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Coronavirus: Twelve new Covid-19 cases take Karnataka’s tally to 163
Cops have warned of strict action against those posting hateful pictures, messages and news amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Karnataka recorded 12 more positive cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours taking the total cumulative number to 163. Mysore district accounted for 7 of the new cases taking the total number in the district to 35, even as Bangalore added three more cases to take its tally to 59.
Till now, four people have died due to the dreaded virus in the state while 20 have been discharged after being treated successfully. Among the new cases, four had attended the Markaz event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin.
State medical education minister Dr K Sudhakar hinted that the lockdown could be extended beyond April 14th in the state’s ‘red zones’. The state has identified parts of capital Bangalore, Mysore, Nanjangud, Gauribidnur, Bidar and Mangalore as ‘red zones’ as they account for a bulk of the positive cases in the state.
Speaking to the media, Sudhakar said that they would consult with the Centre and other relevant officials and the state might take a call to lift the lockdown in the ‘red zones’ only in phases.
Bidar police have registered a case against eight Jammatis who had come from Kyrgyzstan and had indulged in religion preaching while travelling on a tourist visa which prohibits it.
Cases have been registered against them in Gandhi Ganj police station in the district.
Meanwhile, a communal poster was allegedly posted in Koyla near Someshwara in Mangalore. The posters in Kannada have gone viral on social media and had barred traders from a particular community from entering the area ‘to prevent the spread of coronavirus until the current situation eases’.
It was alleged that the posters were on the behalf of the majority community in the area. Police are investigating who put up these posters with Dakshina Kannada SP Lakshmi Prasad warning that anybody who tries to incite communal trouble through posters, news and images would face strict action under the law.
In another incident in Bidari village of Mudhol taluk, Bagalkot district, three people belonging to a certain community were seen being beaten up in a video which went viral on social media. Speaking to HT on phone, SP of Bagalkot, Lokesh Jagalasar said, “We have registered an FIR and five persons have been detained, we are interrogating them. Preliminary enquiries have indicated that a mixed group of fishermen who were passing by were attacked by some villagers who were concerned about the spread of coronavirus, especially after some Markaz returnees had tested positive. There does not seem to be any communal angle to it.”
