Rains lash parts of Karnataka, bring smiles and tears

Mangaluru/Udupi, Jul 25: Karnataka’s twin coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi recorded 400 new covid-19 cases and nine fatalities in past 24 hours. While DK’s death toll mounted to 115, Udupi’s toll mounted to 15.

Dakshina Kannada

Dakshina Kannada alone recorded 218 new covid cases and eight deaths. The total number of positive cases mounted to 4,612. Out of these, 2,370 cases are currently active. As many as 2,127 persons have recovered and been discharged.

Of the 218 who tested positive on Saturday, 46 are primary contacts, 87 have ILI symptoms, 15 have SARI symptoms, and contacts of 70 are being traced.

Among the eight deaths that occurred on Saturday, the first is of a 44-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to private hospital on July 23, and breathed his last on same day. He was suffering from sepsis with septic shock and viral infection. 

The second is 78-year-old man from Bhatkal. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 18, and passed away July 23. He suffered from refractory hypoxemia, refractory ARDS and secondary bacterial infection. 

The third is an 88-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 10, and passed away on July 23. He suffered from hypoxemia, refractory ARDS and renal failure. 

The fourth is a 68-year-old man from Bantwal. He was admitted to a private hospital on June 7, and passed away on July 23. He suffered from septic shock. 

The fifth is a 68-year-old man from Mangaluru. He was admitted to a private hospital on July 17, and passed away on July 23. He was suffering from ARDS and Acute coronary event. 

The sixth is a 75-year-old man from Mangaluru. She was admitted to private hospital on July 14 and passed away on July 24. He was suffering from refractory hypoxemia, refractory ARDS and respiratory distress. 

The seventh is a 76-year-old female from Mangaluru. She was admitted to private hospital on July 21 and passed away on July 24. She was suffering from refractory hypoxemia, refractory ARDS, viral pneumonia, T2 DM and hypertension. 

The eighth is a 53-year-old female. She was admitted to private hospital on July 24 and passed away on July 24. She was suffering from sepsis with multi-organ dysfunction, cardiogenic shock, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease and diabetic foot on right side LRTI.

Udupi

Udupi recorded 182 new covid cases in past 24 hours and the total reached 3,218. As many as 2,008 patients have been discharged so far including 79 on Saturday, and 1,199 cases are currently active. 

Among the new cases, 96 are in Udupi, 37 in Kundapur, and 49 in Karkala. They include 109 men and 68 women, and two boys and three girls. As many as 539 are under home isolation.

As many as 15 covid related deaths have occurred in the district so far including the one on Saturday. 

45-year-old man from Kollur was admitted to KMC Hospital, Manipal, as he was suffering from lung cancer. He was tested positive for coronavirus and then shifted to covid-19 hospital, where he breathed his last.

New Delhi, Apr 29: WhatsApp on Tuesday said it will now allow up to eight people to connect on a group video call as an increasing number of people turn to digital platforms to connect with friends and family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Facebook-owned company said over the last month, people on average are spending over 15 billion minutes talking each day on WhatsApp calls, well above a typical day before the pandemic.

"...we see that people all over the world are turning to voice and video calling on WhatsApp more than ever before. Group calling has been particularly useful and our users have asked to connect with more people at once," WhatsApp said in a blogpost.

Starting Tuesday, the company is doubling the number of participants one can have on a WhatsApp video or voice call from 4 to 8 people at a time, it added.

WhatsApp emphasised that like written messages, all calls on its platform are protected with end-to-end encryption.

"We have built group calling in a way that makes it available for as many users as possible, including people on lower-end devices and slow network conditions," it added.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

WhatsApp said that to access the new, higher participant limit on WhatsApp calls, all participants in a call need to update to the latest version of WhatsApp available on iPhone or Android.

Video calling tools like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and others have also seen a significant jump in userbase and traffic as people connect while maintaining social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Last week, Facebook had introduced Messenger Rooms that will soon hold up to 50 people with no time limit.

It had added that the company will also add ways to create rooms from Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal.

Noting that between WhatsApp and Messenger, more than 700 million accounts participate in calls every day, Facebook had said, adding that video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp more than doubled in many countries.

Also, views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos have also increased significantly in March, it said.

Bengaluru, Apr 28: With fresh guidelines on the COVID-19 lockdown expected soon, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday chaired a meeting with key ministers, officials and Deputy Commissioners of districts and discussed about re-starting economic activities in the state, as he took stock about of the pandemic.

"At the video conference with DCs, CM took stock of COVID-19 situation and measures taken to control its spread. Discussions also happened regarding starting of certain economic activities in parts of the state," official sources said. The state government would take any decision in this regard after the Centre issues fresh guidelines or directives, they said, without elaborating.

The meeting came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video conferencing with Chief Ministers to discuss the situation arising due to COVID-19 in the country, which is under lockdown since March 25 to contain the pandemic. Only nine chief ministers spoke in the virtual meeting with the Prime Minister and Yediyurappa did not get an opportunity.

A senior Minister, who attended the meeting told PTI, necessary directions regarding the lockdown after May 3, they were likely to come in a couple of days.

"Most of the Chief Ministers wanted the lockdown to continue to contain the spread.... nothing concrete emerged, but we expect the necessary directions will follow in couple of days. This is what we expect after seeing what has happened as a followup to three to four such video conferences in the past," he said.

The Minister said the larger opinion was that the current measures should continue and interstate or inter-district movement should not be allowed. Regarding movement within the districts that are green zone, some decision may be taken soon, he said, adding the Prime Minister also asked states to concentrate on reforms, aimed at attracting investments in the days to come.