Mohammed Haris is Bengaluru City Youth Cong Gen Sec

Bengaluru, Jul 18: Karnataka minister R Ashoka on Friday said that the COVID-19 lockdown will not be extended further in Bengaluru.

While commenting on the COVID-19 lockdown extension R Ashoka said, "We have taken expert opinion, and the lockdown will not be extended. It will end on July 22."

Earlier today, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Mayor, M Goutham Kumar called for an extension of lockdown in the city for one more week due to rise in the COVID-19 cases. "It will be better if we get more time to tackle COVID-19 cases. We wish for the extension of lockdown for one more week. We have given the proposal to the government," said Kumar.

Lockdown had been imposed in the city for seven days with effect from 8 pm on July 14 till 5 am on July 22 to curb the further spread of COVID-19.

As many as 3,693 new COVID-19 positive cases and 115 deaths have been reported in Karnataka on Friday, the State Health Department said.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state now stands at 55,115 including 33,205 active cases. While there are 20,757 recoveries, the death toll stands at 1,147.

Madikeri, Jun 9: A rare Rurk’s Ristella Skink was found by some wildlife enthusiasts on their way to Madapur in Kodagu district.

Ristella Rurkii, commonly known as Rurk’s Ristella, is a species of skink endemic to the Western Ghats of Southern India. It is a small, insectivorous, diurnal skink found in Shola grasslands and rain forests of hills ranges in parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The specific name, rurkii, is in honour of “Dr Rurk” who collected the type specimen in the Annamalai Hills, High Ranges, Travancore, and the Palani Hills, of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is endemic to rainforests South of Palghat Gap.

Mumbai, Jun 15: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved Apoorva Diagnostic and Healthcare (ADHC) located at Bhaktivedanta Hospital, Mira Road to test suspected coronavirus infections in the region. The lab is equipped to process 500 tests on a per day basis and can be scaled up to 1000 and follows the pricing as per ICMR guidelines. ADHC will be closely working with local hospitals and Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) to test suspected coronavirus infections in the region.

The municipal corporations who will benefit from this facility would be Palghar, Virar Vasai and Mira Bhayander. The run time for the patients’ blood collection samples will reduce significantly.  The corporation earlier is known for becoming the first civic body to rope in private hospitals for coronavirus testing.

ADHC is the only lab operational for 24/7 thus supporting all the hospital and nursing homes in the Western region of Mumbai. ADHC is the only lab in this region equipped with fully automated frozen section, Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and complete Oncopathology services. Laboratory maintains the highest level of international standards and is the only lab in the state to introduce Artificial Intelligence in clinical pathology. One of the other unique feature of the lab is that it has the DNA film array technology for infectious panels and fully automated Microbiology lab which results in fast turnaround time to reduce hospitalization of the patient which helps reduce antibiotics harassment.

Dr. Ajay Sankhe, Director, Bhaktivedanta Hospital says, “We stand by our commitment to make the facility available for all the patients of Mumbai and will provide unconditional service in fighting the deadly disease We are always ready to serve the nation and our vision is to be a trusted healthcare partner enabling healthier lives.”

Kabir Das, Managing Director, ADHS, quips, “Current priority is to get over the crisis. The lab is a 24 X 7 high-tech diagnostic centre catering to all classes of society and meeting multifarious diagnostic needs with high precision and accuracy. Indian Council of Medical Research has approved our lab to test COVID-19 and we will surely extend all support needed.”