Youth must be told to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai': RSS chief

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.

Bengaluru, Jul 6: A video clip of a Bengaluru-based doctor urging the follow doctors to return to their duty at a time when medicos are desperately needed to fight against COVID-19 has busted the myth of ‘shortage of beds’ in the hospitals. 

In past few of weeks, dozens of people in Bengaluru have lost their lives after hospital denied them admission citing lack of beds. 

Dr Taha Mateen, Managing Director of HBS Hospital, in an emotional message, appealed to healthcare professionals, including doctors, to help handle the situation better. The video has gone viral on social media.

“I speak from the ICU of HBS Hospital. It’s been a virtual bloodbath. I came in the morning at like 7:30 in the morning and its 12’o’clock midnight right now. Patients are continuously calling me now ‘cause their fathers are breathless, their brothers are breathless and they cannot find a room in Bengaluru and at this time if you see there is one Mr Shiva and me. There is no other doctor willing to work in this hospital,” Dr Mateen says in the video.

Dr Mateen further said, "I have beds, I have oxygen beds, I have ventilators, I have all the equipment. I have another 30 beds like this but I don’t have doctors working here.” He said that there is an urgent need to mobilise healthcare staff.

Sources said the COVID-19 patients at the hospital are left with only five doctors and 12 nurses. Until recently, the HBS Hospital had 20 nurses and 44 doctors on its roll.

According to a report, the hospital is facing huge difficulties in treating patients admitted at Intensive Care Units (ICU). Eight patients with severe respiratory problems are admitted to the hospital and are waiting for their COVID-19 test results.

"We have sufficient beds at the hospital to treat coronavirus patients, but we don't have doctors. And we can't admit more patients as we are left with just five doctors, said Dr Taha Mateen.

"All doctors are on WhatsApp, I request all doctors to come out and perform their duties, Dr Mateen said in a video appeal on WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram. 

According to Dr Mateen, a COVID-19 patient, who was admitted to COVID care centre at Haj  Bhavan, was abandoned on a road by an ambulance driver. Later, the patient was picked by NGO volunteers. 

"The patient was brought to HBS Hospital at 2 am. He had a very low blood oxygen level. We stabilised his condition. Later, we had to send him home as we don't have enough staff to take care of him. We also sent an oxygen cylinder to his home," a report quoted Dr Mateen as saying.

Bengaluru, Mar 7: Karnataka on Friday announced that there are no positive cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 in the state till date.

"To date, 717 persons have been identified for observation, of them, 236 persons have completed 28 days of observation and 469 persons are continuing under home quarantine. 8 persons are admitted to selected isolation hospitals, " the state government said in a release today.

"Around 343 samples of symptomatic persons are sent for testing and 296 samples are reported as negative. No positive cases of Coronavirus in the state to date," it said.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa earlier in the week assured people in state about the preparedness to tackle coronavirus.

He said, "We have issued instructions to all hospitals. We have made all the arrangements. People in Karnataka should not worry."

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan earlier today held a review meeting with states over preparedness for coronavirus. State governments have been asked to keep the testing and quarantine facilities, isolation wards and labs in active readiness.

The country's total number of positive cases of coronavirus touched 31 today. COVID-19 has so far killed more than 3200 people globally.