Bengaluru to get 10,000 bed COVID care facilities by Monday evening: Karnataka Minister
Bengaluru: Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, Karnataka Medical Education Minister S Sudhakar on Saturday said arrangements will be made to have 10,000 beds in government and private hospitals by Monday evening and multistorey residential apartment complexes will also be used to treat infected patients.
"By Monday evening, we will have definite information about the number of beds available in the government and private hospitals.
Efforts are afoot to arrange 10,000 beds to treat coronavirus patients by Monday evening," Sudhakar said in a statement on Saturday after video conferencing with the health department officials.
Apart from government and private hospitals, buildings belonging to the Bengaluru Development Authority, housing board, apartments constructed by the private builders, government and private sports facilities, playgrounds, hostels, and major commercial buildings will be utilized to treat coronavirus patients, the minister said.
"Since COVID care centers do not require much facilities, the multistorey residential apartment complexes built by BDA and housing department will be utilized.
BDA has around 1700 flats. BDA commissioner Mahadev will inform the exact number of flats available for use on Monday," Sudhakar explained.
Based on the facilities available, these will be converted to either COVID care centers or hospitals, Sudhakar said.
He underlined that for the past one week about 30 to 35 percent of the infected cases are showing symptoms.
It has been instructed to experts to classify the symptomatic cases as mild, moderate, and severe and prepare treatment protocols, he said, adding that private hospitals have been instructed to reserve 50 percent of the beds for COVID treatment.
Discussions will be held with the management of private hospitals and they will be provided details of capping of the treatment cost.
The possibility of utilizing almost entire capacity in private medical colleges is being examined, Sudhakar said.
The minister explained that all necessary arrangements in the identified facilities will be made with the help of the private sector.
Karnataka State Reserved Police, Home Guards, NCC cadets, and para-military forces stationed in the city will be utilized for security arrangements, the minister said.
Senior officials including Additional Chief Secretary Javed Akhtar, BDA commissioner Dr. M Mahadev, and Medical Education Secretary T K Anil Kumar were present during the meeting.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
