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Covid-19 cases in India rise to 90.9 lakh; death toll at 1.33 lakh

COVID-19 India
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): India’s Covid-19 tally today rose to 90.9 lakh with 45,209 new infections recorded in the last 24 hours. 1.33 lakh people have died due to the disease so far, according to the latest data available with the Ministry of Health.

India has recorded 90,95,806 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 1,33,227 deaths so far, with 501 deaths reported since yesterday. Apart from that, 85,21,617 patients have recovered from the virus. There are 4,40,962 active cases in the country as of date, which comprises 4.85 percent of the total caseload.

Maharashtra remains the worst affected state followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The number of cases are rising rapidly in states like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

India’s recovery rate stands at 93.69 percent and continues to improve.

Meanwhile, the Centre today rushed high-level teams to Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to support these States in COVID response and management, the Health Ministry said.

These States have been either reporting a rise in the number of active cases i.e. those who are hospitalized or are in home isolation under medical supervision, or demonstrating a rise in the daily new cases.

The three-member teams will visit the districts reporting high number of COVID cases and support the State efforts towards strengthening containment, surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control measures, and efficient clinical management of the positive cases. The Central teams shall also guide in effectively managing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow up.

Earlier the Union Government has sent the high level teams to Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Manipur, and Chhattisgarh.

India’s present active caseload (4,40,962) has further declined to 4.85% of the total Positive Cases, and has been sustained below the 5% mark. The Recovery Rate has improved to 93.69% today as the country registered 43,493 new recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the total recovered cases to 85,21,617.

The gap between Recovered cases and Active cases is steadily increasing and presently stands at 80,80,655, the Health Ministry said.

As per the Health Ministry, 26 States/UTs have less than 20,000 active cases, as on date. 7 States/UTs have active cases between 20,000 and 50,000 whereas Maharashtra and Kerala are reporting more than 50,000 caseload.

77.68% of the new recovered cases is contributed by ten States/UTs. Delhi saw 6,963 persons recovering from COVID. Kerala and Maharashtra reported 6,719 and 4,088 new recoveries respectively.

Ten States/UTs have contributed 76.81% of the new cases. In the last 24 hours, 45,209 persons were found to be infected with COVID. Delhi reported 5,879 cases in the last 24 hours. Kerala recorded 5,772 new cases while Maharashtra reported 5,760 daily cases yesterday.

Apart from that, 15 States and UTs are reporting less than the national average of cases per million population. 76.45% of the 501 case fatalities that have been reported in the past 24 hours are from Ten States/UTs.

22.16% of new fatalities reported are from Delhi which reported 111 deaths. Maharashtra saw a fatality count of 62 while West Bengal reported another 53.

13 States and UTs are reporting higher than the national average of fatality rate (1.46%). 14 States and UTs have more deaths per million population than the national average (96).

-ARK

Drug-resistant infections could cause upto 10 mn deaths every year by 2050: CSE

New Delhi (NVI): Antibiotic-resistant infections could increase to 10 million deaths every year by 2050 – which would mean about 27,400 lives per day or about 1,140 lives per hour, according to Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

Currently, these drug-resistant bugs lead to about 7,00,000 deaths a year globally.

These numbers, quoted by CSE today at a high-level webinar of experts on antimicrobial resistance, spell out how critical the problem is for the world today.

The webinar – titled One-Health Action to Preserve Antibiotics – was organised by CSE to mark the ongoing Antimicrobial Awareness Week, announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) from November 18-24.

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, a top 10 global public health threat, according to WHO, which is raising awareness and promoting ways forward with this awareness week.

Risks arise when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and don’t respond to the drugs that have been developed to keep them in check.

Resistance is increasing, partly because antimicrobials have been overused since their discovery, and partly because poor sanitation and hygiene allow resistant strains to spread.

COVID-19 has added another layer, with antibiotics being prescribed to people around the world, even though it is caused by a virus, not by a bacteria, the WHO says.

In addition to this, AMR could also cost the global economy as much as USD 100 trillion between now and 2050, according to the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations, IFPMA.

Opening the virtual meet of experts from across the world, CSE Director General Sunita Narain said, “Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, has emerged today as a full-blown chronic pandemic. At a time when the world is fighting the COVID-19 crisis, marking a week to build awareness on AMR is a welcome step.”

“It indicates that the world is waking up to this massive health crisis, that it is getting ready, because COVID-19 has taught us what havoc can be wrought by unprepared responses to a pandemic,” she added.

Narain further stated, “The AMR pandemic is a silent killer, but as grave a threat as climate change. This explains why it does not invoke panic among people, though the damage it causes is similar in scale to what the world is witnessing these days.”

Furthermore, she said, “It is clear that it is the developing world which is going to be hugely impacted by this threat. The world will never be able to contain AMR unless stakeholders from all sectors such as human health, animal, environment, crops, food and drug come forward and act as one, in the spirit of a true One-Health approach.”

CSE researchers say that a lack of dedicated budgets allocated by country governments for addressing AMR is another obstacle – this breeds dependence on donor agencies, says Rajeshwari Sinha, Deputy Programme Manager of CSE’s Food Safety and Toxins Programme.

“This indicates that the political commitment being talked about is still largely on paper,” she added.

CSE, which has been working for a few years now to understand this health threat, presented a set of recommendations at today’s webinar:

– Ban antibiotics in growth promotion
– Regulate over-the-counter sales of antibiotics and restrict mass disease prevention strategies (group preventative use)
– Limit the use of critically important antibiotics – preserve those with highest priority for human use
– Reduce the need for chemicals by focusing on animal husbandry, bio-security etc
– Reduce dependence on intensive systems of food production
– Manage waste from farms
– Bring in policies and guidelines on bio-security, sanitation, waste management etc
– Initiate surveillance and monitoring of waste and effluents, litter etc
– Introduce standards for antibiotics in waste needed – antibiotics in waste from commercial entities must be categorised as hazardous
– Increase capacity of environmental regulators

-CHL

Pak resorts to unprovoked CFV along LoC in J&K’s Poonch, injure civilians

Representational image

Srinagar (NVI): In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistan Army today resorted to heavy unprovoked ceasefire violation (CFV) in Degwar, Malti and Dallan areas in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, causing injuries to civilian, defence officials said.

The Pakistani troops targeted civil areas causing injuries to civilians at around 6.15 pm. They fired with small arms and continued intense shelling with mortars along the LoC, officials added.

The official further stated, “The Indian Army retaliated befittingly.”

In Rajouri district also, Pakistani Army violated ceasefire in Nowshera sector at about 6 pm.

-CHK

Huge turnout at funeral of Pakistani extremist cleric who advocated Nuke attack on France

Islamabad (NVI): Flouting all coronavirus protocols, tens of thousands of people today gathered in Lahore to attend the funeral of extremist Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who was strongly advocating violence against France, including nuking the country, over the controversy related to Prophet Mohammad cartoons.

Significantly, the Imran Khan government allowed the huge congregation even as the Prime Minister and his ministerial colleagues have been citing coronovirus norms to slam the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) over its plans to hold a rally in Peshawar tomorrow.

Rizvi, the leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), died two days back, close on the heels of leading huge rallies against France over President Emmanuel Macron’s defence of his country’s freedom of speech in the wake of the killing of a teacher who had shown caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in his class.

Interestingly, the death of Rizvi, who was 54, is shrouded in mystery, with some reports suggesting that he had died due to coronvarius.

Pakistani activists and thinkers, while posting videos of the funeral, slammed the government decision to allow such huge gathering amidst coronavirus while some voiced concern over such huge following for an extremist, wondering whether it was the same country envisioned by founder M A Jinnah.

“Meanwhile, under our govt’s nose, a massive funeral was held today for a cleric who justified vigilante killing to avenge blasphemy & demanded France be nuked. Our army’s exploitation of Islamic institutions, from Zia era on, turned theological conflicts into ticking time bombs,” tweeted political analyst Tabinda Khan.

Mona S, another political analyst, tweeted, “I have a question: if #KhadimHussainRizvi has died of #corona, as has been told by his family, why didn’t Punjab govt ensure that his funeral followed #covid19 SOPs? Why wasn’t his deadbody in a coffin, next of kin(s) wearing PPEs & a handful of ppl allowed at the final rites?”

Social activist Asad Ali Toor tweeted, “How we lost Jinnah’s Pakistan: Terrifying to see how many people radicalise by #KhadimRizvi and state of #Pakistan happily allowed them to offer funeral at a place where 80 years ago leadership of Muslim League gathered & first time unveiled plan of foundation of a Muslim state!”

In another tweet, he said, RIP Jinnah’s #Pakistan, and let’s accept we are living in Gen Zia’s Pakistan!”

Gen Zia-ul Haq was a military leader who had seized power in a coup in 1977 by overthrowing the elected government of Z.A Bhutto and led the country towards extreme radicalisation.

“Islamophobia in the West is a genuine issue. But when we’re done appropriating the issue to stoke hysteria at home, perhaps we can turn our attention to dealing with our own reactionary policies and the citizens being impacted by them — women, minorities and, yes, Muslims too,” Reem Khurshid, another Pakistani twitterati.

Nagrota Encounter: Hunt on for contacts of slain Pakistani terrorists

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Police and security agencies have launched a massive hunt to track down the local contacts of four Pakistani terrorists, killed in Nagrota two days back, to unearth the exact plan masterminded by Rauf Asgar, brother of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, in collusion with ISI.

Security agencies are also trying to find out if there are any more terror modules out to cause disruptions during the upcoming elections to District Development Councils (DDCs).

So far, it has been established that the four terrorists, who were intercepted and neutralised in an encounter at a Toll plaza in Nagrota on Thursday morning, belonged to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit and were on their way to Kashmir in a truck for some big “mission”, official sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, “Neutralising of 4 terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed and the presence of large cache of weapons and explosives with them indicates that their efforts to wreak major havoc and destruction have once again been thwarted.”

However, while the four terrorists were killed, the driver of the truck, in which they were being ferried to Kashmir, has escaped and is still at large.

Investigations so far have revealed that the terrorists had been picked up by the truck some kilometres from the International Border with Pakistan in Samba in Jammu province. They are believed to have sneaked in through the riverine area of the border in the darkness of night.

Security agencies are now trying to find out whether they were going to carry out terror attack straightaway somewhere in Kashmir or whether they were to be guided by someone locally.

The truck was obviously to drop them at some destination and the security agencies are trying to find out that, the sources said.

The slain terrorists left behind tell-tale evidence whose linkages go to Pakistan. What was recovered from them, besides large quantity of arms and ammunition, was a Digital Mobile Radio and medicines which are made in Pakistan.

In fact, there were messages on the Digital Mobile Radio in which the sender was asking the terrorists where they had reached, what the situation was and whether they faced any problems.

The medicine strips recovered show markings of companies of Lahore and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. Tags on the pants worn by the terrorists and markings on their shoes also pointed to the Pakistani connection.

According to indications, the terrorists were planning attack on the scale of Pulwama strike, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy on Jammu-Srinagar national highway on February 14, last year.

The possible timing seemed to be around November 26, the anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 when the financial capital of India was targeted in a coordinated manner at multiple places, including the iconic Taj Hotel.

According to the details emerging, the plan was hatched in Bahawalpur headquarters of JeM and the task of its execution was given by ISI to Asgar. Subsequently, four well-trained and highly motivated terrorists were chosen from the Shakargarh camp of JeM for infiltrating into India to carry out the attack to cause maximum possible damage.

The terrorists, when intercepted at the Toll plaza in Nagrota, were given a chance to surrender but they were so intoxicated that they did not give themselves in and were killed in the encounter.

They were carrying a large quantity of arms and ammunition. The recoveries after their killing included 11 AK rifles, 23 loaded magazines, 3 pistols with magazines, 29 grenades (which were left after use of several during the encounter), 10 under-barrel grenade launchers and large quantity of RDX.

With the evidence clearly pointing to Pakistan, India today lodged a strong protest with that country. Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs and told that Pakistan should desist from supporting terrorists and terrorist groups operating on its soil.

The Ministry asserted that the government of India is “firmly and resolutely committed to take all necessary measures to safeguard its national security in the fight against terrorism.”

The protest was lodged a day after the issue was discussed at a top level meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, NSA Ajit Doval and top officials of intelligence agencies.

Mufti stopped by local admin from visiting Rambiara Nalla in J&K’s Shopian

Lubna Fayaz

Srinagar (NVI): Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti today said that Government of India is plundering our resources, after she was stopped from visiting Rambiara Nallah in Shopian district of south Kashmir today.

The PDP chief took to twitter and wrote, “I was stopped from visiting Rambiara Nalla today by local admin. This is where sand extraction through illegal tenders has been outsourced to outsiders & locals are barred from the area.”

“Our land & resources are being plundered by GOI that has nothing but contempt for us,” her tweet further read.

Alleging violation of rights by Centre, Mufti said in another tweet, “This is their warped idea of Naya Kashmir. Sand mafia is operating in broad daylight yet we are expected to remain quiet. As a leader, its my responsibility to articulate these grievances. But BJP is brazenly violating my rights & curbing my movements under guise of ‘security’.”

Earlier today, Mufti had accused the Centre of “sabotaging” the participation of political parties other than the BJP in the DDC polls by not allowing them to campaign freely.

-CHK

AICTE to organize 1000 FDPs from Nov 23

New Delhi (NVI): All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) is going to organize 1,000 online Faculty Development Programmes (FDP) on thrust areas and other emerging areas which aims to benefit one lakh participants.

The inaugural ceremony of 46th AICTE Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy’s Faculty Development Programmes (FDP) will take place on November 23, 2020.

The event will be attended by Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Notably, this will also mark the 500th such FDP.

-CHK

J&K: Pak violates ceasefire in Nowshera sector of Rajouri

Narco smuggling
Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (File Pic)

New Delhi (NVI): Pakistani troops resorted to yet another ceasefire violation this evening in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, defence officials said.

Pakistan Army shelled the forward areas in Rajouri by firing small arms and mortar shelling, officials added.

Officials said, “At around 1800 hours, Pak initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms & shelling with mortars along LoC in Nowshera sector, district Rajouri (J&K),” adding that, “a befitting response was given by the Indian Army.”

Earlier today, an Army soldier was killed while another was injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along LoC in Lam area of Nowshera sector in Rajouri district.

Pakistan has resorted to intense shelling post abrogation of Article 370 last year and continues with frequent unprovoked CFVs in both Kashmir and Jammu regions along LoC.

-CHK

PM to launch multi-storey flats for MPs

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate multi-storeyed flats for Members of Parliament on November 23 via video conferencing.

These flats are located at Dr B D Marg in New Delhi. Eight old bungalows, which were more than 80 years old, have been redeveloped to construct 76 flats, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The construction of these flats has been completed with savings of about 14 percent from the sanctioned cost and without time overrun despite the impact of COVID-19, it added.

On the occasion, the Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla will also be present.

Furthermore, the statement said, several green building initiatives have been incorporated in the construction, including bricks made from fly ash and construction and demolition waste, double glazed windows for thermal insulation and energy efficiency.

“Also, energy efficient LED light fittings, occupancy based sensors for light control, air conditioners with VRV system for low power consumption, low flow fixtures for conservation of water, rainwater harvesting system and rooftop solar plant,” it added.

-RJV

Yemen in imminent danger of world’s worst famine in decades, warns UN

New Delhi (NVI): War-torn Yemen is in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen in decades, United Nations warned.

“In the absence of immediate action, millions of lives may be lost,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said for the country that has endured a five-year war between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and government forces.

A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Houthi group.

Guterres said the reasons for the heightened threat of famine include a sharp drop in funding for the UN-coordinated relief programme, the instability of the Yemeni currency and the warring parties imposing “impediments” for relief organisations.

Furthermore, aid workers have raised fears that if Washington designates the Houthis a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), it could prevent life-saving aid reaching the country.

UN officials are trying to revive peace talks to end the war as the country’s suffering is also worsened by an economic and currency collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United Nations describes Yemen as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 80 per cent of its population in need of help.

In addition to this, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock has said the United Nations has received less than half of what was needed this year – about USD 1.5 billion – for its humanitarian operations in Yemen. Last year it received USD 3 billion.

-CHK

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