Kashmir.Watch

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  • Coronavirus Pandemic: Four more tested positive in Sgr, toll in JK mounts to 16

    Srinagar, Mar 27 (KNO): Four more persons were on Friday tested positive for deadly coronavirus, taking the toll of active positive cases to 16, officials said.

    According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Government spokesman, Rohit Kansal in his tweet informed that four more persons have been tested positive in the Valley, adding that two among them have travel history of abroad while two more have travel history of outside Jammu and Kashmir as part of religious congregation.

    Notably, first death of Coronavirus pandemic was reported in the valley on Thursday while one positive case has recovered. The total number of positive cases across Jammu and Kashmir has mounted to 16

    – (KNO)

  • Coronavirus live updates: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests positive for COVID-19

    Trump has clashed with China over the pandemic.

    ABC News

    United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday morning that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.

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

    Johnson was tested on the advice of England’s chief medical officer, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

    “We will get through it,” Johnson said in a video message Friday.

    #COVID19

    A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than half a million people around the world since the first cases were detected in China back in December.

    There are more than 533,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new respiratory virus, and over 24,000 people have died from the disease, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

    The United States has eclipsed China’s tally with nearly 86,000 diagnosed cases. The two countries, along with Italy, account for almost half of the world’s infections from the novel coronavirus.

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

  • Video | COVID-19 Curfew; JKP punishes violators

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  • Jammu Kashmir need not to beg New Delhi for high speed internet: Er Nazir Yatoo

    Srinagar: Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) senior leader Er Nazir Amad Yatoo on Friday appealed heads of all political parties not to go with begging bowl to central government for restoration of 4G Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir.

    In a statement issued here, senior PDP leader, Er Nazir Yatoo said, “2G in not enough, it is a good joke with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Centre government wants to deceive the rest of world by saying we have restored internet in Jammu and Kashmir, but the truth is, common people can’t even download basic files,” he said.

    Yatoo said, every Kashmiri politician begged centre government to restore high speed internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, but unfortunately the centre didn’t showed interest in favor of people of J&K.

    Er Nazir Yatoo said, businesses in the valley have suffered losses worth crores since August 5, thousands of salesmen were pushed to stay at home. Sectors like tourism, horticulture and agriculture have been the worst hit. “First the internet shutdown and now the internet speed added to losses due to disruption in online sector after August 5th,” Yatoo said.

    Er Nazir Yatoo said economy of J&K is in the throes of calamitous crisis and that small and marginal entrepreneurs, students, medical fraternity and traders are the worst hit.
    “The government is no more sincere with the people as well as politicians of Jammu and Kashmir, he said .

    He said, at a time when online business has taken a severe blow in Kashmir, centre government is talking about giving new 50,000 jobs, one fails to understand the policy of centre government. When they are in no mood to restore evem high speed internet services, how can they provide new jobs to kashmiri youth?, Yatoo questioned.

    Yatoo said, in this time, when the world is fighting to stop the spread of deadly virus, International bodies like “Amnesty International” are repeatedly urging centre to restore high-speed 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir to help people in preparing against the spread of coronavirus.

    Yatoo observed that restoration of 4G mobile internet services across Kashmir would have enable people to remain engaged inside their homes in this tough time, but the centre government is in no mood to restore the service, despite repeated calls from the various heads of political parties.

    Doctors, nurses, and other health care workers are gearing up to work round-the-clock when this pandemic kicks in with full force across the world. Every moment will deal a frantic life or death situation of urgency, but slow internet services in such a time is highly unacceptable, PDP leader said.

    The medical fraternity in this time has taken a big hit in absence of high speed mobile internet services while netizens of Kashmir have also suffered hugely,”
    he said, while urging the heads of local political parts, not to beg infront of centre government.

    “It has been more than seven months for students to stay home after the central government locked down the region to prevent protests against abrogation of Article 370 in August last year. “The loss could have been now compensated by online classes. One fail to find a logic in restricting high speed internet in this time”, he said.

    Meanwhile, senior PDP leader appealed all political parties of Jammu and Kashmir, not to go with begging bowl before centre government for restoration of high speed internet service and it is enough now.

  • 101-yr-old Italian recovers from COVID-19

    The story of Mr. P. is a rare positive news item in a country under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    A 101-year-old man in the coastal Italian city of Rimini has recovered from the novel coronavirus, the disease which has infected a total of 80,589 people in the country and has claimed the lives of 8,215 others.

    Italian news reports said that the man, referred to only as “Mr. P.”, is believed to be the oldest person to recover from the disease, reports Xinhua news agency reported.

    According to Gloria Lisi, Vice-Mayor of Rimini, Mr. P., who was born in 1919, was admitted to the Rimini hospital — Ospedale Infermi di Rimini — a week ago after testing positive for COVID-19.

    In a televised interview on Thursday, Lisi said that as the patient began to recover it became “the story everyone talked about” in the hospital.

    “Everyone saw hope for the future of all of us in the recovery of a person more than 100 years old,” Lisi said.

    “Every day we see the sad stories from these weeks that mechanically tell about a virus that rages and is especially aggressive on the elderly. But he survived. Mr. P. survived.”

    Lisi further said: “His family brought him home last night (Wednesday), leaving behind a lesson that even at the age of 101, the future is not set.”

    The story of Mr. P. is a rare positive news item in a country under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    Currently, Italy has the highest number of fatalities, even surpassing China where the coronavirus originated last December.

  • Xi tells Trump; China and US must ‘unite to fight virus’ : State Media

    Beijing: China and the United States should “unite to fight” the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the globe, said President Xi Jinping in a call with his US counterpart on Friday, according to state media.

    The two countries have clashed in recent weeks over the virus, but Xi told Trump China “wishes to continue sharing all information and experience with the US,” said state broadcaster CCTV.

  • How to live in lockdowns?

    Sharing experiences with friends

    Dr. Amit Wanchoo

    Many friends nationally and internationally are asking how we Kashmiris have spent time during multiple lockdowns in last three decades. They want to learn and gain experience in the times of COVID 19. Well we have seen lockdowns and many times it was with one major difference having restricted or no access to Internet. We had social distancing during lockdowns in Kashmir but at the moment it is more physical distancing. But as they say adversities come with opportunities and I think many of us in Kashmir adapted positivity and that is why we are still surviving. So let me go step by step what actually matters in lockdowns and how we should take care.

    Lockdowns always have immediate, short term and long term effects and we have to deal with them accordingly. The first things that come to our mind are always the essential things. My immediate checklist for the lockdown goes as:

    Make a list of doctors/ paramedics who will be available during any emergency (day or night) in your locality.
    Keep handy cash at home because you may need it anytime
    Electricity backups like inverter and generators wherever it is possible.
    Candles / torch in case of severe breakdowns
    Stock eatables, gas and other fuels to a limited extent.
    For cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy you need to have constant follow up with the concerned medico.
    Oxygen concentrators / cylinders for those who need them 24×7 should be stocked.
    Frequent chats within family and friends can be video/ audio etc
    Stock up emergency medicines, recharging mobile phones and if required request for special curfew pass from administration.
    Have a good Sleep. Your body needs rest
    Then comes the short and long term phase. For short term phase the major challenge is to manage fake news, anxiety disorders, panic and other associated factors. The short term effects of lockdowns vary but I am focussing on major ones depending on my experience in Kashmir for last three decades.

    1. In short term lock downs you have to first care for people having mental health issues like OCD, Anxiety or any mental disorder.
    2. Anxiety disorders even in general population are a lot and this time it is about hand washing. For anyone with generalised anxiety it exposes him or her to excessive worrying and irrational behaviour. Considering the present crisis of Corona Virus hand washing at times becomes a major challenge in OCD patients.
    3. General public should avoid temptation to learn everything about COVID 19 from social media. Have information that is required. More social media information adds to panic and mostly it is the fake news.
    4. Have verified trusted news source and twice a day update is enough about Corona Virus
    5. Managing anxiety and panic during such crisis requires us to focus on facts and not random emotional bulletins.
    6. As a community you have to come together and feed those who can’t afford a living. This has been done in Kashmir by people through mohalla committees, various social and civil organisations.
    7. If you have issues with anyone business, professional, personal. This is the best time to reach out, chat, talk and resolve your differences
    8. Spend quality time with your family and friends. In present corona crisis you can do it with audio calls, video calls and whatsapp groups.
    9. For children it is the best time to encourage traditional storytelling, introduce them more to your local regional language, culture, art and local heroes who are fighting the crisis.
    10. Eat less, try to avoid weight gain and have mental relaxation.

    In long term lockdowns the whole strategy changes and we have to get loads of sectors together and major challenge is to sustain economy. In case COVID 19 goes off soon and I pray for that than we may not need that strategy. But in case it sticks for longer time I will share with all of you those experiences in next article.

    Dr Amit Wanchoo is a medical doctor, entrepreneur and social activist. He is Chairman H.N.Wanchoo Trust.

    Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Kashmir Today and Kashmir Today does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

  • India coronavirus lockdown, day 3 live updates | 716 confirmed cases; death toll touches 18

    Worldwide, the number of coronavirus cases tops half a million, and deaths climb past 24,000.

    The Hindu

    COVID-19 has claimed 18 lives in India as of March 27, according to data from the Health Ministry and State governments. As many as 716 people have been tested positive for the coronavirus.

    The United States overtook China and Italy to occupy the grim title of the country with the most coronavirus infections. China, meanwhile, reported its first locally transmitted coronavirus infection in three days, and 54 new imported cases. Worldwide, the number of cases topped half a million, and deaths climbed past 24,000.

    The Hindu has brought out a multi-language e-book on essential COVID-19 information, in addition to covering the developments related to the coronavirus pandemic as it unfolded.

  • DGCA extends ban on international passenger flights till Apr 14

    All international commercial passenger flights will remain suspended till April 14, aviation regulator DGCA announced on Thursday, amid a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    GK News Network

    The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on March 19 had announced that no international commercial passenger flight operations will take place in India from 1.30 am on March 23 to 5.30 am on March 29.

    “In continuation of circular-II dated 19.3.2020 issued on the subject cited-above, it has been decided that all scheduled international commercial passenger services shall remain closed till 1830 hrs GMT (0000 hrs of Indian Standard Time) of April 14, 2020,” the aviation regulator said.

    “However, this restriction will not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by the DGCA,” it said.

    The government suspended domestic passenger flight operations from midnight on March 24.

    There are 649 coronavirus positive cases in the country and 13 people have died due to it till now, according to the Union health ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a complete lockdown across the country for 21 days from Tuesday midnight, asserting that this is necessary for a decisive battle against the coronavirus.

  • Coronavirus | US tops world in COVID-19 cases, overtaking China and Italy

    At least 1,178 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.

    The Hindu

    The United States on Thursday took the grim title of the country with the most coronavirus infections and reported a record surge in unemployment as world leaders vowed $5 trillion to stave off global economic collapse.

    More than 5,00,000 people around the world have now contracted the new coronavirus, overwhelming healthcare systems even in wealthy nations and triggering an avalanche of government-ordered lockdowns that have disrupted life for billions.

    In the United States, more than 82,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19, edging out Italy, which has reported the most deaths, and China, where the virus was first detected in December in the metropolis of Wuhan.

    With fears mounting of a global recession if not depression, leaders from the Group of 20 major economies held crisis talks by video link Thursday, pledging a “united front” to fight the outbreak — along with an enormous financial injection.

    “The virus respects no borders,” the leaders said in a statement. “We are injecting over $5 trillion into the global economy, as part of targeted fiscal policy, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic.”

    They also pledged “robust” support for developing nations, where coronavirus could next take hold after ravaging China and then Europe.

    But the unity pledged by the G20 has been in short supply with China and the United States trading barbs over their handling of the coronavirus crisis.

    And Italy as well as Spain, which has the second-highest death toll, objected to a draft economic plan by the European Union which they saw as too weak.

    Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wants a “strong and sufficient” financial response that deploys “innovative financial instruments truly adapted to a war,” his office said.

    (This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)