Srinagar Apr 02: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Thursday said nearly one in every 13 test samples in Kashmir valley are coming out positive for the novel (new) coronavirus.
“Overall, country has about one in 22 tests positive for COVID-19,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
“As of April 02, Kashmir valley has tested 678 samples, of which 53 (7.8 percent) were positive,” he said adding “overall, in India of 42,788 samples, 1, 965 (4.5 percent) cases were tested positive.”
Dr Nisar said the reason for our higher percentage of test results coming positive could be because of more target testing or the testing rate is high than rest of the states. It is also possible that the number of cases in the valley are more than other parts of the country.
“Kashmir has 7.57 cases per one million which is higher COVID-19 case density than most states in India,” he added.
Dr Nisar said in comparison to India, as of March 25 about a quarter of all tests in Italy, about a sixth in Austria and a tenth in UK were positive for COVID-19.
“74,386 of 324,445 tests (23 percent) in Italy, 6001 of 35,995 tests (16.7 percent) in Austria, 65,497 of 484,062 tests (13.5 percent) in US and 9,529 of 97,019 tests (10 percent) in the UK were positive,” he said.
Dr Nisar said more testing rates in other countries could be the reason for higher number of cases.
“India performs 18 tests per one million, Italy has testing rate of 5,268 tests per million and South Korea conducts 6,931 per million population,” he said.
Dr Nisar said we need to expand testing as that is only way to know the actual burden of the disease in the community.
“More than 80 percent of coronavirus cases are mild and they don’t turn up and go unreported. We need to find them and test them,” he said
Dr Nisar said there are few reported cases in the valley who had no history of travel or contact which gives us an early indication that the infection is spreading untraced in the local community.
“We need to switch from restrictive to wider testing to know if there is community spread,” he said.
“Under new guidelines, anyone with symptoms compatible with the novel coronavirus, irrespective of travel or contact history qualifies for diagnostic testing,” said Dr Nisar.
Author: hamid
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One in 13 tests in Kashmir positive for coronavirus
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Priya Sethi serves food to needy during lockdown at Jammu.
Jammu, 2nd April: On the directions of BJP National president JP Nadda and BJP UT president Jammu and Kashmir Ravinder Raina,former minister and incharge Ladies Helpline Covid19 J&K; Priya Sethi today serves free food to needy to mitigate sufferings of poor people who got affected due to lockdown in view of COVID-19 at CPO chowk Panjtherthi, Jammu along with Corporator Anil Masoom, Sunita Didwal, Sunita Sharma, Deepak Ji.
Former Minister Priya Sethi said as our President BJP J&K has directed us to donate ration to 9 needy families on the eve of Rama Navami so we decided to feed 109 people who are very poor and are in need of food this time because of this lockdown and added that as united we can fight the corona.
While providing food to needy at Jammu, former minister Sethi said that on the instruction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP party senior leaders it is our duty to help the needy in this time and that is why we are trying to provide all necessary assistance to needy families in our vicinity and around.
She added that all our party workers are ensuring the possible help to these needy families and to reach them all over the newly created union territory.
We are distributing the ration and relief too to the People who are most affected by lockdown during this covid 19 effect at different places of Jammu.
Priya Sethi while distributing the food to needy at Jammu appealed the people to cooperate with the Government and maintain social distancing and not to come out of their homes to contain the spread of virus, as without cooperation of citizens it would be hard to achieve desired results besides making India free from COVID-19 .
She further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24th of this month announced a 21-day lockdown in the country to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and He said this is an essential step to fight coronavirus decisively and added that saving lives is priority as of now.
Priya Sethi said that Humanity is our identity and feeding the needy is our responsibility, together we will win. -
Domicile law unacceptable, will have serious repercussions: Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam
Srinagar, April 02 (KNO): Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam Thursday lashed out at the Government of India for announcing the domicile law at a time when entire world is facing the challenge of Covid-19, Kashmiris were again “back stabbed.” Islam said new domicile law is totally unacceptable for the people of Kashmir.
Talking to wire service—Kashmir News Observer(KNO), Islam said that the new job law is totally unacceptable to people d will have serious repercussions.
“The Government of India GoI choose timing when Pandemic has engulfed entire world. This is backstabbing and we totally oppose it” , Islam told—KNO. He said keeping top jobs for outsiders and peon and class IV jobs for Kashmir is a sheer injustice—(KNO)
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Domicile law part of process aimed at changing J&K’s demographic character: Hurriyat (M)
Srinagar, April 02 (KNO): Hurriyat Conference (M) in a statement today, said that the process to change the demographic character of Jammu and Kashmir started in August 2019 is being systematically carried forward and the recent domicile order issued by the Government of India is part of that plan.
In a statement to Wire Service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), such orders are meant to facilitate the inflow and settlement of people from outside the state into J&K to turn the local residents of the state into a minority.
The statement said that these attempts not only undermine the efforts for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue , but are an assault on the prospects of employment and growth of our youth and future generations of Jammu and Kashmir and their rights and an attempt to erode the unique cultural heritage of the regions .
The Hurriyat said that since August 2019 all such orders by GOI and the manner in which they are being thrust and implemented on people of J&K has been deeply distressing and painful for the people to say the least.
The statement said the timing of the order is unbelievable and suspect. At the time when the severe calamity of Covid 19 has struck the entire world and the whole world is battling its survival , such an order was issued. People of J&K as elsewhere in the world , are under lockdown due to this grave medical emergency , and can’t even raise their voice against such an order to show their resentment, it said.
Hurriyat appealed to the global community and people with a conscience in India, to wake up to what is happening in J&K and respond to our situation in the light of ethics and principles of justice.
It reiterated that the internationally acknowledged issue of J&K has to be resolved peacefully as per the wishes of its people and between India Pakistan and the people of entire J&K the three parties to the conflict—(KNO)
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Test of first Covid-19 patient admitted at CD Hospital found negative
Srinagar: The test report of first patient admitted in Chest Disease Hospital Srinagar for Covid-19 has been found negative.
The patient (name withheld) was in hospital quarantine from past 15 days and today his test was found negative. Head of Department, Chest Disease Hospital Srinagar, Dr Naveed Shah confirmed to KNT that the first patient tested positive for Covid-19 has been tested negative. He however didn’t divulge information about the location and name of the patient.
He added that quarantine is the best remedy to combat this lethal virus. “We have to maintain social distance at any cost and stay indoors,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kashmir’s first positive case, the 65-year-old woman from downtown Srinagar is completely cured and is back home where she would now follow the mandatory quarantine of 14 days or 28 days as advised by the doctors. (KNT) -
Israel’s health minister diagnosed with coronavirus
Israel’s health minister and his wife were diagnosed with coronavirus and are in isolation following guidelines, the health ministry said on April 2.
Yaakov Litzman, 71, an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has appeared regularly alongside the premier to provide updates on the spread of the pandemic and new measures to combat it.But Litzman has scaled back public appearances in recent weeks and the ministry’s director-general has held daily briefings instead. Litzman and his wife feel well, the ministry said in a statement.
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Russia sends planeload of medical supplies to US as Russian doctors complain of lack of equipment
The US is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, with the total number of cases climbing to almost 190,000 by Tuesday
A Russian military plane carrying medical equipment has departed for the United States, the defense ministry in Moscow said Wednesday, as the Kremlin flexes its soft power amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Antonov-124, “with medical masks and medical equipment on board”, left for the U.S. overnight, a statement said, without providing further details.
Video released by the ministry showed the cargo plane loaded with boxes preparing to take off from a military airbase near Moscow early Wednesday morning.
Contacted by AFP, the defense ministry refused to provide any further information on the delivery, which came after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Monday.
Moscow said the aid for Italy included some 100 virus specialists with experience dealing with Ebola and swine fever, but Italian media have reported that much of the aid was not useful in the fight against the virus.
Last month, Russia said it had sent nearly 1,000 coronavirus testing kits to ex-Soviet states and countries including Iran and North Korea.
The U.S. now has 188,663 confirmed coronavirus cases, by far the highest of any country, according to a Johns Hopkins tally, and more than 4,000 deaths.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Putin expected the U.S. to return the gesture if Russia faces a similar crisis and U.S. producers have increased their capacity to produce medical supplies.
“Today, when the situation touches absolutely everyone and is of a global nature, there is no alternative to acting together in the spirit of partnership and mutual assistance,” he said.
Mr. Trump said earlier this week that “Russia sent us a very, very large planeload of things, medical equipment, which was very nice.”
Health officials in Russia have registered a sharp increase in the number of infections, with 2,337 cases and 17 deaths confirmed, according to the latest figures Wednesday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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COVID-19: Hate crimes against Asians on the rise in US
Some community leaders accuse President Donald Trump of fanning the flames of prejudice.
Rob Reynolds | Aljazeera
Activists in the United States are reporting a sharp increase in the number of racist incidents and hate crimes targeting people of Asian descent.
Some community leaders accuse President Donald Trump of fanning the flames of prejudice.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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US coronavirus cases surpass 200,000 with more than 4,600 deaths
At a briefing on Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state has more than 83,000 cases of coronavirus.
The number of coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed 200,000 on Wednesday as officials warned spikes in confirmed cases may soon be seen outside of large city centres.
At his daily briefing on Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his state accounted for more than 83,000 of the total coronavirus infections and 1,941 of the deaths. Neighbouring New Jersey was the second-hardest hit state, with more than 18,000 cases and 267 deaths.
In New York alone, currently the epicentre of US outbreak, 12,226 people remain hospitalised, an increase of 1,297 in the past 24 hours, more than 3,000 of them in intensive care. Cuomo stressed that more than 6,000 patients had been treated and released from hospitals in the state.
The data from the US, however, comes amid reports that China has underplayed the extent of the outbreak in that country, the origin of the coronavirus. Bloomberg News, citing White House sources, reported on Wednesday that US intelligence officials believe China has underreported both the number of cases and deaths from COVID-19, the disease associated with the coronavirus. The extent of the understatement was not disclosed.
Bloomberg said Chinese officials did not respond to requests for comment for the report.
At his briefing, Cuomo said only one county in the state of New York, in the rural north-central part of the state, had not reported cases of coronavirus, a trend that he said was a harbinger of what was coming to the rest of the US.
“Just the way it’s gone through rural New York, it will go through rural America,” Cuomo said. “To the extent, people watch their nightly news in Kansas and say, ‘Well, this is a New York problem’, that’s not what these numbers say. It says it’s a New York problem today. Tomorrow, it’s a Kansas problem and a Texas problem and a New Mexico problem.”
More than 4,600 people have died from the virus nationwide.
Cuomo also narrowed earlier projections about when New York would see a peak in the number of new cases, saying on Wednesday that if New York residents can adhere to minimal social distancing guidelines the apex of the epidemic could come at the end of April. To that end, he announced that all New York City playgrounds would be closed. Parks will remain open, he said.
Data released by the city shows that the disease is having a disproportionate effect in certain neighbourhoods, mainly Brooklyn and Queens on the eastern side of the sprawling city.
The city’s ambulance system and police department are under increasing stress from the pandemic, with nearly a quarter of the city’s emergency medical service workers out sick, according to the Fire Department. In all, 2,800 members of the Fire Department are sidelined, including about 950 of the city’s 4,300 EMS workers.
Nearly 16 percent of the New York Police Department’s uniformed force is now out sick. More than 1,000 officers have tested positive for the virus.
Authorities are racing to build temporary hospitals in locations including Central Park, the Jacob K Javits Convention Center, a cruise ship terminal and a sports complex to handle an expected surge in patients.
The projection of 93,000 total deaths from coronavirus across the US came from a Bill Gates Foundation-funded organisation working with the state of New York, Cuomo said. He added that 16,000 of those projected deaths would be in the state of New York alone. The White House on Tuesday projected the death toll in the US could be between 100,000 and 240,000 if social distancing practices and other measures were maintained.
Cuomo said the best way to reverse the current isolation policies that have brought the US economy to a halt and left the majority of Americans virtually homebound is to increase the frequency and availability of tests. He likened the current situation to a “bad groundhog movie”.
“You come up with testing and rapid testing, not only do you get the economy running, you end the anxiety. The anxiety is what is most oppressive here. Not knowing,” he said. “Not knowing when this is going to end. The anxiety of dealing with this isolation day after day after day. It’s like a bad groundhog movie.
“Testing is going to be the best mechanism to try to work through that anxiety,” Cuomo said.
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U.S. agrees to buy ventilators, medical supplies from Russia
The move comes after a telephonic conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
The United States has agreed to buy from Russia ventilators, medical supplies and other personal protection equipment needed to treat patients infected with COVID-19, a top official has said, as the country wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic that the White House has warned could kill up to two lakh people during the next fortnight.
The move to buy from Russia comes after a telephonic conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on March 30.
Morgan Ortagus | Photo Credit: AP “As a follow-up to the March 30 phone call between President Trump and President Putin, the United States has agreed to purchase needed medical supplies, including ventilators and personal protection equipment, from Russia, which were handed over to FEMA on April 1 in New York City.” State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said on Wednesday.
Both the countries have provided humanitarian assistance to each other in times of crisis in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future, she said.
“This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us,” she added.
“The countries of the G20 agreed last week to work together to defeat the coronavirus, and we are working closely with these countries and others to ensure that critically needed supplies get to those in need,” Ms. Ortagus said.
The United States is committed to the global fight against COVID-19, she said, adding that the US is a generous and reliable contributor to crisis response and humanitarian action across the world.
“But we cannot do it alone,” Ms. Ortagus noted.