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Coronavirus deaths in India climb to 53; total cases at 2069

(Updating earlier copy)

New Delhi (NVI): As the country entered its ninth day of lockdown, the total number of positive COVID-19 cases rose to 2,069 while the death toll climbed to 53, with Maharashtra being the worst affected state (335 cases), followed by Kerala (265).

The latest numbers put out by the Health Ministry include 1,860 active coronavirus cases, while 155 people have been cured or discharged.

Tamil Nadu has reported 234 cases so far. The number of positive coronavirus cases in Delhi has also gone up to 152.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 47,951 tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in the country till date.

Coronavirus deaths reach 31 in Pakistan; total cases at 2,291

New Delhi (NVI): The death toll from novel coronavirus in Pakistan rose to 31, after five more people died in the last 24 hours.

The new deaths were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces, according to the Federal Health Ministry.

The number of infected cases in the country also rose to 2,291, according to Dawn news.

The total number of recovered patients also increased to 107, said the Health Ministry.

So far, 845 confirm cases were reported from the northeastern Punjab province, 743 from southern Sindh, 276 from northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 169 from Balochistan, 187 from the northern Gilgit Baltistan region, 62 from the capital Islamabad.

Nepal: 9 people who attended Tablighi Jamaat gathering quarantined

New Delhi (NVI): Nine people from Rajbiraj in Nepal, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin in India and returned home after secretly crossing the border, have now been placed under quarantine, according to the media reports.

All the people were detained by the police from their homes and were placed in a quarantine facility set up at the local hospital yesterday.

The police set out on a search for those who attended the religious congregation in India after reports that around 19 participants were from Nepal.

According to the District Police Office Deputy Superintendent of Police Tilak Bharati, the quarantined persons had crossed over to Nepal during the night of Sunday and Monday.

“As per our information, more people from the district, from places other than Rajbiraj, also participated in the Muslim religious congregation and some of them have now returned home secretly. We’ll find all of them and put them in quarantine,” the DSP was quoted as saying by The Himalayan Times.

The District Health Office Chief has also urged all attendees of the religious gathering who have returned home secretly to share their travel history immediately.

“It’s the height of irresponsibility and against humanity to put hundreds of lives at risk by refusing to stay in quarantine, so I hereby urge everyone, who participated in that gathering and came home, to come in contact with the authorities concerned and stay in quarantine for the designated period,” he told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, few of those now quarantined said that they didn’t attend the religious gathering in Delhi but returned from a similar program in Bihar.

COVID-19: 8 more test positive, total 70 cases in J&K

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Eight more people have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir, while the total number of positive cases in the Union Territory has reached 70.

According to the UT government figures, there have been two deaths and three recoveries so far.

“Kashmir has 53 positive cases while Jammu has 17 COVID-19 patients,” J&K government said in the daily COVID-19 bulletin.

According to the reports, three fresh cases have been reported from Kashmir, two from Udhampur and three from Jammu today.

The government has placed 1,70,677 people under observation. “Of them 10,694 are in home quarantine, 622 in hospital quarantine, 4,109 under home surveillance,” the bulletin read.

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

General public has been advised to avoid unnecessary visit to hospitals, in case anyone develops 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.

Around 9000 Tablighi Jamaat members identified, quarantined: MHA

Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry

New Delhi (NVI): Around 9,000 Tablighi Jamaat workers and their primary contacts have been identified across the country and placed under quarantine, Union Home Ministry said in a statement today.

The Tablighi Jamaat members were tracked down after Home Ministry along with States and UTs launched a massive effort, said Punya Salila Srivastava,  joint secretary in Home Ministry.

She added that 1306 of these are foreigners.

The joint secretary also informed that 2000 TJ workers had attended the congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, out of which 1804 have been shifted to quarantine centers. Rest 334 persons who were found symptomatic have been hospitalised, she said.

The development comes against the backdrop of the controversial Tablighi congregation at Nizamuddin Dargah in New Delhi in mid-March.

The government’s action came after it was found that a large Tableegi congregation had taken place at the Nizamuddin shrine in National capital and many people got infected with coronavirus there.

On Tuesday, government authorities started hunting for those who attended the congregation despite lockdown, as Telangana reported six COVID-19 deaths, all of whom had returned to the state after attending the Nizamuddin Markaz event.

Meanwhile, 960 foreigners, found to have been involved in Tablighi Jamaat activities have been blacklisted and their visas have been cancelled, Home Ministry said.

Bangladesh: Stadiums to be converted into quarantine centers, hospitals

New Delhi (NVI): Bangladesh is set to convert all its stadiums into temporary quarantine centers or field hospitals to facilitate authorities in curbing the spread of coronavirus in the country, according to media reports.

There are 80 stadiums and 125 mini-stadiums across the country, with some being used to accommodate army personnel who have been mobilized to ensure that people observe the nationwide lockdown.

Zahid Ahsan Russel, state minister for youth and sport, said, “In Bangladesh, the situation is still not that bad when compared to the global pandemic. However, as a precautionary measure we’ve decided to establish makeshift hospitals or quarantine centers in case of an emergency.”

In the last 24 hours, the health department has tested 157 people, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said during a virtual briefing conducted by the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research.

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also urged people to avoid all festivities and mass gatherings during new year celebrations scheduled to take place on April 14.

So far, Bangladesh has identified 54 COVID-19 patients, with six deaths reported across the country, accoridng to United News of Bangladesh.

Surat girl who recovered from COVID-19 says ‘trust civil hospitals’

New Delhi (NVI): 21-year-old Rita Bachkaniwala, who recovered from life-threatening COVID-19 in Surat a few days back, has thanked doctors and authorities while leaving a message – “Trust civil hospitals”.

In a video message on her Instagram, Rita has specially thanked doctors at Surat Civil Hospital and the services by Surat Municipal Corporation that helped in her recovery.

“I heartily thank the whole staff of Surat Civil Hospital and to Dr Ashwin Vasava for all treatment, the health, hygiene, safety and emotional support and would also like to thank the services by Surat Municipal Corporation by taking caring of my family and staff,” she said.

Rita, who was among the few first COVID-19 patients in Gujarat, was discharged from New Civil Hospital, Surat, on 29 March.

COVID has attacked our faith, need for united front: PM

New Delhi (NVI): Observing that coronavirus has attacked “our faith and belief”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the pandemic is “threatening our way of life” and appealed for a united front in the battle against it.

Against the backdrop of the controversial Tableegi congregation at Nizamuddin Dargah here, Modi said leaders should reach out to community leaders and social welfare organizations at state, district, town and block levels to build up a united front based on community-approach in the battle against the pandemic.

The Prime Minister was addressing Chief Ministers via a video conference in which he underlined the imperative to work on a war footing, identify hotspots of the virus, encircle them and ensure that the virus does not spread out.

He also said that it is pertinent to maintain peace and law and order across the country.

The Chief Ministers also mentioned their efforts of maintaining social distancing, tracking suspect cases, identifying and quarantining suspect cases arising from Nizamuddin Markaz, during their interaction with the PM.

They also apprised the Prime Minister about their efforts for containing community transmission, boosting up of medical infrastructure, strengthening medical workforce, provision of tele-medicine, provision of mental health counselling, distribution of food and other essentials to those in need and taking care of migrant workers.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister asked the States to brainstorm and send suggestions to the Centre so that a common exit strategy can be formulated to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once lockdown ends.

This would mean a limited or controlled movement of a large population in the country after the lockdown gets over on April 14.

While reiterating the importance of social distancing in preventing the spread of COVID-19, the PM thanked the States for supporting the decision of lockdown due to which India has achieved some success in limiting the spread of the contagion. At the same time, he also forewarned that the global situation remains far from satisfactory and informed about the speculations of a possible second wave of the spread of the virus in some countries.

He asserted that the common goal for the country is to ensure minimum loss of life. “In the next few weeks, testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine should remain the areas of focus,” he said.

The PM also highlighted the necessity of maintaining the supply of essential medical products, availability of raw material for the manufacture of medicines and medical equipment.

He said it is necessary to ensure availability of separate, dedicated hospital facilities for COVID-19 patients.

To increase the availability of doctors, he asked the States to tap into the resource pool of AYUSH doctors, organize online training and utilize para-medical staff, NCC and NSS volunteers.

Calling for a coordinated action to address the present crisis, the Prime Minister stressed the need for setting up Crisis Management Groups at district level and appointment of District Surveillance Officers.

To ensure congruence in Covid-19 related data of district, state and Centre, the PM said that data must be taken from the accredited labs for testing.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister also said it is necessary to ensure staggered release of funds to the beneficiaries under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana to avoid crowding at banks.

Starting from China in December last year, the pandemic has wreaked havoc across several countries in the world with the death toll reaching 47,000 and total cases around 9 lakh.

In India, the death toll due to Covid-19 has reached 50 while the total number of cases have climbed to 1,965, according to Health Ministry data. The country entered a 21-day lockdown on March 24 midnight after PM made an announcement in this regard to combat the pandemic by remaining indoors and following the principle of social distancing.

COVID-19: Prez, VP to hold video-conference with Governors and LGs

President
President Ram Nath Kovind

New Delhi (NVI): President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will hold a video-conference tomorrow \with Governors, Lieutenant Governors and administrators of all the states and Union Territories.

The video-conference will be held to bolster the efforts to contain and manage the crisis arising from the outbreak of COVID-19.

The agenda of the conference would include the status of COVID-19 in the states, the role of the Red Cross with focus on vulnerable sections, and the role of civil society/voluntary organisations/private sector in complementing the efforts of the Union and State governments to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

This will be second such video-conference with Governors/LGs and Administrators of States and UTs.

In the video-conference on March 27, 14 Governors and Delhi Lt. Governor shared experiences in their territories.

The remaining Governors/LGs and Administrators will be sharing their experiences tomorrow.

Rights of refugees, migrants must be protected amid Covid-19: UN

Many live in overcrowded camps, settlements, makeshift shelters or reception centers. (Twitter)

New Delhi (NVI): Amid the coronavirus pandemic, when several countries in the world are closing their borders, many refugees, especially those forcibly displaced, stateless and migrants are at heightened risk, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

At such a time, rights and health of refugees and migrants must be protected as “we can only defeat this virus when each and every one of us is protected,” says the UN body.

“Three-quarters of the world’s refugees and many migrants are hosted in developing regions where health systems are already overwhelmed and under-capacitated,” UNHCR said in a report.

Many live in overcrowded camps, settlements, makeshift shelters or reception centers, where they lack adequate access to health services, clean water, and sanitation.

The situation for refugees and migrants held in formal and informal places of detention, in cramped and unsanitary conditions are particularly worrying.

The UN Body has warned that such cramped spaces at refugee camps can be breeding grounds of the COVID-19 that has claimed thousands of lives so far. While considering the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak would have, they should be released without delay, it said.

Migrant children and their families and those detained without a sufficient legal basis should be immediately released, it added.

“Migrants and refugees are disproportionately vulnerable to exclusion, stigma, and discrimination, particularly when undocumented,” the UN body said adding that the disease can be controlled if an inclusive approach is adopted which protects every individual’s rights to life and health.

“To avert a catastrophe, governments must do all they can to protect the rights and the health of everyone. Protecting the rights and the health of all people will, in fact, help control the spread of the virus,” according to the human rights body.

All migrants and refugees must be ensured equal access to health services, the agency says adding that they must be effectively included in national responses to COVID-19, including prevention, testing, treatment.

This inclusion will help not only to protect the rights of refugees and migrants, but will also serve to protect public health and stem the global spread of COVID-19.

The UN Human Rights Agency has called upon all the countries to ensure that refugees and migrants get adequate access to national health services and additional financial support.

This is where the world’s financial institutions can play a leading role in making funds available, it stated.

The agency also suggested ways to manage border restrictions in a manner that respects international human rights and refugee protection standards, including the principle of non-refoulment, through quarantine and health checks.

As the world is fighting the COVID-10 menace on a war footing, the UNHCR has said that many refugees, displaced, stateless people and migrants can also be a part of the solution if their skills and resources are properly utilised, rather than ignoring them or closing doors on them.

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