Karnataka rushes to screen passengers, colleagues after Hyderabad man tests positive for Coronavirus
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday said it has taken all required precautionary measures to control the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state and requested people not to panic.
Health Minister B Sriramulu convened a meeting of top officials of his department following information that the man, who tested positive for the virus in Telangana, had travelled from the city.
A Health department official said the man, who was working in Bengaluru, had travelled to Secunderabad on the night of February 21 in a private bus.
"All the passengers (of the bus) and (his) colleagues have been contacted and are under house-quarantine," the official said, adding, passengers who were with him on the flight from Dubai are also being contacted.
Also, people who worked with the techie have been asked to work from home.
"I appeal to people not to fear or panic. The government, the health and family welfare department and medical education department has taken all precautionary measures," Sriramulu told reporters here.
"We have taken precautionary measures at ports, airports and also conducting blood, required tests on people and tourists coming from other places," he said.
According to the minister, till now 39,391 foreign travellers have been screened and blood samples of 245 people collected.
Tests were conducted on 240 people and their result has come out as negative, he said, adding that report of two more was awaited, and "unofficially we have come to know they are also negative."
The condition of the 24-year-old man, who tested positive for the virus, was stable and he was being treated in an isolated ward at the state-run Gandhi hospital in Hyderabad, the Telangana government had said on Monday.
The man, a software engineer who works here, had been to Dubai last month on an official visit, where he is suspected to have contracted the virus.
The minister said, according to the information received, the IT employee working in Bengaluru had gone to Dubai on February 16.
When he was tested on his return at the airport here, the result was negative, the minister said.
The man then travelled from Bengaluru to Hyderabad by bus after staying here for a couple of days.He had fever thereafter, contacted doctors there and tested postive for the infection, Sriramulu said.
About 23 people, who travelled with him, and his roommates have been screened and tests are being conducted as precautionary measure, according to sources.
There were 92 flats in the apartment in which he was staying and tests and precautionary measures are being taken regarding all of them, the minister said.
To a question about the company where he worked, Medical education minister K Sudhakar said the firm has been informed and it will ask their employees to work from home.
Meanwhile,budget carrier IndiGo in a statement said, four crew members, who were with the virus-infected passenger on the February 20 Dubai-Bengaluru flight, were under observation at home since March 2.
Stating that two labs have been set up by the department for blood and other related tests, Sriramulu asserted that the health and family welfare and medical education departments have taken precautionary measures.
The minister said 630 beds have been kept ready in government hospitals while 1,689 in private hospitals to serve the purpose of isolation wards.
Citing five confirmed cases of the virus in the country so far, three from Kerala and the latest-one each in Delhi and Telangana, he said his department was taking all precautionary measures and will work round the clock to prevent the disease from entering the state.
All the three Kerala patients were discharged from hospitals last month following recovery.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
