Karnataka Govt serves notice to 2 pvt hospitals for not admitting COVID patients; warn others
Bengaluru: Cracking the whip against a few private hospitals and medical colleges for refusing admission to COVID-19 patients, the Karnataka government on Tuesday served notices to two of them and said it would initiate criminal proceedings.
"Despite many rounds of meetings with private hospitals to join hands with the government in treating COVID-19 patients, a few hospitals continue to refuse admission," Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar told reporters here.
"Two private hospitals, Apollo Jayanagar and Vikram Hospital have been served notices and their Out Patient Departments have been ordered to be shut for two days as per the Disaster Management Act and Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act. We will initiate criminal proceedings against them," he said.
The Minister said strict action would be taken against private hospitals, including the filing of criminal cases if they were found charging more than the government capped prices.
He said private hospitals should respect the law and refrain from exploiting people by charging exorbitant prices.
He cited the case of a hospital which he however did not name, as having billed a COVID-19 patient Rs nine lakh.
The Minister said he had held a meeting with 25 private medical colleges, who had not yet established COVID testing labs.
"These private medical colleges assured the government that they would start labs within 10 days. Notices have been issued to two private medical colleges - SDUMC, Kolar, and Siddartha Medical College, Tumakuru.
He said a minimum of 500 tests would have to be conducted each day in a lab in the coming days.
"Three hospitals -- Sapthagiri Hospital, BGS Hospital, and Dr.Ambedkar Hospital -- have not reserved their quota of beds and have said they will do so in two or three days," he said.
The government also decided to pay a risk allowance of Rs 10,000 for the next six months, together with salaries, to Group D health department employees working in COVID wards, COVID care centers, swab collection centers, and fever clinics.
The minister said a dashboard has been created where the public can view real-time data about the availability of beds in hospitals in Bengaluru.
He said 1,419 posts of nurses, 506 lab technicians, 916 pharmacists, and D-group positions are vacant.
Deputy Commissioners have been authorized to appoint them on contract basis or sub-contract basis for six months, 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.
