Karnataka Health Minister hints at police action against untraceable UK returnees
Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar on Monday hinted at stringent action against those returnees from the United Kingdom who were untraceable and had switched off their mobile phones.
It could even be police action against them, the minister indicated.
"I request the UK returnees to cooperate with us as responsible citizens. You have to get tested. If you don't get tested and switch off your phone, then it's a crime in the true sense," Sudhakar told reporters here.
Replying to queries, he said he would hold a meeting with Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai after the cabinet meeting because the UK returnees could not be tracked, have switched off their phones, and were not responding to requests through media and social media.
To a question, whether police cases will be registered, Sudhakar said, "I am compelled to say that I will discuss with the Home Minister and decide the future course of action."
According to him, till now 1,614 people have been tested. Of them, 26 people have tested positive till Sunday evening. Their samples have been sent to the designated lab in NIMHANS.
Later, the report will be sent to the ICMR.
The Minister said all the 26 people have been admitted to the designated hospitals and none of them is in home isolation.
"They are under the supervision of the government and are getting the best treatment. All of them are in good health and none of them are suffering from any serious ailment. They do have mild symptoms," Sudhakar said.
To a question about the delay in getting the reports, the minister said test lab reports have to be sent to the ICMR as part of the uniform protocol designed for the entire country.
"If different protocols are adopted in different states then it will cause fear among people. To avoid panic, a uniform protocol is adopted pan India," he said.
Sudhakar exuded confidence that the reports on 26 people may come by the end of the day.
Regarding the opening of schools and PU colleges, Sudhakar said he would discuss with the education minister. He stressed that there was no need to panic with the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus.
"We have not yet confronted the fear so far. Cases are reducing and the fatalities have come down substantially.
There are many districts which have not seen a single death for the past many days," he added.
According to him, there were cases coming up in certain localities of Bengaluru.
"Even the UK returnees are located in Bengaluru only. So, it will not affect the schools," the minister explained.
Regarding vaccines, Sudhakar said he was expecting it at the earliest.
He said the Prime Minister was going to offer the best gift to the people of the country.
Speaking about the trial results of Covaccine, he said encouraging results were emerging from the third trial as well.
"There are no adverse effects on 95 to 96 percent of people. Their immunity on the people has also gone up," Sudhakar said.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
