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Implement lockdown measures strictly: Centre to States

New Delhi (NVI): The Union Home Ministry today issued fresh guidelines to the States on lockdown measures to be taken in the wake of coronavirus outbreak while warning them that no negligence in this regard would be tolerated.

The “consolidated guidelines” by MHA came moments after Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with Chief Ministers and took a review of the overall situation.

The guidelines have been issued to all ministries/departments of Centre as well as States/UTs/Governments/Administrations in a bid to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19 in the country. MHA said in a statement.

MHA had earlier written to all States requesting them to strictly implement lockdown measures in letter and spirit, by exercising their powers under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to fight COVID-19.

In a fresh exercise of the orders, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to states to “widely publicize among the authorities and public, the penal provisions under the DM Act and IPC regarding violations of lockdown measures, to fight COVID-19”.

The 21-day lockdown was announced by PM Modi on March 24 and it will end on April 14. However, in another development, the prime minister today asked the States to brainstorm and send suggestions to the Centre so that a common exit strategy can be formulated to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once lockdown ends.

This would mean a limited or controlled movement of a large population in the country after the lockdown gets over on April 14.

 

WATCH | Kashmir gets its first ‘disinfection tunnel’ to fight COVID-19

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) today installed and made operational its first disinfection tunnel for decontamination and sanitisation purpose amid the coronavirus outbreak, at Chest Diseases Hospital here.

People including doctors, hospital workers, patients and other attendants can get sanitised instantly while entering or leaving the hospital.

Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Mattu said this tunnel has been built to clean people within no seconds automatically.

“Various steps have been taken to curb the outbreak of this pandemic by sanitising all the areas where people were found to be positive for this deadly disease including quarantines,” Mattu said.

“The first Decontamination and Sanitization Tunnel manufactured and commissioned by #SMC has started operating at Chest Diseases Hospital, #Srinagar! Overjoyed by the response by the frontline health workers and doctors! We will cover EVERY hospital! Proud of our Mech Engineers!!!,” he said in a tweet.

Head of Department, Chest Disease Hospital Srinagar, Dr Naveed Shah thanked SMC for installing sanitation channel at CD Hospital.

“First of its kind in Kashmir, it uses safe and effective chemical for disinfection,” he said.

Coronavirus deaths in India climb to 53; total cases at 2069

(Updating earlier copy)

New Delhi (NVI): As the country entered its ninth day of lockdown, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases rose to 2,069 while the death toll climbed to 53, with Maharashtra being the worst affected state (335 cases), followed by Kerala (265).

The latest numbers put out by the Health Ministry include 1,860 active coronavirus cases, while 155 people have been cured or discharged.

Tamil Nadu has reported 234 cases so far. The number of positive coronavirus cases in Delhi has also gone up to 152.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 47,951 tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in the country till date.

Coronavirus deaths reach 31 in Pakistan; total cases at 2,291

New Delhi (NVI): The death toll from novel coronavirus in Pakistan rose to 31, after five more people died in the last 24 hours.

The new deaths were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces, according to the Federal Health Ministry.

The number of infected cases in the country also rose to 2,291, according to Dawn news.

The total number of recovered patients also increased to 107, said the Health Ministry.

So far, 845 confirm cases were reported from the northeastern Punjab province, 743 from southern Sindh, 276 from northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 169 from Balochistan, 187 from the northern Gilgit Baltistan region, 62 from the capital Islamabad.

Nepal: 9 people who attended Tablighi Jamaat gathering quarantined

New Delhi (NVI): Nine people from Rajbiraj in Nepal, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin in India and returned home after secretly crossing the border, have now been placed under quarantine, according to the media reports.

All the people were detained by the police from their homes and were placed in a quarantine facility set up at the local hospital yesterday.

The police set out on a search for those who attended the religious congregation in India after reports that around 19 participants were from Nepal.

According to the District Police Office Deputy Superintendent of Police Tilak Bharati, the quarantined persons had crossed over to Nepal during the night of Sunday and Monday.

“As per our information, more people from the district, from places other than Rajbiraj, also participated in the Muslim religious congregation and some of them have now returned home secretly. We’ll find all of them and put them in quarantine,” the DSP was quoted as saying by The Himalayan Times.

The District Health Office Chief has also urged all attendees of the religious gathering who have returned home secretly to share their travel history immediately.

“It’s the height of irresponsibility and against humanity to put hundreds of lives at risk by refusing to stay in quarantine, so I hereby urge everyone, who participated in that gathering and came home, to come in contact with the authorities concerned and stay in quarantine for the designated period,” he told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, few of those now quarantined said that they didn’t attend the religious gathering in Delhi but returned from a similar program in Bihar.

COVID-19: 8 more test positive, total 70 cases in J&K

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Eight more people have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir, while the total number of positive cases in the Union Territory has reached 70.

According to the UT government figures, there have been two deaths and three recoveries so far.

“Kashmir has 53 positive cases while Jammu has 17 COVID-19 patients,” J&K government said in the daily COVID-19 bulletin.

According to the reports, three fresh cases have been reported from Kashmir, two from Udhampur and three from Jammu today.

The government has placed 1,70,677 people under observation. “Of them 10,694 are in home quarantine, 622 in hospital quarantine, 4,109 under home surveillance,” the bulletin read.

Meanwhile, in case of any emergency people can avail free ambulance services 24×7 at their door steps by calling on toll free No. 108. Pregnant women and sick infants can avail free ambulance services by dialing toll free No. 102.

Furthermore a 24×7 toll free national helpline number 1075 has been activated for support, guidance, and response to health related queries on novel coronavirus disease. The government of Jammu and Kashmir has also set up helpline numbers in this regard: 0191-2549676 (UT level Cell for J&K), 0191-2520982, 0191-2674444, 0191-2674115 (For Jammu Division), 0194-2440283 and 0194-2430581 (For Kashmir Division).

According to the advisory, people are advised to remain calm & not to panic as the prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 in the UT are being monitored at the highest level and necessary action to protect and safeguard the lives of people have been taken by the Government. “The Government has undertaken aggressive contact tracing and testing campaign that is why surge has been found in the number of confirmed positive cases,” the advisory reads.

People have been requested to stay indoors, strictly implement social distancing measures, disclose recent travel history to covid-19 affected countries / areas and report any contact with positive cases voluntarily.

General public has been advised to avoid unnecessary visit to hospitals, in case anyone develops fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, seek medical advice promptly by calling on Covid-19 helpline numbers so that they can be provided correct medical advice and directed to the right health facility, if needed.

“People must take basic precautions for personal hygiene; frequent hand washing with soap & water; and observing coughing & sneezing etiquettes,” the Government advisory added.

Around 9000 Tablighi Jamaat members identified, quarantined: MHA

Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry

New Delhi (NVI): Around 9,000 Tablighi Jamaat workers and their primary contacts have been identified across the country and placed under quarantine, Union Home Ministry said in a statement today.

The Tablighi Jamaat members were tracked down after Home Ministry along with States and UTs launched a massive effort, said Punya Salila Srivastava,  joint secretary in Home Ministry.

She added that 1306 of these are foreigners.

The joint secretary also informed that 2000 TJ workers had attended the congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, out of which 1804 have been shifted to quarantine centers. Rest 334 persons who were found symptomatic have been hospitalised, she said.

The development comes against the backdrop of the controversial Tablighi congregation at Nizamuddin Dargah in New Delhi in mid-March.

The government’s action came after it was found that a large Tableegi congregation had taken place at the Nizamuddin shrine in National capital and many people got infected with coronavirus there.

On Tuesday, government authorities started hunting for those who attended the congregation despite lockdown, as Telangana reported six COVID-19 deaths, all of whom had returned to the state after attending the Nizamuddin Markaz event.

Meanwhile, 960 foreigners, found to have been involved in Tablighi Jamaat activities have been blacklisted and their visas have been cancelled, Home Ministry said.

Bangladesh: Stadiums to be converted into quarantine centers, hospitals

New Delhi (NVI): Bangladesh is set to convert all its stadiums into temporary quarantine centers or field hospitals to facilitate authorities in curbing the spread of coronavirus in the country, according to media reports.

There are 80 stadiums and 125 mini-stadiums across the country, with some being used to accommodate army personnel who have been mobilized to ensure that people observe the nationwide lockdown.

Zahid Ahsan Russel, state minister for youth and sport, said, “In Bangladesh, the situation is still not that bad when compared to the global pandemic. However, as a precautionary measure we’ve decided to establish makeshift hospitals or quarantine centers in case of an emergency.”

In the last 24 hours, the health department has tested 157 people, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said during a virtual briefing conducted by the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also urged people to avoid all festivities and mass gatherings during new year celebrations scheduled to take place on April 14.

So far, Bangladesh has identified 54 COVID-19 patients, with six deaths reported across the country, accoridng to United News of Bangladesh.

Surat girl who recovered from COVID-19 says ‘trust civil hospitals’

New Delhi (NVI): 21-year-old Rita Bachkaniwala, who recovered from life-threatening COVID-19 in Surat a few days back, has thanked doctors and authorities while leaving a message – “Trust civil hospitals”.

In a video message on her Instagram, Rita has specially thanked doctors at Surat Civil Hospital and the services by Surat Municipal Corporation that helped in her recovery.

“I heartily thank the whole staff of Surat Civil Hospital and to Dr Ashwin Vasava for all treatment, the health, hygiene, safety and emotional support and would also like to thank the services by Surat Municipal Corporation by taking caring of my family and staff,” she said.

Rita, who was among the few first COVID-19 patients in Gujarat, was discharged from New Civil Hospital, Surat, on 29 March.

COVID has attacked our faith, need for united front: PM

New Delhi (NVI): Observing that coronavirus has attacked “our faith and belief”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the pandemic is “threatening our way of life” and appealed for a united front in the battle against it.

Against the backdrop of the controversial Tableegi congregation at Nizamuddin Dargah here, Modi said leaders should reach out to community leaders and social welfare organizations at state, district, town and block levels to build up a united front based on community-approach in the battle against the pandemic.

The Prime Minister was addressing Chief Ministers via a video conference in which he underlined the imperative to work on a war footing, identify hotspots of the virus, encircle them and ensure that the virus does not spread out.

He also said that it is pertinent to maintain peace and law and order across the country.

The Chief Ministers also mentioned their efforts of maintaining social distancing, tracking suspect cases, identifying and quarantining suspect cases arising from Nizamuddin Markaz, during their interaction with the PM.

They also apprised the Prime Minister about their efforts for containing community transmission, boosting up of medical infrastructure, strengthening medical workforce, provision of tele-medicine, provision of mental health counselling, distribution of food and other essentials to those in need and taking care of migrant workers.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister asked the States to brainstorm and send suggestions to the Centre so that a common exit strategy can be formulated to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once lockdown ends.

This would mean a limited or controlled movement of a large population in the country after the lockdown gets over on April 14.

While reiterating the importance of social distancing in preventing the spread of COVID-19, the PM thanked the States for supporting the decision of lockdown due to which India has achieved some success in limiting the spread of the contagion. At the same time, he also forewarned that the global situation remains far from satisfactory and informed about the speculations of a possible second wave of the spread of the virus in some countries.

He asserted that the common goal for the country is to ensure minimum loss of life. “In the next few weeks, testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine should remain the areas of focus,” he said.

The PM also highlighted the necessity of maintaining the supply of essential medical products, availability of raw material for the manufacture of medicines and medical equipment.

He said it is necessary to ensure availability of separate, dedicated hospital facilities for COVID-19 patients.

To increase the availability of doctors, he asked the States to tap into the resource pool of AYUSH doctors, organize online training and utilize para-medical staff, NCC and NSS volunteers.

Calling for a coordinated action to address the present crisis, the Prime Minister stressed the need for setting up Crisis Management Groups at district level and appointment of District Surveillance Officers.

To ensure congruence in Covid-19 related data of district, state and Centre, the PM said that data must be taken from the accredited labs for testing.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister also said it is necessary to ensure staggered release of funds to the beneficiaries under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana to avoid crowding at banks.

Starting from China in December last year, the pandemic has wreaked havoc across several countries in the world with the death toll reaching 47,000 and total cases around 9 lakh.

In India, the death toll due to Covid-19 has reached 50 while the total number of cases have climbed to 1,965, according to Health Ministry data. The country entered a 21-day lockdown on March 24 midnight after PM made an announcement in this regard to combat the pandemic by remaining indoors and following the principle of social distancing.

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