US coronavirus deaths climb to 100: AFP tally
Washington: The number of deaths due to the new coronavirus in the US has reached 105, with the outbreak spreading to all 50 states, even as President Donald Trump mounted a warlike effort to contain the situation, including an economic stimulus package of USD1 trillion.
The first fatality from COVID-19 was reported from the Washington state on February 26. Less than a month later, the toll has crossed 100. As of March 17, the figure stood at 105 and the number of confirmed infections crossed 6,500.
New York in the East Coast and Washington in the West are the two states that took major hits due to the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic. President Donald Trump has said that the crisis in the US might continue till July and August.
According to The Washington Post, most of the deaths have occurred in people over 70 and those with underlying conditions.
"Public health experts believe the initial and ongoing testing problems mean that unknown numbers of cases have gone undetected, and they say the death toll will only continue to rise," Politico reported.
President Trump has urged people to avoid gatherings of more than 10 persons. He asked them to stay indoors and work from home as much as possible. Schools, offices, bars, restaurants and many stores remain closed across the United States.
In the Silicon Valley, more than seven million people have been asked to stay indoors. Curfew has been imposed in New Jersey. Several states and cities are considering taking similar measures.
Trump spoke by telephone with the executives of industrial supply retailers and wholesalers about the national response to COVID-19. He thanked them for providing Americans the goods they rely on every day and asked them to extend his thanks to the incredible employees who are working tirelessly to keep store shelves well-stocked.
The President also announced that Medicare telehealth services will be dramatically expanded. "Medicare patients can now visit any doctor by phone or videoconference, at no additional cost, including with commonly used services like FaceTime and Skype a historic breakthrough," he said.
Several US senators wrote to Trump, urging him to use his authority to help address the widespread shortages of medical equipment caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
"There are widespread reports of shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, diagnostic test kits, and other medical supplies that require medical professionals to ration existing supplies," the Senators wrote.
"The Department of Defense, in collaboration with governors and appropriate federal agencies, should immediately undertake a national assessment of the supply and anticipated needs for PPE, ventilators, diagnostic test kits, and other needed medical supplies to support the use of its DPA authorities, as well as determining the potential use of the Defense Logistics Agency to support the rapid deployment of needed equipment, including from existing reserves," the letter read.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the military would provide up to five million respirator masks. He said the Pentagon will also provide items of personal protective equipment to safeguard front-line responders and up to 2,000 specialised ventilators.
Pentagon would open up as many as 16 labs to test civilians for the virus and potentially call up more members of the National Guard and Reserve, Esper told reporters.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ballari violence: Were cops made scapegoats to cover political failure?
Bengaluru: Across Karnataka, a serious discussion has begun after the violence in Ballari and the swift action taken against police officers who were on the ground that day. The core question being asked is simple: when law and order fails, why are police officers the first to be shown the door, while political responsibility is quietly pushed aside?
The January 1 clash in Ballari was not a sudden street fight. It was a political confrontation involving supporters of two sitting MLAs. A banner related to the unveiling of a Valmiki statue became the flashpoint. What followed was stone-pelting, firing, and the death of a Congress worker. The situation spiralled within hours.
Within a day, Ballari SP Pavan Nejjur was suspended. Soon after, senior officers were reshuffled. Deputy Inspector General of Police Vartika Katiyar was transferred. No official reason was cited in the notification. But the timing made one thing clear: accountability, at least on paper, had been fixed.
Since then, there has been unease within police circles and political debate outside it.
Unconfirmed reports that Nejjur attempted suicide after his suspension were firmly denied by senior officers and the home minister. They said he was safe, resting, and under stress. Still, the very fact that such reports gained traction says something about the pressure officers feel when action is taken overnight, without public clarity.
Opposition leaders have called Nejjur a scapegoat, pointing out that he had taken charge only hours before the violence. They have asked how an officer can be blamed for a political clash he barely had time to assess. They have also drawn parallels with earlier incidents where police leadership was suspended after tragedies, while political decision-making remained untouched.
However, responding to this criticism, Home Minister G Parameshwara rejected the argument that the suspension was unfair because Nejjur had assumed charge only hours earlier. “It is not important whether he reported to duty on the same day (of incident) or one hour back. Duty is duty. He is not new to the department. IPS officers are trained to handle such situations any time. If he had acted swiftly and promptly, he could have prevented the situation from escalating.” He had said adding that Nejjur did not discharge his duties properly and that this was the reason for his suspension.
Now, fresh and unconfirmed reports suggest that Vartika Katiyar may have met a senior cabinet minister, questioning why she was made to pay the price for a situation that was political in nature. There is no official confirmation of this meeting. But the talk itself has added fuel to the debate.
What is being discussed in the state is not whether the police made mistakes. Many acknowledge that the situation on January 1 was mishandled. A clash earlier in the day was allowed to cool down without strong preventive action. Later, a banner came up near a politically sensitive location. The crowd should not have been allowed to build up. Better anticipation was needed.
At the same time, critics are asking whether the entire burden can be placed on officers when the trigger itself was political rivalry. Who installed the banner? Who mobilised supporters? Who had armed private gunmen present at the spot? These are questions that are still part of the investigation, yet administrative punishment moved faster than political accountability.
This has led to a wider comparison with past incidents, including the Bengaluru stampede after the RCB victory celebrations. There too, police officers were suspended after lives were lost, while decisions taken at higher levels were defended as unavoidable. Many are now saying Ballari fits into the same pattern.
The argument being made is not that the police are blameless. The argument is that responsibility appears to stop at the uniform. When things go wrong, officers are transferred or suspended to send a message. But when the violence is rooted in political rivalry, that message feels incomplete.
Within police ranks, there is also quiet concern about working conditions. Officers say they are expected to manage volatile political situations overnight, often with little room to push back against powerful interests. When things hold, they are invisible. When they collapse, they stand alone.
The Ballari episode has once again exposed this fault line.
For the government, the challenge is larger than one suspension or transfer. The real test is whether it is willing to publicly acknowledge political failures when law and order breaks down, instead of letting the system suggest that the police alone dropped the ball.
For now, what remains is a growing feeling across Karnataka that accountability is selective. And that whenever politics turns violent, the easiest answer is to change the officers, not the decisions that led to the violence in the first place.
