Delta Plus variant: Centre asks Karnataka to take up immediate containment measures
Bengaluru: The Centre has urged Karnataka to take up immediate containment measures, including preventing crowds, conducting widespread testing as well as increasing vaccine coverage on a priority basis in districts where the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 has been detected.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to Karnataka Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar in this regard.
Pointing out that this variant has been found in Mysuru district, the letter dated June 25 said, "the Public Health Response, in this case while broadly remaining the same, has to become more focused and stringent."
"Thus, you are requested to take up immediate containment measures in these districts and clusters including preventing crowds and intermingling of people, widespread testing, prompt tracing as well as vaccine coverage on a priority basis," it said.
The letter also asks the state to ensure that adequate samples of positive persons are sent to the designated laboratories of INSACOG promptly so that the clinical epidemiological correlations can be established.
Similar measures have been suggested to seven states other than Karnataka.
According to INSACOG, the Delta Plus variant which is currently a Variant of Concern (VOC) has characteristics like, increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells, and potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday had held a meeting with senior Ministers and officials and instructed officials to maintain vigil over the "Delta Plus" variant of coronavirus, especially in border districts.
Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday had said there are two cases of Delta plus variant in the state, one in Bengaluru and the other in Mysuru, both with mild symptoms.
Six genome sequencing labs are being set up at Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Hubballi, Mangaluru and Vijayapura.
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.
Video Does Not Show S Jaishankar Being Asked To Leave Trump’s Inauguration
CLAIM: Video shows External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar being asked to leave Trump's inauguration ceremony.
FACT CHECK: The live streaming of the event shows a staffer requesting a photographer, who was taking pictures, to move back from the front row, and not S Jaishankar.
A video from Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony as the 47th president of the United States has surfaced with false claims that it shows External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar being asked to leave the ceremony midway.
BOOM went through the live streaming of the event and found that a staffer was requesting a photographer who was taking pictures, to move back from the front row, and not Jaishankar. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met foreign ministers from Japan and Australia at the ceremony. In the photographs shared from his X handle, Jaishankar can be seen seated in the front row.
A user on X posted the video with the below caption.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Fact Check
The video was streamed live on the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies' official YouTube channel on January 20, 2025.
From the 3:08:30 timestamp of the video, we found that a photographer was capturing moments from Trump's inaugural ceremony from various angles. At one point, she is seen stepping in front of External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, seated in the front row, to take photographs of the event.
After noticing the woman photographer taking pictures from the front row, a staffer came towards her, called the photographer, and requested her to move back. This can be seen from timestamp 3:08:50.
The staffer was then seen leaving the front row shortly after making the request. At the timestamp 3:09:18, the photographer can be seen moving back. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar can be seen remaining seated in his position.
We then zoomed in on the video and was able to establish that it was the woman photographer and not Jaishankar, who was asked to move back. It can also be noticed that the staffer was not looking at Jaishankar, but instead looking at the photographer, as she was taking pictures from a lower angle.
That specific part of the live stream is shown below.
Propagandist spreading disinfo with a clip from #TrumpInauguration where EAM @DrSJaishankar sat in first row superseding many dignitaries showing US-India ties
— Harry Minati (@harryminat1) January 21, 2025
Claims were made that @DrSJaishankar was asked by a lady to go back, it was actually the cameraman not @DrSJaishankar pic.twitter.com/3Qsp8z3xJ8
(This story was originally published by boomlive.in, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
