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AIMO urges Govt to provide support package to MSMEs

New Delhi (NVI): All India Manufacturers Organisation (AIMO) today lauded the Government’s 21-day lockdown to tackle the COVID-19 crisis but at the same time also expressed concerns over the hardships being faced by the MSME sector due to the situation.

AIMO, an apex trade body, has urged the Government to provide support packages and incentives to the MSME sector so that it can bear the impact of coronavirus amid the lockdown.

While endorsing the lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the trade body also called for the government’s attention to take necessary measures and help the MSME sector.

Shrikant Dalmia, Zonal Vice President West (AIMO) said, “We would like to acknowledge the steps taking by the Finance Minister regarding the easing of Compliance which was taken to ease the business situation.”

“Several sectors like Automobile, Aviation, Hospitality, Apparel, Consumer Durables, Electronics, Hotels, Tourism, Restaurants And Bars, The Entertainment Industry, Airlines, BPO, Seafood and Livestock, Construction And Real Estate, Transportation are among the worst hit by this epidemic,” he said.

Dalmia added that all the MSME’s/Self Employed Individuals/Entrepreneurs associated or whose revenues depend either directly or indirectly on these sectors “have been on the verge of a Shutdown situation.”

Sushil Vyas, Secretary, AIMO said, “According to our reports from our members and State Boards and their clusters of the MSME sector over the past few weeks across the country, over 60 odd million MSME’s are in real danger due to market issues with over 92% drop in domestic sales compared to same time last year and over 100% drop in export sales compared to same time last year.”

“Apart from the manufacturers, our services industry players in tourism, hotel, retail and entertainment have suffered major impact. Contrary to popular opinion, even our online startups have seen a huge decline in demand except from the healthcare start ups and some even have an unsold inventory increase of about 58% currently. MSMEs re feeling the Impact of Inter-State restrictions on transportation of goods and impact of Import restrictions from China has hit many of our Entrepreneurs as a source of raw material,” he added.

Dalmia further said that Work from Home (WFH) is applicable to less than 8% of the core MSME and services sector. He said that WFH has seen a drop in over 63% productivity in the service industry. The Services sector has seen mass migration of Labour to their villages, he said.

J&K: COVID-19 suspect traced, readmitted after escaping hospital

CDH Hospital in Srinagar (File)

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): A Hungary-returned girl who fled Chest Diseases Hospital (CDH) in Srinagar today was traced and later re-admitted to the hospital, officials said.

“Tracked. Admitted again. Legal action to follow,” tweeted DC Srinagar, Dr Shahid Choudhary.

According to the hospital authorities, the girl who hails from Batamaloo area of Srinagar had returned from Hungary, and arrived at CD Hospital yesterday.

“The girl was suffering from fever and flu and samples were collected and sent to laboratory. But without informing anyone, she fled from the hospital,” officials said.

But soon, a team was sent after her and she was tracked and brought back to the hospital.

Last week, a youth from Padshahi Bagh whose test turned out to be negative later on was detained by police after he ran away from the same hospital.

Afghan nationals to be evacuated soon from India: Envoy

New Delhi (NVI): The Afghan nationals stranded in India are expected to be evacuated shortly, according to Afghan Envoy to India Tahir Qadiry.

“Following vigorous follow-ups, the proposal of evacuating all stranded Afghan citizens in India is likely to be approved by the Indian Govt starting tomorrow. We ask our stranded fellow Afghans to contact KamAir for their flight details. Thanks to our Indian partners,” Qadiry tweeted.

He, however, did not give any figure about the Afghan nationals stranded in India.

India has enforced a 21-day ‘curfew-like’ nationwide lockdown from last night to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has caused havoc across the world.

Week-long lockdown in Nepal, 3rd person tests positive

Representative image

New Delhi (NVI): The government of Nepal has declared a one-week lockdown in the country till March 31, even as a third person was tested positive for COVID-19 today, reports The Himalayan Times.

Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokhrel took the decision for lockdown on Monday, hours after a second coronavirus case was confirmed in Kathmandu.

The government has also asked people to remain inside homes. However, medicine shops and gas stations have been allowed to operate.

The hardest hit will be daily wage earners. 1.5 million people, many of them workers, have left Kathmandu, the capital, for their homes in rural districts, as per Nepalese media reports.

The Nepal defence ministry said the lockdown, which began yesterday, would be a “strict stay-at-home order” and curfew. Thus, those violating the lockdown will be fined Rs 1,000 or one month imprisonment or both.

Whereas, the government has already closed its borders with India and China for a week starting from Monday.

The National Public Health Laboratory is currently the only facility in Nepal able to test for coronavirus.

The Nepali government currently does not have any plan to conduct tests at other locations, let alone provide proper health care for those infected.

Meanwhile, number of deaths from coronovirus is over 17,000 people and infected more than 400,000 globally. Nepal goes to week-long lockdown over COVID-19Week-long lockdown in Nepal, 3rd person test positive.

UN in India welcomes PM’s 21-day lockdown strategy

New Delhi (NVI): The office of United Nations in India has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategy for a nation-wide 21-day lockdown to curtail the coronavirus pandemic.

UN resident coordinator Renata Dessallien commended the PM’s call for social distancing as an important step that is expected to help flatten the curve.

“The UN system in India is fully mobilized and ready to further step up its support to the Government to fight COVID-19. I believe that if we work together, we can overcome one of the greatest health threats of our lifetimes,” Dessallien said.

UN agencies, including the World Health Organization and UNICEF, are at the forefront of COVID-19 response and is working with the government, both at the centre and state, on preparedness and response measures, disease surveillance, laboratory and research protocols, risk communications, training on infection prevention and control and cluster containment plan, surveillance and tracking of travellers.

On March 24, Dessallien along with the WHO representative to India, Henk Bekedam, met the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan and commended the government for its “early and robust response”, taking a whole-of-government approach to tackle the pandemic head on.

They also discussed measures to reduce the stigma and stereotype.

“The UN in India remains active and is determined to deliver for the people, especially the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, who may be amongst the hardest hit,” Renata Dessallien said.UN in India welcomes PM Modi’s 21-day lockdown strategy.

4 more test positive in Kashmir, total 11 cases in J&K

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Four more persons have been tested positive for coronavirus in Kashmir, taking the total number of positive patients in Jammu and Kashmir to 11.

Kashmir has now eight positive COVID19 patients-with one on way to recovery, while as Jammu has three cases-outs of them two are recovering.

J&K Government’s spokesman Rohit Kansal said these four who belong to Bandipora district of north Kashmir had participated in a religious event together with a person from Srinagar who tested positive yesterday.

“4 more persons, all from Bandipora, tested positive today. Preliminary findings suggest they were close contacts of Srinagar patient who tested positive yesterday. All 5 reported to have participated together in religious event ,” Kansal said in a tweet.

Till yesterday, 4765 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance and.

2928 persons have been kept under home quarantine while as 71 are in hospital quarantine.

Persons who are under home surveillance stand at 1268 while as 498 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period.

253 samples have been sent for testing of which 253 tested as negative, while as 20 reports are awaited.

The Government has also urged the general public to maintain social distancing as it is the key to stop and prevent the spread of Covid-19 from those who are infected.

“The intervention includes remaining out of crowded settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible,” the government advisory said.

Bangladesh reports 5 COVID deaths, no new cases in last 24 hours

Bangladesh lockdown

New Delhi (NVI): Bangladesh reported its fifth death due to coronavirus today, with 27 positive cases in the country so far.

82 people have been tested in the last 24 hours but no positive cases have been reported, according to United News of Bangladesh.

The country has suspended all domestic flights, trains and public transport to fight the pandemic.

On Monday, the Bangladesh government declared a 10-day shutdown from March 26 to battle the spread of the coronavirus.

Both the private and public sectors, except emergency services, have come to a temporary halt.

In addition to this, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Director Meerjady Sabrina Flora said a total of 47 people have been kept in isolation while 47 others are in institutional quarantine.

COVID-19: Bhutan govt closes all international borders

New Delhi (NVI): In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, Bhutan has closed down all its international borders with India on Monday and also restricted all the international crossings with effect from Tuesday.

Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan issued a public notification saying: “In view of the rapidly evolving situation in the region regarding COVID-19 and to mitigate the risks posed by this pandemic, all international borders shall be closed with effect from 6 am of March 23 until further notice.”

The notification further stated that Bhutanese arriving at border crossings shall be allowed to enter Bhutan subject to medical screening and a mandatory two week quarantine at a designated facility adding that foreigners residing in the kingdom will be allowed to exit.

The notification has been issued in consultation with the Prime Minister’s office, Bhutan for strict compliance, it further added.

Bhutan has reported its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus after a tourist visiting the country from Guwahati tested positive.

According to Bhutan Prime Minister Office, the 76-year-old American tourist entered Bhutan from India early March. Eight Indian passengers who travelled with the American on the same aircraft, from Guwahati to Bhutan’s international airport in Paro, have also been quarantined. However, all of them tested negative.

Moreover, the agriculture minister has also said that the import of vegetables, fruits and meat have also been banned as a precautionary measure against coronavirus outbreak.

CCMB may come up with diagnostic kits for COVID-19 soon

New Delhi (NVI): The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) will be aligning with the WHO’s call for widescale testing for COVID-19 to diagnose the virus in time and is working overtime on the development of cost-effective and accurate diagnostic kits.

(WHO) insists that widescale “testing, testing, and testing” is the key as early diagnosis may help save lives, the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement.

Dr R K Mishra, Director, CCMB said: “We are helping our incubating companies; they have come out with ideas, and supporting them in testing and validating the diagnostic kits proposed by them.

“We may come up with some good kits and it may take at least 2-3 weeks if everything goes well. Quality and accuracy of the kits are the most important things. If the kits give 100 percent results, then only they will be approved,” he added.

The organization is also keeping in mind the cost, it is estimated that the test should be less than 1,000 rupees, the ministry said. “They are also thinking of kits which are as cheap as 400-500 rupees, but at present cannot assure that, as it is a different route and all this needs more standardisation,” it added.

CCMB is also planning to culture the COVID-19 virus. Dr. Mishra said that the institution has facilities for this, and they have got the approvals from the government too; they are yet to receive samples and kits to initiate the culture.

CCMB has trained 25 people so that they can go and do the testing in these centers. It may soon come up with diagnostic kits for COVID-19.

Some of the labs where the COVID-19 testing will be done include Nizam’sNizam’s Institute Of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Hyderabad, Gandhi Hospital etc. The Centre for DNA Finger Printing and Diagnostics (CDFD) is also likely to be added to this group.

However, vaccine and drug development are other aspects of fighting the virus. But as of now, CCMB is neither working on the vaccine nor the drug development.

J&K admin face tough time as people hiding travel history

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Despite strict directions from J&K administration over COVID-19, dozens of people who have recently returned from abroad have gone into hiding without any screening in Kashmir, according to UT officials.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Shahid Choudhary expressed concern over the serious negligence and tweeted: “Flood of messages about travelers who concealed travel history; and about contacts. I wish such people acted responsibly. Those appeals weren’t without reason. Control room & teams having tough time.”

On Tuesday, DC Srinagar said that around 100 persons with travel histories have been traced and put into quarantine so far adding that another 200 such persons reported to the COVID-19 control room in the district are being verified and will be put under quarantine if found true and required.

The government has also set up a 24×7 control room where people can inform about people, who are hiding their travel histories. Srinagar administration has received between 400-500 calls so far.

Several people who recently returned from Saudi Arabia and other parts of the country are staying home without disclosing their travel history.

Last week three couples, all the residents of Qamarwari after returning from Saudi Arabia went straight home and have not been quarantined or screened.

Similarly, a man from Hamdaniya Colony Bemina has arrived from Thailand, a lady from Guzarbal Qamarwari along with her sister arrived from Saudi Arabia too are hiding their travel history and have not been screened yet.

“I don’t know why people are behaving irresponsibly…a person had come from Thailand, he is from housing colony, ellahi bagh, buchpora,,,like others he also skipped screening and quarantine… Kindly look into this case too,” wrote one person in a reply to DC Srinagar on his twitter handle.

The government has setup 90 quarantine facilities in Srinagar and 1,800 persons returning from outside countries have been accommodated in these facilities so far.

To make people more cautions, DC Srinagar today said in a tweet: “doctors suggest actual cases in community could probably be more than those tested positive. For heaven’s sake stay at homes and report to designated hospitals if you have symptoms /travel history. Consult on phone before visiting Hospital. Please. Spread the word. #BreakTheChain”.

Jammu and Kashmir has reported seven COVID19 positive cases, out of which three have recovered.

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