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  • Hospitals Occupancy A Worry As Covid-19 Cases Surge

    Steep rise in COVID-19 cases impacts availability of beds: Dr Naveed Nazir Shah

    Srinagar, April 09: In a worrying development amid resurge in coronavirus cases, the bed occupancy of all dedicated hospitals has increased many folds.

    Official sources told GNS that there are more than 90 patients admitted in the CD hospital including 14 travelers and nine tourists. All the 17 ICU beds in the hospital, one among the exclusive facilities for the management of the covid-19 patients, are already occupied, they said.

    Chest Diseases Hospital Srinagar, as per officials has 104 covid-19 dedicated beds while among the 87 total isolation beds, 54 are occupied by the patients, 48 of whom are on oxygen support.

    When contacted HOD CD Hospital Dr Naveed Nazir Shah, he told GNS that there has been in last few weeks a surge in the number of cases and admissions.

    Our admissions have increased more than four to five times and our hospital is almost running full to capacity. Even in the ICU all the beds are occupied, Dr Naveed added.

    In JLNM Hospital Srinagar, also among the exclusive facilities for covid-19 management, 24 beds are occupied while at SKIMS Soura, the tertiary care hospital, 83 out of 253 covid-19 dedicated beds are occupied while among 252 isolation beds, 81 are occupied with 70 patients on oxygen support.

    Two days back DAK president Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement said that “Kashmir is currently under the grip of a second wave and the cases are rising and hospitalizations too,” he said.

    “And if countermeasures are not put in place, we could end up having a situation which could be worse than what we saw last year.”

    “This is because vast majority of people in the valley are still susceptible to the virus and the virus will go where it is given room to run, and will find people who are vulnerable to infection,” Dr Nisar said.

    Across Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said there are 2739 “dedicated beds” available and 387 are occupied hitherto.
    Officials said that though over 80 per cent of the total beds available are vacant across J&K, the cases are shooting up at a fast pace with 1647 cases registered in the two days alone with seven fatalities. The number of active cases stands at 5623—1688 in Jammu and 3935 in Kashmir.(GNS)

  • IUST suspends offline class work till April 12

    All the examinations scheduled till April 12 have been postponed, new dates shall be notified later separately.

    Amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in Kashmir, Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Awantipora Thursday suspended the physical class work at all the departments on the campus including Mantaqi Memorial College of Nursing and Medical Technology till April 12.

    According to a notice issued by Deputy Registrar Academics of the University, “The offline class work in the University and Syed Mantaqi Memorial College of Nursing & Medical Technology shall remain suspended till 12-04-2021 with immediate effect.

    However, online classes shall continue as per schedule or HODs may arrange additional online classes as per requirement during this period. Further, all the examinations scheduled upto the said date are postponed, new dates shall be notified separately,” the order added

  • Maharashtra | 08 bodies of COVID-19 victims cremated on one pyre

    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

  • Second Covid-19 wave could be worse than first, warns DAK

    Srinagar, Apr 07: With Kashmir valley facing second wave of Covid-19, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday warned that the new wave could be worse than the first.

    “Second waves of pandemics have been harsher,” said DAK President and influenza expert Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

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    “We have witnessed in the past how second wave of 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was deadlier than the first one. The first wave occurred in the spring which was relatively mild. A far deadlier second wave erupted in the fall months which infected 500 million and killed 50 million people globally.”

    “Covid-19 is following the same suit,” DAK President said.

    “The second waves of coronavirus in United States and Europe were uniformly worse than the first.”

    “Kashmir is currently under the grip of a second wave and the cases are rising and hospitalizations too,” he said.

    “And if countermeasures are not put in place, we could end up having a situation which could be worse than what we saw last year.”

    “This is because vast majority of people in the valley are still susceptible to the virus and the virus will go where it is given room to run, and will find people who are vulnerable to infection,” Dr Nisar said.

    “People have got pandemic fatigue. They are tired of restrictions, wearing masks, being away from family and friends, and increasingly fed up with the new normal routines.”

    “They have thrown caution to the wind,” he said.

    “Many people don’t wear masks and don’t care for social distancing.”

    “This behavior would facilitate transmission of the virus that could reignite an outbreak,” said Dr Nisar.

    “Another factor that could make the new wave worse is the emergence of new variants.”

    “Some of the variants can make the virus more infectious, deadly, or even resistant to vaccines and treatment,” he said.

    “We should not take much comfort from the fact that so far in the second wave, the incidents of severe cases and deaths are considerably lower than the first spike. The second wave is infecting young people in larger proportion than the first one. And, after a couple of weeks, many of them are likely to infect the elder members of their family and when that happens, serious illnesses and deaths will go up,” said Dr Nisar.

  • Those involved in naked photo shoot on high rise balconies in Dubai to be deported

    DUBAI: Dubai authorities said Tuesday that those involved in a naked photo shoot on a high-rise balcony in the city will be deported, after the footage went viral and prompted a crackdown in the Gulf Arab Sheikhdom.

    Footage showed more than a dozen women posing naked on a balcony in Dubai

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    Dubai’s Attorney General Issam Issa al-Humaidan said that the public prosecution has completed investigations and those behind the photo shoot will be sent back to their countries.

    At least 11 Ukrainian women and a Russian were arrested over the widely shared video on charges of public debauchery and spreading pornography.
    The move to deport the foreigners is highly unusual for the legal system in Dubai, an absolutely ruled sheikhdom.

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    Typically, such cases go to trial or are otherwise adjudicated before deportation.

    Dubai police announced earlier this week they had arrested a group of people on debauchery charges over a widely shared video showing naked women posing in broad daylight on a balcony overlooking the city’s upscale Marina neighbourhood.
    Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that 11 of the detained women were Ukrainian, while a Russian diplomat in Dubai said the photographer who filmed and took photos of the naked women held Russian citizenship.

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    The nude photo shoot scandal comes just days before Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lands in nearby Doha, Qatar, for an official state visit.

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    Over the years, Dubai increasingly has promoted itself as a popular destination for Russians on holiday.
    Signs in Cyrillic are a common sight at the city’s major malls.

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    Dubai is a top destination for the world’s Instagram influencers and models, who fill their social media feeds with slick bikini-clad selfies from the coastal emirate’s luxury hotels and artificial islands.
    But the city’s brand as a glitzy foreign tourist destination has at times provoked controversy and collided with the sheikhdom’s strict rules governing public behavior and expression, which are based on Islamic law, or Shariah.

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    Dubai police declined to identify those detained.
    More than a dozen women appeared in the video and the nationalities of the others arrested were not immediately known.

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    The generally pro-Kremlin tabloid Life identified the Russian man arrested as the head of an information technology firm in Russia’s Ivanovo region, though his firm denied he had anything to do with the photo shoot.
    The Associated Press was not able to determine if those arrested had legal representation or reach a lawyer for them.

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    Stanislav Voskresensky, the governor of Ivanovo, asked the Russian Foreign Ministry and Russia’s ambassador to the UAE to offer the Russian man their support.
    “We don’t abandon our own,” Voskresensky wrote on social media.

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    It’s not the first time that foreign social media influencers, amateur and pro, have drawn unwanted scrutiny in the United Arab Emirates.
    Earlier this year, as Dubai promoted itself as a major pandemic-friendly party haven for travelers fleeing tough lockdowns elsewhere, European reality TV show stars came under fire for flaunting their poolside Dubai vacations on social media and for bringing the coronavirus back home.

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    Denmark and the United Kingdom later banned flights to the UAE as virus cases surged in the federation of seven sheikhdoms.
    Although the UAE has recently made legal changes to attract foreign tourists and investors, allowing unmarried couples to share hotel rooms and residents to drink alcohol without a license, the Gulf Arab country’s justice system retains harsh penalties for violations of the public decency law.
    Nudity and other “lewd behavior,” carry penalties of up to six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 dirhams (USD 1,360).

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    The sharing of pornographic material is also punishable with prison time and hefty fines.
    The country’s majority state-owned telecom companies block access to pornographic websites.
    Foreigners, who make up some 90 per cent of the UAE’s population of over 9 million, have landed in jail for their comments and videos online, as well as for offenses considered tame in the West, like kissing in public.
    Dubai police often turn a blind eye to foreigners misbehaving — until they don’t.

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  • ‘Moeen Ali would have joined ISIS if not for cricket’: Taslima Nasreen’s social media post sparks outrage

    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.

    Moeen Ali(L), Taslima Nasreen(R) | File Photo

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

    Source: Twitter

    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.

    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.

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

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

    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.

    Source: Twitter

    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.)

  • J-K records 561 fresh COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths

    PTI

    Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 561 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday that took its tally to 1,34,015, while two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 2,012, officials said.

    Of the fresh cases, 384 were reported from the Kashmir division and 177 from the Jammu division, they said.

    Srinagar district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 222, including 63 travellers, followed by 99 in Jammu and 54 in Baramulla, according to the officials.

    Budgam, Anantnag, Ganderbal, Kulgam, Udhampur and Kathy were the other districts that registered cases in double digits. Nine other districts recorded fresh cases in single digits while two did not report any new cases.

    The number of active cases in Jammu and Kashmir stands at 4,483, while 1,27,520 patients have recovered so far, the officials said.

    The two deaths were reported from the Kashmir valley, they said.

  • Covid-19 Turmoil | Rupee drops by 12 paise to 73.42

    PTI

    Mumbai: The rupee pared its initial gains to close down by 12 paise at 73.42 against the US currency on Tuesday amid concerns that rising COVID-19 cases and subsequent lockdowns in some states may hurt the economic recovery.

    Investors were also cautious ahead of the RBI policy statement to be released on Wednesday. Besides, gains in crude prices and a stronger dollar overseas weighed on the rupee sentiment.

    “Rupee continued to trade in a narrow range for the third successive session despite volatility in domestic equities. Market participants remain cautious ahead of the important RBI policy statement that will be released on Wednesday,” Gaurang Somaiyaa, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.

    The expectation is that the central bank could keep rates unchanged but commentary will be keenly watched that could trigger volatility for the currency, Somaiyaa said.

    “We expect the USDINR (Spot) to trade sideways with a positive bias and quote in the range of 73.20 and 73.80,” he added.

    “Indian rupee gave up early gains as markets started positioning ahead of the RBI policy decision on Wednesday. The central bank is poised to hold interest rates as the economy faces a renewed threat from the pandemic, with new cases hitting a record, and high frequency indicators are now coming off,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

    The daily rise in new coronavirus infections in India remained above 90,000 for the third consecutive day taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,26,86,049, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

    At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.22 against the greenback and traded in the range of 73.20 to 73.42 during the day. The rupee finally ended at 73.42 against the American currency, registering a fall of 12 paise over its previous closing of 73.30.

    According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the Indian Rupee weakened for the second consecutive session against the U.S. Dollar, weighed down by dollar demand from importers.

    In the international markets, the U.S. dollar rebounded from a near two-week low but still remained on the weaker side of things on Tuesday’s afternoon trade as investors await the Fed monetary policy meeting minutes on Wednesday, Iyer said.

    The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.13 per cent to 92.71. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were trading 2.37 per cent up at USD 63.62 per barrel.

    On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 42.07 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 49,201.39, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced by 45.70 points or 0.31 per cent to 14,683.50.

    Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 931.66 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

  • COVID-19 spreading faster than last time: Health Ministry

    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)

  • Sgr Admin reviews Ramadan preparations

    DC asks deptts to ensure uninterrupted power, water supply to people

    Srinagar: The district Administration Srinagar on Monday held a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar Mohammad Aijaz Asad regarding the arrangements to be put in place for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

    During the meeting, DC Srinagar as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) directed the concerned departments for ensuring essential services like Water supply, Power, Ration, improving sanitation and strict check on quality and rates of essentials in the markets in the holy month.

    Deputy Commissioner also directed the concerned departments to intensify market checking to keep a check on overcharging and illegal profiteering.

    During the meeting, the DC also directed the concerned authorities to make proper arrangements of street lights and make sure that dysfunctional lights are made functional.

    He asked Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to intensify sanitation operations and ensure cleanliness in and around the mosques and shrines.

    Those who attended the meeting include SMC Commissioner Athar Amir Khan, SSP Headquarters Srinagar Majid Khan,

    CEO Muslim Waqf Board Srinagar, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Regional Transport Officer Kashmir, SSP Traffic City and other officials.

    DC also issued directions for setting up of a dedicated control Room to address any public grievances related to basic amenities during the holy month—(KNO)