Served non-veg to Jain man, airlines asked to pay Rs 20K compensation

Bengaluru, Mar 19: The Karnataka government has extended the statewide coronavirus shutdown till March 31 as the number of positive cases rose to 14, of whom 11 are those who came in from foreign countries.

In an emergency Cabinet meeting, the state government set up a task force of four ministers to lead the defence against the virus. This core team will have Rs 200 crore to orchestrate the combat.

When chief minister B S Yediyurappa announced the shutdown last week, it was to be in force until March 21, but it was always unlikely that the Covid-19 scare would have waned by then.

Several more restrictions were announced today. Quarantine will be mandatory for all passengers arriving from foreign countries. While schools, colleges and business establishments will continue to be closed, restrictions have been extended to marriages, fairs and social functions as well.

Public entry to Vidhana Soudha, Vikas Soudha and the M.S. Building has been barred till March 31.

While setting up the task force, the government has earmarked Rs 200 crore for the coronavirus campaign. The chief minister said there is no dearth of funds for fighting the virus.

The task force will have deputy chief minister Ashwathnarayana, home minister Basavaraj Bommai, medical education minister Sudhakar, health and family welfare minister B Sreeramulu and chief secretary T M Vijaybhaskar.  Sreeramulu will head the task force.

The task force will monitor coronavirus cases on a daily basis and orchestrate the response of all stakeholders. It will issue a daily bulletin on the epidemic and also run awareness campaigns.

With quarantine now mandatory for passengers coming in foreign countries, community centres, hotels, convention centres, resorts and even PGs will be rented to accommodate the new arrivals.

The compulsory quarantine will be for 15 days.

A quarantine stamp will be imprinted on the right hand of passengers coming in from foreign countries.

Since the Centre has relaxed the rules for using SDRF funds, the state government will draw from it to contain the pandemic; therefore, there will be more funds available to all districts, chief minister B S Yediyurappa said in the Assembly.

In further measures, all passengers and suspected Covid-19 cases will be tracked by their mobile phones.

Primary stage

“We are in the first and second stages of the epidemic. The virus is still at a primary stage and has not spread to community level," medical education minister Sudhakar said in the Assembly.

"It is important that we do not let the epidemic enter the third stage. It is possible if we implement stringent measures. People have responded positively to the state government’s measures and are cooperating with our decisions," Sudhakar said.

Bengaluru, Mar 13: India has registered the first confirmed case of death due to novel coronavirus. A 76-year-old man from Karnataka's Kalaburgi who passed away recently has been tested positive for Covid-19.

The doctors had suspected that the man had coronavirus, however, the test had not confirmed it.

In an official notification, a senior health official in Karnataka government Dr Suresh Shastri said that the lab test has confirmed that the deceased man had Covid-19.

"The 76-year-old man from Kalburgi who passed away and was a suspected COVID 19 patient has been confirmed for COVID 19. The necessary contact tracing, isolation and other measures as per protocol are being carried out. Telangana government has also been informed since he went to a private hospital there," Dr Suresh Shastri said.

The same information was also shared by Karnataka health minister B Sriramulu.

A senior Union health ministry official said in New Delhi that the death of the man had visited Saudi Arabia from January 29 to February 29. The official said the man had reached in Hyderabad on February 29 and went to Kalaburagi in Karnataka.

State Joint Director (Communicable Diseases) BG Prakash Kumar said all protocols were followed for disposal of the body.

"The body is disinfected completely and disposed of as per the Government of India guidelines," he added when asked to elaborate on the protocols.

He said the Telangana government has also been informed as the man had gone to a private hospital in Hyderabad earlier.

While announcing the death of the man on Tuesday, the state authorities had said the exact cause his death was being ascertained.

According to the Union health ministry official, "While he was asymptomatic on his return (from Saudi Arabia), he developed symptoms of fever and cough on 6th March. One private doctor visited him at his home and treated him there."

"On 9th March, the symptoms got aggravated and he was shifted to a private hospital in Kalaburagi. In this private hospital, he was provisionally diagnosed as 'mid-zone viral pneumonia' and 'suspected Covid-19'," the official said.

"The sample was collected on March 9... Without waiting for the test results, the attendees insisted and the patient was discharged against medical advice and the attendees took him to a private hospital in Hyderabad," the official said.

The patient was admitted to a private hospital in Hyderabad and treated. He died on Tuesday when he was being brought back to the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Kalaburagi.

Apart from the deceased, Karnataka has confirmed five other positive cases of the novel coronavirus. The fifth case, confirmed on Thursday is of a 26-year-old man who recently returned from Greece.

The patient has been admitted and isolated at a hospital and his condition is stable, a department media bulletin said.

The day also saw the education department declaring summer holidays for students from kindergarten to class six and study leave for higher classes in the city as a precautionary measure.

Bengaluru, Mar 23: Karnataka government today decided to go for complete lockdown. This includes the closure of all non essential government offices, suspension of all public transport services and banning of mass prayers in places of worships across the state.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had expressed the need for a complete lockdown like the Janta Curfew on Sunday. Going by this, there will be no government transport services at least till March 31 and as many as 19,000 government buses will be off the road.

The government also decided to cancel the famous Karaga festival. The CM said that all celebrations and functions will be called off along with mass prayers in mosques and churches.

The CM said that they have decided to procure 1,000 ventilators and 10 lakh face masks in addition to other health equipments.

Private hospitals have come forward to spare their doctors and nursing staff to attend to Covid-19 patients in government hospitals, the CM said.

Yediyurappa also said that he has directed the health department to paste notification on the houses of residents who are infected with coronavirus. This is being done after people with indelible seals and home quarantined are reported to be roaming freely. The notifications will help neighbours to keep an eye on them.

The CM said the government-run Indira Canteen will serve free food to the poor until the lockdown continues. He also said that action will be initiated against non essential shops that are open despite a directive to shut down.