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India’s COVID tally crosses 81-lakh mark, death toll tops 1,21,600

COVID tally
File photo

New Delhi (NVI): India’s coronavirus tally crossed the 81-lakh mark and currently stands at 81,37,119 with a single rise of 48,268 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, Union Health Ministry confirmed.

The country’s death toll has reached to 1,21,641 with 551 fatalities reported during this period.

Notably, 74,32,829 patients have been cured and recovered all over the country while active cases stands at 5,82,649. With this, the recovery rate further improves to 91 per cent.

In worst-affected Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases climbed to 16,72,858, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 8,20,565 cases, and Karnataka with 8,20,398 positive cases.

Other states with a high virus hit included Tamil Nadu (7,22,011), Uttar Pradesh (4,80,082), Kerala (4,25,122) and Delhi (3,81,644).

Moreover, of the total deaths, Maharashtra tops the tally with 43,837 fatalities, followed by Tamil Nadu with 11,091 deaths.

The death toll in the national capital rose to 6,470, while 4,48,644 patients in Delhi have recovered so far, the healthy ministry data shows

Meanwhile, The Centre, asked the states to form committees for coordination and monitoring of COVID-19 vaccination drives, while making sure that there are minimal disruptions in other routine healthcare services, as per the reports.

 

-RJV

PM Modi pays tribute to Sardar Patel

PM Modi paying floral tributes to Sardar Patel at Statue of Unity

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to India’s first deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai on his 145th birth anniversary.

The day is observed as National Unity Day or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas since 2014 in the country.

PM Modi who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, reached the Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Patel and paid floral tributes to him.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister tweeted, “A humble tribute to Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the pioneer of national unity and integrity, on his birth anniversary. Tributes to the great Sardar Patel on his Jayanti.”

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad in Gujarat, and he breathed his last on December 15, 1950, in Bombay (now Mumbai) at the age of 75.

Patel is credited for playing a crucial role in the integration of India from 560 princely states. He served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of independent India.

-RJV

Indian Embassy holds a virtual ‘Open House’ in Bahrain

New Delhi (NVI): The Indian Embassy in Bahrain today held a virtual ‘Open House’ in which Indian Ambassador Piyush Srivastava along with consular members interacted with the Indian community to redress their consular and labour issues.

During the interaction, the Ambassador encouraged community members to regularly follow the Embassy’s website and social media accounts for updates regarding COVID-19 related SOPs, travel related information as well as the special drives carried out by the Embassy on closed holidays to expedite the attestation of Educational and Power of Attorney documents.

Ambassador Srivastava also thanked and appreciated the Government of Kingdom of Bahrain for extending the validity of all visit-visas till January 21, 2021. The community members were also encouraged to make use of the current Amnesty provided by Bahrain till December 31, 2020.

Some other grievances of Indians discussed in the open house were resolved and the Ambassador assured that the rest will be followed up.

Furthermore, with the efforts of the Embassy, the weekly cap on the number passengers for travel from India to Bahrain under ‘Air Bubble Arrangement’ has been marginally increased, according to a release by the Indian Embassy.

The Embassy is continuously trying to increase this cap in view of the high demand and increasing number of passengers. Till date, more than 35,000 Indian nationals have travelled from Bahrain to India through various flights under Vande Bharat Mission and over 10,000 Indians have returned from India to Bahrain, the release read.

-CHK

New Zealand votes to legalize euthanasia for terminally-ill patients

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern

New Delhi (NVI): New Zealanders have voted in favor of legalizing euthanasia for people with a terminal illness — clearing the way for the controversial proposition to become law in 2021.

More than 65 per cent of voters backed the proposed law, according to preliminary results of a referendum announced by the country’s electoral commission today.

According to the New Zealand Herald, the new law will allow terminally ill people the opportunity to receive assisted dying upon two doctors’ approval.

The results of the euthanasia referendum are binding and the Act will come into effect 12 months from the final results – on November 6, 2021.

More than 2.4 million people took part in the poll, which was conducted alongside New Zealand’s general election on October 17. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won the election by a landslide, securing a second term and an unprecedented majority for her center-left Labour Party.

In addition to this, New Zealanders were also asked to vote on whether cannabis should be legalized — 53.1 per cent said no.

The law contains several stipulations for those eligible to receive “assisted dying.”

To get access to euthanasia, terminal patients with six or fewer months to live will have to be at least 18 years old and be a permanent New Zealand resident or citizen.

Notably, euthanasia is legal in five other countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada and Colombia. Physician-assisted suicide, in which doctors give patients the means to kill themselves, is legal in Switzerland.

-CHK

Massive earthquake rattles western Turkey and Greece

New Delhi (NVI): A major earthquake in the Aegean Sea rattled parts of Greece and western Turkey today, leveling structures in the western Turkish city of Izmir and severely damaging several residential buildings.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.0 according to the United States Geological Survey, was centered off Samos, a Greek island near the Turkish coast.

However, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said it had a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 with an epicenter 8 miles north-northeast of Samos. It is common for preliminary magnitudes to differ in the early hours and days after a quake. Multiple aftershocks struck the region.

The quake was felt in Istanbul, about 200 miles northeast of Izmir, and in parts of Greece. But much of the initial damage seemed to be centered in Izmir.

At least six buildings were destroyed in Izmir, Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister, said in a tweet.

Izmir is the third-biggest city in Turkey, with around 4.5 million residents.

Meanwhile in Greece, four people sustained minor injuries on the island of Samos, which was also hit by a mini-tsunami following the quake, according to media reports.

People have been advised to stay away from the coastline and away from buildings as aftershocks continue to rattle the area.

There is no immediate information on casualties following the earthquake.

-CHK

Fact check: Claim of Chinese troops transgressing further into Indian territory is fake

New Delhi (NVI): Indian Army today refuted a media report which claimed that Chinese troops have further transgressed into the Indian territory at Pangng Tso (lake) in eastern Ladakh.

The Fact Check Unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) busted the fake news story carried by a prominent publication.

The publication, in its story, had quoted BJP MP Tupstan Chhewang to attribute the claims of China’s PLA occupying positions in Finger 1 and Finger 2.

Debunking the claims, Press Information Bureau (PIB) in a tweet wrote, “@the_hindu citing a claim, has published that Chinese troops have further transgressed into Indian territory and occupied positions in Finger 2 and 3 of the north bank of #PangongTso Lake.

#PIBFactCheck: It is a #Fake news. @adgpi has refuted this statement.”

-CHK

Missile successfully fired by INS Kora at ‘max range’, hits target with accuracy

New Delhi (NVI): Anti-Ship missile (AShM), test-fired successfully from Guided Missile Corvette INS Kora, hit its target at maximum range with precise accuracy in the Bay of Bengal today.

In a tweet, the Spokesperson of the Indian Navy said, “#AShM fired by #IndianNavy’s Guided Missile Corvette #INSKora hits the target at max range with precise accuracy in #BayofBengal. Target ship severely damaged & in flames. #IndianNavy #MissionDeployed & #CombatReady. #StrikeFirst #StrikeHard #StrikeSure.”

The Indian Navy also tweeted pictures showing the missile hitting the target ship and flames rising up in the sky.

Earlier on October 23, Indian Navy shared a video showing an anti-ship missile (AShM) launched by its Missile Corvette INS Prabal with deadly accuracy at maximum range and sinking the target ship.

The previous test was conducted in the Arabian Sea, according to the official spokesperson.

Furthermore, an anti-submarine Warfare Corvette “INS Kavaratti” was also recently commissioned into the Indian Navy.

Kavaratti has state-of-the-art weapons and sensor suite capable of detecting and prosecuting submarines. In addition to its anti-submarine warfare capability, the ship also has a credible self-defence capability and good endurance for long-range deployments.

-CHK

J&K govt increases limit of pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi shrine to 15,000 per day

New Delhi (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir government has increased the maximum limit of pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine from 7,000 to 15,000 per day, to come into effect from November 1.

The order issued by J&K government stated, “Instead of a ceiling of 7,000 mentioned at para 3(ix), the upper limit for permissible number of pilgrims to SMVD Shrine, Katra, shall be 15,000, w.e.f. 01.11.2020.”

The order also said that the requirement for travelers to undergo 14-day home quarantine as mentioned at Para 6 shall be deleted. “All other protocol or instructions shall continue to remain valid till 30.11.2020,” it added.

 

Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary has issued guidelines to extend lockdown in containment zones in Jammu and Kashmir till November 30. The unlock guidelines will remain in place outside containment zones. These guidelines were issued under Section 24 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Earlier, the limit of pilgrims visiting the Vaishno Devi Shrine was increased from 5,000 to 7,000 per day ahead of Navratri festival.

Reportedly, during the nine days of Navratri, more than 39,000 devotees have visited Mata Vaishno Devi on the hill of Trikuta in Jammu and Kashmir from October 17 to October 25.

However, all religious places in the union territory were reopened from August 16, almost after five months of the outbreak of COVID-19.

-RJV

Fin Commission concludes deliberations

New Delhi (NVI): The Fifteenth Finance Commission, headed by Chairman N K Singh, today concluded their deliberations on the report for the year 2021-2022 to 2025-2026.

The Report was signed by Singh and Members of the Commission, Ajay Narayan Jha, Prof. Anoop Singh, Dr Ashok Lahiri and Dr Ramesh Chand, according to a statement by Finance Commission.

However, the Commission had sought time to present its report to the President of India and it has now been decided that the report will be submitted on November 9, the statement added.

Furthermore, the Commission will also present a copy of the Report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi later next month.

The Report contains recommendations pertaining to 5 financial years, 2021-22 to 2025-26 and will be tabled in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with an Action Taken Report of the Government of India.

The Commission has finalized their Report after wide-ranging consultations with the Union and State Governments, local governments at different tiers, Chairmen and Members of previous Finance Commissions, Advisory Council to the Commission and other domain experts, academic institutions of eminence and multi-lateral institutions.

-CHK

Pandemics to emerge more often in future, may kill more people than Covid: Report

Coronavirus cases surge past 53.8 mn globally; death toll mounts to 1.3 mn
Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): The pandemics in future will emerge more often, spread more rapidly and will kill more people than COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

This can only be prevented by bringing a transformative change in the global approach to dealing with infectious diseases, warned experts from around the world.

The report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), published in the journal EurekAlert, in which experts agree that escaping the era of pandemics is possible, but that this will require a seismic shift in approach from reaction to prevention.

In the report, the experts explained the link between degradation of nature and increasing pandemic risks.

“COVID-19 is at least the sixth global health pandemic since the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, although it has its origins in microbes carried by animals, like all pandemics its emergence has been entirely driven by human activities,” the IPBES report said.

It is estimated that another 1.7 million currently ‘undiscovered’ viruses exist in mammals and birds – of which up to 850,000 could have the ability to infect people.

“There is no great mystery about the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic or of any modern pandemic, said Peter Daszak, President of EcoHealth Alliance.

“Changes in the way we use land; the expansion and intensification of agriculture; and unsustainable trade, production and consumption disrupt nature and increase contact between wildlife, livestock, pathogens and people. This is the path to pandemics,” he added.

The report also said that, pandemic risk can be significantly lowered by reducing the human activities that drive the loss of biodiversity, by greater conservation of protected areas and through measures that reduce unsustainable exploitation of high biodiversity regions.

However, this will reduce wildlife-livestock-human contact and help prevent the spillover of new diseases. “The overwhelming scientific evidence points to a very positive conclusion,” said Daszak.

Furthermore, the report said that relying on responses to diseases after their emergence, such as public health measures and technological solutions, is a “slow and uncertain path”, underscoring both the widespread human suffering and the tens of billions of dollars in annual economic damage to the global economy of reacting to pandemics.

The IPBES report also offers a number of policy options that would help to reduce and address pandemic risk. One of these is launching a high-level intergovernmental council on pandemic prevention.

Speaking about the report, Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of IPBES said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of science and expertise to inform policy and decision-making.”

“Although it is not one of the typical IPBES intergovernmental assessments reports, this is an extraordinary peer-reviewed expert publication, representing the perspectives of some of the world’s leading scientists, with the most up-to-date evidence and produced under significant time constraints,” she added.

-RJV

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