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First ever Intl Day of Epidemic Preparedness observed

First ever Intl Day of Epidemic Preparedness observed

New Delhi (NVI): The first-ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness was observed today as the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on countries to invest their capacities to prevent, detect and mitigate emergencies of all kinds.

The day was called for by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to advocate the importance of the prevention of, preparedness for and partnership against epidemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of investing in systems to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, WHO said in a statement.

As part of an overall approach to advance universal health coverage and strengthen primary health care systems, WHO works closely with governments to support efforts to build strong emergency and epidemic preparedness systems.

-ARK

Italy begins with Covid-19 vaccinations; 29-yr-old nurse first to get dose in Rome

Italy begins with Covid-19 vaccinations; 29-yr-old nurse first to get dose in Rome

New Delhi (NVI): A 29-year-old nurse in Rome was the first to receive Covid-19 vaccine in Italy as the country began with its massive vaccination campaign today with the arrival of nearly 10,000 doses.

Italian Nurse Claudia Alivernini, who works at Rome’s Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases, was the first person in the country to receive the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, reports in foreign media said.

The Italian government has given priority to health staff and workers and elderly residents in nursing homes to get the vaccines in the first phase. After this, those over 80 will get the doses, then 60- to 70-year-olds, and those who suffer from chronic illnesses.

After this, the general population will be vaccinated, starting with school staff, police forces and prison workers. With more than 50% of Italians now saying that they will get inoculated, and that number on the rise, the hope is that in nine months, Italy will reach herd immunity with 70% of the population vaccinated, a total of 42 million people.

According to reports, the country’s first allocated 9,750 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived at the Salvo D’Acquisto military base on December 25. The first batch of vaccines was escorted by police cars to the Spallanzani hospital in Rome.

Notably, Italy has been placed under new COVID-19 restrictions over the Christmas and New Year periods from December 24, in an effort to combat a rise in coronavirus cases.

Under the new restrictions, non-essential shops, restaurants and bars will remain closed and Italians only allowed to travel for work, health, and emergency reasons till January 6.

-ARK

DFC Project: PM to inaugurate Bhaupur-Khurja section on Dec 29

PM to inaugurate Bhaupur-Khurja section

New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the ‘New Bhaupur- New Khurja section’ of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) on December 29 at 11 am via video conferencing, PMO said in a statement.

During the event, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate EDFC’s Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj. Uttar Pradesh Governor Shrimati Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister Piyush Goyal will also be present on the occasion.

The 351 km New Bhaupur- New Khurja section of EDFC is situated in Uttar pradesh and is built at a cost of Rs 5,750 crores. The section will open new vistas of opportunity for the local industries such as aluminium industry (Pukhrayan region of Kanpur Dehat district), dairy sector (Auraiya district), textile production/block printing (Etawah district), glassware industry (Firozabad district), pottery products (Khurja of Bulandshahr district), asafoetida or ‘hing’ production (Hathras district) and locks and hardware (Aligarh district), PMO said.

The section will also decongest the existing Kanpur-Delhi main line and will enable Indian Railways to run faster trains, it said.

A state-of-the-art Operation Control Centre (OCC) at Prayagraj will act as the command centre for the entire route length of the EDFC. The OCC is one of the largest structures of its type globally, with modern interiors, ergonomic design and best-in-class acoustics. The building is environment-friendly with a Green Building rating of GRIHA4 and is built as per norms of the ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’.

The EDFC (1856 route km) starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) and will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. It is being constructed by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), that has been set up as a special purpose vehicle to build and operate Dedicated Freight Corridors.

DFCCIL is also constructing the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (1504 route km) that connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai and will traverse through the states of UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Govt extends validity of vehicular documents, permits till March 31

Govt extends validity of vehicular documents, permits till March 31
Representational Image

New Delhi (NVI): In another way to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has extended the validity of vehicular documents like DLs, RCs, Permits, etc till 31st Mach 2021.

The Ministry has issued a directory to the States and Union Territory administrations in the regard.

The Ministry had earlier issued advisories dated 30th March, 2020, 9th June, 2020 and 24th Aug 2020 regarding extension of validity of documents related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. It was advised that the validity of Fitness, Permit (all types), License, Registration or any other concerned document(s) may be treated to be valid till 31st December 2020.

“Taking into consideration the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19 , it is further advised that the validity of all of the above referred documents may be treated to be valid till 31st March 2021. This covers all documents whose validity has expired since 1st Feb, 2020 or would expire by 31st March 2021,” read the advisory.

“Enforcement authorities are advised to treat such documents valid till 31st of March 2021. This will help out citizens in availing transport-related services, while maintaining social distancing,” it adds.

The Ministry further said that all the States and Union Territories, are requested to implement this advisory in letter and spirit so that the citizens, the transporters and various other organizations which are operating under this difficult time during Covid Pandemic may not get harassed or face difficulties.

-ARK

PM Modi calls for replacing imported products, become ‘vocal for local’

PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (File photo)

New Delhi (NVI): In his last ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio address for this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that Indians must use domestically made products to replace imported products and become ‘vocal for local’.

He said that the Indians should make it a new year resolution to adopt make domestically made products as a part of their lives.

“The people of India have taken many steps forward and are getting vocal for local. Our manufacturers are also thinking about making top quality products. This will boost the efforts towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” PM Modi said in his monthly radio address.

He reiterated his government’s plan to become “self-reliant” in manufacturing. At the same time, the PM urged the manufacturers and industry leaders of the country to ensure their products are world-class as the mantra of ‘Vocal for Local’ is resonating in every house.

“I appeal to you to make a list of goods of daily use and analyse which imported articles have unconsciously become a part of our lives and made us their captive. Let us find out their Indian alternatives and resolves to use products produced by the hard work of Indians,” he said.

Addressing the nation through 72nd edition of ‘Mann ki Baat’, the Prime Minister said that the nation has developed new capabilities due to coronavirus.

“Due to coronavirus, the supply chains got disrupted the world over but we learnt new lessons from each crisis. The nation also developed new capabilities. We can call this capability ‘Atmanirbharata’ or self-reliance,” he said.

“It is the right time to work with the ethics of ‘Zero Effect, Zero Defect’. I call upon our manufacturers and industry leaders that when people have taken determined step forward and when the mantra of ‘Vocal for Local’ is resonating in every house, it is time to ensure that our products are world-class. The Global best must be manufactured in India. For this, our entrepreneurs and startups must come forward,” he said.

The PM also talked about Kashmiri saffron, saying that it is very unique, and entirely different from the saffron found in other countries. He explained how Kashmiri saffron was able to claim its rightful space in the global market after it received a geographical indication (GI) tag this year.

 -ARK

Militants planning to carry out blast in Jammu’s Rajouri arrested

New Delhi (NVI) The India Army and J&K Police today foiled a major terror bid by arresting some militants with explosive material in Galuthi area of Jammu’s Rajouri district.

In a statement, Army’s Jammu based PRO Lt Col Devender Anand said that these militants were likely to carry out a blast in Rajouri district and probably attempting to disrupt the communal harmony prevailing in the region.

“In an intelligence based well coordinated joint operation of Army and J&K Police, terrorists with explosive material were apprehended from a suspected vehicle near Galuthi, District Rajouri,” the PRO said.

“The apprehended terrorists are likely from terror outfit ‘Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force,” he added.

With the arrest of these terrorists, the security forces have unearthed a nexus involving local terrorists which were involved in ferrying war like stores and narcotics. Search operation is still on to recover more arms or explosive material from their hideouts, Army said.

Pertinent to mention here that two foreign terrorists of the same JK Ghaznavi Force were also killed in an encounter on 13 Dec 20 at Dogrian (Poonch) on Old Mughal Road. Their connection to Pakistan handlers is also being probed, Army said.

-ARK

J&K: SPO who decamped with 2 AK 47 rifles surrenders

Representational Image

Neyaz Elahi

Srinagar (NVI) A Special Police Officer, who had gone missing with two AK-47 rifles from Central Kashmir’s Chadoora police camp, has surrendered, police officials said today.

SPO Altaf Hassan Bhat, a resident of Qazipora in Chadoora, had fled with 2 service rifles during the intervening night of 13 and 14 October.

He was working with the police for the past five years.

“Two AK-47 rifles and three AK-47 magazines had been found missing when he deserted the camp.”

A manhunt had been launched to track him down after he went missing from SOG Camp.

Sources said that the SPO surrendered before SOG Chadura at Putrigam Pulwama and has been brought to SOG camp Chadura, with 1 AK 47 rifle and two magazines.

-ARK

India records lowest new Covid cases since June

COVID-19 cases
Representative image

New Delhi (NVI): With 18,732 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India has recorded the lowest daily spike in infections since June.

The total cases rise to 1,01,87,850 now. 279 deaths have been recorded since yesterday and the death toll stands at 1,47,622.

Of the total 1.01 crore cases in the country, active infections stand at 2.78 lakh. With 279 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, the death toll has remained below 300 for the second consecutive day.

97,61,538 people have recovered from the disease so far, taking the recovery rate to 95.82 per cent, according to the Health Ministry. The Covid-19 case fatality rate was registered at 1.44 per cent.

Apart from that, a total of 16,81,02,657 samples have been tested as on December 26, with 9,43,368 samples tested on Saturday.

The 279 new deaths include 60 from Maharashtra, 23 from Delhi, 33 from West Bengal, 21 from Kerala, 14 from Uttar Pradesh, 13 from Uttarakhand and 12 each from Punjab and Chhattisgarh.

-ARK

 

EAM Jaishankar to embark on a two-day visit to Qatar on Dec 27

Jaishankar

New Delhi (NVI): External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, will visit Qatar on December 27-28, to discuss bilateral and international issues with his Qatari counterpart.

During the visit, he is scheduled to meet the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, according to a statement released by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

He will also call on other important dignitaries of the State of Qatar, MEA added.

India and Qatar have maintained close high-level contacts during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Amir of the State of Qatar, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani have spoken thrice on telephone in the past few months, the statement read.

EAM and other Cabinet Ministers have also spoken with their Qatari counterparts, MEA stated.

India and Qatar enjoy strong economic, cultural and people-to-people ties. Qatar hosts more than 7 lakh Indians. The bilateral trade was US$ 10.95 billion in 2019-20. Both sides remain committed to intensify bilateral cooperation in various fields including energy and investments.

India and Qatar have also worked together to face the Covid-19 pandemic and coordinated smooth operation of flights under an Air Bubble arrangement.

The External Affairs Minister will also convey special gratitude to the State of Qatar for taking care of Indians during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notably, this will be the first visit of Jaishankar to Qatar as EAM.

-CHK

Ahead of holidays, China ramps up measures to control COVID-19 cases

Ahead of holidays, China ramps up measures to control COVID-19 cases

New Delhi (NVI): Beijing residents were today asked to wear face masks before going out of their houses and advised not to travel out of the capital as the city has reported new Covid-19 cases.

Health officials are ramping up measures ahead of the upcoming Spring Festival and Chinese New Year holidays following the emergence of new cases, official media reports said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese port city of Dalian went into a war-time mode to deal with the new cases.

China has controlled the pandemic after it emerged in Wuhan in December last year but new cases continued.

The country reported 20 newly confirmed Covid-19 cases, including eight locally transmitted ones and 12 arriving from outside China, the National Health Commission (NHC) said.

Earlier in May, Beijing health officials said that there is no need to wear masks as the virus has been brought under control.

China has so far reported 86,933 COVID-19 cases since early this year. This includes 328 patients who are still receiving treatment.

-CHK

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