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JeM commander killed in ongoing Sopore encounter: J&K Police

(Updating earlier copy)

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): A Jaish-e-Muhammad commander was killed in the ongoing encounter at Arampora village of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said today.

“JeM commander Sajad Nawab Dar got neutralised in ongoing encounter at Sopore. Further details to follow,” read a tweet by Kashmir Zone police. The encounter started early this morning in which a house also got damaged. Joint teams of security forces had laid siege in Arampora after a specific lead about the presence of militants in the area.

In its earlier tweet, police had stated that two to four militants were believed to be trapped in a house. As per the locals of Arampora, the house in which the militants were hiding, was blown up amid intense exchange of firing from both sides. A local resident from Arampora said that the house where militants were hiding went up in flames early in the morning barely a few hours after the encounter started.

A source in the police said that the encounter was in the last stage and massive mopping operation was going on to rule the presence of any more militants. “Firing has stopped and we are searching whether any other militant is present near the encounter spot,” he said. The operation is being carried out jointly by police, army and the paramilitary CRPF. The security forces had laid a siege in Arampora village late last night after acting on a tip-off about the presence of militants in a residential house. After hectic searches, the security forces zeroed in on a particular house in the wee hours after which a contact with the hiding militants was established.

J&K: Wearing of masks made mandatory at Civil Secretariat

(File)

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir government today made wearing face masks mandatory for the officers, staff and visitors at the Civil Secretariat here.

An order issued here by the General Administrative Department (GAD) of J&K Government reads that as a preventive measure to stop the spread of Coronavirus in the Union Territory (UT), wearing of masks has been made mandatory for all officers, staff and visitors in the civil secretariat.

“Accordingly all the administrative secretaries are authorized to effect the purchase of masks so as to provide three reusable masks for each employee of his/her department in the civil secretariat. The expenditure on this account shall be defrayed from the office expenses (OE) head,” reads the order.

“In the event of non-availability of masks in the open market, the administrative secretaries shall submit their requirements to the department of civil supplies, consumer affairs and public distribution for supply of same,” the order signed by Rohit Sharma, Additional Secretary to the J&K government, reads.

COVID-19: Railways to make 1,000 PPEs for its doctors, paramedics

New Delhi (NVI): Taking up the in-house production of Personal Productive Equipment (PPE) on a mission mode, Indian Railways will now produce 1000 PPE-type overalls that offers much needed protection of its doctors and paramedics.

An overall is a loose-fitting coat or one-piece garment worn over ordinary clothes for protection against dirt or heavy wear. It is essential for doctors and paramedics now amid the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.


An overall produced by Jagadhari workshop was recently cleared by a DRDO lab, authorised for the purpose, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement.

Railways strives to make up to 1000 such protective overall for its doctors & paramedics every day, the ministry said.

Around 17 workshops would be striving to contribute to this exercise.

However, as a need of the hour gesture, Railways is considering to supply 50% of the overalls to other medical professionals on the front line.

Material for all the overalls is being procured centrally at Jagadhari which is located near many big textile industries in Punjab.

The Rail ministry has said that in the coming days, the production facilities can be further ramped up.

J&K: Land transferred for establishment of KV, Kupwara

Jammu (NVI): The Jammu and Kashmir Government today accorded sanction to the transfer of Shamilat (Kahcharai) land measuring 40 kanals situated in village Drugmulla in District Kupwara to the School Education Department for establishing Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kupwara.

The J&K Administrative Council (AC), which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu here today, took a decision in this regard.

“The Administrative Council also accorded sanction to the transfer of 40 kanals of land to the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for establishing transit accommodation for Kashmiri Migrant Government Employees under PM Package in village Deegam in District Shopian,” an official spokesman said.

Coronavirus cases surge past 4,000 in Pakistan; death toll at 58

(Image source: Dawn.com)

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to 4,072 after more than 500 positive cases were reported while the death toll reached 58, according to the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, as many as 467 people have been recovered and cured from the virus.

The authorities conducted 42,159 test so far, including 3,076 in the last 24 hours, according to media reports.

Punjab province has registered the maximum number of 2,004 positive cases, followed by Sindh province at 986, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at 500, Gilgit-Baltistan at 211, Balochistan at 202 and Islamabad at 83 according to Ministry of National Health Services.

In addition to this, at least 50 prisoners in worst-hit Punjab province have also tested positive for novel coronavirus.

WATCH | Indian Air Force continues its support in fight against COVID-19

New Delhi (NVI): Amid the ongoing coronavirus situation and the subsequent lockdown in the country, the Indian Air Force is playing a crucial role.

Medical supplies are being transported to equip the state governments and supporting agencies to combat the contagion effectively and efficiently, the IAF said in a statement.

During the last few days, IAF airlifted essential medical supplies and commodities from nodal points to Manipur, Nagaland and Gangtok in North Eastern region; and the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, it said.

In addition, An-32 aircraft, on 06 Apr 2020, airlifted personnel and 3500 kg of medical equipment of ICMR from Chennai to Bhubaneshwar for setting up of testing labs and facilities in Odisha.

IAF has earmarked aircraft at nodal points to airlift medical supplies and equipment at short notice to proactively support operations against COVID-19.

COVID-19 deaths reach 20 in Bangladesh; total cases at 218

(Image source: United News of Bangladesh)

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of COVID-19 fatalities have reached 20 in Bangladesh as 3 more deaths were confirmed today, according to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

Besides, the total number of positive cases has reached 218 with 54 new infections being reported in the last 24 hours.

No new patient made recovery keeping the total number of recovered patients at 33, according to United News of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Tangail has recorded its first patient who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Mirzapur upazila of Tangail on Tuesday night, according to media reports.

Around 30 families have been put under lockdown around the patient’s neighbours.

Civil administration has also enforced a district-wide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus in Tangail.

WATCH | Interfaith response to COVID-19

In this webinar on “INTERFAITH RESPONSE TO COVID-19”, faith leaders are responding on how social distancing has led to a change in the ways one practices his/her religion. The leaders also discuss how people can reconnect to their faith amid the lockdown. The webinar, hosted by the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA) in collaboration with Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and with the technical support of UNICEF India, also discusses how Faith Leaders and Faith-Based Organisations are responding, serving and working together in light of the Corona Virus pandemic.

COVID: Antibodies produced, say Taiwanese researchers

New Delhi (NVI): A team of researchers in Taiwan has claimed to have produced antibodies which could be used for developing medication for coronavirus patients, besides facilitating rapid screening.

According to Huang Kuan-ying, a resident physician at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital who led the research team, 25 human monoclonal antibodies have been produced based on antibody gene segments from three patients infected with the COVID-19, Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

He told the press that the achievement could facilitate the development of not only rapid screening kits but also medication that targets the virus, the report said.

The antibodies can identify the virus and are useful in two areas, including the development and production of rapid testing agents, Huang said, adding if such antibody testing agents react to tissue samples containing the virus, they can show the result in a minimum of 30 minutes.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are immune system proteins that are created in the lab. They are made by identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell. Like the body’s own antibodies, mAbs recognize specific targets.

The mAbs, made based on antibodies in B cells of the patients, are 13 strains targeting the spike protein (S) of the coronavirus and 12 strains targeting the nucleocapsid protein (N) of the virus.

B cells are a type of white blood cell that make antibodies. They are part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow. They are also called B lymphocyte.

The other area in which they can be used is therapy, because mAbs are regarded as “magic bullets” that can cure some infectious diseases, Huang was quoted as saying.

His team found that there is one particular strain among the 13 S-targeting mAbs that has the ability to block the paths that the new coronavirus can use to invade the body, Huang said.

He explained that for the virus to enter cells, it has to integrate with the cell receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme 2, which is an enzyme attached to the outer surface of cells in organs.

“The receptor is like a gate. If the virus outflanks an antibody to open it, the body will be infected,” the researcher said. “But if the antibody opens the gate first, it has the opportunity to stop the virus from entering cells.”

Shih Shin-ru, a professor at the Research Center for Emerging Viral Infections of Chang Gung University, said this certain mAb, which was found capable of stopping the coronavirus from invading the body, can be used in the development of COVID-19 therapies or even vaccines if it is proven effective in human tests in the future.

Compared with animal mAbs, those from humans will be safer to use in medical treatment, she added.

Taiwan to donate face masks to India, some other nations

New Delhi (NVI): Taiwan is planning to donate over a million pieces of surgical face masks to various countries, including India, as assistance in the fight against coronavirus, according to a media report.

These masks will be donated under Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP), which was launched by the Democratic Progressive Party government after President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016, said the report by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), quoting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials.

Head of MOFA’s Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Baushuan Ger told media persons that the masks will be sent to about seven to eight NSP countries that have recently asked for help from Taiwan, as well as countries outside of the Asia-Pacific region.

The surgical masks will be provided primarily to healthcare workers in these countries to assist them in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Ger said.

An official familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named, told CNA that the countries will include Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Myanmar and Indonesia, the media report said.

The 18 countries under the NSP are the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

Asked if Taiwan will also be donating masks to Japan or South Korea, both of which have been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic since it first erupted in China last December, Ger said that neither of the two have so far asked for help.

With regard to four of its Pacific diplomatic allies — Palau, Nauru, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu — the MOFA official said the ministry is continuing to provide both technical and medical assistance to these countries in their efforts against COVID-19, the CNA reported.

On April 1, the foreign ministry announced that Taiwan will be donating 10 million masks to countries seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the United States, 11 European countries and 15 of the country’s diplomatic allies.

Two million will be sent to the U.S., 1 million to the 15 allies, with the remaining 7 million going to Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Poland, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, according to a MOFA press release.

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