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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.

Postal staff to get compensation

New Delhi (NVI): Families of postal employees, including Gramin Dak Sevaks, succumbing to coronavirus while on duty will get a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.

The guideline will come into effect immediately and continue for the entire period till the crisis of COVID-19 ends, an official order said.

Postal employees, including Gramin Dak Sevaks, are performing various duties, including ease of money withdrawal at doorstep from any bank and any branch under the AePS facility.

The Post Offices are also delivering COVID-19 kits, food packets, rations and essential medicines etc across the country.

COVID-19: UT, state-wise total number of positive cases

New Delhi (NVI): The country is witnessing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases on a daily basis, as the latest report by Health Ministry shows a total of 14,378 confirmed cases and 480 fatalities so far.

After the first confirmed case in India, which was reported from Kerala on January 30, the virus has tightened its grip over the entire nation.

As the country has entered into the fourth day of the extended 19-day lockdown, following is a breakdown of the positive coronavirus cases and fatalities in the country state and Union Territory wise.

State and Union Territory wise death toll- 480

Andhra Pradesh- 14
Assam- 1
Bihar- 2
Delhi- 42
Gujarat- 48
Haryana- 3
Himachal Pradesh- 2
Jammu and Kashmir- 5
Jharkhand- 2
Karnataka- 13
Kerala- 3
Madhya Pradesh- 69
Maharashtra- 201
Meghalaya- 1
Odisha- 1
Punjab- 13
Rajasthan- 13
Tamil Nadu- 15
Telangana- 18
Uttar Pradesh- 14
West Bengal- 10

State and UT wise positive cases- 14,378

Andhra Pradesh- 601
Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 11
Arunachal Pradesh- 1
Assam- 35
Bihar- 85
Chandigarh- 21
Chhattisgarh- 36
Delhi- 1,767
Goa- 7
Gujarat- 1,272
Haryana- 214
Himachal Pradesh- 37
Jammu and Kashmir- 314
Jharkhand- 32
Karnataka- 371
Kerala- 395
Ladakh- 18
Madhya Pradesh- 1,308
Maharashtra- 3,324
Manipur- 2
Meghalaya- 11
Mizoram- 1
Nagaland- 1
Odisha- 60
Puducherry- 7
Punjab- 186
Rajasthan- 1,270
Tamil Nadu- 1,323
Telangana- 766
Tripura- 2
Uttarakhand- 40
Uttar Pradesh- 846
West Bengal- 255

A total of 1,991 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals in India. There are around 11,906 active cases currently.

21 Navy personnel in Mumbai test positive for COVID

New Delhi (NVI): At least 21 personnel of the Indian Navy have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at a Navy premises in Mumbai.

Most are “asymptomatic” and have been traced to a single sailor who was tested positive on April 7, according to Navy officials.

All 21 sailors reside at the same accommodation block at INS Angre, a logistics and support facility of the Western Naval Command.

Entire block was put under quarantine and INS Agre is too under lockdown, according to the officials.

All actions as per established COVID-19 protocol are being taken.

There are no cases of infection onboard ships and submarines so far, an Indian Navy spokesperson said.

INS Angre is the shore-based logistics and administrative support establishment of the Western Naval Command.

The establishment carries out the duties and functions of the base depot ship for the Command.

The Indian Navy continues to support the efforts in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

J&K: Case against Kashmir’s top businessman for defying lockdown

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir police has registered a case against Kashmir’s top businessman Mushtaq Ahmed Chaya, for defying prohibitory orders imposed by the government to prevent spread of deadly coronavirus.

Mushtaq Ahmed Chaya, who owns a chain of hotels in Srinagar and Gulmarg, allegedly defied government orders and travelled along with a few persons from Jammu’s Red Zone to Srinagar “clandestinely.” He reached his Srinagar residence late yesterday evening, sending security establishment into a tizzy.

A senior police official told NVI that an FIR has been registered against Chaya for defying restrictions. “He was residing in Bhatindi area of Jammu which has been declared as red zone by the authorities,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

“An FIR number 109 has been registered under section 188 Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of Epidemics Diseases Act against Chaya for defying restrictions,” the official said.

When police came to know about Chaya’s movement, an alert was sounded across Srinagar and a search was launched for him.

Sources disclosed that police and government are baffled as to how Chaya managed to reach Srinagar via a highway where number of checkpoints and screening points have been set up. “Police are trying to find out why he wasn’t stopped anywhere on the highway despite strict lockdown in force in the wake of Covid-19 in place,” sources said.

A police document that sounds an alert, a copy of which is with the NVI, reads: “As intimated by Station House Officer Police Station Trikuta Nagar (Jammu) vide his signal dated April 17 that one person namely Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya who was staying at Farooq Abdullah enclave Bathindi, Jammu has deliberately left for Srinagar along with other persons from red zone.”

The Jammu police has also requested authorities in Kashmir to send a team of medical doctors to Chaya’s Srinagar residence for his immediate screening.

Global COVID cases rise to over 2.2 million

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of infections of COVID-19 worldwide has now reached 22,34,109, with 1,53,379 deaths worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Nearly 5,50,000 infected people have recovered from the deadly virus around the world so far.

The United States registered the maximum 6,99,105 cases, with 36,727 deaths.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the country has likely “passed the peak” of the coronavirus pandemic, as he released a three-phase plan to reopen the country.

On the Chinese mainland, the total number of cases increased to 82,719 with 4,632 deaths, after Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, revised its count of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, the country’s government reported.

The Chinese economy fell 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of the year of the pandemic.

The Dubai government has extended by one week a 24-hour curfew imposed as part to curb the spread of the pandemic, according to media reports.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live in just few months. Governments trying to halt the spread of the virus, have imposed lockdowns that has claimed many lives and sparked fears of the worst global recession, according to World Economic Forum.

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