Wife turns cold-blooded killer for 'Apadbandhava Ashok'; missing mystery solved

New Delhi, Jul 3: Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Karnataka have emerged as a "crucial pillar in the state's success" in combating Covid-19, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

Acknowledging and praising their work, the ministry said they have been actively participating in household surveys in the state, screening inter-state passengers, migrant workers and others in the community for symptoms of the infection,

“Around 42,000 ASHAs have emerged as a crucial pillar in the state's success” in combating Covid-19, the ministry said.

"Recognizing the increased vulnerability of certain population groups to Covid-19, in a one-time survey to identify households with the elderly, persons with co-morbidities, and immune-compromised individuals, about 1.59 crore households were covered," the ministry said in a statement.

ASHAs regularly monitor such high-risk groups in their area with a periodicity of follow-up visits varying from once a day in the containment zones to once every 15 days in other areas, it said.

They also visit the houses of persons complaining influenza-like-illness (ILI) symptoms and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), besides high-risk individuals who have called the state health department helpline numbers, the ministry said.

ASHAs are a part of the Rural Task Force, headed by Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) at the Gram Panchayat level, for addressing public grievances on both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 related services.

ASHAs are trained female community health activists selected from the village itself and accountable to it. They are trained to work as an interface between the community and the public health system.

In the urban areas too, they have been at the forefront of dissemination of various awareness activities in fever clinics and swab collection centres in urban areas.

They have also actively screened cases of ILI and SARI in urban areas. They are also part of the screening teams at international and interstate check-posts.

Karnataka has reported 272 Covid-19 deaths and 18,016 cases, according to the health ministry data updated at 8 AM.

Bengaluru, Jul 26: Today, one of the Co-founders of Infosys, SD Shibulal announced that over the last three days (22nd - 24th July) his family members have sold a portion of (representing approximately 0.20 per cent of the paid-up equity share capital) their holding in Infosys Ltd on the stock exchanges.

Proceeds from the partial stake monetization will be utilized for a combination of philanthropic and investment activities.

The sale was executed by Citigroup Global Markets India Private Limited as the Sole Broker.

The Founders, have served Infosys in various capacities, since its inception in 1981 until October 2014. Over the three decades, the Founders have nurtured the company transforming it into one of the professionally run companies in India with a global presence.

This press release is for information purposes only and is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any of the shares described herein. The shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"), or in any state or other jurisdiction of the United States.

Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements under the US Securities Act. 

There has not been and there will not be any public offering of the shares in the United States.

Mangaluru, Apr 16: An old refrigerator has been turned into a "disinfection chamber" by researchers who are striving to come up with solutions to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

Dr Arun M Isloor, head of Chemistry Department, National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Surathkal, along with research scholar Syed Ibrahim has come up with the device which can disinfect items kept inside it.

"We have named this as ZERO-COV," Dr Isloor said.

He says the device ensures 99.9 per cent destruction of microorganisms present on the surface of items.

"We can keep items like vegetables, currency notes, books or envelopes inside the chamber. Switching on the chamber for 15 minutes ensures 99.9 per cent destruction of microorganisms present in the surface of the items," Dr Isloor added.