Udupi man, arrested in Kuwait for carrying banned medicine, released after 7 months

New Delhi, Apr 15: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged the government to organise flights to bring back Indian workers stuck in the Middle East and desperate to return.

He said the workers are in deep distress there due to shutting of businesses in the Middle East due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Covid19 crisis and shutting of businesses in the Middle East have left thousands of Indian workers in deep distress and desperate to return home.

"The Government must organise flights to bring home our brothers and sisters most in need of assistance, with quarantine plans in place," he said on Twitter.

Bengaluru, Jul 6: With a record 1,925 new cases across the state during the last 24 hours, Karnataka's Covid-19 tally rose to 23,474 including 13,251 active after 9,847 were discharged till date, an official said on Sunday.

"Of the total cases across the state on a single day, Bengaluru accounted for 1,235, taking its positive tally to 9,580, including 8,167 active," said the health official in a statement.

With 37 succumbing to the disease in the state, including 16 from Bengaluru, the state's death toll increased to 372, with 145 from this tech city since March 9.

Of the 603 discharged from across the state during the day, 302 were from Bengaluru, taking its total number of cured to 1,267 so far.

Of the 243 cases in the intensive care unit (ICU) across the state, 132 are in Bengaluru, 15 at Dharwad, 12 at Kalaburagi and 10 each at Ballari and Raichur.

Of the 16,899 samples tested in the day, 14,649 were negative and 1,925 positive. Of the total 7,06,425 samples tested so far, 6,65,525 were negative and 23,474 positive.

After Bengaluru, Dakshina Kannada reported 142 positive cases followed by Ballari 90, Vijayapura 57, Kalaburagi 49 and Udupi and Dharwad 45 each.

Of the total 603 discharged, 52 were from Kalaburagi, 37 from Ballari, 36 from Dakshina Kannada and 22 each from Udupi and Dharwad.

Bengaluru, Jun 2: Karnataka recorded a biggest single day spike of 388 COVID-19 cases, with returnees from neighboring Maharashtra continuing to add to the state's tally, taking the total number of infections in the state to 3,796, the health department said on Tuesday.

With 367 out of 388 new cases being returnees from other states, mostly from neighboring Maharashtra (357), the Karnataka government said it was mulling over increasing institutional quarantine for those returning from the western state. Meanwhile, achieving a milestone in the battle against the coronavirus,the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences at Hubballi has successfully treated a COVID-19 patient through plasma therapy.

"Maharashtra (returnees) is a major worry for us, already 15,000-20,000 people have come from Maharashtra, still 2000 odd people may come to each district, as we have allowed so many people already, we have decided to allow them also, Revenue Minister R Ahoka said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said ".....cases coming from Bombay and Pune are turning out to be positive, we have to take extra caution, seven days quarantine (institutional) is of no use, we want to increase it specifically for those returning from Maharashtra.

We will take a decision soon and issue order." Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa earlier directed district authorities including the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police to camp at taluk centres and work towards curbing the spread of COVID-19. Pointing out that COVID-19 cases were increasing in the state because of returnees from Maharashtra, he asked officials to take all necessary measures to check it, his office said in a release. The previous biggest single-day spike was recorded on May 31 with 299 cases. As of June 2 evening, cumulatively 3,796 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 52 deaths and 1,403 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said out of 2,339 active cases, 2,325 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 14 are in ICU.

According to the bulletin,75 patients have been discharged today.

Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar said Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences in Hubballi has successfully treated a COVID-19 patient through Plasma Therapy.

"Karnataka achieves yet another milestone in battle against #COVID19.

KIMS Hubli has successfully treated a Covid19 patient through Plasma Therapy & is the first institute in the state to accomplish this. Congrats to KIMS doctors & staff for this feat!" the Minister tweeted.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Udupi accounted for 150 cases, followed by Kalaburagi 100, Belagavi 51, Raichur 16, Bengaluru urban 12, Bidar 10, nine each from Bagalkote and Hassan, Davangere seven, Yadgiri five, four each from Mandya and Vijayapura, Bengaluru rural three, two each from Chikkaballapura, Dharwad and Tumakuru, and one each from Kolar and Haveri.

Udupi district tops the list of positive cases with 410 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 405 and Bengaluru urban 397.

Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with 237 discharges, followed by Kalaburagi 128 and Davangere 121.

A total of 3,19,628 samples have been tested so far, out of which 14,812 were tested on Tuesday alone.

According to the bulletin, 3,10,967 samples have reported as negative, 13,915 on Tuesday alone.