Biggest single-day spike of 4,764 COVID-19 cases in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday reported the biggest single-day spike of 4,764 new COVID-19 cases and 55 fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 75,833 and the death toll 1,519, the health department said.
The day also saw a record 1,780 patients getting discharged after recovery.
Out of the 4,764 fresh cases, a whopping 2,050 were reported from Bengaluru urban alone.
The previous biggest single-day spike was recorded on July 18 with 4,537 cases.
As of July 22 evening, cumulatively 75,833 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 1,519 deaths and 27,239 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.
It said, out of 47,069 active cases, 46,451 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 618 are in Intensive Care Units.
Fifteen of the 55 deaths reported on Wednesday were from Bengaluru urban, followed by five each from Dharwad and Mysuru, Haveri 4, three each from Dakshina Kannada, Bidar, Hassan, and Uttara Kannada, two each from Raichur, Chikkaballapura, Chikkamagaluru, Bagalkote and Tumakuru, and one each from Udupi, Kalaburagi, Kolar and Chamarajanagara.
Most of the deceased either had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI).
Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 2,050 cases, Udupi 281, Belagavi 219, Kalaburagi 175, Dakshina Kannada 162, Dharwad 158, Mysuru 145, Bengaluru Rural 139, Raichur 135, Ballari 134 and Chikkaballapura, followed by others.
Bengaluru Urban district topped the list of positive cases with 36,993 infections, followed by Dakshina Kannada 3,991 and Kalaburagi 3,141.
Among discharges, Bengaluru urban was on top with 8,288 discharges, followed by Kalabuagi 1,881 and Udupi 1,765.
A total of 11,12,874 samples were tested so far, out of which 48,140 were tested on Wednesday alone.
The bulletin said 24,319 of the 48,140 samples tested on Wednesday were rapid antigen tests.
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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.
