Indian Government issues orders to all states to allow:
1) Food processing manufacturing companies to function
2) Retail Grocery, Organised Trade including Cash & Carry Wholesale and Chemists
3) Allow workers of Retail outlets
4) Inter State Movement of goods.
Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, March 24 (KNO): In wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, the students from Kashmir stranded in Bangladesh and Pakistan demanded immediate evacuation.
According to wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the colleges and universities in Bangladesh and Pakistan have been shut and all the students have been asked to go home and they want to return home too due to fear and apprehension, the students said.
A student stuck in Bangladesh told KNO over phone that their tickets from kolkata to Delhi were also confirmed but still authorities are not allowing them to move ahead.
Around a group of 70 Kashmiri students are stuck here from last 12 hours at Benapole border and there is nothing to drink or eat, but nobody cares.
“We cannot go back now to Bangladesh as we have already reached the Kolkata border,” he said.
Students stranded in Bangladesh and Pakistan have appealed to External Affairs Minister to intervene so that they can go home. They have also urged Jammu and Kashmir administration to intervene into the matter and ensure their safe return.
Meanwhile, officials in Jammu and Kashmir stated that all the borders have been sealed in view of Coronavirus outbreak and it is very difficult to help those stranded at the moment—(KNO)
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday welcomed the decision of releasing former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah from the “unconstitutional detention” and said “it is time restore the rights of people of the Jammu and Kashmir too.”
“So happy to learn that Omar Abdullah’s unconstitutional and undemocratic detention has been revoked at last. Its about time the union government restores democratic and constitutional rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well,” Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet.
Her remarks came after the Jammu and Kashmir government revoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) of former chief minister and ended his detention on Tuesday more than seven months after he and two other former chief ministers — Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were detained ahead of the revocation of Article 370 on August 5 2019.
“Government issues orders revoking detention of Shri Omar Abdullah,” Government Spokesperson Rohit Kansal tweeted.
The order comes just a day before the hearing in the apex court.
Omar Abdullah was among the 50 odd politicians who were kept under ‘preventive detention’ after the revocation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories (UTs) on August 5, 2019.
He and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti were slapped with PSA on February 7 after being detained under preventive detention since August 5, 2019.
The PSA was slapped on former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on September 16, 2019, after 42 days of preventive detention.
A few days before the Article 370 move by the Centre, Farooq Abdullah had presided over a meeting of all parties in Kashmir in which Omar also participated and had adopted a declaration – Gupkar declaration – that they will not accept any tinkering with Article 370.
‘Advisory Committee to take final decision: Rigzin Samphel
Srinagar, Mar 24, KNT: At a time when Ladakh has been hit by Coronavirus, over 60 Kashmiri Police are stranded there, waiting for the day, when they will be relieved.
Even after the bifurcation of State of Jammu and Kashmir into two territories and according Ladakh the status of new UT, scores of policemen hailing from Kashmir Valley are still stuck in Leh and Kargil.
They are spending their time in closed rooms while some of the cops on condition of anonymity told KNT that they are not being allowed to enter into SP office premises after the deadly Covid-19 outbreak in the region.
Some of the relatives of these constables said despite Ladakh getting a Union Territory status, their sons who are working in Jammu Kashmir Police Department as Constables have not been relieved and sent to Kashmir. “All the Ladakhis who were posted in Kashmir and Jammu have been sent to Ladakh back but this is not the case with the policemen who hail from Kashmir,” they said. They urged upon the people at the helm of affairs to relieve these Kashmir based policemen as soon as possible.
Ladakh was officially declared UT on October 31 with R K Mathur as its first Lieutenant Governor and SS Khandare as its first Inspector General of Police (IGP). Ladah was given a separate divisional status in February 2019.
Administrative Secretary, Leh, Rigzin Samphel told KNT that the decision of relieving Kashmiri cops from Leh is in the hands of Advisory Committee. “Whatever Advisory Committee will decided on the issue, we will follow,” he said adding that the said Committee will meet soon in New Delhi. (KNT)
Srinagar, Mar 24, KNT: The locals from Chandrigam area of Tral town Tuesday staged a protest alleging that no action is being initiated against the house owners who have rented their houses to non-local labourers in large numbers. The protesters said that there is every possibility of Covid-19 breakout in the town as these non-local labourers are staying in dozens together at one place.
“At one house there are 20 labourers while 30 are staying in another house. When we are laying thrust on social distancing, how that is possible if scores of labourers stay in one room. Government and police should initiate action against these landlords,” said a protester to KNT.
Reports said that a large number of non-local labourers are staying together in rented buildings in different parts of Kashmir including Pulwama, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Srinagar, Budgam and other towns.
A couple of days back, locals in Pulwama also staged protest against the influx of non-local workforce. They said that large number of non-local labourers is staying at a rented building.
Locals in Nihalpora area of North Kashmir’s Pattan are too staged protest alleging that a large number of non-locals are working in a ply factory. The locals said no medical test or screening of these labourers have been done. “These people came from West Bengal some five days back and nobody asked them to undergo any medical test,” they said and sought intervention of authorities. (KNT)
Suhail Khan
Srinagar, March 24 (GNS): One more person, a 22-year-old, has tested positive in Kashmir for coronavirus, taking the number of covid-19 patients to seven in Jammu and Kashmir.
A senior doctor at SKIMS told GNS test sample of one person, admitted in GMC Baramulla, came out to be positive.
“His sample had been sent to SKIMS for test and it came out to be positive,” the doctor said, adding, “The patient is said to have come from outside J&K three days ago.”
Earlier, in the day two people, who had arrived from Saudi Arabia and New Delhi recently, tested positive for COVID-19.
As of now, four persons have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Kashmir Valley while the tally of such patients in the entire J&K has gone up to 7. Three cases were reported from Jammu earlier this month. The government informed that one among the patients has recovered. (GNS)
Srinagar, Mar 24: Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Chowdhary on Tuesday claimed that the first COVID-19 positive patient has been treated successfully at SKIMS Soura.
Taking to micro blogging social networking site twitter, he wrote, “Srinagar’s first COVID-19 Positive case successfully treated: Director SKIMS.
“The arthritis drug that has been found to be effective against the novel coronavirus falls under the schedule H of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, which means it can be sold only under prescription.
Srinagar Mar 24: Following the approval of arthritis drug, hydroxychloroquine for the treatment and prophylaxis of the novel (new) coronavirus, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Tuesday has called for ban on the sale of the drug without valid prescription from a registered medical practitioner.
“Chemist shops should refrain from selling the drug without doctor’s prescription,” said DAK President Dr. Nisar ul Hassan.
“The arthritis drug that has been found to be effective against the novel coronavirus falls under the schedule H of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, which means it can be sold only under prescription,” he said.
“However, regulations for pharmacies are lax and violations are rampant. The drug is sold widely over the counter without prescription,” he added.
Dr Nisar said after the reports that hydroxychloroquine cures the new virus, people are rushing to pharmacies and hoarding the drug.
“I urge people not to go and find the drug, because they will be taking it out of the hands of those who need it most,” he said.
“It has also been seen that some doctors are writing so many prescriptions of the drug for themselves and their families and stockpiling these medications. We need to take steps to stop these inappropriate prescriptions,” he added.
Dr. Nisar said ICMR has recommended hydroxychloroquine as preventive medication for healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and for household contacts of laboratory confirmed cases.
“The recommendation came after a French study showed promising results for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for novel virus, and when used with Azithromycin, it significantly reduced viral load,” he said adding that 100% of patients treated with hydroxychloroquine were virologically cured at day 6 of treatment.
Dr Nisar said though the sample size was small, the results were encouraging.
“It is, therefore recommended that the new virus be treated with the combination of hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin to cure the infection and to prevent the transmission of the virus to other people to prevent the spread of the new virus,” he said
“Both drugs are in use for decades. While hydroxychloroquine is given for lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis, Azithromycin is an antibiotic used for the treatment of number of bacterial infections,” said Dr Nisar.
Srinagar, Mar 23: National Conference (NC) Additional Spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah on Tuesday hailed the decision of Government of Jammu and Kashmir who revoked PSA detention order of former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Shah termed the release of NC vice-president a “welcome step” by the authorities and appealed further release of all political and other Kashmiri detainees lodged in and outside J&K jails.
She added, Government should not hesitate to take steps that will strengthen roots of democracy in J&K. Like Abdullah’s, Government should allow all political prisoners lodged in and outside jails including PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, ? JKPC chairman Sajad Gani Lone? NC leader Ali Mohammad Sagar, JKPM chief Dr Shah Faesal, and others to walk home.
She also said, “As COVID-19 struck the entire country, authorities should ensure return of all Kashmiri prisoners into Valley so that their relatives could see a glimpse of them without any inconvenience and trouble. (KNS)
Strict new curbs on life in the UK to tackle the spread of coronavirus have been announced by the prime minister.
Source: BBC World News
People may only leave home to exercise once a day, to travel to and from work where “absolutely necessary”, to shop for essential items, and to fulfil any medical or care needs.
Shops selling non-essential goods have been told to shut and gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together will be prohibited.
The UK death toll has reached 335.
If people do not follow the rules police will have the powers to enforce them, including through fines and dispersing gatherings, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a televised statement from Downing Street.
Mr Johnson said the country faced a “moment of national emergency” and staying at home was necessary to protect the NHS and save lives.
He said the restrictions would be in place for at least three weeks and would be kept under constant review.
The government guidance says people should only leave home for one of four reasons
Even when following the above guidance, people should minimise the amount of time spent out of their homes and should keep two metres (6ft) away from people they do not live with.
The government is also stopping all social events, including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies – but funerals will be allowed.
Businesses that will not need to close include:
Other premises including libraries, non-essential shops, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and places of worship have been ordered to close.
Parks will remain open for exercise but people are not allowed to gather in groups.
Community centres can remain open but only for the purpose of “hosting essential voluntary or public services” such as food banks or service for homeless people, the guidance says.
Hotels, hostels, campsites and caravan parks must also close unless key workers need to stay there, or if other people staying there cannot return to their primary residence.
Scientists have said each person with coronavirus infects 2.5 people and that takes about five days. This means, over a period of 30 days, more than 400 people will have been infected as a result of that one person.
If a person halves their social exposure, that first infection leads to only 15 infections after 30 days.
Several police forces said they were facing a high number of phone calls from members of the public seeking clarification on the new restrictions.
Northamptonshire Police Chief Constable Nick Adderley warned the public not to “cripple” his force’s phone lines.
Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said they were working with the government and other agencies to work out how best to enforce the new rules.
But Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said he was already seeing “large amounts of sickness” among officers across London and enforcing the new restrictions would be “a real, real challenge”.
“We will be dealing with it, but I’m not sure we will have the resources to be able to see it through,” he added.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said in a tweet that the next few weeks would be “testing” for police but that she would make sure officers had “the resources they need to keep themselves and the public safe”.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the new restrictions “amount to a lockdown” and are “not done lightly”.
“I am not going to sugarcoat it in any way,” she said. “Coronavirus is the biggest challenge of our lifetime.”
In a tweet, First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster urged people to follow the restrictions “to save lives and protect our hospitals”.
First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said “these are really big changes for us all”.
“We are making them because of the speed the virus is continuing to spread,” he added.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the measures were “the right response”.
“The government must close the loopholes to give security to all workers, including the self-employed, as well as renters and mortgage holders,” he added.
The prime minister said the measures were necessary to tackle “the biggest threat this country has faced for decades”.
“Without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope; because there won’t be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses,” he said.
“And as we have seen elsewhere, in other countries that also have fantastic health care systems, that is the moment of real danger.
“To put it simply, if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the NHS will be unable to handle it – meaning more people are likely to die, not just from coronavirus but from other illnesses as well.”
It seems hard to overstate how huge an impact this will have on the country, and what a massive decision this is for the government to have taken – whose effect will last at least for a period of three weeks at the shortest, potentially for very much longer.
Remember this though is not quite the kind of total crackdown we have seen in other countries – at least not yet. Despite tonight’s enormous announcement, there are steps that other places have taken – curfews or total travel bans for example – that the UK is not pursuing.
The government is not triggering the Civil Contingencies Act, designed for the most serious emergencies which gives ministers draconian powers.
Not surprisingly, there is already therefore enormous controversy about whether the UK has been acting fast enough.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)