Coronavirus: Karnataka To Test Journalists Covering COVID-19 In Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government is set to test all journalists covering coronavirus cases in Bengaluru, according to media reports on Thursday morning. There are approximately around 1000 journalists covering the coronavirus pandemic in the city. According to media reports, 200 journalists would be tested per day.

The Karnataka government decision to test journalists covering coronavirus comes in the wake of reports that more than 50 journalists tested positive for coronavirus in Mumbai. Many of them were photojournalists covering stories related to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, mainly in Mumbai.

Similarly, around 30 journalists in Chennai have reportedly tested positive for coronavirus and have been sent to an isolation facility.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also announced testing for all journalists covering the outbreak of coronavirus in the national capital. According to media reports, the testing of journalists in the national capital has already started.

Doctors, healthcare professionals, police personnel and journalists are among the frontline staff of those vulnerable to the threat of exposure to coronavirus. In Mumbai more than 250 healthcare personnel including several doctors, have tested positive for coronavirus.

Police personnel in several parts of the country have tested positive or have had to be quarantined due to suspected exposure to COVID-19 patients. A police official in Madhya Pradesh and a senior police official in Punjab succumbed to the deadly pandemic recently. They were both in the frontline of combating the COVID-19 pandemic.