Togadia barred from entering Mangaluru between Jan 18 and 24

Udupi, Jul 22: Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesh on Wednesday announced lifting of ban on movement of people and vehicles with immediate effect in the borders of Kerala which was banned during lockdown.

The announcement comes hours after Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announced that lockdown in Bengaluru and other parts of the state will not be extended any further, suggesting people should wear masks and maintain physical distancing strictly.

Mr Jagadeesh noted that although the seal down of the borders of the district would be lifted, checkposts on the border would be set up and urged people to enter the district only in case of emergency.

Tirupati, Feb 12: A middle-aged man committed suicide out of fear that he was infected with the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19), which has killed over 1000 in China. The deceased identified as Balakrishna (50) was suffering from hypertension. He killed self, after being discharged from hospital, fearing it would spread to his family.  The incident happened in Chittoor district on Monday but came to light only on Tuesday.

Balakrishna was treated in Tirupati last week and told that he had an infection. After two days in the hospital, he got better and returned to his village in Chittoor district on Sunday. But fearing that he was infected with COVID-19, Balakrishna isolated himself from his family. Before committing suicide, he surfed many videos about Coronavirus and also behaved weirdly with the family members by warning them against coming close to him.

“He remained aloof, saying he was infected with coronavirus and asked his family not to come near him. When they tried to approach him, he got agitated, threw stones at them and then locked himself in a room," district medical and health officer Dr M Penchalaiah said.

He was found hanging from a tree near his mother’s grave on the village outskirts. The tragic incident took place in Seshama Naidu Kandriga in Thottambedu block.

According to reports, he was suffering from cold and fever. He went to Tirupati hospital where doctors gave him medicines for viral infection and advised him to wear mask.  He wrongly thought he had coronavirus. However, doctors told Balakrishna he did not have coronavirus.

His son Balamurali said that his father panicked and started saying he needed to kill himself to keep other safe from him and coronavirus. “He began to pelt stones and things at us to keep us away from him,” Balamurali said.

“My father was all worried that the virus would spread to us. He hanged himself to save us,” Murali said.

Thottambedu police sub-inspector Venkata Subbaiah said no case was registered as the family refused to lodge a complaint. Till now, no Coronavirus case has been reported in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Bengaluru, Mar 13: This year, schoolchildren will have a longer summer vacation starting early, thanks to the new coronavirus onslaught. Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar on Thursday announced that schools in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts will be closed for vacation from Friday.

Classes from LKG to sixth standard will closed for vacations till the schools reopen in June, while students of classes 7-9 will have ‘study holidays’ until their examinations commence (as scheduled by their respective schools). Their summer vacations will begin with the completion of their examinations.

Class 10 students will have their examinations according to the dates scheduled earlier.

“Let us not treat this as a panic reaction or something to cause a scare. This measure is taken as a precaution. A lot of parents were worried about their children. We have already announced the closure of schools from nursery to sixth standards. Now, we are declaring official holidays upto sixth standard. Students of standards 1-6 will all be promoted based on their formative assessment,” said Kumar adding, “no student will be detained in those classes.”

With respect to seventh, eighth and ninth standards, the schools will be closed for study holidays and students will have to return to write their examinations.“We will not interfere in the examination schedules of CBSE and ICSC schools. However, state syllabus schools have to finish their examinations before March 23”, Public Instruction Commissioner KG Jagadeesh said.Just a couple of papers of the PU examinations are left after which their holidays will begin.

Exam timetable not changed

Miscreants are spreading rumours that SSLC examination dates are changed because of the new coronavirus outbreak. However, Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board director V Sumangala categorically said the examinations will be held from March 27  to April 9 as scheduled earlier.