QBengaluru: State Records Highest Single-day COVID Spike & More

Here’s a round-up of the latest news from Bengaluru and Karnataka.

Many healthcare workers have observed that some of the COVID-19 patients start to show signs of recovery, behave normally and then collapse rapidly without leaving scope for intervention.

(Photo: PTI)

1. Karnataka Sees 54 Cases in 24 Hours, Highest Single-day Spike So far

Karnataka recorded its highest-ever 24-hour rise in COVID-19 cases on Sunday, 10 May, with 54 cases, reported The Times of India. With this increase, there are 848 registered cases in the state.

According to the report, forty of the new cases have an interstate travel history, which is a new trend in the state. After Sunday’s update, Belagavi became the district that recorded the second-highest number of cases with 113 patients. In Shivamogga, which had not reported a single case, eight people tested positive.

“A large chunk of the COVID-positive cases reportedly got infected in Ajmer. The Ajmer-returned-infected patients include 19 women and eight children,” a health official told TOI.

2. COVID-19: After Outrage, Karnataka Hikes Stipends of Resident Docs

Despite fighting on the frontlines of COVID-19, resident doctors are paid the lowest stipends in the country. Image used for representational purpose.(Photo: Sourced by The Quint)

In a huge relief to over 8,000 resident doctors in Karnataka, the state government has decided to hike the monthly stipends to be paid to interns and postgraduate doctors, The Quint reported.

The stipends had been last revised in 2015, and doctors complained that their stipends were far lower than their counterparts in other states.

Speaking to the press, medical education minister R Sudhakar said that a long-standing demand of the frontline workers was being met. “For interns, we hiked the stipend to Rs 30,000. For PG students of 1-3 years, we have hiked it to Rs 45,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 55,000 respectively. We have also hiked the stipends for doctors doing their super-specialty,” he said.

3. Flash Protest in Bengaluru After Woman Corporator Alleges ‘Harassment’ by Cop

A police check post in Bengaluru. (Photo: Prajwal Hedge)

A flash protest was held on Sunday morning in front of Chamrajpet Police Station in Bengaluru by supporters of KR Market ward corporator Nazima Khan after she was allegedly ‘harassed’ by a police official, reported The News Minute.

According to the report, the protesters, most of whom were women, sat outside the police station on Sunday morning after they came to know of the news that the corporator had allegedly been harassed by the station’s police inspector Kumaraswamy with regards to lockdown measures.

A staff member of the office of the corporator, Nazima Khan was blocked by the police official on Saturday while she was returning from the hospital at night and was allegedly forced to walk home.

4. Retired Govt Employee, Wife Murdered at Home

A 65-year-old retired government employee and his wife were found murdered at their house at RBI Layout in JP Nagar on Sunday evening, reported The Hindu. The deceased have been identified as Govindappa and his 55-year-old wife Shanthamma.

“The assailants entered the house late in the evening and stabbed the couple to death. The incident came to light when their son returned home,” a senior police officer told The Hindu.

The police suspect a property dispute between family members as the motive. Their son lived with them but was reportedly not at home during the attack. Police have formed a special team to investigate the case.

5. Govt Launches Helpline to Address Complaints of Fee Hikes By Private Schools

CBSE has sought data from private schools about their fee structure and fee hike in recent years. (Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

According to a report in The News Minute, The Karnataka government has launched a new helpline to help parents and staff of private educational institutions to lodge complaints of harassment by school managements.

This helpline comes after several schools have hiked the fees despite a government order prohibiting such hikes. Parents have alleged that they are now being asked to pay the fees in full, and are being sent reminders about the deadline within which they needed to pay the hiked fee.

The helpline numbers launched are 080-23320311 (landline) and [phone] (mobile). Apart from the helpline numbers, there will also be an email ID for parents to lodge their complaints: [e-mail].