Mangaluru, Jun 15: The case of two elderly Dubai returnees who are being treated for Covid-19 at the Wenlock Covid-19 Hospital has left doctors perplexed.
The two aged 76 and 81 men had arrived from Dubai on May 18 and 12 respectively and are at the hospital since one month.
To everyone's surprise, six of their tests have come out positive though they have not shown any symptoms of SARS-CoV-2.
Bengaluru, Jun 25: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday asked people to cooperate by following the measures put in place for the control of COVID-19 if they don't want another lockdown or sealing in Bengaluru.
Amid talks about re-imposing lockdown in the city following the recent spike in cases, the Chief Minister said he will hold discussions on Thursday and Friday regarding the strict measures that need to be taken to control the virus.
"COVID pandemic is increasing, we are making all efforts and we have even sealed some areas. Today afternoon at Krishna (the CM's home office) I have called a meeting with Ministers and officials and will discuss the strict measures to be taken to control COVID," Mr Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "Tomorrow noon I have called a meeting of legislators of all political parties from Bengaluru and all Ministers from the city to discuss with them, seek their opinion and take stringent measures."
Citing an increase in cases, Health Minister B Sriramulu on Tuesday had said the government may have to think about imposing lockdown in the city if the situation continues.
Following this several Ministers in the state cabinet on Wednesday had said, any decision on re-imposing lockdown in the city will be taken only after consulting experts.
Some reports had even suggested that a decision on lockdown is likely at the cabinet meeting scheduled today.
The Chief Minister said there is no lockdown in the entire city, adding only in a few areas it has been imposed and would continue.
Concerned over the increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, Mr Yediyurappa on Monday had directed officials to implement lockdown measures strictly in certain clusters which have reported greater number of coronavirus infections.
The city's busy K R Market and Kalasipalya Market have been sealed for 15 days by the civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) as part of measures to check the spread of the deadly virus.
Stating that Bengaluru is a model for the whole country in COVID-19 management, Mr Yediyurappa on Thursday said, when you compare with other major cities, "we have not yet lost control."
A total of 1,678 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the city till last evening.
This includes 78 deaths and 475 discharges.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the state which stood at 3,408 as of June 1 has crossed the 10,000 mark on Wednesday with the state capital topping the districts in the infection count.
Seeking public cooperation in controlling the spread of the virus, Yediyurappa said social distancing and other measures in place were not followed, there has been spread to slums and other places.
"If you don't want Bengaluru to be sealed once again please cooperate and maintain distance," he added.
Mr Yediyurappa also said, the government has taken all measures for the safe conduct of SSLC (class 10) exams from today, and students should come out and write exams for their bright future.
Bengaluru, Jul 4: A young woman doctor at the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, who had raised an alarm about faulty PPE kits and shortage of N95 masks, has tested positive for the covid-19.
Taking note of this, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha brought the issue to the attention on Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Twitter. Tagging the minister, the MP tweeted, “For your information and I feel, it is a genuine concern.” “Amulya Gowda treated Covid patients at KIMS.
Karnataka Medical Association took to social media to express concern over the development. In a Facebook post it wrote: "Amulya C Gowda is a frontline worker who risks her life every single day. Last week she raised an alarm about faulty PPE kits and shortage of N-95 masks. But the Administrative Medical Officer (AMO) at KIMS, shunned and chastised her for raising this issue. Ever since, she has been buying her own N-95 masks. Today, she tested positive for Covid-19 and appealed to the Hospital authorities and raised her genuine concerns over the faulty protective gear, but she was again harassed and humiliated for raising the issue."
Dr DH Ashwath Narayana, Medical Superintendent, KIMS Hospital, said that all PPE kits at KIMS were certified by SITRA (South India Textiles Research Association), Coimbatore and that they had purchased N-95 masks available in the market. "One cannot claim faulty PPEs are the reason for testing positive. We have purchased whatever PPE kits are available in the market. Healthcare workers across hospitals, private and government, and policemen are also getting infected."
As the new rules by the state government allow healthcare workers home isolation, Narayana said the doctor is recuperating at home and that she is doing fine.
Medical education minister Dr K Sudhakar tweeted, "Doctors are our frontline warriors battling the pandemic. Government has taken all necessary measures to ensure safety of our doctors. I have taken note of supply of defective masks and PPE kits to KIMS doctors and ordered an enquiry. Management will be held responsible if found guilty."
Bengaluru, Jun 8: Facing a shortage of labour, some top builders in the city have initiated efforts to bring back the migrant workers, who have returned to their native places following the COVID-19 lockdown, and are holding parleys with Railway authorities for operation of special trains to ferry them.
After the lockdown was announced, many construction projects came to a halt and accordingly the labourers were rendered jobless. These migrant workers preferred to go back to their home state as they were not paid when the projects were stopped and were caught in the big financial mess. Many of these migrants even chose to cover thousands of kilometres by foot when even trains, buses or any motor vehicles were not operating.
Keeping their woes in view, the Centre decided to run the Shramik Special trains to ferry them to their native places. But, after they were gone, the builders found themselves in a lurch. An executive of a builder told PTI "Yes, our builder and a few others are in talks with the Railways to run the special train to bring back the labourers." She said nothing has been materialised as of now.
According to her, the builders took the contact numbers of the workers when they left the city to their home states and are now contacting them one by one. The South Western Railway has so far sent 3.11 lakh migrant workers in 216 Shramik Special trains starting from May 3 to June 6.
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