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Five more test positive for Covid-19 in JK, total 75 cases so far

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Five more people have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir, as the total number of positive cases in the Union Territory reached 75 today.

“75 COVID19 cases have been reported in Jammu & Kashmir, with 5 cases being reported today out of which 70 are active. Four of the new cases are from Kashmir while one came into light in Jammu,” J&K government spokesperson, Rohit Kansal said.

Kashmir now has 57 positive cases while Jammu has 18 COVID-19 patients.

Till yesterday, the government has placed 1,70,677 persons under observation. “Of them, 10,694 are in-home quarantine, 622 in hospital quarantine, 4,109 in-home surveillance.

Meanwhile, in case of any emergency, people can avail free ambulance services 24×7 at their doorsteps 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.

The general public has been advised to avoid unnecessary visits to hospitals, in case anyone develops a 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.

Spike in COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka; total at 143

New Delhi (NVI): The number of total confirmed coronavirus cases in Sri Lanka has risen to 143, according to the Health Promotion Bureau report.

In addition, 2 deaths due to the novel coronavirus have been reported.

A total of 173 more people are under observation at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH), according to the media reports.

The indefinite curfew continues in Colombo, Gampaha, Kaluthra, Puttalam, Jaffna and Kandy regions.

Over 7,000 people have been arrested for curfew violations, according to the police officials.

President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has said today that it has been observed during the current state of emergency in the country, messages purported to be from him are being shared on various social media messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook messenger etc.

He said that any announcement will be made only through his official web pages and social media account.

Father on death bed, J&K man cycling over 2100 km from Mumbai

Mohammad Arif

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): With the entire country under lockdown and public transport off the roads, a man has embarked on a long journey on his bicycle from Mumbai to meet his ailing father in Rajouri district of Jammu, around 2100 kilometers away.

It is not going to be an easy journey for 29-year-old Mohammad Arif, a resident of Rajouri, who works as a watchman in Mumbai Central. But a distress call from his hometown has compelled Arif to take up the extraordinary challenge.

“My father has suffered a hemorrhage after he was beaten by his relatives. He is right now in hospital fighting for life. His last wish is to see me,” Arif said.

Arif landed in Mumbai a month back to earn his livelihood. “My father is living alone as I am his lonely son. Besides, I and my wife parted ways long back and three of my kids are staying with her,” he said.

He said his in-laws live near his father’s house, and recently, there was a scuffle on some issue in which his father suffered the hemorrhage.

When asked how he will reach Rajouri on a bicycle, Arif said, “I had no other option than to start this journey on the bicycle. I don’t have money to even hire any vehicle,” Arif said while adding that it will be an easy journey for him if people can help him by arranging a conveyance.

Meanwhile, concerned residents of Mumbai have launched a campaign on social media to help Arif.

Before landing in Mumbai, Arif was working in UAE as a driver for seven years. “I met an accident there because I didn’t have proper documents. I was jailed there for 11 months that’s why I have to return back to India,” he said.

COVID-19 cases in Pakistan cross 2,400; lockdown extended till Apr 14

(Image source: Dawn.com)

New Delhi (NVI): Pakistan has reported 2,458 positive cases of coronavirus, the highest in South Asia, fuelled by a jump in cases related to members of Tablighi Jamaat, according to Dawn news.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to extend its lockdown till April 14 to curb the spread of COVID-19 besides finalising a solid strategy to cope with the impact of the pandemic.

The decisions were taken in a session of National Coordination Committee held under the chair of Prime Minister Imran Khan to review the current situation of coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan.

Today, the Sindh province enforced a “curfew-like” lockdown for three hours beginning from 12 noon to deter people from coming out of their homes for prayers, officials said.

So far, 31 deaths have been reported across the country, with no new deaths being reported in the last 24 hours, according to the media reports.

In addition to this, 82 patients have been recovered from COVID-19 pandemic, according to the national dashboard.

Coronavirus cases in Bangladesh reach 61; total deaths at 6

Bangladesh lockdown

New Delhi (NVI): Five more positive cases of coronavirus have been reported taking the total number of cases in Bangladesh to 61, according to the United News of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has so far reported six deaths from COVID-19.

Bangladesh on March 8 confirmed the first infections while the first death was reported on March 18, according to the media reports.

Bangladesh’s Health minister Zahid Maleque, through a video-conference, said that the risks were not yet over and everyone should stay home and abide by the government’s directives to maintain social distancing.

The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has been repeatedly advising people not to go to the hospitals or IEDCR in person but to call its call centres following which they would collect the samples from the patients’ homes, in order to reduce the possibility of the virus spread if the patient is found positive.

PM interacts with sportspersons

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with eminent sportspersons in the country and told them they have an important role to play in boosting the morale of the nation amid the lockdown period due to Covid-19 outbreak.

While praising the sportspersons for bringing glory to the nation through stellar performances on the fied, the PM said that they can play a crucial role in spreading the message of social distancing along with asking people to continuously follow advisories given during lockdown.

The Prime Minister, who interacted with sportspersons through video conferencing told them that they can reach out to citizens and spread the message of positivity to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

He also said that COVID-19 is an adversary of the entire humanity and the gravity of the situation can be ascertained from the fact that for the first time since World War II, the Olympics has been postponed.

He underlined that the traits learnt in sports training viz the ability to face challenges, self-discipline, positivity and self-belief are the essential tools to combat the spread of the virus.

During the virtual interaction, the PM gave them five-point mantra of ‘Sankalp, Sanyam, Sakaratmakta, Samman Sahyog’ to tackle COVID-19.

He also asked them to highlight the importance of both physical and mental fitness and also popularize guidelines released by AYUSH Ministry.

More than 40 top sportspersons from across disciplines including Bharat Ratna Shri Sachin Tendulkar, BCCI President Shri Sourav Ganguly, Women’s Hockey team captain Rani Rampal, ace badminton player PV Sindhu and many others participated in the video conference.

World Bank approves $1 bn emergency funds for India to fight Covid-19

Representational Image

New Delhi (NVI): The World Bank has approved USD 1 billion emergency funds for India to help it fight against the coronavirus contagion, which has claimed 56 lives and infected 2,301 people across the country.

The India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project is being facilitated to help India prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen its public health preparedness.

This is the largest ever health sector support from the Bank to India.

This new support will cover all states and Union Territories across India and address the needs of infected people, at-risk populations, medical and emergency personnel and service providers, medical and testing facilities, and national and animal health agencies.

The project will immediately enable the central government to scale-up efforts to limit human-to-human transmission, including reducing local transmission of cases and containing the epidemic from progressing further.

In parallel, interventions to strengthen the health system will be rolled out to improve the country’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic and be better prepared to respond to emerging disease outbreaks, including transmission between humans and animals.

Procurement of testing kits; setting up of new isolation wards — including turning hospital beds into intensive care unit beds; infection prevention and control; and purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), ventilators, and medicines, particularly in district hospitals and designated infectious disease hospitals will be scaled up under the project.

“The World Bank is working in close partnership with the Government of India to provide urgent and flexible support to the country as it fights the spread of COVID-19,” said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director for India. “This operation is expected to enhance surveillance capacities, strengthen diagnostic systems, and expand the capacity of laboratories. But, COVID-19 is not only a health challenge. It has deep social and economic implications. In parallel, we are working with equal urgency with Government on social protection programs and economic measures that protect the livelihoods of people.”

The project will also enhance the resilience of India’s health system to provide core public health prevention and patient care to better manage COVID-19 and future disease outbreaks.

It will help strengthen India’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Program, revamp infectious disease hospitals, district, civil, general and medical college hospitals, and build a network of high containment Biosafety Level 3 laboratories.

Today, about 75 per cent of new infectious diseases begin with human-to-animal contact, including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and SARS. The project will develop capacity and systems to detect existing and emerging zoonoses, support biomedical research on COVID-19 by Indian institutions, and upgrade viral research and diagnostic laboratories for testing and research.

It will also help address potential significant negative externalities in the event of a widespread COVID-19 outbreak, including comprehensive health awareness and behavior change campaigns on hygiene practices, wearing masks, social distancing, and mental health and psychological services for vulnerable communities.

The project is financed from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in the amount of $1 billion, of which $350 million is provided through the World Bank Group’s COVID-19 Fast-Track Facility. It will be managed by the National Health Mission (NHM), the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

489 more complete quarantine in Kashmir, sent back home

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): 489 more persons completed their quarantined period here today and were allowed to go home.

They were kept at different hotels and other government buildings and had tested negative. Some of them were placed at Hotel Abbas, Hotel Nehru and SAMCI here.

Those who were allowed to return to their homes hail from different districts of Kashmir, though a majority of them are from Srinagar.

Those belonging to different districts of Kashmir are being sent to their respective places in SRTC busses arranged by the Srinagar administration.

Meanwhile, those from Srinagar were all ferried home or entrusted to their families.

“We are thankful to administration for providing us good facilities. We are happy we are returning home,” said a group of students who had returned from Bangladesh and were allowed to go home today.

They also appealed to people to cooperate with the administration and do not hide their travel histories. “We need to cooperate then only we can fight COVID19,” they said.

Till yesterday, 638 persons were discharged after successfully completing their mandatory 14-day quarantine period.

There are around 1900 persons who had been put under administrative quarantine in Srinagar after their return, mostly from overseas.

Shifting of overseas-return persons into quarantine facilities was part of Srinagar administration’s elaborate preventive measures put in place to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease after March 18 when the first positive case was reported in the district.

403 of 1,737 quarantined at Indian Army facilities released

New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of Defence today said that a total of 1,737 persons have been handled at six COVID-19 quarantine facilities set up by the Army, of which 403 have been released so far after following mandatory procedures.

Armed forces have been playing a crucial role along with the civil authorities in mitigating the impact of coronavirus pandemic that has claimed 56 lives in the country so far, with total confirmed cases crossing the 2000 mark.

At present, six quarantine facilities or wellness centers by the Army are operational at Mumbai, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Hindon, Manesar and Chennai.

Three positive COVID cases – two from Hindon and one from Manesar – were referred to Safdarjung Hospital in the national capital for further treatment. In addition, 15 other facilities are being kept ready as standby for use, if required, the Defence Ministry said.

Apart from that, dedicated COVID-19 facilities including High Dependency Units, Intensive Care Unit beds are being prepared in 51 hospitals of the Armed Forces across the country. Some of these facilities are located at Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Dundigal near Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kanpur, Jaisalmer, Jorhat and Gorakhpur.

Five viral testing labs at Armed Forces hospitals which can carry out COVID-19 test have been made part of the national grid, the ministry said. These include Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi Cantt; Air Force Command Hospital, Bangalore and Armed Forces Medical College, Pune; Command Hospital (Central Command), Lucknow and Command Hospital (Northern Command), Udhampur. Six more hospitals are being equipped shortly with the resources to begin COVID-19 testing.

Army has been been working round-the-clock to provide medical and logistics support to the needy to contain COVID-19 pandemic. Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) has deployed its resources to aid the civilian authorities at this crucial time.

COVID-19: DRDO develops bio suit to keep health professionals safe

New Delhi (NVI): In a major breakthrough, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a bio suit to keep the medical, paramedical and other personnel engaged in combating COVID-19 safe from the deadly virus.

DRDO is making all efforts to ensure that these suits are produced in large numbers and serve as robust line of defence for the medics, paramedics and other personnel in the front line combating COVID-19.

Scientists at various DRDO laboratories have applied their technical know-how and expertise in textile, coating and nanotechnology to develop the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) having specific type of fabric with coating.

The suit has been prepared with the help of the industry and subjected to rigorous testing for textile parameters as well as protection against synthetic blood. The protection against synthetic blood exceeds the criteria defined for body suits by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The industry is geared up for production of the suit in large quantities.

The current production capacity is 7,000 suits per day.

The bio suit production in the country by DRDO industry partners and other industries are being hampered due to non-availability of seam sealing tapes.

DRDO has prepared a special sealant as an alternative to seam sealing tape based on the sealant used in submarine applications. Presently, bio suits prepared using this glue for seam sealing by an industry partner has cleared test at Southern India Textile Research Association (SITRA) Coimbatore. This can be a game changer for the textile industry.

DRDO can mass produce this glue through industry to support the seam sealing activity by suit manufacturers.

A number of products and technologies has been developed for defence against Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) agents. Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) Gwalior, a laboratory of DRDO, has developed Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Permeable Suit Mk V.

53,000 suits have been supplied to Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

For first responders attending to radiological emergencies, a reusable suit has been developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) Delhi.

Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) Agra, has developed various types of parachutes with fabrics similar to protective technical textiles.

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