2 people test positive for for coronavirus in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: Two people, including a UK national,tested positive for Covid-19 in Kerala on Sunday, taking the total number of affected to 21 in the state as the government launched a "break the chain" initiative to prevent the spread of the virus.
Other than the UK national, who was admitted to the Kalamassery medical college this morning after being offloaded from the flight to Dubai, a doctor who returned from Spain after studies has also been admitted to the isolation ward at medical college hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
"With the two new cases, the total number of infected persons has gone up to 21. All of them are stable.
The Italian tourist from Munnar has been hospitalised at Ernakulam and a doctor who reached the state from abroad after finishing studies, is at Thiruvananthapuram.
We expect the flow of foreigners to the state to reduce in the coming days," Health Minister K K Shailaja told reporters.
She said the state xpects "our brothers who are working abroad for their livelihood" to return to Kerala and added that the department was gearing up to receive them.
The minister said there were 10,994 people under observation across Kerala, of whom 289 have been lodged in isolation wards in various hospitals.
She also said 10,655 people are under home quarantine.
A total of 2,147 blood samples were sent for testing, of which 1,514 results turned out to be negative.
The minister said health volunteers and police would inspect those who are in home quarantine to ensure that they remain under isolation.
The health department also launched a "breaking the chain" campaign to encourage hand sanitizing among people in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
"There are chances of the virus being spread through our hands. Sanitizing our hands will break the chain and prevent the spread of the virus.
We must use hand sanitizers or wash the hands with soap and maintain personal hygiene. We need to spread awareness on hand hygiene campaign," Minister said.
Earlier in the day, a UK resident was offloaded from a Dubai flight after the state government informed the airport authorities that he had tested positive.
He was stopped along with 18 others of his tourist group at Kochi airport from flying to Dubai after he allegedly jumped quarantine in the hill resort town of Munnar, officials said.
The foreigner who tested positive and his wife have been admitted to an isolation facility at a nearby government hospital while the 17 were sent to a hotel for quarantine after being offloaded from the flight, state minister V S Sunil Kumar told reporters at the airport.
The flight carrying 270 passengers left for Dubai at 12.47 PM after the 20 passengers were offloaded, an airport spokesman said.
The officials closed down the resort, quarantined its employees and steps were taken to identify those who came in contact with the tourists in the state, officials said.
Shailaja dismissed the charge of lapses on the part of the authorities, resulting in a coronavirus positive patient travelling all the way to Kochi airport from Munnar, a distance of over 100 kms.
"There are certain protocols in confirming the positive cases. We had earlier itself instructed the resorts not to leave the foreign guests out of the resort.
But the tourists left without informing the health officials. The Chief Minister has already sought a report on the matter," she said.
She said the incident was an "experience that the state has not faced before" as the government was "dealing with a never before situation".
Meanwhile, with an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, the Kerala government on Sunday launched intensified medical check up at 24 spots bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for people entering the state by rail and road.
A team headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) began checking of vehicles coming to the state.
The National Health Mission State Mission Director (SMD) Rathan Kelkar told reporters that the response of the people toward the call for volunteers was "overwhelming".
"We needed additional volunteers for ensuring the medical checkups of passengers coming through the border. We have received many requests and will provide them appropriate training," Khelkar said.
With 21 confirmed cases of Covid-19, the state has enrolled volunteers to assist the health department after special training by officials.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
