"Only God Can Save Us From Coronavirus": Health Minister B Sriramulu
Courtesy: NDTV
Bengaluru: As India's coronavirus tally continues to surge, the health minister in Karnataka - which has logged over 47,000 patients so far - on Wednesday said that "only god can help save us" from the highly contagious illness. B Sriramulu's remarks came as Karnataka replaced Gujarat as the fourth-worst affected state in the country after Maharashtra (2.75 lakh cases), Tamil Nadu (1.51 lakh cases) and Delhi (1.16 lakh cases).
"Worldwide the number of coronavirus cases is increasing. All of us should be alert. Whether you are a member of the ruling party or in the opposition, rich or poor... the virus doesn't discriminate," the 48-year-old BJP leader told reporters.
"The cases (in the state), I am sure 100 per cent, will only go up in the next two months. One can keep claiming that it's because of government negligence or irresponsibility of ministers or that cases are up because of a lack of coordination among the ministers. All of these allegations are far from the truth. Only God can save us from Corona," he added.
In the last 24 hours, Karnataka was among the five states in the country that reported the highest number of new infections, the government said this morning.
It recorded 3,176 new patients and 86 deaths linked to the illness taking its tally to 47,253 total cases; a total of 928 patients have died due to illness so far.
A week-long lockdown began on Tuesday night in the state capital Bengaluru, where a sharp spike has been recorded recently, to break the chain of transmission. Fresh curbs have also been announced in Dharwad, Mangalore and adjoining areas.
On Monday, the state government decided that priority would be given to rapid antigen tests, which began in the state over the weekend. The district authorities were advised to use these test kits wisely, mainly for emergency cases where a quick result is essential. One lakh test kits have been bought and distributed in the districts.
Across India, over 9.68 lakh cases have been recorded since the beginning of the pandemic; 32,000 new patients were recorded in the last 24 hours in the country's biggest single-day surge.
While, the government has eased restrictions as a part of "Unlock2", several states, including Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, are imposing restrictions again to check the spread of the highly infectious virus.
Worldwide, the situation is quite similar as nations reimpose lockdowns to curb the spike in cases.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
