NEW DELHI: At least one person has died and 200 others have been hospitalized due to an unidentified illness in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reports said Monday.
The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, an ancient city famous for its hand-woven products. Since then, patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness, doctors said.
A 45-year-old man who was hospitalized with symptoms similar to epilepsy and nausea died Sunday evening, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Officials are trying to determine the cause of the illness. So far, water samples from impacted areas haven’t shown any signs of contamination, and the chief minister’s office said people not linked to the municipal water supply have also fallen ill. The patients are of different ages and have tested negative for COVID-19 and other viral diseases such as dengue, chikungunya or herpes.
An expert team deputed by the federal government reached the city to investigate the sudden illness Monday.
State chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy visited a government hospital and met patients who were ill. Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu demanded on Twitter an “impartial, full-fledged inquiry into the incident.”
Andhra Pradesh state is among those worst hit by COVID-19, with over 800,000 detected cases. The health system in the state, like the rest of India, has been frayed by the virus.
Hundreds ill, 1 dead due to unidentified disease in India
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Hundreds ill, 1 dead due to unidentified disease in India
- The illness was detected Saturday evening in Eluru, in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh
- Patients have experienced symptoms ranging from nausea and anxiety to loss of consciousness
Thousands protest Slovak leader Fico over whistleblower office closure and penal code changes
- Rallies took place in 10 communities, including the capital, Bratislava
- Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and people rally often to protest his pro-Russian and other policies
BRATISLAVA: Thousands rallied across Slovakia on Tuesday to protest the latest moves by the government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to dismantle an independent office that protects those who report corruption and other criminal activities and amend the penal code.
Rallies took place in 10 communities, including the capital, Bratislava, where the protesters at Freedom Square had a massage for Fico: “Resign, resign.”
Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and people rally often to protest his pro-Russian and other policies.
This time, people were angered after lawmakers in Parliament loyal to Fico’s coalition government approved a plan to cancel the Whistleblower Protection Office last week despite critical responses to such a move at home and abroad.
In another controversial step, they voted to ban the use of evidence gathered from the suspects who cooperated with law enforcement authorities in exchange for a lower sentence. Such evidence cannot also be used if they lied in any other case.
A banner in the crowd read: “Fico’s government helps mafia.”
Michal Šimečka, the head of the Progressive Slovakia opposition party that organized the rally told the crowd: “Slovakia is the only country where the government approves laws to make life easier for criminals and mafia.”
“Shame, shame,” people chanted.
The opposition charged that the changes were designed to help a prominent ally of Fico, deputy speaker of Parliament Tibor Gašpar, who should face trial on charges of establishing a criminal group.
Protesters called on President Peter Pellegrini, usually an ally of Fico, to veto the changes. Pellegrini has to sign the legislation to become law, but the government has a majority to override it.
Fico’s critics claim that under his government, Slovakia is following the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
László Gubík, head of the Hungarian Alliance, a party that represents the 450,000 strong Hungarian minority in Slovakia, joined the anti-government protest for the first time.
