Muhammad Mubeen receives PhD from Manipal University

Bengaluru, Feb 7: Karnataka's Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services on Thursday issued guidelines for testing, isolation, hospital admission and discharge in view of the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) in Wuhan city of China, a virus that has infected nearly 20,000 globally and has killed more than 500 in China.

According to the guidelines, the sample of any passenger, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, with a history of travel to or residence in Wuhan city of China in the last 14 days, has to be collected and tested.

And the sample of any health personnel, who develops symptoms of the virus after being associated with the infected persons, has to be collected.

The circular further says that the clinical sample of any suspect/probable case of nCoV will be sent to the laboratory confirmation and the case will be kept in isolation. If tested positive, the treatment has to be provided as per the existing guidelines.

The virus originated from Wuhan, a Chinese city, in December and has since then spread to various parts around the world.

China has imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate.

Mangaluru, May 13: Dakshina Kannada today recorded its fourth death due to novel coronavirus.

The victim, identified by number P-536, is a 58-year-old woman from Boloor area of Manglauru. She was tested covid-19 positive on April 30. 

A patient with TB meningitis, the woman had been treated and discharged from Mangaluru’s First Neuro Hospital, which has emerged as covid-19 hub of coastal Karnataka.

In hospital she had reportedly come in contact with patient No 501 who worked as a sweeper in the same hospital. 

With this death, the number of active covid-19 cases reduced to 16 in Dakshina Kannada. The district has so far reported 34 covid-19 cases including four deaths. 14 have been discharged.

Is it highly impossible to have flights to Mangaluru under Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate the stranded Mangalureans in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries? The present mood of the govt seems so are more politics and less actions are seen. 

Amidst covid-19 lockdown, thousands of people from Mangaluru and surrounding areas are stranded in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. They include visitors, job redundants, people who need immediate medical attention, senior citizens, pregnant women, students and people who are eager to visit their ailing family members, especially aged parents back at home. They are all stuck over there seemingly with hopelessness.

It's reported that around Karnataka NRIs (KNRIs) have registered their names under the Mission in the Indian Embassy in Riyadh alone. A majority among them are apparently from coastal districts of Karnataka who are eagerly waiting for the flights to Mangaluru. 

The promises of elected representatives including MLAs, MPs, state and central ministers have remained unfulfilled so far. Now, things are being thrown from politicians to politicians and from politicians to the district authorities and vice versa. It's said that without proper quarantine facility in the district, the repatriation flights can't be approved to Mangaluru. 

Rumours are doing rounds that the hotels in Mangaluru are not ready to facilitate for the KNRIs quarantines; the hoteliers collectively snubbed the instruction of the district authorities. Now, they are, as informed, persuading the hoteliers to allow for the quarantine facility. 

If the hoteliers are stubborn to follow the instructions of the district administration, then why the authorities are not taking action against them under relevant statutory procedure including the revocation/cancellation of their licenses? Are they above the law or govt? For whom the authorities are waiting for? These questions are now being asked by the KNRIs and others. 

Considering this condition, the central ministers and MPs are simply giving evasive answers without any forward thinking. Each one is simply uttering the same dialogue "no quarantine; no flights to Mangaluru". 

A few KNRI businessmen in Saudi Arabia have already chartered flights to transport their stranded employees and others to Mangaluru with the approval of the govt of India. But, the inconsolable thing is that the govt didn't arrange this simple thing that too with the expense of the travellers. 

The people-especially then distressed NRIs still remember late prime minister V P Singh and then external affairs minister I K Gujral for the repatriation of the NRIs during 1990s Gulf war. Everything was free of cost and immediate special flights were arranged to airlift the NRIs in the affected countries. 

Now both Karnataka and India are ruled by the BJP. Then why the non resident Kannadigas, especially those in Saudi Arabia, are direly neglected at this point in time?. Why it's highly impossible for the govts to do this simple job for the KNRIs?  The NRIs are always big assets to the govt. Also, the KNRIs remit billions of rupees to the state in the form of foreign exchange. But, they are now simply ignored. The state govt should immediately look into this dire situation of the Kannadigas in Saudi Arabia and act immediately to schedule special flights to Mangaluru from Saudi Arabia.