Kashmir.Watch

Category: Union Territory

  • DAK seeks compulsory licensing for Covid-19 vaccine, drugs

    Srinagar, May 10: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Monday urged the Union government to grant compulsory license for Covid-19 vaccines and drugs.

    “That would make vaccines and life-saving Covid medicines accessible to people and save lives,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

    “Compulsory licensing is a provision under the patent act that enables a government to allow other pharma companies to produce the patented drugs in times of public health emergency,” he said.

    “A pharma company that develops a drug gets patent protection that prohibits other manufacturers from producing the drug for a period of 20 years,” he added.

    Dr Hassan said we are in a grave public health crisis and precious lives are being lost each day. The lives of people should take priority over everything else.

    “We should go for compulsory licensing now,” he said.

    Dr Hassan said in order to respond to the huge demand for vaccines and drugs, there is a need to rapidly upscale production, which can only happen when there are more companies involved in manufacturing and this is possible by issuing compulsory licenses.

    He said Tocilizumab, a life-saving drug for Covid is one of the patented drugs for which the government should invoke a compulsory licensing clause.

    “The drug which costs Rs 40,000 for a single dose is manufactured by Switzerland based pharma company Roche and is marketed by Cipla in India. Despite being on clinical protocol, there is a shortage of the drug,” he added.

    The DAK President said though the patent owner of Remdesivir Gilead, a US based Pharma Company has allowed few Indian pharma houses to produce the drug, there is an increased demand amid severe second wave of the pandemic and we need to permit others to manufacture the drug.

    He said in order to reach herd immunity we need to vaccinate three in five and for that the country needs 150 to160 crore doses of the vaccine. And we need them quickly. Currently, India is producing 65 million doses every month,” he said.

    “This makes a crying need for patent wavering and granting of compulsory licensing for other manufacturing units to produce the vaccine,” said Dr Nisar.

  • Nayeem Akhtar released from MLA Hostel, placed under house arrest

    Srinagar, May 10: PDP leader Nayeem Akthar who’s was detained at MLA Hostel in Srinagar was handed over to Police Station Sadar today.

    Sources told news agency Kashmir News Trust that Akhtar will be shifted to his Humhama based home where he will be placed under house arrest.

    Sources added that Akhtar has been shifted from MLA Hostel to his home on medical grounds. Last time, he was found unconscious at MLA Hostel and was shifted to hospital for treatment.

    Senior leader Naeem Akhtar is a close aide of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti. He was first detained in August 2019 and later booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), and released in June last year after 10 months of detention. He was again arrested in December last year just ahead of counting of votes for the District Development Council and lodged in a government building (MLA Hostel) declared as a sub-jail. (KNT)

  • Horticulture senior assistant dies of Heart attack

    Baramulla May 09: Senior assistant of Horticulture department on Sunday died due to a heart attack in Bandipora.

    Mohammed Syed Baba, senior assistant of the horticulture department suffered a massive heart attack and died today around 2:30 pm at his residence in Bandipora.

    Director Horticulture Aijaz Ahmed Bhat expressed shock over the death and expressed his condolence to the bereaved family.

    “Shocking & heart-wrenching news, Heartfelt condolences to his family, May almighty Allah give strength to his family to bear this big & irreparable loss”.

    A great heavy loss to his family as well horticulture department, he added.

  • Corona Curfew Extended In All 20 Districts of Jammu and Kashmir Till May 17

    Srinagar, May 9: Authorities have extended ‘corona curfew’ by seven days in all 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

    “Corona Curfew imposed in all 20 districts of J&K till 7 am on Monday, 10/5/21 is extended further by 7 days till 7 am on Monday, 17/5/21. The curfew will be strict except for a few essential services,” government said in a tweet on DIPR handle as per GNS.

    Further, the gathering permissible for marriages has been reduced to 25 only with immediate effect.

    Meanwhile, normal life remained affected in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday for the eleven day running due to lockdown in the wake of record surge in coronavirus cases, officials said.

    Police and paramilitary forces put barricades on roads at many places in Srinagar as well as in other district headquarters of the Valley and the Jammu region to prevent the movement of people. However, essential and emergency services are allowed, the officials added.

    Most of the shops, and other business establishments remained shut while public transport was off the roads. (GNS)

  • 34 More Covid-19 Deaths Reported In J&K, Toll Cross 2700 Mark

    Over 700 Fatalities Recorded Since April 1; 376 Succumb To Virus This Month So Far

    Srinagar, May 9: Jammu and Kashmir reported 34 more deaths due to covid-19 since last evening, taking the fatality count over 2700 mark.

    Officials told GNS that 16 deaths were reported at GMC Jammu, two in Rajouri while 15 others occurred in various hospitals of Kashmir, taking the overall toll 2706.

    Among others, they said, the victims include an 80-year-old man from Alijan road Soura who died at SKIMS Soura, four days after he was admitted to the tertiary care hospital.

    A 60-year-old man Sangeen Darwaza Hawal died at SMHS hospital, four days after he was admitted to the facility, they said.

    An 83-year-old woman from Rajbagh Srinagar also died at the facility, six days after her admission, they said.

    A 75-year-old man from Bemina, who was admitted on May 7, also died at SMHS hospital, they said.

    Also, an 80-year-old woman from Hyderpora Srinagar died six days after she was admitted to SMHS hospital, they said.

    One person from Check Arsla Khan Bandipora died soon after he was shifted by family to District Hospital Bandipora after remaining unwell for days at home. His swab returned positive for the virus and died with few hours of admission to the hospital, they said.

    An 80-year-old man from Gulab Bagh Srinagar died two days after he was admitted to SKIMS Soura, they said.

    An 80-year-old woman from Malshaibagh Ganderbal also died at the hospital, less than two days of her admission to the tertiary care hospital, they said.

    A 50-year-old CRPF trooper from 96 battalion posted in Mattan Anantnag, also succumbed to the virus at SKIMS Soura, they said.

    A 46-year-old man from Rajbagh Srinagar died nearly a week after he was admitted to SKIMS Soura, they said.

    A 58-year-old woman from New Theed Harwan, who was admitted to SMHS hospital, on May 5 died last evening, they said.

    A 55-year-old man from Chadoora Budgam died at CD hospital, a day after he was admitted to the facility for the management of Covid-19 patients, they said.

    A 70-year-old woman also died at SMHS hospital last evening, they added.
    A 30-year-old man among two persons who die due to the contagion in Rajouri district, they said.

    A 55-year-old man from Laktipora died at GMC Anantnag last evening, a day after he was admitted to the facility.

    With these fresh deaths, 708 people have succumbed to the virus since April 1 in Jammu and Kashmir while overall toll since the pandemic started in last March has risen to 2706—1157 in Jammu and 1549 in the Valley. 376 people died in the present month so far, they added. (GNS)

  • The Mataaf on the 27th night of #Ramadan

    The Mataaf on the 27th night of #Ramadan

  • Covid-19 resurgence: Second wave affects children too, can get pneumonia: Experts

    Srinagar, May 08: Relatively unaffected during the first wave of Covid-19 last year, a high number of children and adolescents are contracting the novel coronavirus in the second wave.

    A large number of Covid-19 cases in ages more than 10 years and also between 1-8 years are being reported in the fresh surge — though most are mildly symptomatic.

    Dr Suhail Ahmad Naik, President of Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) while talking with KNO said there were only few cases mostly asymptomatic were reported in first wave, however, the second wave of Covid-19 has come with different aggression, high rate of transmission, changed spectrum of illness and is impacting kids significantly.

    Naik said that as schools are closed, the kids usually contract infection from adults who go outside home and don’t follow Covid appropriate behavior.

    “In second wave we have witnessed cases of bilateral pneumonia and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) which were not in the first wave,” he said.

    Naik said that there is no vaccine and drugs for children as of now so extra care must be taken.

    Pediatrician Dr Showkat Shifa Assistant Professor at GMC Anantnag while talking with KNO said as cases increased in general the cases of children have also increased.

    “In first wave the percentage of children in positive cases was 4.2 which is now 5.8 percent,” Shifa said.

    However, Shifa said that there is no need to panic as 99 percent of positive children will recover at home and hardly one percent may need hospitalisation.

    “Proper nutritions is essential for all. A positive mother can feed her baby while following precautions,” he said.

    Shifa said in case a parent is tested positive, it is the “most dangerous” thing to send the children to live with someone else.

    “Keep in mind your child would already be harbouring the virus even though they have no symptoms, they can innocently pass on the infection to the elders where you have sent them. Hence it would be wiser to keep them in your home along with you quarantined for 14 days,” he said.

    He said that in case a child tests positive for Covid-19, there is no need to rush them to the hospital and have them admitted. They can be monitored at home.

    “Children are potential sources of virus and adults especially elderly people with ailments must handle children meticulously while following precautions as they can contract virus from children unknowingly which can later prove fatal for adults,” Shifa said—(KNO)

  • Despite lockdown, Sgr records over 9000 cases in 9 days

    Srinagar, May 08: There has been no let up in the positive cases in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir—Srinagar that recorded over 9000 cases in the past nine days, official figures reveal.

    The surge in the positive cases comes despite lock down in the district. According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the government imposed Corona Curfew in 11 districts of Jammu and Kashmir since April 29 evening in order to prevent the virus from spreading.

    However, in the last nine days, the district has recorded 9708 positive cases.

    As per the data available, the district recorded 932 positive cases on April 30 following which the cases started increasing as on May 01, it recorded 1084 cases.

    On May 02, the district recorded 1126 cases while on May 03, it recorded 1136 positive cases. The figure kept increasing thereafter as the district recorded 1311 positive cases on May 04.

    On May 05, a total of 1125 COVID cases reported from Srinagar while on May 06 and 07, the district recorded 1070 and 1071 cases receptively. On May 08, the daily positive cases have reduced as compared to the previous days as 853 cases were detected across the district.

    Talking to KNO, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Srinagar, Syed Muhammad Hanief Balkhi said that the lockdown has helped the administration in curbing the number of daily positive cases to a large extent.

    “The precautionary measures being taken by the people has helped in curbing the number of cases. The cases have reduced today and we hope that it will go down further as well,” he said, adding that people have been following the Corona Curfew orders in spirit and thus has helped in reducing the cases.

    However, he said that it has not been decided yet whether the restrictions would continue or not. “The announcement will be made soon,” he said—(KNO)

  • CT scan effective tool to detect, determine severity of Covid-19 cases: DAK

    Studies have shown that CT has a greater sensitivity ranging from 86% and 98% for detecting positive cases

    Srinagar, May 08: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Saturday said chest CT scan is an effective tool to detect and determine the severity of Covid-19 cases.

    “CT scan helps in diagnosing and predicting the outcome of Covid-19 patients,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

    “More Covid cases are detected with a CT scan of the chest than through RT-PCR,” he said.

    Dr Hassan said we see many patients who test negative on RT-PCR test, but show CT features consistent with Covid-19 disease.

    “Many infected patients go unreported as only RT-PCR positive cases are reported. We have a large number of patients who test positive through CT, but are not reported,” he said.

    Dr Hassan said RT-PCR, which uses swab for the detection of Covid-19 infection has a sensitivity of 60%-70%. That means more than 30% of positive cases may be missed by the test.

    “Another swab test which is now widely used is rapid antigen test. It has a sensitivity of around 50 percent, which raises the possibility of missing more than half of the positive cases,” he said.

    “Low sensitivity of swab tests implies that many patients with Covid-19 infection may not be identified and consequently are not isolated from healthy population. And these individuals will continue to spread the disease in the community,” he added.

    “Studies have shown that CT has a greater sensitivity ranging from 86% and 98% for detecting positive cases, while having a lower false negative rate than the lab tests,” Dr Nisar said

    “In a study of 1,014 patients published in the Journal Radiology, researchers in china found that 88% of the patients showed chest CT findings indicative of Covid-19, while RT-PCR test detected only 59 percent of cases. Among those with negative swab test results, 75 percent had positive chest CT findings,” he said.

    The DAK President said not only is CT useful in identifying Covid cases, it also tells us about the severity of the disease.
    “That would guide treatment and help reduce the risk of death in Covid patients and save lives,” he said.

  • To improve COVID facilities, Sgr MP Farooq Abdullah recommends release of Rs One Cr 40 lakh

    Srinagar, May 08: Incumbent parliamentarian from Srinagar, Dr Farooq Abdullah has recommended the release of Rs One crore and 40 lakh from his Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds for improving the COVID facilities in Srinagar hospitals.

    In a letter to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Muhammad Aijaz Asad,Dr Farooq Abdullah recommended the release of Rs 50 lakh in favour of Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir and Rs 30 lakh each in favour of Govt Chest Disease hospital, Srinagar, Govt SMHS hospital. Srinagar and SKIMS Medical College Hospital, Srinagar.

    According to the letter under number PS/DFA/MPLAD/21-22, National Conference (NC) president has said that “in view of the fact that Covid-19 is spreading at an alarming rate in Kashmir, I think it most appropriate to use the MPLAD Funds released by the Government of India recently in my favour mainly towards improving the Covid care facilities in the hospitals falling under the jurisdiction of my Parliamentary Constituency.”

    “In this connection I recommend release of funds out of my MPLAD Funds for the year 2021-2022,” the letter reads

    (KNO)