K'taka government to conduct mock drills in hospitals after COVID surge in Kerala
Bengaluru: "Today we had a meeting with the officials where directions were issued to purchase testing kits through Karnataka Medical Supplies Corporation. We have asked officials to procure test kits, which includes RT-PCR tests, Rapid Antigen Test and VTM (Viral Transport Medium)," Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters here after a meeting with the officials of the Health department.
Officials have also been instructed to conduct mock drills in all the hospitals to check how many beds including ICU beds, oxygen availability and medicines, he added.
"I have told the officials to be prepared. Though the situation is not like that (alarming) and we should not think in that manner, we should be prepared in case the (COVID like) situation recurs. In the event of any shortcoming, it should be rectified now itself," Rao said.
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The Minister said he has convened a meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee on COVID on Tuesday. The TAC is headed by Dr K Ravi, who is the head of the department of medicine in Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI).
"We should be prepared and not allow a disaster to happen. We were not prepared in the past but after having experienced it we should gear up now itself," Rao said.
This time only those showing symptoms of COVID will be tested and not everyone, the minister said.
He underlined the need to study how the virus and its sub-variants are behaving.
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
