Negative RT-PCR report now must for visitors from Kerala to Karnataka
Bengaluru, Feb 16: The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued a fresh set of guidelines for people coming from Kerala, which has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases, saying these would come into force with immediate effect.
Based on recommendations of the Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19, new special surveillance measures for those arriving from Kerala have been introduced, Additional Chief Secretary Jawaid Akhtar said in a release.
It would now be mandatory for those arriving from that state and checking into hotels, resorts, hostels, home stays and dormitories to have a negative RT-PCR certificate, "which should not be older than 72 hours."
The government said positive samples would be sent to NIMHANS here for genomic sequencing.
Those in hostels and colleges would not be allowed to have visitors or relatives without obtaining express permission from the Covid nodal officers.
A list of students travelling to and from Kerala from hostels or colleges should be maintained by a competent authority, the order said.
The government said students should compulsorily produce RT PCR negative test reports, not older than 72 hours, each time they return from Kerala and till the situation improves.
The order said that day scholars travelling from Kerala to schools and colleges in any part of Karnataka would be subjected to RT-PCR test every fortnight.
Those who had already arrived to the state from Kerala over the past two weeks should compulsorily undergo this test.
The government said the authorities concerned have to appoint a nodal person in hostels and classes to monitor the students' health condition and that of others.
Anyone not complying with the order would immediately be reported to the nodal person or authorities and made to stay in the designated "quarantine room "in the facility till RT- PCR test report turned negative.
The government asked the authorities to ramp up testing and strengthen COVID-19 surveillance activities in all colleges, residential facilities, which have accommodated the students and others from Kerala.
? ಕೊರೊನಾ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಣ ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ
— Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) February 16, 2021
ಶೈಕ್ಷಣಿಕ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳ ಹಾಸ್ಟೆಲ್, ವಸತಿ ಶಾಲೆ-ಕಾಲೇಜುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 5ಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕೊರೊನಾ ಪ್ರಕರಣಗಳು ಪತ್ತೆಯಾದರೆ ಅದನ್ನು ಕಂಟೇನ್ಮೆಂಟ್ ವಲಯ ಎಂದು ಘೋಷಿಸಲಾಗುವುದು.
ಕೇರಳದಿಂದ ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗಮಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರು 72 ಗಂಟೆಗಳಿಗಿಂತ ಹಳೆಯದಲ್ಲದ ಆರ್ ಟಿ-ಪಿಸಿಆರ್ ವರದಿಯನ್ನು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯವಾಗಿ ಹೊಂದಿರಬೇಕು. pic.twitter.com/NRZ90Gcb88
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Bengal awaits May 4 results; TMC looks to retain power, BJP aims historic win after record turnout
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal heads into verdict day on Monday after over a month of frenzied campaigning, as it waits with bated breath to see whether the TMC manages to hold on to power or the BJP makes a historic breakthrough and claims the state for the first time.
As the EVMs open at 8 am, the CPI(M) and the Congress will be watching with equal keenness, hoping to reclaim a foothold in the state's electoral map after five years in the wilderness, following their wipeout in the 2021 polls.
Counting of votes will take place across 77 centres in the state, with elaborate security arrangements and a charged political atmosphere setting the stage for the declaration of results in 293 of the 294-seat House.
The Election Commission countermanded polls in the entire Falta constituency in South 24 Parganas district, citing “severe electoral offences and subversion of democratic process during polling in a large number of polling stations”.
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The fresh poll in that seat and the counting will take place on May 21 and May 24, respectively.
The two-phase polls in the state ended on April 29, with what the election watchdog said was the state's highest-ever voter turnout of 92.47 per cent since Independence.
Repolling in 15 booths in South 24 Parganas concluded on Saturday, with around 87 per cent turnout recorded, officials said.
The state’s political climate bordered on the vicious, even after the conclusion of polls, leading to fervent anticipation ahead of the announcement of results, with both primary contenders TMC and BJP, claiming they were dead certain about their victory prospects.
Courtesy the tight security arrangements – with over 2.5 lakh central paramilitary personnel on the ground, besides the presence of a thoroughly reshuffled state police force – electoral violence remained at a minimum, and no deaths were reported for the first time in the state’s election history of recent decades.
This was also the first election held in the state in twenty years, conducted after an extensive, albeit controversial, SIR exercise that revised the electoral rolls, removing over 9 million voters.
The jury is out on the impact of the exercise on the electoral fortunes of all parties across the board, prompting pollsters to burn the midnight oil to make sense of the likely choice of voters and keeping the public greatly enthused about what verdict the result day would deliver.
The campaigns recorded the BJP unleashing its full might, with top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launching all-out attacks on the TMC over corruption, law and order, infiltration, women’s safety and unemployment, while promising welfare measures.
The TMC’s retaliation, with the CM and party MP Abhishek Banerjee leading the charge, focused on SIR harassment, Bengali persecution and ‘outsider’ plank, accusing the BJP of failing to deliver on its national commitments and upholding TMC’s development report card.
Polling for the elections was held on April 23 and April 29, with a total electorate of over 3.21 crores.
The poll body has scaled down the number of counting centres this year to 77 from 87 announced earlier, and 108 in 2021, while putting in place a multi-layered security grid.
“Comprehensive security arrangements have been made to ensure that counting is conducted in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner,” a senior EC official said.
The run-up to counting, however, has been marked by high political drama, with TMC leaders, helmed by CM Mamata Banerjee, rushing to strongrooms in Kolkata, apprehending counting malpractice and alleging attempts to tamper with the sealed EVMs.
The EC rejected those allegations, maintaining that all electronic voting machines are kept under strict surveillance with round-the-clock security and CCTV monitoring.
“Strongrooms are secured under a three-tier security system, and candidates or their representatives are allowed to keep watch as per protocol. There is no scope for any tampering,” another poll panel official said.
Closer to the counting date, security outside strongrooms has been further tightened, with the EC deploying 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers to oversee the process and ensure adherence to norms.
In Kolkata, counting for 11 assembly constituencies will be conducted across five locations - Ballygunge Government High School, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University, Shakhawat Memorial School, Netaji Indoor Stadium and St Thomas Boys’ School.
Counting for the Bhabanipur seat, arguably carrying the highest symbolic weight where Mamata Banerjee is taking on senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in a prestige fight on her home turf, will be held at the Sakhawat Memorial centre.
The EC has introduced stringent access control measures, mandating entry only through QR code-based photo identity cards issued via its ECINet system. Mobile phones have been barred inside counting halls, except for returning officers and observers.
The counting exercise will be conducted under a framework upheld by the Supreme Court, which on Saturday declined to pass further directions on a TMC plea challenging the deployment of central government personnel.
The elections saw the TMC contesting in 291 seats and its ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa, fielding candidates in three seats in the Darjeeling hills.
The BJP, Congress and the Left Front are gunning for all 294 segments, with parties like Humayun Kabir’s AJUP and Asaduddin Owasi’s AIMIM also trying their luck in some crucial pockets.
BJP leaders like Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Roopa Ganguly and Nishit Pramanik are in the fray, while prominent TMC candidates include Firhad Hakim, Kunal Ghosh, Madan Mitra and Udayan Guha.
