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Pakistan: Congregational prayers banned in Sindh, Balochistan

(Source: Twitter)

New Delhi (NVI): Sindh and Balochistan provinces in Pakistan today banned the congregational prayers at mosques in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Sindh has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases at 421, while Balochistan has registered 131 infections, whereas the total number of confirmed cases stands at 1,193 confirmed in Pakistan, according to Dawn.

A substantial portion of the people infected is those who were travelling back from neighbouring Iran, which has been one of the worst affected countries by the pandemic.

Congregational prayers have been suspended by the Sindh government including Friday congregations, to maintain social distancing.

Meanwhile, Pakistan reported nine coronavirus deaths today.

UK PM Boris Johnson tests positive for coronavirus

Boris Johnson

New Delhi (NVI): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said that he has tested positive for coronavirus and is now in self-isolation.

Taking to Twitter, Boris said that he has developed mild symptoms over the past 24 hours and tested positive for coronavirus.

“Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus,” Johnson said. “I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference as we fight this virus,” Johnson said on Twitter.

The prime minister was tested for coronavirus on the personal advice of England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, reports in foreign media said.

Earlier on Wednesday, heir to the British Throne, Prince Charles of Wales also tested positive with the virus. He has been in self-isolation at his palace and is in stable condition.

As news of Boris testing positive came in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished good health to the UK PM and said that he (Johnson) is a fighter and will overcome this challenge as well.

“Dear PM @BorisJohnson, You’re a fighter and you will overcome this challenge as well. Prayers for your good health and best wishes in ensuring a healthy UK,” PM Modi tweeted.

More than 5,32,000 people have been tested positive of coronavirus globally and more than 23,000 people have died.

Coronavirus cases in Sri Lanka at 106; over 2,000 Indians stranded

New Delhi (NVI): The number of coronavirus cases in Sri Lanka has risen to 106, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

The country’s Health Promotion Bureau said that four new cases were confirmed yesterday. However, no fatalities due to the coronavirus contagion have yet been reported.

According to the Lankan media reports, 237 people including five foreign nationals are in hospitals under observation or receiving treatment.

Meanwhile, over 2,000 Indian nationals are among the 16,900 foreign tourists stranded in Sri Lanka due to the lockdown imposed by the government, according to the data published by the Sri Lanka Tourism and Development Authority.

Curious advisory by Indian High Commission in Pakistan

New Delhi (NVI): Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan has posted a curious advisory on its official Twitter handle for “Indian students currently in Pakistan”, prompting netizens to question whether there are any such people and what they are “studying” in that country.

“Indian students currently in Pakistan should observed precautions against #COVID19 and stay safe. They may contact High Commission at 03028514549. We are there to monitor the safety and well-being of all Indians in Pakistan,” the tweet said.

It did not elaborate, particularly on the number of Indian students in Pakistan.

Interestingly, the tweet was tagged only to J&K PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who is under detention in Srinagar since August last year when the erstwhile state’s special status granted under Article 370 was abolished.

One of those raising questions over the tweet was BJP leader and former MP Tarun Vijay, who wrote, “Arrre ? Are there any Indian students in that country? What do they study?

One Nilesh Kadam tweeted, “Joke of the centuary..Indian students in Pakistan.”

A tweet by one Vishal read, “Indian students in Pakistan..Terrorism padne gaye the kya ???”

Prateek Jain wrote, “Pehle ye batao..India se P@k!stan padhne kon jata hai (First tell us, who goes from India to Pakistan for studies?”

Gaurav Tamotia tweeted, “What are Indian students doing in Pakistan in the first place? Learning to be terrorists?”

There were a number of other such questions and comments by the netizens but the High Commission did not clarify on its tweet posted at 11.12 AM yesterday.

Two more test postive for COVID-19 in J&K, total 20 cases

(Updating earlier copy)

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Two more persons have been tested positive for coronavirus in Rajouri district of Jammu, taking the total number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 18.

This brings the total number of cases in the UT to 20 so far, including one recovery and one death.

“As we end the day, two more positive cases confirmed -both from Rajouri District. One a family member of yesterday’s confirmed case, the other has a contact history with a confirmed (now deceased) case,” JK Government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said in a tweet.


A patient from Rajouri district of Jammu province who was in close contact with the deceased COVID-19 patient was also tested positive yesterday.

Earlier in the day, four persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Srinagar.

Kansal said that out of the four Srinagar residents, two were part of a religious congregation. “Four persons, all residents of Srinagar have been tested positive- 2 have travel history abroad; the other 2 have travel history outside J&K as part of religious congregation,” he said in a tweet.

They are presently quarantined at Chest Diseases Hospital (CDH) Srinagar. At present, more than 70 suspected cases have been quarantined at the CD hospital.

According to the hospital authorities, two of the positive patients arrived in the same plane in which Kashmir’s first positive patient had travelled. The Khanyar woman was the first case to be reported positive on March 18. She had later recovered.

The other two patients are believed to have probably got infected while participating in a religious event and were in touch with the deceased Covid-19 patient from Hyderpora, Srinagar.

Yesterday, a 67-year-old COVID-19 patient died in Srinagar hospital. A resident of Hyderpora, he originally hails from Sopore and had traveled to Andaman Islands on February 15 and before returning to Srinagar. His travel history was traced as: Srinagar to Delhi (March 5), Delhi To UP (March 8), UP to Jammu (March 16).

Two siblings, aged 7 years and 8 months old respectively were tested positive for coronavirus disease in Kashmir yesterday.

Besides, 3,053 persons have been kept under home quarantine, including at facilities operated by the Government, while as 117 are in hospital quarantine.

Persons who are under home surveillance stand at 1,761 while 551 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period.

J&K: First time in recent history, no Friday prayers in masjids

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): For the first time in recent history, Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir skipped Friday congregation prayers in masjids, as the UT administration had appealed people not to be a part of public or religious gatherings, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Every Friday, Muslims across the world offer Friday prayers in congregation at a Masjid with a large gathering of people from the community.

J&K administration has advised people to stay at home and avoid huge congregations, in line with similar restriction orders in the country to restrict the spread of coronavirus. The country is currently under a 21-day lockdown to combat COVID-19, from March 25 to April 14.

J&K government spokesman Rohit Kansal tweeted: “DCs and SPs advised to strictly caution all religious leaders not to call any gatherings. Public gatherings a major source of social contact and spread of the virus.”

Kashmir’s Grand Mufti, Nasir-ul-Islam had also appealed people not to offer Friday prayers in Masjids. “We are heading towards a disaster. To stop it, there should be no Friday prayers in any mosque or shrine,” he had said.

Most of the religious heads of the Masjids have been asked to limit the number of people to masjids. “It’s for the first time, we are facing such a situation that we have to skip Friday prayers,” said a local resident.

Besides, large contingents of forces have been deployed all over the state to restrict any unnecessary public or traffic movement. In J&K, curfew-like restrictions entered the ninth day today.

Police has said that they won’t honor any identity cards of staff engaged in essential services, and has advised them to obtain passes from concerned district magistrates.

Junaid Azim Mattoo, Mayor of Srinagar, also asked people not to perform Friday prayers in mosques.

The Municipal Corporation of Srinagar earlier this week had cleaned all the temples and historical mosques here.

The number of COVID-19 positive cases has already reached 14 in J& K while one infected patient succumbed to his condition in a Srinagar hospital yesterday.

PM lauds RBI for taking ‘giant steps’ to safeguard economy amid COVID-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today praised the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for taking measures to cushion the impact of coronavirus on the economy.

His remarks came after the Centra Bank cut the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent today to tackle the challenges thrown by COVID-19 on the economy.

PM Modi tweeted, “RBI has taken giant steps to safeguard our economy from the impact of the Coronavirus. The announcements will improve liquidity, reduce cost of funds, help middle class and businesses”.


RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, in a briefing today, said that RBI has injected  Rs 3.74 lakh crore liquidity into the system through various measures.

Apart from the repo rate, the central bank slashed reverse repo rate by 90 basis points to 4 per cent.

RBI also announced a three-month moratorium on EMI payments for all types of term loans applicable to all the banks to reduce the economic damage caused due to the unprecedented coronavirus contagion.

COVID-19 cases climb to 44 in Bangladesh; 5 deaths so far

New Delhi (NVI): Five more coronavirus cases have been reported in Bangladesh, taking the total number of positive cases to 44, according to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).

While the death toll from the disease has remained unchanged at five, a total of 11 people have fully recovered from the disease.

Of the five newly-infected ones, one is an imported case, three came in contact with infected patients and information about another is still unavailable, according to United News of Bangladesh.

IEDCR Director Professor Meerjady Sabrina Flora said in a press briefing yesterday that the 5 newly-infected people are male.

The IEDCR will soon launch district-level hotline numbers to help people contact it easily.

Prof Flora also said samples will be collected from wider range of citizens from now on.

Ramayan to be re-telecast on Doordarshan from tomorrow

New Delhi (NVI): Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ will be re-telecast on Doordarshan from tomorrow on public demand, Prakash Javdekar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting said in a tweet today.

“Happy to announce that on public demand, we are starting re-telecast of ‘Ramayana’ from tomorrow, Saturday, March 28 in DD National, One episode in morning 9 am to 10 am, another in the evening 9 pm to 10 pm,” Javdekar said in a tweet.

The popular demand for Ramayana to return on TV began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete nationwide lockdown for 21 days, starting from March 25.

Ramayana, aired during 1987-88, was a drama adaptation of Hindu epic of the same name and is primarily based on Valmiki’s Ramayan and Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many on social media have written how Ramayana was hugely popular at one time.

Meanwhile, social media users also said that the mythological show would help reduce stress at the time of the nationwide lockdown.

SJVN, CRPF make contributions to combat COVID-19

New Delhi (NVI): Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN), a Miniratna PSU under the Union Ministry of Power, has announced that it will provide Rs 1 crore to combat coronavirus which has taken the world by storm.

SJVN Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Nand Lal Sharma said the amount would be used to procure six ventilators by Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital in Shimla, five ventilators by Dr Rajender Prasad Medical College in Tanda and some ventilators in Rampur hospital at Khaneri in Shimla district.

The SJVN Ltd will also extend financial support to provide other essential items like masks, sanitizers and gloves to these health institutions, the Ministry fo Power said in a statement today.

Many government organisations and PSUs are coming forward to contribute in funds for fighting COVID-19 in the country which has claimed 17 lives so far.

Yesterday, CRPF also donated Rs 33.81 crore to Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to aid the battle against coronavirus. This came as CRPF personnel decided to contribute a day’s salary to the fund.

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