Mangaluru: Home Minister inaugurates Panambur police station, 16 quarters

Bengaluru, Apr 18: The Indian Council of Medical Research has approved 16 laboratories, comprising 11 government and five private laboratories in Karnataka, for testing the samples of COVID-19 suspected cases, the state government said on Saturday.

Meetings and negotiations were held with some private laboratories for conducting COVID-19 sample testing, additional chief secretary (health and family welfare) Jawaid Akhtar said in a circular.

"Based on the negotiations, the cost per test has been fixed at Rs 2,250," the circular read.

These private labs have to abide by the conditions laid down by the state and union governments, it added.

Chithradurga, Mar 25: COVID-19-positive cases in Karnataka jumped to 42 from 33 on Tuesday, with nine cases added to the list overnight. The daughter of G M Siddeshwara, Davanagere MP, is the latest case.

Sources from the Siddeshwara family said that the MP’s daughter, along with her two children, who started from Guyana, first landed at New York airport and from there, she took a flight to New Delhi.

From Delhi, she flew to Bengaluru. And then, she and her children travelled with her father in a chaffeur-driven car on March 21 to their house in Bheemasamudra.


Siddeshwara said that protocol for COVID-19 had been followed and all who returned were under self-quarantine at his house. However, the administration was not informed of her travel history till the samples were given for test, Chitradurga Deputy Commissioner Vinoth Priya R told TNIE. The DC said the test results of the MP’s daughter were collected by district health authorities and sent to Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences on March 22.

The test turned out to be positive for COVID-19 and she was shifted to the isolation ward at Chigateri district hospital in Davanagere. This is the first positive case in Chitradurga.The patient, who is the wife of an Indian Diplomat in Guyana, complained of flu-like symptoms and remained self-quarantined at her house at Bheemasamudra. Her condition was informed to the health department, which collected her samples and forwarded it to the SIMS for tests, results of which arrived on Tuesday evening.

The DC said that samples of family members including the two children, and those working at the MP’s house would be collected and sent for testing to ensure proper protocol is followed. The administration has declared a ‘red zone of a 5km radius around Siddeshwara’s house at Bheemasamudra. DHO Dr Palaksha said that the patient is not suffering any serious problems and is normal. However, we have put her in the isolation ward of Chigateri District Hospital in Davangere, he said.

Mangaluru, Jul 5: A veteran politician and former union minister has repeatedly tested positive for COVID-19 in the Dakshina Kannada.

The former minister, who resides in Bantwal taluk, is said to be asymptomatic.

His wife and children have also tested positive for the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, one of the kin of the former minister said that he is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mangaluru. "He is asymptomatic and doing well," he said.