COVID-19: Further containment measures after consulting experts, says CM Bommai
Bengaluru, Dec 6: With fresh COVID concerns, Karnataka Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai on Monday said the government is closely monitoring the situation in the state and will take decisions on enforcing further containment measures after consulting the experts.
In the wake of two cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus being detected in the state, and fresh COVID clusters emerging, the Karnataka government on Friday had announced certain preventive measures that included compulsory two dose vaccination for entering malls, cinema halls or theatres, and for parents of school or college going students.
"All the advices will be placed before the expert committee, depending on the Omicron and Delta variants spread in the coming days and clusters that are emerging, we will get the opinion of the experts, and take an appropriate decision," Bommai said in response to a question on suggestions regarding imposing restrictions on entry to malls and cinema halls to 50 per cent capacity.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, in response to a question, he said, all the primary and secondary contacts of the Bengaluru doctor who has tested positive for Omicron have been identified, all of them are asymptomatic, genomic sequencing reports of couple of his contacts who have tested positive for COVID is awaited.
Earlier in the day, noting that clusters were emerging in Karnataka, especially in hostels and among students, the Chief Minister speaking to reporters in Bidar said, the government has given guidelines for cluster management.
"In Chikkamagaluru yesterday, a cluster has emerged (at a residential school), all students have been checked, their primary and secondary contacts have also been tested and it (school) has been sealed down. We are providing treatment to those infected," he said, adding that the government is prepared in every way, and is gathering timely information from experts regarding the spread and effects of the infection, and accordingly preparations are on to provide treatment.
At least 69 people, mostly students of Jawahar Navodaya School at Seegodu in Chikkamagaluru district have been infected by Covid-19, official sources said.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Health Minister K Sudhakar in response to a question, downplayed the threats of the possible third wave of COVID-19.
"If you see historically during any pandemics, usually the second wave will be of large scale, third wave are generally less, this is the historical evidence. Historically, the second wave is more intense than the first wave, and in case there is a third or fourth wave, its intensity will be less and it will die out," he said.
He also said that according to experts, the effects of the virus on children are very low, and it was seen even during the delta variant also.
Further, noting that the genomic sequencing reports of couple of contacts of the city Doctor tested for Omicron is still awaited, the Minister said, "once it comes, it will be made know, reports of two are awaited, but they don't have any symptoms, they are undergoing treatment at Bowring Hospital here, and there are no issues. All his contacts had taken two doses of vaccination."
Stating that there is no need to worry more regarding the Omicron variant, Sudhakar said, we have faced the more virulent Delta variant, compared to it the new variant is only fast in its spread, but does not seem to be intense, so far.
"No need to worry, but precaution is necessary with vaccination and other required measures," he said, adding that "more than 93 per cent people have taken the first dose, while 64 per cent have taken the second dose in the state. We are third among large states in the country. We have to strive to complete the vaccination by December-end. There is over 70 lakh vaccine stock with us."
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.
TikTok shuts down as US ban takes effect
Houston: TikTok’s app effectively shut down in the US, just hours before a law banning the popular video-sharing platform was set to go into effect. The app was shut down on Saturday.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” a message reads when American users open the app.
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
While the Biden administration dismissed TikTok’s shutdown threat as a "stunt" and handed enforcement to the Trump administration, TikTok maintained that without clear assurances, it had no choice but to suspend its services in the US.
An internal email to employees stated that President Trump has expressed his intention to work on a solution to restore TikTok once he assumes office on January 20th. TikTok assured teams are working to resume services as soon as possible.
On Saturday evening, a warning appeared in both TikTok and CapCut apps at 9 PM Easten time:
"We regret that a US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19th, forcing us to temporarily suspend our services. We’re working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible. Thank you for your support. Stay tuned."
By 10:30 PM ET, users were blocked from accessing both apps, with TikTok displaying a message that the app "isn’t available right now," but expects resolution under President-elect Trump.
It comes after days of speculation and confusion over the platform’s future.
The Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the divest-or-ban law, which gave TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance until Sunday to divest from the app.
The law directed Apple and Google to remove the service from app stores. It also required web-hosting firms, including TikTok's back-end cloud provider, Oracle, to stop supporting the app or face penalties that could reach into the billions of dollars, NPR reported.
Trump said Saturday that he would most likely give TikTok a 90-day extension.
“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully,” Trump said in a call with “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker. “It’s a very big situation.”
The law, which passed Congress with wide bipartisan majorities and was signed by President Biden in April, allows the president to provide a 90-day extension, as long as progress is being made toward a divestiture.
Following Friday’s Supreme Court decision, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew thanked the president-elect for his commitment to finding a solution to keep the app accessible in the US, Chew who met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month, is set to attend Monday’s inauguration, the Hill reported.
While the app’s message and Trump’s remarks suggest the app could be revived in the US soon, it remains unclear exactly what that would look like and how long a divestiture deal could take to hammer out.
JUST IN - TikTok officially goes offline in the US. pic.twitter.com/QpJU97grSh
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) January 19, 2025
