COVID-19 toll breaches 100 mark in Karnataka; Tally of cases rises to 7,734
Bengaluru: The COVID-19 death toll in Karnataka breached the 100-mark as the state on Wednesday reported eight new fatalities and 204 cases, taking the total number of infections to 7,734.
The day also saw 348 patients getting discharged, taking the total recoveries to 4,804, the health department said in its bulletin.
Two men aged 26 and 90 from the city were among the eight who succumbed to the virus, taking the toll in the state to 102.
It said, out of 2,824 active cases, 2,752 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable while 72 in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Of the eight deaths, five, including two women, were from the state capital and one each from Shivamogga, Bidar, and Ballari.
Out of 204 new cases, as many as 106 are returnees from other states, the majority of them from neighboring Maharashtra, while two had come from foreign countries.
Bengaluru Urban accounted for 55 of the cases followed by Yadgir (37) Ballari (29) Kalaburagi 19 and Bidar 12 were among the districts that reported a high number of cases on Wednesday.
The remaining 52 cases were shared by 13 districts.
Udupi district tops the state in the number of confirmed cases with a total of 1,039 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 1,026 and Yadgir 865, and on the positive side, the three also stood in that order in terms of recoveries with 904, 574 and 467 discharges respectively.
A total of 7,531 samples were tested on Wednesday taking the total so far to 4,64,798 and 6,794 reported negative as the cumulative tally rose to 4,46,448.
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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.
