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Chamarajanagar, Jan 3: The residents of Galipura layout in Chamarajanagar city boycotted the annual Community Based Survey (CBS), conducted by the Health and Family Welfare department, mistaking it to be the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Majority of the residents in the layout belong to Muslim community. The people, who mistook CBS to the NRC survey, got into arguments with the Asha workers, who were given the responsibility of collecting information. They even tore the forms into pieces and vent their ire.

The Health Department conducts CBS every year in the urban areas and collects all details including Aadhaar number, residential address, details of family members, health problems and others.

Fifteen Asha workers were deputed for the survey in the layout. A few youths started questioning them alleging it to be an NRC survey and started arguing with them.
Tahsildar Mahesh, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr N C Ravi, with the help of Muslim leaders cleared the confusion. The community leaders assured of explaining it to the residents and extend cooperation to the survey.

Bengaluru, June 22: Even as the covid-19 positive cases are steadily increasing in Karnataka, an expert has claimed that community transmission has begun in Bengaluru and cases could keep rising over the next two months.

“If you look at the natural course of this virus across countries around the world, it is about six months. Now we’re in the fourth month. This will go on for another two months. It also sounds like this is the beginning of the peak. There is also a possibility of the number of cases going up from now on. Even across India, cases are increasing,” says Dr CN Manjunath, director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research and State Task Force member.

Besides the increase in number of cases, the virus is advancing silently, stealthily. A lot of people who are testing positive are asymptomatic. In areas like Padarayanapura, Nanjangud and many places in north Karnataka, there have been positive cases who have not had any contact with infected individuals. Some cases recorded in Bengaluru over the last two to three days have not had any contact with Covid-positive people.

Dr Manjunath adds: “We are in community transmission. This will happen because nature is ahead of everything. We have to take all possible precautionary measures at our command. This has to happen. Only then some kind of herd immunity will be developed.”

“We are expanding the guidelines of testing to include a large number of people to be tested. Now, according to the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, only symptomatic Influenza like Illness (ILI) or Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), or a person coming in contact with an infected person are being tested.

But since we have crossed 100 days in Karnataka from the first reported case and we’re getting cases with no travel history or contact with a Covid-positive person, we have to start random testing across the sub-group population. Only then will we understand the burden of the disease and what precautions need to be taken,” he says.

Udupi, May 18: G Jagadeesh, Deputy Commissioner of Udupi today warned that criminal cases would be filed, if people under quarantine roam around, as they put the lives of others in risk, by coming out.

He said: "There are more than 6,000 people under quarantine in hotels, hostels, schools etc in different parts of the district. They include those who returned from other countries and other states.”

“We have allowed them to return to the district. Now I am receiving complaints that many of them are violating quarantine guidelines and venturing out. This is unacceptable.”

“As it is a risk to the whole society, severe action will be taken against the neglect and apathy of the persons under quarantine,” he said.