People urged to uphold peace, humanity to build a powerful Hindustan'

Kochi, Feb 29: A 36-year-old man admitted to a government hospital here died early on Saturday due to high fever, health officials said.

The test results of blood samples of the man admitted to the isolation ward of the Coronavirus patients at Kalamassery Medical College hospital had confirmed that he was not infected with the deadly virus, doctors said.

He had been suffering from pneumonia for last five days, they said.

He was a diabetic too. His end came at 12.30 am due to multi organ failure, they said.

Medical authorities said his samples have been sent for detailed examination at the NiV lab at Alappuzha and awaiting the results.

The man from Kannur district had returned from Malaysia on Friday with high fever and breathing problem.

He was referred to the hospital after he was diagnosed with serious health issues during a thermal screening for Coronavirus at the international airport here upon his arrival from Malaysia, they said.

Doctors had said the health condition of the patient was not satisfactory.

Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas had visited the patient at the hospital on Friday, officials said.

Kerala had reported India's three Coronavirus cases but all three had been discharged from the hospitals marking their recovery of all three cases of infection in India reported from Kerala.

Wayanad, Apr 21: Panic gripped residents of Mananthavady and Mepaddi regions of the district after several cats in the region were found dead.

A group of people approached authorities after which the Animal Husbandry Department tested samples from the carcasses and found that the cat deaths were caused by Feline Parvovirus, which does not transmit to humans.

Speaking to ANI, Dr D Ramachandran, Chief Veterinary Officer, Wayanad said that Feline Parvovirus affects cats and vaccines are available to protect cats and keep the virus at bay.

"There were incidents of cat deaths in Mananthavady and Meppadi region of Wayanad district creating panic among the local residents. The officials of the Animal Husbandry department visited the spots for epidemiological investigations. The samples were collected and sent to the State Institute of Animal Diseases, which confirmed that the deaths were due to Feline Parvovirus. There is no need to worry as this virus does not spread to humans," he said.

A cat owner in Meppadi said that within a span of two-three days, over 13 cats had died in the region.

"We are afraid of these sudden cat deaths amidst coronavirus outbreak. We have informed the Health Department and Animal Husbandry department. Officials came here and collected the samples," she said.

Bengaluru, Feb 21: Historian Ramachandra Guha on Thursday refuted Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai's claim that the latter had apologised for police allegedly manhandling him during an anti-CAA protest in the city, saying he received no such call or apology.

The writer further said even if such an apology had been offered, he would have rejected it.

"The Home Minister of Karnataka has claimed on the floor of the State Assembly that he apologised to me by phone for the manhandling by the Bengaluru police on 19th December 2019. This is false.

I received no such call or apology," Guha tweeted.

"Even if such an apology had been offered, I would have rejected it.

The imposition of Section 144 was illegal (as the Karnataka High Court has since held) and I was proud to be one of thousands of peaceful protesters who defied the States arbitrary action on that day," he said in another tweet.

During his reply to the debate on law and order situation in the state, Bommai on Wednesday claimed that he had apologised to Guha.

The minister was apologising to senior Congress MLA and former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar for police serving him notice and detaining him along with others at Mangaluru airport in December for trying to enter the city despite restrictions following violence there.

Stating that anti-CAA protests have taken place peacefully across the state, he had said, there might have been minor discrepancies, like that with historian Ramachandra Guha, being manhandled during a protest.

"I have called and apologised to him," he had said.

Guha was detained on December 19 for staging a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens at the Town Hall here, in defiance of the prohibitory orders imposed in the city.

He was taken away by police personnel and led to a police vehicle parked nearby.

Leader of Opposition in the assembly and former chief minister Siddaramaiah said Bommai has committed a "perjury" in the House, and asked him to apologise to people and Guha in front of media.

"Bommai has committed a perjury on the floor of the House. It answers the question of where @BJP4India workers derive their motivation to spread fake news.

Bommai has insulted the people whom he represents," he tweeted and demanded that he apologize to people and Guha.