Udupi: Raghavendra raises ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans at Kundapur at Mini Vidhana Soudha

Kochi, Mar 9: A three-year old child has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said in Kochi on Monday.

The child and its parents who had reached the Cochin International Airport Limited at 6 AM on March 7 from Italy were subjected to thermal screening at the universal surveillance system established, officials said.

Detecting symptoms of coronavirus in the child, they were immediately referred to the isolation ward of the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital, they said. The samples of the child sent for examination at the NiV lab at Alappuzha have tested positive for Coronavirus, they said.

The samples of the parents have also been sent for lab test, the officials added.

Five fresh coronavirus cases, including three who evaded screening on return from Italy, were reported in Kerala, prompting the government on Sunday to sound a renewed alert and warn action against those hiding travel history to affected nations.

Bengaluru, May 18: A large number of people in India are planning inter-city bus travel within a month of the lifting of travel restrictions, according to a randomised online survey of over 10,300 customers of redBus, India's largest online bus ticketing platform.

Nearly 57 per cent of the respondents are planning to travel within a month post the lockdown. However, there is a high standard of expectation on the implementation of measures to make buses safe for travel with over 79 per cent wanting deep cleaning and sanitisation of buses after every trip.

Hand sanitisers, mandatory masks and temperature screening for all passengers are next in expectations for bus travel. Over 78 per cent of the respondents want the implementation of hygienic conditions at boarding points and 70 per cent want social distancing protocols to be implemented at boarding points.

"The survey does underscore the fact that given the adherence to safety protocols, bus travel is possibly one of the safest options for travel since the number of travellers are fewer, checks can be done individually and the whole factor of pick up and drop as close to home as possible minimises the number of contacts throughout the journey," said redBus Chief Executive Officer Prakash Sangam.

In addition, online booking further reduces the number of contact points as people can book bus tickets directly from their home. Further, there is a heightened awareness of personal hygiene and safety measures which is important for the travel to be safe.

"The large number of people waiting to travel not only points to the need but also the importance it has for the revival of economic activity as very few of them would be travelling for leisure," said Sangam.

The survey also showed that passengers put a very high consideration on hygiene, sanitation and disinfection -- over 73 per cent -- and social distancing (63 per cent) and much lower consideration to traditional factors such as travel cost (22 per cent), comfort (21 per cent) and punctuality (18 per cent).

The survey was conducted among redBus customers across India. Only 5 per cent of the respondents were willing to postpone their travel to over six months while the rest had plans to travel within that period.

Bengaluru, Feb 18:  A fan of Kannada film star Darshan smashed the face of a police constable with a boulder when the latter asked him to come in the queue to a party to celebrate the star’s birthday.

The incident happened past midnight on February 15 near the residence of the film star where his birthday was being celebrated.

The injured police constable has been identified as Devaraj, attached to the Jnana Bharathi police station.

The film star’s managers had not made arrangements to handle a huge crowd that gathered near his residence and police had a tough time controlling the crowd.

Constable Devaraj was deputed to duty at the party and tried to get the crowd to fall in line.

As the police carried out a mild lathi-charge to control the crowd, a fan of Darshan came up with a boulder in his hand and smashed the face of the constable Devaraj from very close distance. The constable collapsed on the spot and the attacker ran away.

The impact was such that Devaraj’s nose was fractured and he sustained an eye injury. He was admitted to a private hospital and his condition is said to be serious.

The R R Nagar police have registered a case under IPC sections 353 and 352. The cops have launched a hunt for the accused and they are obtaining CCTV footage from the spot.

A complaint is being registered against the organisers of the event and an investigation is on. Several neighbours of Darshan have also complained to the police about the chaos on February 15.