WhatsApp sets up system to store payments-related data locally

Bengaluru, Mar 28: Karnataka government on Saturday launched a food helpline number --155214-- for the labourers who have been affected due to lockdown imposed by the central government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

This came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Tuesday announced a 21-day lockdown in the entire country effective from midnight to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, saying that " social distancing" is the only option to deal with the disease, which spreads rapidly.
Similarly, other states including Delhi have started both official and non-official helpline numbers for necessary assistance.
Both the government institutions and social organizations are contributing together in the fight against coronavirus during the lockdown.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 918 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the country and 19 fatalities have been reported.

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.

Mangaluru, Jan 13: Supporting former state chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy who released a "CD on the December 19 Mangaluru violence", Dakshina Kannada party unit president Mohammed Kunhi on Monday demanded a probe into the violence.

Mr Kumaraswamy, who released 35 video clips related to the violence, had demanded the suspension of the Police Commissioner and also sought a house committee to probe the incident.

Addressing media personnel here, Kunhi questioned, "If the police department did not commit any mistake why is the state government looking worried about the CDs released by Kumaraswamy?"