Two more test positive, Coronavirus infected cases go up to 10 in Karnataka
Bengaluru: Two more persons tested positive for COVID-19 late last night, taking the number of infected cases to 10 in Karnataka, Health Department officials said on Tuesday.
"We have got 2 more #COVID2019 cases in Karnataka taking the total number of confirmed cases to 10", Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu tweeted.
"Both are admitted in designated isolation hospital".
One is a 20-year-old woman who travelled from the UK and another was a 60-year-old "contact" of the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who became the countrys first Coronavirus casualty last week, officials said.
Earlier on Monday, a 32-year-old man who returned from the US via London earlier this month tested positive for Coronavirus, making it the eighth case in Karnataka.
He was on home quarantine, and has now been admitted in isolation facility. "He has returned from US via London on 8th March 2020.
(Same flight as Patient number-4 who was tested positive), officials said.
The Government on Monday decided to create "war-rooms" in state-run medical colleges-district hospitals in its fight against the COVID-19.
There are a total of 17 districts where there are government medical colleges attached with hospitals.
Such medical colleges-government hospitals would themselves act as "war-rooms" to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak, according to Medical Education Minister Sudhakar K.
"In each medical colleges-government hospitals, a separate 150-200 bed zone will be created (to deal with such cases)", he said after a meeting with Directors of Government-run medical colleges on Monday.
Health department officials said in the remaining 13 districts, the government would reach out to private medical colleges and hospitals to join hands to contain the spread of the virus.
Karnatakas 10 coronavirus positive cases include that of a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who died "due to co- morbidity and has also tested positive for COVID-19" last week.
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EC organises cultural programmes, taps vlogger, para-cyclist to boost voter turnout in Assam
Guwahati (PTI): Special initiatives ranging from roping in a popular vlogger and a para-cyclist as campaign icons to organising street plays and rangoli competitions have been launched across Assam to encourage maximum voter participation in the assembly polls.
The initiatives are being carried out under the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme as per the directions of the Election Commission, an official statement said.
"With the objective of enhancing voter turnout and spreading awareness about citizens' fundamental democratic rights and responsibilities, a wide range of activities are being organised across the state under the supervision of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)," it said.
As part of the campaign, authorities are organising street plays, drawing and rangoli competitions, slogan-writing contests, digital poster-making events, wall-writing drives, news presentation competitions and workshops, among other creative awareness programmes.
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Several districts have also introduced unique mascots and enlisted popular local personalities as SVEEP icons to connect with voters more effectively.
Among the mascots introduced are 'Bakhar' in Lakhimpur, 'Ganabandhu' in Sonitpur, 'Jolou' in Jorhat, 'Chameli' in Golaghat, and 'Dwimlu' and 'Sikhiri' in Kokrajhar.
To reach out to younger voters, Jorhat district has enlisted popular Northeast vlogger Abhinav Borah, known by his social media handle 'LazyGuy', as a campaign face. In Lakhimpur, actor Rajiv Duwari has been designated as an SVEEP icon.
Rakesh Banik, regarded as the first international para-cyclist from the Northeast, will also promote voter awareness through various outreach programmes across districts, the statement said.
Expressing optimism about a higher turnout, CEO Anurag Goel appealed to all voters in the state to exercise their democratic right.
Polling for the 126-member assembly will be held on April 9, while the votes will be counted on May 4.
