Sons of Siddaramaiah, other ministers part of sand mafia: HDK

Bengaluru, May 11: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday inaugurated four buses that have been converted into COVID-19 testing facilities in Bengaluru.

State Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Member of Parliament from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya were also present.

"The mobile fever clinic bus initiative was taken by Sanchit Gaurav, Founder and CEO of Housejoy, in association with the Government of Karnataka, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), MP Tejaswi Surya, other partners, to increase the number of COVID tests across Bengaluru and win the fight against the virus," said KSRTC in a statement.

The bus is divided into two zones with beds and a consultation area, maintaining proper hygiene conditions.

The KSRTC said there will be four teams with four mobile bus clinics across Bengaluru - each team comprising of one doctor, three nurses and one lab technician with several volunteers facilitating the process.

The teams will be starting from red zones and will try to screen the maximum number of residents from these zones for symptoms and quarantine those who test positive.

"The testing process will start by providing free glucose, blood pressure test and COVID-19 symptoms consultation for all residents," KSRTC added.

If anyone showcases any COVID-19 symptoms, their swab will be collected immediately for testing by Biognosys Technologies (ICMR certified).

Further, the information will be provided to the government and place the person under quarantine.

"KSRTC has already initiated this mobile fever clinic buses with the association of the District Administration in Mysuru, Mandya, Tumkur, Mangaluru, Bagalkote, Hubli, Belagavi, Bengaluru and Raichur," it said.

According to the KSRTC on April 25, the cost of this clinic construction on a bus is Rs 50,000.

Mangaluru, Apr 18: Mangaluru Police have registered a case against two foreign nationals, who were under home quarantine in Kodailbail, for allegedly spitting in the lift of their apartment building on Friday.

The two men, along with three of their roommates, have now been sent to a quarantine facility.

The residents of the residential complex have mentioned in their complaint that they have the CCTV footage of the two spitting in the lift.
Further investigation in the case is underway.

Dubai, Apr 14: Around 2,500 Indians have approached Indian missions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seeking help to be flown home during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, top diplomats have said.

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai together have received requests from "a little more than 1,000 individuals" while the latter has received an additional request from an employer who has laid-off around 1,000 Indian workers, reports Gulf News on Monday.

According to the Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor, the missions have not been bombarded with mass requests from the people who wish to take an immediate flight home unlike widespread reports on social media.

Most of the individuals who have expressed their interest to return home are visitors and those who lost their jobs, he told Gulf News.

Consul General of India in Dubai, Vipul said his mission had received nearly 1000 requests via email and phone from people who want to return home.

"A majority of them are visit visa holders. On Sunday, we got information about another large group of around 1,000 Indian workers who have lost jobs. The employer has got in touch to know the options to send them back home as early as possible," he told Gulf News.

However, the diplomatic heads refuted unverified reports that claim tens of thousands of Indians were scrambling to fly home during the pandemic.

They added that the missions have been aiding hundreds of workers, who have been left in the lurch by their employers, with provisions.

The Indian government had said that flight services cannot be resumed during the lockdown period, which has now been extended till May 3.