PM Modi briefed on attack on BJP, RSS workers in Karnataka

Tumakuru, Jul 7: Coronavirus is spreading at the community level in Karnataka, said minister, JC Madhuswamy on Monday.

"Medical condition of eight infected with coronavirus admitted in Tumkur COVID Hospital is critical. There is no guarantee of their lives as per the information. We somewhere feel we are worried that coronavirus is spreading at the community level," Madhuswamy, Tumakuru district-in-charge minister, told reporters here.

"We have reached a point where it is difficult for the district authorities to restrain it, even though we are trying to restrain it. Somewhere the situation is going out of hand," he said.

The minister confirmed that the cumulative toll in the district due to COVID-19 rises to 9.

Earlier, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan, Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar have denied of community transmission of coronavirus in Karnataka.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 23,474 coronavirus cases in Karnataka including 13,255 and 372 deaths.

Bengaluru, May 18: A large number of people in India are planning inter-city bus travel within a month of the lifting of travel restrictions, according to a randomised online survey of over 10,300 customers of redBus, India's largest online bus ticketing platform.

Nearly 57 per cent of the respondents are planning to travel within a month post the lockdown. However, there is a high standard of expectation on the implementation of measures to make buses safe for travel with over 79 per cent wanting deep cleaning and sanitisation of buses after every trip.

Hand sanitisers, mandatory masks and temperature screening for all passengers are next in expectations for bus travel. Over 78 per cent of the respondents want the implementation of hygienic conditions at boarding points and 70 per cent want social distancing protocols to be implemented at boarding points.

"The survey does underscore the fact that given the adherence to safety protocols, bus travel is possibly one of the safest options for travel since the number of travellers are fewer, checks can be done individually and the whole factor of pick up and drop as close to home as possible minimises the number of contacts throughout the journey," said redBus Chief Executive Officer Prakash Sangam.

In addition, online booking further reduces the number of contact points as people can book bus tickets directly from their home. Further, there is a heightened awareness of personal hygiene and safety measures which is important for the travel to be safe.

"The large number of people waiting to travel not only points to the need but also the importance it has for the revival of economic activity as very few of them would be travelling for leisure," said Sangam.

The survey also showed that passengers put a very high consideration on hygiene, sanitation and disinfection -- over 73 per cent -- and social distancing (63 per cent) and much lower consideration to traditional factors such as travel cost (22 per cent), comfort (21 per cent) and punctuality (18 per cent).

The survey was conducted among redBus customers across India. Only 5 per cent of the respondents were willing to postpone their travel to over six months while the rest had plans to travel within that period.

Bengaluru, Jun 4: All shops, offices, malls, commercial establishments and others in Karnataka must not allow Covid-stamped people to enter their premises before the completion of the prescribed quarantine time, said a top official on Wednesday.

"They should not allow those with quarantine stamp to enter before the end of their quarantine period or till they get current Covid negative test report," ordered Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar.

Bhaskar has also issued the order to all religious places, hotels and others to first check for quarantine stamp on all their customers or visitors before they enter the premises.

"All shops, commercial establishments, offices, factories, malls, religious places, hotels and etc.. are required to check for quarantine stamp on all their customers or visitors before they enter the premises," he said.

In the event of a violation, Bhaskar said the police should be informed at 100.

He issued the same order to the general public and resident welfare associations asking them to be vigilant.

"General public and resident welfare associations are advised to report any violation of the quarantine in their neighbourhood to the police at telephone number 100," said the chief secretary.

The orders came under the head aRole of general public, resident welfare associations and commercial establishments''.

General public, commercial establishments and resident welfare associations have been empowered to report quarantine violations at a time when many activities are set to reopen from June 8 as part of Unlock - 1, after more than two months of lockdown.