New Delhi (NVI): The number of total confirmed coronavirus cases in Sri Lanka has jumped to 210, according to the Health Promotion Bureau report.
Health Ministry has confirmed that the total active patients receiving treatment at hospitals are 147 while 154 individuals are currently under investigations in hospitals.
In addition to this, 7 deaths have been reported and 56 people have been recovered including one Chinese tourist, who was the COVID-19 case that was detected in the country.
In another development, Sri Lanka has reportedly made it compulsory to cremate people who are dying due to the novel coronavirus despite facing protests from rights groups and the country’s Muslim population.
The decision has received a lot of criticism from rights groups and other religious freedom monitoring bodies, according to media reports.
New Delhi (NVI): The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has introduced a three-week induction program for all freshmen students from 2017 with one faculty associated with every 20-25 students to build a strong connection between them and create holistic awareness about Universal Human Values.
“This step is taken to build a strong connect between students and the faculty on one hand and create holistic awareness about Universal Human Values,“ the Council said in a statement.
Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, said that AICTE is orienting academic fraternity towards inculcation of Universal Human Values (UHV) in Technical Education.
One of the objectives of the programme is to engage students in different art forms like painting, singing, dance, drama, pottery, yoga, meditation, etc, the Council said.
It also aims to channelize the energy of students into several productive activities like sports, cultural programme, it added. Inspirational lectures by eminent personalities, visits to nearby historical places and discussions and film screenings etc. are also a part of this programme.
A faculty member trained in Universal Human Values programme helps students in the right development of their world-view, mindset, perspective and values, AICTE said in a statement.
The Student Induction Program (SIP) based on UHV-I and UHV-II course in AICTE’s Model Curriculum can provide an orientation to students for such a holistic education, it said.
“Colleges are required to develop the requisite teaching capacity for both. As indicated in the Approval Process Handbook 2020-21, each college must prepare at least 1 UHV faculty for every 20 newly joined students. Faculty must be prepared from every department/branch/discipline over the next three years. AICTE has so far trained more than 17,000 faculty members,” the Council said.
New Delhi (NVI): As the 21-day nationwide lockdown in India almost comes to a close, various cities in the country including Delhi have witnessed a huge reduction in air pollution levels, with citizens breathing the cleanest air in about a decade.
It is almost three weeks since the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed, that millions of vehicles are off the roads, leading to an improved AQI, even in places known for their toxic air.
Data from SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) shows that post lockdown, Delhi has seen a 51 per cent reduction in PM 2.5 and 49 per cent reduction in PM 10 levels.
Delhi is ranked among the most polluted cities in the world. In 2019, Delhi had an average AQI of 98.6, making it the fifth most polluted city.
Apart from the national capital, Gurugram and Noida have also witnessed a drop of over 50 per cent in PM 2.5 concentration, days after the lockdown was imposed.
Meanwhile, the AQI bulletin for Delhi-NCR released today said that the air quality is likely to remain in a ‘satisfactory category’ from 13.03.2020 to 15.04.2020.
Air Quality Early warning for Delhi (Source-IITM)
Almost whole of the April so far has witnessed a satisfactory air quality, as per CPCB.
On March 27, 28 and 29, the air quality remained in ‘good category’, according to the board.
Here, if we compare it with the pre-lockdown situation, then the AQI was in ‘moderate’ category on March 20 and 21. The air quality also deteriorated marginally in a week before the lockdown was imposed on March 24.
In the first two weeks of March, the AQI oscillated between ‘moderate’ to ‘poor quality’ with PM 10 being the predominant pollutant, according to CPCB data.
In a nutshell, the 21-day lockdown, which has brought 1.3 billion people to a near halt in India, has also provided temporary relief from the burning issue of pollution in the country.
Particulate matter PM 2.5 is one of the primary reasons responsible for health risks such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and lung cancer. PM 2.5 and nitrogen dioxide are released by vehicles and power plants.
As per Air Quality Index scale, as defined by the US-EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) 2016 standard, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered to be “good” while between 51-100 is considered “moderate” and between 101-150, it is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups”.
The air quality is rated “unhealthy” if AQI is between 151-200 and “very unhealthy” between 201-300. It is considered to be “hazardous” if it is found above 300.
According to another report released by the Global Strategic Climate Communication (GSCC) — a global network of communications professionals in the field of climate and energy, over 90 cities in the country have shown minimal air pollution since the lockdown.
35 cities ranked “good” on the fourth day of the lockdown, as per the report.
Before lockdown, the positive effect of a limited human interference with the environment was felt on March 22 when the country observed ‘Janata Curfew’, a one-day lockdown call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight the coronavirus spread in the country.
Since then, the air quality levels have significantly improved, so much so that residents in Jalandhar were able to see the mighty Dhauladhar mountain range in Himachal Pradesh, 213 km away from the city. According to reports, it was after 30 long years that people in Jalandhar were able to see the snow-capped Dhauladhar peaks.
A recent Greenpeace report said that air pollution from burning fossil fuels was generating losses of USD 150 billion in India, i.e., Rs 10.7 lakh crore annually.
According to the 2019 world ranking, India accounts for two-thirds of the world’s most polluted cities — 21 of the most polluted 30 cities; 14 of the highest 20; and six of the highest 10.
New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan has reached 5,478, while 85 people have died of the disease so far, according to Geo news.
1,095 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the virus in the country, including Sindh and Punjab province.
Nearly half of the total confirmed cases are from Punjab province alone, at 2,656.
Looking at the breakdown of cases, the Sindh province has reported 1,452 cases while Balochistan has 231 cases so far. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province has 744 cases, Islamabad 131, Gilgit Baltistan 224 and 40 in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
A steady rise in the new cases has been registered despite more than 3-week lockdown in the country.
New Delhi (NVI): Bangladesh saw an alarming rise in coronavirus cases today as 182 more cases were reported with COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of infected people to 803.
Besides, 5 more people died from the virus raising the number of total deaths to 39, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said.
The Health Minister reiterated that Bangladesh is still in a better condition compared to the USA and Europe. “No country can treat millions of patients in its hospitals.”
In addition to this, a total of 42 patients have recovered with 3 more people being cured today.
In another development, 66 policemen of Muksudpur police station were sent to home quarantine as a constable of the police station tested positive for coronavirus, according to United News of Bangladesh.
New Delhi (NVI): A woman in Kailali, who tested negative on Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) after a 15-day quarantine, has now been tested positive with COVID-19 infection, according to Nepal media report.
The woman was put in a quarantine facility at Lamki Multiple Campus in Lamkichuha Municipality-1 of Kailali district over 15 days ago, after she reached there from Birgunj in a group of 17.
After completion of the quarantine period, RDT was carried out on all the returnees and they were sent home. At the same time, their throat swabs and blood samples were collected for further tests.
As per health ministry official, her final test results have come out positive for the novel coronavirus.
Meanwhile, after being sent back from quarantine, the woman was known to have been living with her relatives.
On suspicion that she might have contracted COVID-19, she was sent to Dhangadhi-based Seti Provincial Hospital from Lamkichuha for treatment, this morning, according to media report.
Now, she will be kept in isolation at the health facility, where there already are four patients of COVID-19 currently receiving treatment.
With this the total number of positive COVID-19 infection in the country has reached 13.
In addition to this, there are 12 active cases of coronavirus in Nepal and 1 recovered.
Jammu (NVI): A Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed in an attack by a rape accused in Kishtwar district of Jammu, who was released about three weeks back in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak, police sources said.
Another SPO was also injured in the attack, which took place in Dachan area of Kishtwar this afternoon, police said, adding that he was admitted to a hospital.
The accused attacked the cops with an axe at Dachhan area, they said.
The rape accused was charged under section 376 of IPC and was detained in district jail Kishtwar. He was released 20 days back in wake of spread of corona virus, they added.
“Accused is Ashiq Hussain S/O Bashrat Ahmed R/O village Tander Dachhan involed in case FIR no 06/2018 u/s 363,376 RPC of P/S Dachhan and the said case has been challan on 27_09-2018 in the court of law. Accused Ashiq Hussain was detained in District Jail Kishtwar,” police said.
New Delhi (NVI): A day after a medium-intensity 3.5 magnitude quake shook Delhi, the National Capital was today hit by another earthquake, measuring 2.7 on Richter scale.
National Center for Seismology said that the quake took place at 1.26 PM, with the epicenter being 9 km north of Delhi and at a depth of 5 km.
Yesterday, tremors were felt in the Delhi-NCR region in the evening, prompting people in many areas to rush out of their homes for safety.
The quake occurred in National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi, near at 28.2 N and 77.2 E with focal depth of 8 km near Sonia Vihar at 17:45:03 IST, the NCS said in a statement. The distance of epicenter was around 16 Km North of Lodhi Road.
NCT, Delhi lies on Zone-IV as per seismic zoning map of India.
New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 10 AM tomorrow, April 14, when the 21-day nationwide lockdown ends.
All eyes are on PM Modi as he is expected to make an announcement on the lockdown and possibly, its further extension by two more weeks.
Speculations are rife that the Central Government may extend the lockdown till April 30. In an interaction with PM Modi through video conferencing on Saturday, the Chief Minister of various states had made a suggestion in this regard.
Several chief ministers, including Punjab’s Amarinder Singh and Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal, had suggested extending the lockdown at least by a fortnight.
At least six states — Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka and Telangana — have already announced an extension.
The announcement for a 21-day lockdown, which ends tomorrow, was made by the PM on March 24.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India crossed the 9,000-mark on Monday, while the death toll climbed to 308.
New Delhi (NVI): In view of the pandemic situation in the country, the Election Commission has decided to contribute to the COVID-19 funding in the form of voluntary reduction of thirty per cent in the basic salary paid by the ECI.
Under the voluntary action, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra will have a thirty per cent cut from their salaries for a period of one year commencing 1st April, 2020.
The decision comes at a time when the country, like the rest of the world, is grappling with coronavirus pandemic.
The numerous steps being taken by the Government and Civil Society organisations require vast resources for which contribution from all sources, including reducing the burden of salaries on the exchequer, might be helpful, the ECI said in an official statement.
So far, the total number of positive cases has increased to 9,152 in India, with 308 deaths being reported, according to the Health Ministry data.
