Muslim techie washed away in Cauvery while taking selfie; Hindu friend sacrifices his life in rescue bid

Udupi, May 31: As many as 10 people have been tested positive for coronavirus in Udupi district today. 

The district has registered a total of 187 positive cases so far. Majority of the positive cases in Udupi district have inter-state travel history to Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, 14 people including three children who recovered from COVID -19 discharged from Government Hospital in Kundapura, in Udupi district.

Kundapura AC Raju, DHO Dr Sudhirchandra Sooda, taluk medical officer Dr Nagabhushan Udupa handed over a rose to all the discharged. With this, a total of 64 persons have been recovered and discharged in the district.

Kasaragod, Jul 14: Kerala State Excise department officials confiscated hawala money to the tune of Rs 2.85 crore from a person hailing from Mangaluru.

According to sources, the officials of the Kumbala Range Excise had noticed the huge baggage containing hundreds of bundles of unaccounted currencies when they intercepted a vehicle at the border check-post at Thoominad in Manjeshwar early on Tuesday morning.

The accused Shamsudheen, who was trying to transport the illegal money into Kerala has been arrested and handed over to the Manjeshwar police authorities for further action, sources added.

Ballari, June 30: A video clip of dead bodies of covid-19 victims being disgracefully thrown into a pit said to be in Karnataka’s Ballari has gone viral on social media triggering outrage from netizens.

Ballari Deputy Commissioner SS Nakul ordered a probe. He told media persons that the veracity of the video is still under question and that it still needs to be established if the video was taken in Ballari.

In the video, a pit is seen which appears to be disinfected. The video features masked men covered in body suits bringing dead bodies from a black hearse van in black body bags one by one and throwing the dead bodies into the same pit. In all, three dead bodies are thrown into the same pit in the video.

"We have assigned an Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) to enquire and verify the same. We are awaiting reports. We don't know yet if it (the video) is from Ballari or not," Nakul said.

The district which has so far reported around 800 cases in the last three months has also witnessed around two dozen deaths.

Twitterati on Tuesday raised questions about the handling of the bodies. "Even dead have some respect and they deserved a decent burial," said a social activist from Ballari. Similar reactions echoed on social media and some also pointed out on how the family members who have to stay away from burials feel about it.

Covid burial protocol

According to the protocol set by the Union Health Ministry for the burial of Covid-19 patients, the patients' orifices (nose, mouth and ears) have to be sealed and the body has to be wrapped in three layers of personal protective equipment (PPE). Thereafter it should be placed in a body bag. Family members should not be allowed to accompany the body in the hearse van. Covid-19 victims have to be given a deep burial. The grave should be minimum 10-feet deep.

The grave should be disinfected with bleaching powder and the area should be cordoned off so that the general public is not in the vicinity.  The vehicle used to transport the dead body of a Covid-19 victim -- ambulance or a hearse van -- has to be disinfected for 16 hours before being used again. Most Covid-19 victims in the state have had burials in the absence of family members as they are generally in quarantine for being the primary contacts of the patient.

Karnataka | Covid victims’ bodies thrown into pit; probe ordered after video goes viral pic.twitter.com/gOykDU7UKn

— coastaldigest.com (@coastaldigest) June 30, 2020