutional) is of no use, we want to increase it specifically for those returning from Maharashtra.

We will take a decision soon and issue order." Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa earlier directed district authorities including the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police to camp at taluk centres and work towards curbing the spread of COVID-19. Pointing out that COVID-19 cases were increasing in the state because of returnees from Maharashtra, he asked officials to take all necessary measures to check it, his office said in a release. The previous biggest single-day spike was recorded on May 31 with 299 cases. As of June 2 evening, cumulatively 3,796 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 52 deaths and 1,403 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said out of 2,339 active cases, 2,325 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 14 are in ICU.

According to the bulletin,75 patients have been discharged today.

Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences in Hubballi has successfully treated a COVID-19 patient through Plasma Therapy.

"Karnataka achieves yet another milestone in battle against #COVID19.

KIMS Hubli has successfully treated a Covid19 patient through Plasma Therapy & is the first institute in the state to accomplish this. Congrats to KIMS doctors & staff for this feat!" the Minister tweeted.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Udupi accounted for 150 cases, followed by Kalaburagi 100, Belagavi 51, Raichur 16, Bengaluru urban 12, Bidar 10, nine each from Bagalkote and Hassan, Davangere seven, Yadgiri five, four each from Mandya and Vijayapura, Bengaluru rural three, two each from Chikkaballapura, Dharwad and Tumakuru, and one each from Kolar and Haveri.

Udupi district tops the list of positive cases with 410 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 405 and Bengaluru urban 397.

Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with 237 discharges, followed by Kalaburagi 128 and Davangere 121.

A total of 3,19,628 samples have been tested so far, out of which 14,812 were tested on Tuesday alone.

According to the bulletin, 3,10,967 samples have reported as negative, 13,915 on Tuesday alone.