Inter-state travellers responsible for spurt in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru: Minister K Sudhakar
Bengaluru: With the city witnessing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the past few days, the Karnataka government holds inter-state travellers responsible for the spurt in infections, saying those from hot spot states like Maharashtra could have brought the infection.
State Minister for Medical Education K Sudhakar said there was no community transmission of the pandemic, adding if it were to be the case, the number of infections would be running into 'lakhs.'
Sudhakar, in-charge of Karnataka vis-a-vis COVID-19 management, told PTI the spurt in cases was bound to happen, but said the government's "vigilant approach" has slowed down the spread of the virus by two months in this city.
The state capital has so far reported 29,621 positive cases, including 6,540 discharges and 631 deaths.
According to Sudhakar, when the lockdown was eased, people from various parts of the country, including high prevalence states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, came to Karnataka.
"As you know, Bengaluru is a cosmopolitan city. So from every nook and corner people came here. When they came they were not mindful of what they were supposed to do (health precautions, apparently) and they spread the infection," he charged.
The surge in coronavirus cases, according to Sudhakar, was bound to happen in every city and every state because of the global phenomenon of the disease.
However, the government has delayed it by another two months compared to other states as it was "vigilant," he said.
"I am not washing away the government's role. The government can do every bit to contain, to treat them, but citizens should cooperate. Society should actively come forward in controlling this pandemic," he pointed out.
The minister ruled out community spread of the disease in Bengaluru though the city is witnessing a massive scale-up in cases.
Sudhakar maintained that he cannot say that there was a community spread unless there was proper research.
"If that was the case (community spread), it would not have been in thousands, it would have been in lakhs," Sudhakar said.
The spread is still in the first and second levels, and "the third level of the community spread can be prevented with government's proactiveness and mindful conduct of the citizens," he added.
Speaking about the measures taken by the government, Sudhakar said 8,134 local polling booth level task force committees have been constituted, which will play an important role along with the officers of various agencies.
He added that the administration was trying to prevent its spread at the micro level, even as testing of samples has been ramped.
While the government has clamped a lockdown till July 22 to curb the spread of the virus, it will take up various key measures like door-to-door survey, even as citizens venturing out during this time without valid reason is a strict no-no.
By strictly implementing the curbs, the government hopes to break the virus chain.
To a question, the minister ruled out any shortage of life saving drugs related to Coronavirus treatment.
"There is no such shortage. We have enough and more. We have ordered more. Absolutely there is no dearth of medicines," he added.
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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.
