Karnataka govt to appoint 700 lab technicians to ramp up testing
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has decided to appoint 700 lab technicians and equal number of data entry operators on contract basis to ramp up testing in various districts, aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19.
"To maximise the testing by completely utilizing the capacity of COVID-19 labs, it has been decided to appoint 700 lab technicians and equal number of data entry operators immediately," Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar tweeted.
According to the proceedings of the government, these lab technicians and data entry operators are for conducting Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT), and their appointment will be for the period of 6 months or until further orders.
A total of 13,50,792 samples have been tested so far, out of which 36,936 were tested on Friday alone.
Among the samples tested today 22,164 were rapid antigen tests.
Sudhakar in another tweet said stringent action will be taken against private hospitals which do not cooperate with Arogyamithras (nodal officer) deployed by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust.
Non-cooperation with Arogyamithras, who facilitate triage and ensure that information on bed availability is updated on dashboard, will not be tolerated, he added.
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24 killed as bus plunges into river in B'desh, search on for missing
Dhaka, Mar 26 (PTI): At least 24 people were killed and several others remain missing after a bus plunged into a river in Bangladesh while attempting to board a transport ferry, officials said on Thursday.
The accident occurred in the southwestern district of Rajbari at the Dauladia terminal when the bus fell into the Padma River at about 5.15 pm on Wednesday, officials said.
They estimate that the Dhaka-bound bus was carrying around 40 passengers, including several children, most of whom were returning to the capital after their Eid holidays.
According to local fire service officials, 24 bodies have been recovered.
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Twenty-two bodies were recovered from inside the bus, including 11 women, six men and five children.
“(Salvage vessel) Hamza retrieved the bus with its cranes,” fire service official Sohel Rana told reporters at the scene.
He added that the divers earlier recovered bodies of two women in their late 50s or early 60s and found the others as the bus was salvaged at around Wednesday midnight after six hours of efforts amid rough weather.
Fire service and coastguard divers continued their search for the missing people with military and police assistance, according to Rana.
According to Rajbari district administration officials, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman called them for updates on the salvage campaign and ordered an investigation into the accident.
Police and witnesses earlier said about 11 passengers managed to swim ashore or were rescued, but most others remained missing.
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“When the bus was heading towards the ferry from the pontoon, another smaller utility ferry hit the pontoon. It plunged into the river as the bus driver lost control of the steering,” the terminal’s supervisor Monir Hossain said.
“Right before our eyes, the bus fell into the river, but we could do nothing,” he added.
Doctors at Dauladia Health Complex said two women were brought dead while another woman, herself a doctor, received treatment.
According to witnesses and officials, many of the passengers were members of the same family. While several of them survived as they stood outside, their relatives were on the bus as it drowned.
