Karnataka Minister rules out possibility of community transmission of COVID-19 in state
Bengaluru: Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Monday ruled out the possibility of community spread in the state and said an expert committee is undertaking a study on it.
"There is a larger spread in containment zones. We accept that reality, but that cannot be termed as community spread.
We have already formed an expert committee to study it. Once their report comes, I can say something," he said.
Speaking to reporters here, he noted that Maharashtra, which has four times more cases than Karnataka were saying there was no community spread in that state.
The Central government and Indian Council of Medical Research had also said that the country has not reached the community spread stage, the minister said.
As of July 20 evening, cumulatively 67,420 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 1,403 deaths and 23,795 discharges.
Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 33,229 infections.
Sudhakar, who attended the meeting chaired by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the CM would hold review meetings with Ministers, MLAs, and officials of all eight zones in the city separately on Wednesday and Thursday.
Amid the spike in COVID-19 cases in Bengaluru, Yediyurappa on July 9 had decided to appoint Ministers as in- charge for each zone in the city, aimed at effectively managing the pandemic.
"Booth level committees have been asked to increase the pace of door-to-door survey for early detection of ILI, SARI and vulnerable persons and get them tested," Sudhakar said.
Stating that the meeting did not discuss the extension of lockdown in Bengaluru, the Minister said this meant it would not be extended, as announced by the Chief Minister already.
With the end of lockdown on Wednesday morning, people can resume their daily activities, but all necessary precautionary measure need to be followed, he said.
"By tomorrow evening, all the details will be shared after discussion with the Chief Minister," he said.
Bengaluru urban and rural areas are currently under "complete lockdown" since 8 pm of July 14 and it will be effective till 5 am on July 22, aimed at controlling the spike in COVID cases.
The Chief Minister on Friday had said the lockdown was not the solution for controlling COVID-19 and made it clear that there was no proposal before the government to extend it.
Sudhakar said the National Health Mission (NHM) Doctors' salary would be hiked to Rs 45,000 per month and the state government will bear the cost, adding that ASHA workers' salary would also be hiked soon from the current Rs 6,000.
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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.
