In Karnataka covid testing and vaccination rates drop along with cases

News Network

October 18, 2021

Bengaluru, Oct 18: The state's Covid-19 case numbers, its testing rates and vaccination figures are converging onto a new low, the latest data shows.

According to a 30-day analysis of the data from the daily Covid-19 bulletins, not only has testing hit a new unprecedented low since the start of the second wave, but resulting discoveries of new cases have also come down.

The number of doses being administered statewide has also come down dramatically. Only 1.75 million doses were administered this past week (from 11 to 17 October), which is 20.17 per cent lower than the vaccinations achieved three weeks ago (between 27 September and 3 October).

Officials said that this is due to increasing pockets of vaccine hesitancy being found across the state. They added that the vaccine rate is expected to pick up as more people become eligible for their second dose. The state’s second dose coverage hit 40.33 per cent on Sunday.

When it comes to testing, the state conducted only 6.2 lakh tests last week, which is 18.9 per cent lower than the 7.68 lakh tests conducted a fortnight ago.

New case numbers have also come down. The state found 2,342 new cases this past week (it had found 3,139 cases the week before that). Out of these, 326 new cases were recorded on Sunday, of which 173 (or 53 per cent) were found in Bengaluru Urban. The numbers, coupled with 380 new discharges on Sunday, leave the state’s active caseload at 9,450.

The next highest cases on Sunday were recorded in Mysuru district (42 cases), Dakshina Kannada (22 cases), and Tumakuru district (17 cases).

Death

Four new fatalities were also disclosed in Sunday’s bulletin. Among them was an 80-year-old man who succumbed to the disease after the longest bout - a record 280 days. The patient who is from Mysuru was first diagnosed with the disease on January 6. He died on October 13 at a government hospital. He had symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and also suffered from diabetes and hypertension.

Child cases

Last week, the state recorded 105 cases of pre-teens (0-9) infected with the novel coronavirus, which is higher than the 98 cases recorded a fortnight ago. In comparison, while the state recorded 379 cases of teens (10-19) this week, this is lower than the 594 cases found two weeks ago.

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Film on Gaza girl ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ receives Oscar nomination

News Network

January 23,2026

The Voice of Hind Rajab, inspired by the tragic final moments of a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category.

Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film recounts the true story of five-year-old Hind Rajab, who lost her life in January 2024 while fleeing Israeli bombardment with her family.

The film features the real audio of Hind’s desperate call to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, where she pleaded for help moments before the vehicle she was in was struck by 355 bullets.

The haunting narrative begins with a brief call made from the besieged Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza, where gunfire and armored vehicles drowned out every sound.

After witnessing the brutal killing of her family, she made a trembling call, her voice reduced to a whisper as she spoke of the massacre and her unbearable loneliness as the sole survivor.

Premiering at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2025, The Voice of Hind Rajab garnered widespread acclaim, receiving a record-setting 23-minute standing ovation and the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second-highest honor.

In her acceptance speech, Ben Hania dedicated the film to humanitarian workers and first responders in Gaza, emphasizing that Hind's voice symbolizes countless civilians affected by war.

She aims to give voice to victims often reduced to mere statistics, highlighting the broader suffering of civilians in war zones.

The film’s Oscar nomination underscores its powerful storytelling and ethical approach to depicting real-life tragedy, making it a crucial piece of contemporary cinema.

It serves not only as a narration of individual tragedy but also as an artistic and documentary response to the silence and censorship that often overshadow West Asian struggles and wars.

Using an innovative method she calls docufiction, Ben Hania bridges unvarnished reality and narrative structure, creating a work that is both artistically valuable and socially impactful.

Born in 1977 in Sidi Bouzid—later the epicenter of the Arab revolution—her background profoundly influenced her worldview and artistic approach.

She is a graduate of the Higher School of Audiovisual Arts of Tunis, Pantheon-Sorbonne University, and La Fémis in Paris, where her studies equipped her with the technical and theoretical tools needed to address complex subjects.

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