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Mangaluru, Sept 8: Dancer Kishore Shetty, who is a key accused in drug case, has claimed that Kannada's star anchor Anushree too used to consume drugs along with them at parties.

“Anushree used to take drugs while practicing dance during rehearsals of a reality show,” he said.

In last September Anushree was questioned in connection with a drugs case involving dancer-choreographer Kishore Aman Shetty. Anushree, who appeared before the police, was interrogated for three-and-a-half hours.

Anushree had told the probe team that she knew Tarun Raj, a close friend of Shetty, who is also an accused in the drug case, for the last 12 years. He had done dance choreography for her for six months.

The anchor said she had no links with Tarun Raj on drug use and had not attended any party with him, the sources added.

Mangaluru, Sept 6: Undergoing covid-19 test is now mandatory for all staff of hotels and restaurants under the limits of Mangaluru City Corporation.

The MCC took this decision in the wake of surge in covid-19 cases in the coastal city which shares its borders with Kerala.

MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar said that for public convenience, all the Urban Healthcare Centres in MCC limits have been conducting Covid-19 tests in the evening. 

The general public, including staff of hotels and restaurants can make use of the Covid testing facilities. 

Bengaluru, Sept 10: Experts have urged the Karnataka government to take measures to prevent reinfections of coronavirus as the people are gearing up for the festive season of October-November. They also have sought a third dose of the covid-19 vaccine during the year-end months to effectively protect people. 

Those who were infected during the second wave of covid-19 in summer this year may be vulnerable to reinfections as the antibodies could wane after six months, experts said.

They also predicted about 10 per cent of breakthrough infections, that is when the coronavirus overpowers the antibodies induced by a vaccine. 

Cases have been on the rise in isolated parts of the world, mainly due to the infectious Delta variant of the virus. This surge has renewed focus on a widely predicted third wave of infections in India, with children reportedly being the key targets.

“It is important to keep a close watch on the situation till November mainly because of the possibility of a surge in reinfection,” said Dr MK Sudarshan, chairman, state Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). He further sought adequate measures from the government to arrest a surge while advising people to not let their guard down. 

The coming months become more crucial as the massive infections in the second wave leave a big part of the population susceptible to reinfections. As many as 16 lakh people contracted the virus in the state in April and May alone, about half of them in Bengaluru. 

Sudarshan told the publication that by November, a clearer picture of the pandemic may appear but until then, all precautions have to be taken seriously. 

These expert alarms also come amid increasing pressure on the state government to ease restrictions amid the festive season, like the night curfew, which has been extended till the month-end by Basavaraj Bommai administration. 

As previously reported, a third wave, if struck, won't be as deadly as the second since a significant number of people have been inoculated with at least one dose of vaccine. And experts say reinfections or breakthrough cases won't nearly be as serious and may not even require hospitalisation. 

Virologist T Jacob John called for a third dose of the vaccine, or also called the 'booster shots' in other parts of the world, to prevent infections. "With the present supply and a little ramping up of production, the government can easily ensure the continuation of the vaccination drive and cover everyone with a third dose,” said John, expecting demand worries to ease in November following the expected completion of first-dose vaccination of the target population. 

Health officials told the publication that they are awaiting a signal from the Centre on further guidelines. “We have no instructions either from the Centre or ICMR on measures like a third dose. We have to see how it pans out in October-November and take steps based on the emerging situation,” said K V Trilok Chandra, Health Commissioner.