'If violence happens again...': K’taka minister warns CAA protesters

Bengaluru, Jun 4: Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Siddaramaiah on Thursday said it was not appropriate to reopen schools for two more months, given the current rate at which coronavirus infection is spreading.

He also advised Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar not to take any hasty decisions in this regard.

"As corona infection is spreading in the state beyond limits, it is not appropriate to open schools for at least two more months. Chief Minister and Suresh Kumar should not make any hasty decisions," Siddaramaiah tweeted.

Stating that Suresh Kumar has placed a proposal to reopen schools in July, he said the chief minister has to take note of worried parents opposing this proposal.

"There are reports about students getting infected by coronavirus after reopening of schools in countries like Britain, France and Italy. It is appropriate to think about reopening schools on analysing the situation after two months," he said in another tweet.

The state government has sought an opinion from parents and stakeholders regarding reopening of schools in the state, with the easing of the COVID-19 lockdown norms.

Amidst worries and concerns expressed by parents across the state, the Education Minister on Wednesday had assured that the government would not take any hasty decisions regarding reopening of schools.

The Union government, in its recent guidelines, had asked state governments to hold consultation at school, college, training and coaching institutions-level with parents and other stakeholders, and based on the feedback, a decision on reopening them would be taken.

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 28: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to remove the blocking of roads including state highway along the border of Karnataka in view of lock down to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In a letter sent to the Prime Minister on Friday evening, the Chief Minister said certain actions by the Karnataka Police have resulted in the blocking the Thalassery-Coorg State Highway-30. This road connects Kerala with Coorg in Karnataka via Veerajapettah. This route is a lifeline for flow of essential commodities to Kerala."

"If this is blocked, vehicles carrying essential commodities will have to travel a much longer route to reach our state. Given the situation of national lock down, this will add much more hardship to people," it said.

"You will naturally agree with me that no action impeding the movement of essential commodities should be initiated at this moment of crisis," he hoped.

New Delhi, Jul 3: Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Karnataka have emerged as a "crucial pillar in the state's success" in combating Covid-19, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.

Acknowledging and praising their work, the ministry said they have been actively participating in household surveys in the state, screening inter-state passengers, migrant workers and others in the community for symptoms of the infection,

“Around 42,000 ASHAs have emerged as a crucial pillar in the state's success” in combating Covid-19, the ministry said.

"Recognizing the increased vulnerability of certain population groups to Covid-19, in a one-time survey to identify households with the elderly, persons with co-morbidities, and immune-compromised individuals, about 1.59 crore households were covered," the ministry said in a statement.

ASHAs regularly monitor such high-risk groups in their area with a periodicity of follow-up visits varying from once a day in the containment zones to once every 15 days in other areas, it said.

They also visit the houses of persons complaining influenza-like-illness (ILI) symptoms and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), besides high-risk individuals who have called the state health department helpline numbers, the ministry said.

ASHAs are a part of the Rural Task Force, headed by Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) at the Gram Panchayat level, for addressing public grievances on both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 related services.

ASHAs are trained female community health activists selected from the village itself and accountable to it. They are trained to work as an interface between the community and the public health system.

In the urban areas too, they have been at the forefront of dissemination of various awareness activities in fever clinics and swab collection centres in urban areas.

They have also actively screened cases of ILI and SARI in urban areas. They are also part of the screening teams at international and interstate check-posts.

Karnataka has reported 272 Covid-19 deaths and 18,016 cases, according to the health ministry data updated at 8 AM.