Yediyurappa has only six months' time as CM: KPCC president Jarakiholi

Bengaluru, Mar 4: With the number of Coronavirus positive cases in India increasing, health department officials in Karnataka are working round the clock to keep citizens safe.

But citizens are already panicking with 97 people in Bengaluru rushing to the government-run Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Chest Diseases (RGICD) on Tuesday with symptoms matching the coronavirus.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has now appealed for calm saying there is no coronavirus in the state.

"There is a difference in what appears in the media and what is on the ground. No need to panic. PM Modi is also looking into this. My health minister addressed the media and no one needs to panic. We are ready to tackle the situation," he added.

Dr. Nagaraj, director of RGICD, said the screening process began at the hospital on January 22 and they would see some 15-20 patients and take 5-6 swabs.

"Because of apprehensions, we saw 978 patients and took 27 swabs. We have also admitted 4 patients in the isolation ward," he added.

As of today, there are 5 patients admitted in the isolation ward of RGICD. Two came in close contact with the infected techie in Telengana and three foreign nationals from Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

Tech parks on high alert

At the Manyata Tech Park in the city, a company sent out a circular regarding one of their associates who had travelled from a Level 3 country to India and had flu-like symptoms.

It says that the associate was advised to receive necessary screening and observation as mandated by the Karnataka State Health Department. The associate was screened by an authorized medical agency and determined to be asymptomatic.

As of Wednesday, the company located in the G3 campus of Manyata Tech Park has begun disinfecting and sanitizing the work location and all associates working out of this location have been advised to work from home until March 6.

A statement issued by Embassy spokesperson on March 4 to India Today TV indicated the authorities have activated their response plan.

"As of March 4, we are not aware of a single positive case for the virus in more than 2,00,000 people who work in our business parks. We do understand that one employee of a company at one of our parks who had travelled from a Level 3 country was screened in the last 36 hours and determined to be asymptomatic.

As a precaution, the premises are being disinfected and sanitized. The fact remains, we are not aware of a single confirmed case within over 15 business parks across India," the statement said.

Bengaluru, Feb 14: BJP leader and Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashok refused to comment on the Bellary car accident case, allegedly involving his son, saying that the matter was still under investigation and that they did not have anything to do with the said car.

The car crash took place on February 10, when a speeding red Mercedes Benz allegedly driven by Ashok's son rammed into a tea stall by the roadside killing two people. While a 16-year-old boy Ravi died on the spot, one of the car's passengers was also killed in the accident.

"I came to know about the incident and also heard that two people have died and a few others have sustained injuries. Everybody is equal under the law. It is not fair to comment as a minister when the case is being investigated," Ashok told reporters here on Thursday.

However, the minister avoided answering questions about his son's presence in the car and said that they had "no connection" with the car.

"The case is in the investigation stage, I don't want to comment on anything. My son's name is not present in the FIR. We have no connection with the car," he said.

Superintendent of Police CK Baba told reporters that Ashok's son was not present in the car.

"There was no senior BJP leader and Revenue Ministers's son in the car. We will not hide anything and the case will be investigated," Baba said.

Bengaluru, Mar 23: Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramalu on Monday confirmed that there are 27 positive coronavirus cases in the state so far.

A fresh COVID-19 positive case has been reported from Mysore today.

"One hospital in every district is dedicated to COVID-19 treatment. We have placed an order for 1000 ventilators. We have also ordered 10 lakh N90 mask, five lakh PPE testing kits, 15 lakh three-layer masks. Sanitizers and thermal scanners will also be purchased on-demand," said Sriramalu while addressing a press conference here.

The Karnataka Health Minister said that decision will also be taken to purchase lab testing kits and equipment.

Meanwhile, Dr Ashwath Marayan, Deputy Chief Minister, Karnataka said that all necessary measures are being taken to contain the spread of COVID-19.

"We will take important decisions as soon as possible. 80 per cent of the companies are following work from home. Critical and essential things should be provided in this situation and we have kept them available to serve the people," said Marayan.

"We have taken all the required decisions including the logistics and supply. Social distancing is much important and we will implement it," he added.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases in the country mounts at 415, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).