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COVID-19 cases in India rise to 29,435; death toll at 934

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India has increased to 29,435 while 934 people have died due to it across the country, Union Health Ministry confirmed.

In the last 24 hours, 1,543 tested positive for novel coronavirus, it said.

At least 62 people succumbed to the pandemic in a day, the sharpest ever increase in death cases in India.

With 8,590 cases and 369 deaths, Maharashtra is the worst hit state.

It is followed by Gujarat and Delhi with 3,548 and 3,108 cases respectively.

The other worst affected states are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in the country was a little more than 23% as 6,869 people have been cured or discharged, as per Health Ministry data.

So far, number of active cases stands at 21,632.

Assam: 11 poisoned vultures cured, released into the wild

A vet treating a poisoned vulture. (Source: WTI)

New Delhi (NVI): Veterinarians from Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in Assam have cured 11 vultures who were poisoned after eating a contaminated carcass and released them into the wild today.

These vultures were spotted at Dichagmukh area last week, suspected to have fed on a poisoned animal carcass on the banks of Brahmaputra of which 19 birds were already dead on April 21, WTI said.

Sharing a video of the birds being released today, WTI tweeted: “Our vet treated 11 #vultures rescued from feeding on a poisoned carcass in Sibsagar distt. and released them #BackToTheWild this morning. #MondayMotivation that keeps us going through #lockdown.”

First responders from Assam Forest Department and wildlife workers from BNHS working in the vicinity reached the spot on the 22nd of April and shifted thirteen surviving vultures to the forest facility at Sibsagar, where they were kept under observation for 24 hours, WTI said.

The forest department decided to shift them to the WTI-IFAW- Assam Forest Department run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Kaziranga the following day, it said.




Two of the thirteen surviving vultures brought to CWRC were critical condition and didn’t survive (one slender billed and one white backed vulture), WTI said.

Dr Samshul Ali, the WTI veterinarian observed: “Secondary poisoning led to vulture deaths and remains a very critical issue. We are losing these threatened and critically endangered species, also known as nature’s cleaners. We tried our level best to stabilise the two seriously ill birds, but they succumbed in the early hours today. Right now, eleven birds are under care. We are hopeful of their recovery.”

Cases of secondary vulture poisoning in Assam continue to occur periodically, WTI said, adding that their veterinarians have successfully treated and released vultures around the same time in previous years.

Pak cleric blames women’s ‘obscenity’, ‘wrongdoings’ for coronavirus

New Delhi (NVI): A Pakistani cleric has said that the “wrongdoings” and “obscenity” are responsible for the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which is a form of God’s wrath, reports Dawn.

Maulana Tariq Jameel, who has a huge following in Pakistan, made the remarks during a televised event on April 24 in which Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had also participated, the Pak daily reported.

Jameel was called in to say a prayer after the Ehsaas Telethon event which had been organised to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts.

The cleric also condemned the women for dancing and over the way they dress, saying it was these “immodest actions” that have “brought the Almighty’s wrath upon the country”.

What is surprising is that the Pakistan PM did not stop him or interrupt him for making such remarks. The cleric faced severe backlash in Pakistan media, social media as well as among members of civil society.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also condemned the Maulana for his “inexplicable” statement.

Taking to Twitter, the body said, “HRCP is appalled at Maulana Tariq Jamil’s recent statement inexplicably correlating women’s ‘modesty’ to the Covid19 pandemic. Such blatant objectification is unacceptable and, when aired on public television, only compounds the misogyny entrenched in society.

Nida Aly, director of the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid cell (AGHS), was quoted as saying by Dawn that Pakistan had seen a rise in the cases of violence against women, and extreme situations, including honour crimes, domestic violence, assault and abuse of women.

She said while women under lockdown needed security from the community, “the government trotted out Tariq Jamil on a broadly televised programme who not just objectified women but declared them and their individualist actions to bring the wrath of God and punishment in the form of Covid-19.”

COVID-19 cases doubling rate higher in Pune: MHA

Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry

New Delhi (NVI): The doubling rate of coronavirus cases in Pune, Maharashtra is 7 days, which is slightly higher than the rest of the country, a senior official from Union Ministry of Home Affairs said today.

One out of every 9 samples is found to be COVID-19 positive in Pune, while in the rest of the country, the average is 23 samples, according to Inter Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), the MHA official said.

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Punya Salila Srivastava, while addressing a media briefing said, “The Inter-Ministerial Central Team of Pune found these results when they visited Pimpri-Chinchwad, Haranwadi and Baramati containment zones.”

The Joint Secretary further said, “Permissions for certain movements have been allowed during the course of lockdown. By 26th April, more than 80% wheat harvesting has been completed. More than 2000 (which is about 80%) mandis have also started working.”

She further said that around 2 crore labourers have been employed through MNREGA, for works related to large community assets like water conservation and irrigation.

Meanwhile, the Inter Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) formed by MHA under Disaster Management Act, 2005, have reached their stated states and started working, she added.

IMCT has advised that high-risk persons should be identified fast; testing and surveillance should be increased and also contact-tracing is to be done fast. It is necessary to enforce protocols at places like slums and markets where social distancing is not being followed properly, the Joint Secretary said.

Indian Army retaliates after Pak violates ceasefire along Loc in J&K’s Uri

Ceasefire
Representational image

Srinagar (NVI): Pakistan today violated ceasefire at Uri sector along the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, drawing strong retaliation from the Indian Army, defence sources said.

Indian and Pakistani Armies exchanged heavy gunfire along LoC in Tulwari, at Churanda and Silkote villages in Uri, they said.

Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling on Indian Army posts in the area which was retaliated effectively by the Indian Army, they added.Locals said that panic gripped the area when the heavy shelling from both sides took place.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Baramulla Abdul Qayoom said that shelling took place from both sides. “There was no loss of life or injury reported during the ceasefire violation,” he said.

J&K: Teacher, 6-yr-old among 23 new cases, Covid tally mounts to 546

Representational Image

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Twenty-three more persons including a teacher and a six-year-old boy were tested positive for the Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir today, taking the overall tally of the positive patients in UT to 547.

Officials said that among 23 new cases, 15 were confirmed at Viral Diagnostic Laboratory of SKIMS Soura that include five each from Baramulla and Shopian, three from Bandipora and one each from Budgam and Kupwara districts.

Seven other cases were confirmed at the Covid-19 testing laboratory at Chest Disease hospital Dalgate, Srinagar which includes six from Anantnag district and one from Srinagar.

Also, Jammu division reported one fresh case, taking toll of total positive cases in Jammu to 58.

GH Yatoo, Nodal officer for Covid-19 at SKIMS said that out of 394 samples tested at SKIMS in the last 24 hours, 15 were tested positive while rest 379 were negative.

“Among new 15 new cases, 5 are from Baramulla, 05 from Shopian, 03 from Bandipora and one each from Kupwara and Budgam,” he said. He said that all were contacts of previous positive patients.

Nodal officer for coronavirus at GMC said that out of 376 samples tested in the last 24 hours, 7 were tested positive. 6 are from Anantnag including the pregnant lady who died two days before and one from Srinagar.

He further added that 470 samples were received today while reports of 94 samples are awaited. Officials from Reasi district of Jammu said that a 46-year-old teacher who was associated with Tablighi Jamaat and hailing from village Jamsalan in Mahore tehsil of the district was the first person from the district who was tested positive, taking total positive cases in Jammu division to 58.

Officials from Kupwara said that a 6-year-old boy from red zone Anderhama was tested positive today.

Coronavirus cases in Sri Lanka reach 523; 7 dead

New Delhi (NVI): Sri Lanka reported 63 new cases in the last 24 hours, raising the total number coronavirus cases to 523 in the country, according to the Health Ministry report.

Out of all the confirmed cases, a total of 95 sailors attached to the Welisara Navy Camp have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the National Operations Centre for Preventing COVID-19 Outbreak, according to media reports.

The camp has now been declared as an isolated zone. All entry and exit from the camp have been banned.

Meanwhile, 7 patients have died and 120 patients including the Chinese tourist, who was the first COVID-19 case detected in the country in January and discharged last month, have fully recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Sri Lanka has been under a 24-hour curfew since March 20 to combat the deadly viral infection.

(Read more for additional information on coronavirus and related topics)

172 new COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan, total 1,703

New Delhi (NVI): A total of 172 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, raising the total to 1,703, according to Afghan media reports.

In the last 24 hours, 600 samples of COVID-19 were tested from 18 provinces, out f which 172 were positive reports said.

Among the new cases, 34 were reported in Balkh, Herat (33), Kabul (27), Kandahar (21), Paktia (8), Baghlan (8), Kunduz (7), Sar-e-Pul (5), Ghor (5), Samangan (4), Nimruz (4), Faryab (4), Nangarhar (3), Laghman (3), Khost (3), Helmand (2), Paktia (1) and Panjshir (1) provinces.

According to the country’s health ministry, total of 8,694 samples have been tested so far.

57 people have died due to the COVID-19 and 220 others have recovered since the outbreak across the country.

6 children among 7 injured in blast at Kulgam encounter site in J&K

Injured were rushed to Primary Health Centre Qazigund (Photo via arrangement)

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): Seven people including six children sustained serious injuries when an unexploded shell went off at Lower-Munda, Qazigund in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, where three militants were killed in an encounter this morning.

Eye-witnesses said that after the security forces left, people in large numbers including children rushed to the spot of encounter. “All of a sudden, a big explosion took place and there were shrieks and cries from all around as young kids were flat on the ground,” they said.

7 persons, including 6 children were injured in the incident. (Photo via arrangement)

They said that seven persons including six children sustained injuries in the explosion. A police official said that the incident took place when a group of people was clearing debris at the house razed to the ground during an encounter early in the morning today.

“Soon after the incident, the injured were rushed to Primary Health Centre Qazigund for treatment. One injured boy was shifted to Srinagar hospital for advanced treatment,” an official said.

Police sources said that they are ascertaining the cause of the explosion. “We have registered a case and investigations have been started,” they said.

Covid-19 deaths reach 145 in Bangladesh; total 5,416 cases

Bangladesh lockdown

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of deaths from coronavirus continues to rise in Bangladesh as 5 more people have died in the last 24 hours, taking the total casualties in the country to 145, according to United News of Bangladesh.

Besides, a whopping 309 new cases of coronavirus infection were reported during this period, raising the number of such cases in the country to 5,416.

Meanwhile, only 113 people have recoverd from the virus till date, making the recovery rate of Bangladesh lowest in the world.

Health experts have attributed this to a lengthy recovery period of the disease, lower follow-up tests, weakened immune system of elderly and other people with underlying health conditions and mismanagement in treatment.

In addition to this, the coronavirus has now sread to 60 districts of the country out of the 64 districts.

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