Category: National

NEW DELHI: Top US epidemiologist Anthony Fauci has suggested a lockdown for a few weeks in India as an immediate step to contain the spread of the coronavirus as its deadly second wave shows no signs of ebbing.
Fauci, in an interview, said that another most important thing in the immediate is to get supplies of oxygen, medication, PPEs. He said that looking at the magnitude of the crisis, India should look at putting together a crisis group that would meet and start getting things organised.
Without naming any government, he said one of the things that should have been recognised that “victory was declared maybe too prematurely”.
“Well, one of the things you really need to do, to the extent that you can, is shut down temporarily the country, I think is important. If we want to time out and go back to what I said: there is the immediate, the intermediate, and the long range (measures to contain the virus),” said Fauci, who is the chief medical adviser to the Biden administration.
“I think the most important thing in the immediate is to get oxygen, get supplies, get medication, get PPE, those kinds of things but also, one of the immediate things to do is to essentially call a shutdown of the country,” he added.
He said that when China had a big explosion of coronavirus cases a year ago, they completely shut down. Fauci said that it is not necessary to shut down for six months, but it can be a temporary one to put an end to the cycle of transmission.
“So one of the things to be considered is to temporarily shut down. Literally, lock down so that you wind up having less spread. No one likes to lock down the country. Well, that’s a problem when you do it for six months,” he said.
But just for a few weeks of lockdown could have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak. Some states have imposed a lockdown.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said lockdown should be the “last resort” to deal with the raging pandemic and asked states to convince migrant workers to stay put at their places of work with a guarantee for their lives and livelihood.
Breaching its all previous records, India on Saturday hit a record daily high with over 4 lakh new infections, while the active cases crossed the 32-lakh mark. The second wave of the coronavirus has been wreaking havoc, infecting lakhs and killing thousands every day for the past few days.
There have been cases where people have died due to lack of medical facilities, including oxygen. In many cases, families have to arrange oxygen for their patients as they are not able to get admission in hospitals.
—PTI

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s aunt Narmadaben Modi who was undergoing treatment for coronavirus infection died at the civil hospital here on Tuesday, the family said.

Narmadaben (80) lived in the New Ranip area of the city with her children.

“Our aunt Narmadaben was admitted to the civil hospital some ten days ago after her condition deteriorated following coronavirus infection,” said Prahlad Modi, the prime minister”s younger brother.

“She breathed her last at the hospital today,” he added.

Her husband Jagjivandas, brother of the prime minister”s father Damodardas, had died many years ago, said Prahlad Modi.—(PTI)

Srinagar: THe model created by IIT scientists, between 14 and 18 May, the number of active cases of corona infection in India can be between 38 to 48 lakhs. Scientists say that the peak of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in India may come in two-three weeks.

According to a report published in the newspaper The Hindu , the peak may come between May 14 and 18, during which the total number of active cases in the country can go up to 38 to 48 lakhs.

According to a model made on the basis of data from IIT scientists, between May four to eight, 4.4 lakh cases of infection can be reported every day.

On Monday, a record 3,52,991 cases of corona infection were recorded in the country while 2,812 people died due to it. On Monday, the total number of active cases in the country reached 28,13,658.

Scientists from IIT Kanpur and Hyderabad have created a model based on the probability of being infected, the possibility of virus not being detected in the test and the probability of positivity. On the basis of which he has said that by the end of the second week of May the active cases can increase up to one million. (PTK)

All adults will be vaccinated in “a liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination”, the government said in a statement on a day India reported a new record high of 2.73 lakh cases in a day.

New Delhi: Vaccinations will be opened to all above 18 from May 1, the government announced today after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of meetings over India’s response to record daily surges in Covid cases.
All adults will be vaccinated and states can buy vaccines directly from makers in the “liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination”, the government said on a day the country reported a new high of 2.73 lakh cases in a day.

India began inoculating people in January using two Covid vaccines – Serum Institute of India’s Covishield developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech’s made-in-India Covaxin. So far, the government had allowed vaccinations only for health workers, frontline workers and those above 45 in a centrally controlled process.

In recent weeks, states like Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab had called for opening up vaccinations and had also complained about running out of vaccine stocks.

In a comment that became controversial in the state versus centre tussle, a senior official said: “The aim is never to vaccinate whoever wants it, but always whoever needs it.”While vaccinations have been slow compared to the centre’s target, the country has clocked over two lakh cases daily in the past few days.Recently, the government fast-tracked approvals for foreign vaccines cleared in other countries.

In his meetings today, PM Modi stressed that vaccination was “the biggest weapon” in the fight against the coronavirus and urged doctors to encourage more and more patients to get vaccinated.

“The government has been working hard for over a year to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time,” said the PM.

Pricing, procurement, eligibility and administering of vaccines will be flexible in the latest round of the world’s largest vaccination drive.

Vaccine manufacturers have been incentivized to scale up their production and release up to 50 per cent of their supply to states and in the open market at a declared price.

States can now get additional vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers.

Here are key points in the liberalized vaccination rules:

• Vaccine manufacturers will supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the central government and will be free to supply the remaining 50% doses to state governments and in the open market.
• Manufacturers will declaration prices in advance for the vaccines supplied to state governments and in open market.
• Based on this price, state governments, private hospitals, industrial establishments can buy vaccine doses from the manufacturers.
• Vaccinations at central government centres, provided free of cost, will continue for previous categories – health workers, frontline workers and those above 45.
• The Centre will allocate vaccines from its share to States or Union Territories based on the number of cases. Vaccine wastage can affect the quota of a state.
• The second dose for existing priority groups will be priority.

With inputs from the NDTV

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.).

PTI

Eight bodies of COVID-19 victims were cremated on one pyre due to a shortage of space at a makeshift crematorium in Maharashtra’s Beed district, a civic official said on Wednesday.

Since residents had opposed the cremation of bodies of COVID-19 patients at crematoriums in Ambajogai town, local authorities had to identify another place away from there to perform the victims’ last rites and space there was limited, he said.

“As residents objected to the cremation of COVID-19 victims in the crematoriums which we currently have, we identified a separate space on Mandwa road, nearly two km away from the town,” Ambajogai Municipal Council’s chief officer Ashok Sabale told PTI.

The new makeshift facility has limited space, he said.

“As a result, we had to set up one large pyre and cremate eight bodies on Tuesday. It was a big pyre and the bodies was kept at a certain distance from each other,” the official said.

He said since the viral infection is growing and more deaths are likely, they are planning to expand the makeshift facility and make it waterproof before the monsoon season.

The official also said if people come forward to seek treatment at an early stage of the coronavirus infection, they can be saved.

On Tuesday, 716 new cases or coronavirus were reported in Beed district, raising its tally to 28,491.

The district has so far recorded 672 deaths due to the disease, as per official data.

With inputs from PTI

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen courted another controversy after she said on Monday that English cricketer and CSK player Moeen Ali would have strayed away to become an ISIS terrorist had he not stuck to cricket.

Nasreen’s acerbic comment came in the wake of several reports that claimed England all-rounder Moeen Ali had requested his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to remove the logo of an alcohol brand from his jersey.

Taking to Twitter, Taslima said, “If Moeen Ali were not stuck with cricket, he would have gone to Syria to join ISIS.”

Taslima Nasreen’s tweet on Moeen Ali sparks outrage on social media

Nasreen’s tweet sparked an outrage on the internet, with many cricketers and prominent personalities reacting to the Bangladeshi author’s tweet for her controversial post on the English cricketer.

Cricketer Jofra Archer hit back at Taslima, questioning her if she is okay. “Are you okay? I don’t think you’re okay,” the fast-bowler tweeted.

Are you okay ? I don’t think you’re okay https://t.co/rmiFHhDXiO

— Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) April 6, 2021

Another cricketer Ben Duckett also expressed his disgust with the tweet, asking people to report the account.

“This is the problem with this app. People being able to say stuff like this. Disgusting. Things need to change, please report this account!” Duckett tweeted while quoting Taslima Nasreen’s tweet on Moeen Ali.

This is the problem with this app. People being able to say stuff like this. Disgusting. Things need to change, please report this account! https://t.co/uveSFqbna0

— Ben Duckett (@BenDuckett1) April 6, 2021

Not just crickets but others were also outraged by the tweet.

https://twitter.com/RaunakRK/status/1379427613609881601

Ms Nasreen needs psychiatric deconstruction for her amazing capacity for catatonic extrapolation ☺️ @kavita_krishnan https://t.co/on2i0WAtgC

— Madhavan Narayanan (@madversity) April 6, 2021

A barrage of online criticism and abuses were directed at Taslima after she insinuated that Moeen Ali would have joined ISIS were it not for cricket.

However, Nasreen, defending herself, said that her tweet on Moeen Ali was sarcastic and her detractors used it to target her.

“Haters know very well that my Moeen Ali tweet was sarcastic. But they made that an issue to humiliate me because I try to secularize Muslim society & I oppose Islamic fanaticism. One of the greatest tragedies of humankind is pro-women leftists support anti-women Islamists,” Nasreen said in a subsequent tweet.

CSK CEO quashes reports of Moeen Ali asking the franchisee to remove logo of an alcohol brand from his jersey

Earlier on Sunday, several reports emerged that claimed that England all-rounder Moeen Ali had requested his IPL franchisee to remove an alcohol brand name from his team jersey. The reports claimed Ali, who doesn’t drink or promote alcohol, had asked for the logo of SNJ 10000 to be taken off from his shirt.

SNJ 10000 is a beer brand of the Chennai-based SNJ  Distilleries, one of the sponsors of Chennai Super Kings. CSK had recently unveiled their new jersey for the upcoming season which also sports a camouflage as a mark of tribute to the Indian armed forces.

However, a day later, CSK CEO Kasi Vishwanathan quashed the reports, claiming that no such request was made by the England all-rounder.

With inputs from OpIndia

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Health Ministry addressing the media on Tuesday confirmed that Covid is spreading faster than ever before while terming the situation in Chhattisgarh to be a cause of concern.

A day after India’s daily COVID cases crossed one lakh for the first time since the pandemic, the Health Ministry officials said that Chhattisgarh’s Durg was among the top 10 districts with high active COVID cases. Other districts s included seven in Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Pune, and one in Karnataka.

The intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased in India and it is spreading faster than last time, they added.

According to Health Ministry, Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh remain states of maximum concern on account of high daily COVID-19 cases, deaths.

“The intensity of the pandemic has increased and it is spreading faster than last time. In some states, it (the condition) is worse than others but the upswing (in cases) can be observed across the country,” he said.

“People’s participation is vital to control the second wave. The next four weeks are going to very critical. The entire country has to come together and make efforts to fight the pandemic.”

He said the number of coronavirus cases is increasing and along with that mortality is also on the rise.

“Still, in terms of the population size and in terms of deaths per million we are doing well and the pandemic is in control.”

Detailing the COVID-19 situation in India, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said Chhattisgarh’s Durg is among the top 10 districts with high active COVID cases.

“Among these 10 districts, seven are in Maharashtra and one in Karnataka. Delhi, counted as one district, is also in the list.”

The 10 districts with the highest number of new cases are Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, Nashik, Bengaluru Urban, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Delhi and Durg, he said.
Bhushan further said that Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh still remain states of maximum concern.

“Given their population, the number of deaths being reported by Punjab and Chhatisgarh is a cause of extreme concern,” he said.

The Centre has constituted 50 high-level multi-disciplinary public health teams and deployed them to districts reporting a surge in cases and mortality in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab, the Union health secretary said.

These teams were being deployed in 30 districts of Maharashtra, 11 of Chhattisgarh and nine of Punjab.

Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal were among the states that administered the maximum number of COVID vaccine doses, Bhushan said and emphasised that the immunisation drive has to be ramped up in a scientific manner.

“Chhattisgarh is a cause of concern for us. Despite being a small state, it reports 6% of total COVID cases and 3% of total deaths in the country. The condition of Chhattisgarh has deteriorated in the second wave of infections,” said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

Stressing the need for RT-PCR tests, the Health Secretary said we have asked state governments to increase the percentage of RT-PCR tests, which had been falling in Maharashtra in the last few weeks.

Only 60% of total tests were done using the RT-PCR method in Maharashtra last week. We suggest states to take it to 70% or above, he explained.

Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal were among states that administered the maximum number of COVID vaccine doses, it was noted.

In India, 96,982 daily cases have been reported in a span of 24 hours, while the death toll increased to 1,65,547 with 446 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

(With agencies inputs)

Jammu: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he speaks frankly about his past as a tea-seller and does not try to hide his background from the world.

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Addressing a function by Gujjar Desh Charitable Trust here, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said a person should be proud of his roots.

“I admire several things about a number of leaders… I am from a village and I am proud of it. A big leader, our prime minister, says he is from a village, he used to sell tea.

“We may have political differences, but at least he doesn’t hide his reality,” the opposition leader said.

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Modi had recently profusely praised Azad, who was the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, during the Congress MP”s farewell in the Upper House.

An emotional prime minister had recalled how Azad had reached out to him in 2006 after tourists from Gujarat were killed in a terrorist attack and had said the person who will replace the Congress leader will find it tough to match his contribution.

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Azad”s remarks come a day after he and other ”G-23” dissident leaders, who have been pressing for a leadership change and organisational overhaul in the Congress, gathered on one stage at an event here and said the party is weakening.

In a brief interaction with media persons, Azad did not agree with the suggestion that the presence of senior party leaders at a function here on Saturday was a show of strength to convey a message to the party high command.

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The leaders, including Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari and Raj Babbar, were part of the group which had triggered a storm in the party last year with their letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, expressing unhappiness over its functioning and demanding a full-time party president.

“I have returned after a gap of one-and-a-half years. Before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic (in March last year), there was a budget and winter session. There was a long demand that a function be organised,” he said.

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Asked about the situation in J-K before and after the abrogation of Article 370 by the Centre on August 5, 2019, he quipped, “It is like a DGP being stripped of his rank and made an ordinary policeman”.

“I can tell that the developmental work used to take place in triple shifts which is not happening now. I went around many areas and have seen the roads in a dilapidated condition, industries closed down. There is a talk of development but it is only on paper and not visible on the ground,” he claimed.

Azad asked the government to ensure that development schemes are implemented and to focus on improving the economic condition of the region by pumping more money “beyond the regular budgetary allocation as was the practice in the past during the Congress rule”.

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Earlier, addressing the gathering, he asked the elected representatives in civic bodies to work for the people.

“I want to tell the elected representatives including District Development Council (DDC) and Block Development Council (BDC) members who have won from the seats reserved for their categories to work tirelessly for the benefit of the community.

“You have been elected through reservation and it is your responsibility to utilise your services for your community,” Azad said. (PTI)

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New Delhi: As Indian and Pakistani armies agreed to strictly observe all their ceasefire agreements, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and is committed to resolving all issues bilaterally in a peaceful manner.

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“On key issues, our position remains unchanged. I don’t think I need to reiterate it,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava told reporters at a virtual media briefing.

His comments followed a joint statement issued after a hotline discussion between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan during which the two sides agreed to strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from Wednesday midnight.

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Asked about the development, the MEA spokesperson said, “As regards to the joint statement of the DGMOs and related issues, I would refer you to the Ministry of Defence.”

“On relations with Pakistan, as we have said earlier, India desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan. We have always maintained we are committed to addressing issues, if any, in a peaceful and bilateral manner,” he said.

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India and Pakistan signed a ceasefire agreement in 2003, but it has hardly been followed in letter and spirit over the past several years with more violations than an observance of the pact.

Army officials asserted that there would be no let-up in its fight against militancy or in its troop deployment along the borders, following the new commitment that they described as a fresh attempt at peace in the region. (PTI)

SRINAGAR, FEB 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday in a webinar related to the health budget that if the experience gained during the Corona period is used against TB, then by 2025 it is possible to eliminate TB from India.

He said, the world has set a target by 2030 to end TB. We have set a target by 2025 to eliminate TB from the country. TB also spreads through droplets of the infected person. Wearing masks, early detection and treatment of disease are also important in prevention of TB.

In such a situation, the experience we have got during the Corona period, which has reached the common man of India in a way. Now, taking the same precautions, we will work in the same mode in the field of TB, then the fight we have to fight against TB. We can win it very easily. “

Prime Minister Modi has also said that by making necessary changes in this model, it can be used against TB and by doing this, the dream of TB-free India can be fulfilled by 2025. (PTK)