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Coronavirus cases reach to 933 in Afghanistan

New Delhi (NVI): Afghanistan government reported 27 new positive cases of coronavirus today, raising the total to 933 across the country, according to media reports.

In the last 24 hours, 13 people have recovered bringing the total recoveries to 112, as per country’s health ministry.

The official spokesperson of country said fear is increasing over the lack of testing kits and other health supplies in various provinces including Kabul and Herat, which have the highest number of COVID-19 patients.

The Afghanistan government has begun efforts to establish isolation centers with a 10,000-bed capacity for COVID-19 patients in Kabul and aims to set up 100,000 beds in the country, as per media reports.

The country’s laboratories have the capacity to conduct 600 tests a day and so far the ministry has tested over 5,800 samples.

Apart form this, Kabul lockdown was extended for another three weeks until May 9 as part of attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

So far, 34 people died from the pandemic, bringing COVID-19 deaths in the country to 3.2 per cent.

The total number of cases of the coronavirus has reached 22,34,109 globally, according to John Hopkins University.

Rs 1,000 fine for spitting, urinating in public in Delhi

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New Delhi (NVI): Spitting or urinating in public in Delhi will now attract a fine of Rs 1,000, according to a public notice issued by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

The directive is in pursuance to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the wake of the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

This has been made a punishable offence so as to prevent people from spitting in public which can result in further spread of the novel coronavirus.

The NDMC also states, “There should be a strict ban on sale of liquor, gutka and tobacco and spitting should be strictly prohibited.”

Delhi is one of the worst affected cities in the country, with a total of 42 fatalities and more than 1,700 positive coronavirus cases being reported so far, according to Union Health Ministry tally.

Coronavirus deaths reach 144 in Pakistan, cases cross 7,700

(Image source: Dawn.com)

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan has reached 7,717, while 144 people have died of the disease so far, according to Geo news.

Nearly half of the total confirmed cases are from Punjab province alone, at 3,465.

Looking at the breakdown of cases, the Sindh province has reported 2,355 cases while Balochistan has 359 cases so far. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province has 1,077 cases, Islamabad 163, Gilgit Baltistan 250 and 48 in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) today revealed that around 62 per cent of Pakistan’s total confirmed coronavirus cases are locally transmitted.

According to the data released by the NCOC, the remaining 38 per cent of the cases recorded in the country are of those with a foreign travel history.

Social distancing is described as the best measure to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

No new cases of recovery were reported in the last 24 hours. So far, around 1,648 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the virus in the country.

COVID-19 cases top 2,100 in Bangladesh; 84 dead

Bangladesh lockdown

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of deaths from the deadly coronavirus continues to rise in Bangladesh as 9 more people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the total casualties in the country to 84.

Besides, 306 people tested positive for coronavirus during the period, raising the number of such cases in the country to 2,144, according to United News of Bangladesh.

The country has been witnessing a rapid spike in infected cases since the past week.

A total of 64 people have been recovered, after 8 more people were cured in the last 24 hours, IEDCR Director Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora said.

Of the 9 deceased, six are from Dhaka, 2 from Narayanganj and 1 was from Savar.

Bangladesh has recently announced heavy restrictions on the movement of people to prevent further transmission of coronavirus, hours after recording a surge in the total number of cases and fatalities.

Amit Shah lauds efforts of J&K Police amid COVID-19

Amit Shah meets farmer leaders
File Photo: Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah lauded the role of Jammu and Kashmir police force in enforcing the lockdown in spirit, as he spoke to J&K Police Chief Dilbagh Singh today.

J&K Police took to twitter to inform that, “Honorable HM Sh Amit Shah has conveyed his deep appreciation for effective lockdown & excellent services rendered by all ranks of J&K Police. Hon’ble Home Minister in a telephonic message to DGP Sh Dilbag Singh has also conveyed his compliments for good CT/ L&O management in J&K.”

Jammu and Kashmir police has been fighting on multiple fronts in the Union Territory and the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak has added to its challenge. Less than 1 lakh in number, the police force is on the forefront of implementing lockdown in J&K, especially Kashmir and at the same the force is always in a fight with the militants.

A senior police officer told NVI that despite the outbreak of pandemic, at least 8 militants of various outfits have been killed in various encounters that include 2 in Jammu region and 6 in Kashmir.

This is apart from the deadly encounter at Keran sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara where 5 militants who were trying to infiltrate but were killed by the special forces squad of Army, who also lost 5 of its men including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO).

While implementing lockdown, 1,012 FIRs have been registered while as many as 1,300 shops have been sealed by the J&K police so far. Police records suggest that 2,300 people have been arrested so far for defying government restrictions.

Nepal’s 2nd Covid-19 patient discharged today

New Delhi (NVI): Nepal’s second coronavirus patient has been discharged today from the Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, according to Nepal media.

The 19-year-old lady from Kathmandu has completely recovered now. The girl had returned to Nepal from France via Qatar on March 17 and she was diagnosed on March 23.

The confirmation of infection in her had led the government to impose a complete lockdown across the country, which is still in effect.

Meanwhile, two other people who travelled on the same aircraft from Doha to Kathmandu that day have also been infected and are undergoing treatment at Dhaulagiri Hospital, as per media report.

On Friday, Nepal saw the largest single-day spike in coronavirus cases, with 14 people testing positive.

Among 14 postive people, 12 were Indian nationals who were staying in a mosque in Udaypur district, while 2 were from Chitwan district, according to country’s Health Ministry.

So far, there have been 30 coronavirus positive cases in Nepal.

At least two including the lady discharged today are recovered.

Coordinate with control rooms to resolve workers’ issues: Labour Minister

New Delhi (NVI): Union Labour Minister, Santosh Gangwar, has asked various state and Union territories to designate a nodal officer from Labour Department to coordinate with 20 control rooms for addressing issues of the labour workforce in the country amid COVID-19 lockdown.

The Labour Ministry had recently set up 20 control rooms under the Chief Labour Commissioner on pan India basis to address issues of workers arising in the backdrop of COVID-19.

Gangawar in a letter to the ministers said that the officers in the Labour Departments may be sensitised about these 20 Control Rooms.

He said, “the coordinated efforts of central and state governments are required in order to resolve the grievances of the workers.”

Initially, control rooms were concerned with wage related grievances related to central sphere and issues of migrant labour, the ministry said.

However, it has been observed that out of the 2,100 grievances received in these 20 Control Rooms till yesterday, 1,400 pertains to various state governments.

As such, labour being a concurrent subject, it is important that a proper coordination is established with various governments to resolve their grievances, the minister said.

The minister also forwarded the list of 20 Central Control Rooms along with names of officers deputed by the central government for ready reference.

274 ‘Lifeline Udan’ flights transport medical cargo across India

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New Delhi (NVI): Under ‘Lifeline Udan’, 274 flights have been operated by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF and other private carriers to transport essential medical cargo to remote parts of the country to support India’s war against COVID-19.

These flights commenced on March 26, 2020, and are being operated by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). 175 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air.

Cargo transported by Lifeline Udan till date is around 463.15 tons and the aerial distance covered by these flights is over 2,73,275km.

Meanwhile, helicopter services including Pawan Hans Ltd have been operating in J&K, Ladakh and North East region transporting critical medical cargo and patients.

Cargo hubs have been established at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Guwahati.

Lifeline Udan flights connect these cargo hubs to airports at Dibrugarh, Agartala, Aizwal, Dimapur, Imphal, Jorhat, Lengpui, Mysuru, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Ranchi, Srinagar, Port Blair, Patna, Cochin, Vijayawada, Ahmedabad, Jammu, Kargil, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Goa, Bhopal and Pune.

Special focus has been on the North-East Region, island territories and the hill states. Air India and IAF collaborated primarily for J&K, Ladakh, North-East and other island regions.

In additon to this, Domestic Cargo Operators like SpiceJet, Blue Dart and Indigo are operating cargo flights on a commercial basis. Out of these 126 were international cargo flights.

In the International scenario – an air-bridge has been established with effect from April 4, 2020 for transportation of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and Covid-19 relief material.

Air India operated its second flight between Mumbai and Frankfurt on April 15 under the Krishi Udan program, carrying 27 tons of seasonal fruits and vegetables to Frankfurt and returned with 10 tons of general cargo.

Air India has also operated the first Krishi Udan flight between Mumbai and London on April 13 carrying 28.95 tons of fruits and vegetables to London and returned with 15.6 tons of general cargo material.

Air India will operate dedicated scheduled cargo flights to other countries for transfer of critical medical supplies, as per the requirement. Air India operated first such flight on April 15 between Delhi-Seychelles-Mauritius-Delhi, carrying 3.4 tons to Seychelles and 12.6 tons to Mauritius of medical supplies.

Defence PSUs, OFB ramp up resources to combat COVID-19

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New Delhi (NVI): From setting up isolation wards to building ventialtors, various Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) have played an active part in assisting civil administration in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

These vital institutions have channelised all their resources, technical knowhow and manpower to help the nation mitigate the deadly virus.

Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence have been fundamental to combat the coronavirus contagion.

Following are some of the fruits of the efforts put in by scientists and personnel of DPSUs and OFB:

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Bengaluru, a Defence PSU, has set up isolation ward facility with three beds in Intensive Care Unit and 30 beds in wards. In addition to this, a building having 30 rooms has been readied. It has also manufactured 160 aerosol boxes which have been distributed to various Government Hospitals in Bengaluru, Mysore, Mumbai, Pune, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) has come forward on the directions of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) to manufacture and supply 30,000 ventilators within two months for ICUs in the country.

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) is developing a prototype of ventilator which is likely to be tested and certified by May before it starts of with manufacturing. It is working on this project with the help of a private start-up of Pune.

In addition to this, Ordnance Factory Board, which heads 40 Ordnance Factories in the country, has started supply of coveralls conforming to ISO Class 3 exposure standards. Manufacture of initial order of 1.10 lakh from HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL) is in full swing.

Five Ordnance Equipment Group of factories located at Kanpur, Shahjahanpur, Hazratpur (Firozabad) and Chennai are engaged in manufacturing of coveralls. For testing the efficacy of Coveralls and Masks, it has developed three machines which have been approved by South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) and are to be used in production to maintain the standards.

OFB has also manufactured 5,870 PPEs which have been distributed to HLL, CMO, Firozabad, besides its own hospitals in Ordnance Factories.

Factories Board has also developed special two-metre tents which can be used for medical emergency, screening, hospital triage and quarantine purposes. These are made up of waterproof fabric, mild steel and aluminium alloy. Supplies have already started.

World Heritage Day amid lockdown

New Delhi (NVI): The World Heritage Day, celebrated on April 18 every year, is being celebrated differently this time as the world is under lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The day is celebrated to promote rich cultural of the world’s monuments and heritage sites.

International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) proposed several measures to celebrate the day while in quarantine.

Some activities can be undertaken like virtual conferences, online lectures, press releases, and social media campaigns, ICOMOS stated in a press release.

“You can post photos, information and videos on shared cultures and shared heritage from your respective country. To increase the reach, we should use hashtags and share the message with friends and family. Individuals can also upload photos in relation to the theme, onto the ICOMOS Photobank”, it further added.

In the time of the ongoing global crisis, the Theme of ‘Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility’ is even more important.

As theme reflect the context of heritage as part of cultural identity at a time of population shift, conflict, and crisis. It recognises that heritage places, landscapes, practices are frequently connected with and valued by multiple and diverse groups and communities,’ ICOMOS said.

Apart from this, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) also urged people to participate in the event.

“It is through online activities like these that we can spread awareness about our shared cultural heritage and educate those who are unaware about the rich cultural,” said in a statement.

UNESCO also expressed regards for the caretakers of world heritage sites, who are suffering due to the massive collapse caused by the coronavirus crisis.

However, World Heritage is the shared wealth of humankind. Preserving and protecting these valuable assets demand the collective efforts of all the international communities.

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