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  • 25 MPs Test Positive For Coronavirus As Parliament Session Begins

    Parliament Monsoon Session: The Lok Sabha members were tested at the Parliament House on September 13 and 14, sources said.

    New Delhi: Seventeen members of the Lok Sabha and eight from the Rajya Sabha have tested positive for coronavirus in the mandatory tests carried out before the monsoon session of parliament started this morning, sources said. Among the infected Lok Sabha MPs, the BJP has a maximum number — 12. The YSR Congress has two MPs, the Shiv Sena, DMK and RLP one each.

    Sources said altogether, 56 people tested positive during the RT-PCR Tests conducted in the parliament building complex by September 12. The figure includes officials, media persons and MPs of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

    One of the infected MPs, Meenakshi Lekhi tweeted: “After the routine Parliament test for COVID & genome test it’s confirmed that I have tested positive for the virus. I am currently in good health & spirits. I request everyone who has been recently in contact with me to get tested. Together We will fight & defeat Corona.”

    https://twitter.com/M_Lekhi/status/1305452327524945922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1305452327524945922%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndtv.com%2Findia-news%2F17-lok-sabha-mps-test-positive-for-coronavirus-on-day-parliament-monsoon-session-begins-2295111

    The BJP’s Sukanta Majumdar ws the first to tweet his positive status yesterday. “Requesting all those who have come in close contact with me in the last few days to monitor their health and get tested in case of any symptoms,” his tweet read.

    Around 200 of the 785 MPs are above the age of 65 years and are among the population vulnerable to coronavirus.

    Earlier, at least seven Union ministers and around 25 MPs and MLAs had contracted the disease. Among them was Union home minister Amit Shah, who underwent a thorough medical check-up before the parliament session started.

    An MP and several MLAS have died from the highly infectious disease.

    The parliament session is being held amid huge safety measures that include staggered seating of the MPs in chambers of both Houses to maintain physical distancing. A mobile app has been introduced to register their attendance and seats in the house have been separated with poly-carbon sheets.

    Ahead of the session, all members were requested to get themselves tested for COVID-19.

    Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla told NDTV that a large number of MPs attended the first day’s session. “It shows how strong the roots of democracy are. The coming of MPs even in extraordinary circumstances is a big thing,” added the Speaker, who had sent special covid kits to all MPs.

    The kits, provided by prepared by defence research organisation DRDO, disposable masks, N-95 masks, sanitisers, face shields, gloves, herbal sanitation wipes and tea bags to enhance immunity. Each kit also contains a Covid safety manual for the MPs.

    With inputs from NDTV

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

  • One more COVID-related death in Ladakh, toll reaches 40

    PTI

    Leh: The death toll due to COVID-19 in Ladakh has reached 40 after one more patient succumbed to the infection in the Union Territory, officials said on Monday.

    The 83-year-old patient, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, died in Leh district on Sunday, they said.

    The officials said this was the seventeenth in Leh due to COVID-19 while the rest of the 23 fatalities had occurred in Kargil district.

    Ladakh had recorded 3,345 COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic in March. While 2,436 patients have recovered from the disease, 869 others, including 465 in Leh and 404 in Kargil, are still undergoing treatment, the officials said.

  • COVID-19 tally in India breaches 48-lakh mark; death toll climbs 79,722

    PTI

    New Delhi: India’s COVID-19 case tally crossed 48 lakh with 92,071 new infections being reported in a day, while over 37.8 lakh people have recuperated taking the national recovery rate to 78 per cent on Monday, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

    The total coronavirus cases mounted to 48,46,427, while the death toll climbed to 79,722 with 1,136 more people succumbing to the infection in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    The COVID-19 case fatality rate due to the coronavirus infection has further dropped to 1.64 per cent.

    Photo Credit: PTI

    There are 9,86,598 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, while 37,80,107 people have recovered, the data stated.

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and it went past 40 lakh on September 5.

    According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 5,72,39,428 samples have been tested up to September 13 with 9,78,500 samples being tested on Sunday.

    Of the 1,136 fresh deaths, 416 were reported from Maharashtra, 104 from Karnataka, 80 from Uttar Pradesh, 74 from Tamil Nadu, 68 from Punjab, 66 from Andhra Pradesh, 58 from West Bengal, 34 from Madhya Pradesh, 29 from Delhi, 19 from Haryana, 16 each from Assam and Chhattisgarh, 15 each from Puducherry, Rajasthan and Gujarat, 14 each from Kerala, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir and 13 each from Jharkhand and Telangana

    Twelve fatalities were reported from Uttarakhand, 10 from Odisha, six from Tripura, four each from Goa and Himachal Pradesh, three from Sikkim while Chandigarh, Ladakh, Manipur and Meghalaya have registered one fatality each.

    Of the total 79,722 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 29,531, followed by 8,381 deaths in Tamil Nadu, 7,265 in Karnataka, 4,912 in Andhra Pradesh, 4,744 in Delhi, 4,429 in Uttar Pradesh, 3,945 in West Bengal, 3,210 in Gujarat and 2,356 in Punjab.

    So far, 1,762 people have died of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,236 in Rajasthan, 975 in Haryana, 974 in Telangana, 878 in Jammu and Kashmir, 822 in Bihar, 626 in Odisha, 555 each in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, 469 in Assam, 439 in Kerala and 414 in Uttarakhand.

    Puducherry has registered 385 fatalities, Goa 290, Tripura 200, Chandigarh 93, Himachal Pradesh 77, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 51, Manipur 46, Ladakh 40, Meghalaya 26, Sikkim 14, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh 10, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two.

    The health ministry said more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

    “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • India has successfully prevented the aggressive progress of COVID-19: Health Minister

    Health Minister Harsh Vardhan makes a statement on COVID-19. This is the third statement of the minister in the House, regarding the pandemic.

    As on Sept.11, over 200 countries are affected, he says. As on Sept 11, 250 countries are affected.2.79 crore people infected with 3.2% case fatality rate. Over 45 lakh cases, more than 76,000 deaths reported in India. 77.65% cases have recovered.

    With our endeavour to manage the COVID-19, India has been able to manage the pandemic. He points out that the case and death per million is lowest in India.

    Health Minister Harsh Vardhan makes a statement on COVID-19.Health Minister Harsh Vardhan makes a statement on COVID-19. | Photo Credit: Courtesy LSTV

    As he goes on to list the symptoms of the disease, Speaker intervenes. “Why don’t give the important details alone,” he suggests.

    “I won’t take more than 10-15 minutes, sir,” the minister says.

    The four-month nationwide lockdown helped the country to successfully prevent the aggressive progress of COVID-19. He says the four-month lockdown help the country ramp up the healthcare infrastructure.  There has been 36.3 times increase in beds and 24.6 times increase in ICU beds since the breakout, he says.

    He credits the Prime Minister for the successful COVID-19 management. Opposition members object to it.

    With inputs from The Hindu

  • China shows off COVID-19 vaccines

    AFP

    Beijing: China has put its homegrown coronavirus vaccines on display for the first time, as the country where the contagion was discovered looks to shape the narrative surrounding the pandemic.

    High hopes hang on the small vials of liquid on show at a Beijing trade fair this week — vaccine candidates produced by Chinese companies Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm.

    Neither has hit the market yet but the makers hope they will be approved after all-important phase 3 trials as early as year-end.

    A Sinovac representative told AFP his firm has already “completed the construction of a vaccine factory” able to produce 300 million doses a year.

    On Monday, people at the trade fair crowded around booths showing the potential game-changing vaccines.

    China, which is facing a storm of foreign criticism over its early handling of the pandemic, has been trying to repurpose the story of Covid-19.

    State media and officials are now emphasising the revival of Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the deadly pathogen surfaced, as a success story in the fight against the virus.

    They are also touting progress on domestic vaccines as a sign of Chinese leadership and resilience in the face of an unprecedented health threat that has pummelled the global economy.

    In May, President Xi Jinping pledged to make any potential vaccine developed by China a “global public good”.

    The potential vaccines on display are among nearly 10 worldwide to enter phase 3 trials, typically the last step ahead of regulatory approval, as countries race to stub out the virus and reboot battered economies.

    Sinopharm said it anticipates the antibodies from its jab to last between one and three years — although the final result will only be known after the trials.

    China’s nationalistic tabloid Global Times reported last month that “the price of the vaccines will not be high”.

    Every two doses should cost below 1,000 yuan ($146), the report said, citing Sinopharm’s chairman, who told media he has already been injected with one of the candidate vaccines.

    China’s official Xinhua news agency reported Monday that another vaccine candidate, developed by Chinese military scientists, can deal with mutations in the coronavirus.

    As of last month, at least 5.7 billion doses of the vaccines under development around the world had been pre-ordered.

    But the World Health Organization has warned that widespread immunisation against Covid-19 may not be on the cards until the middle of next year.

  • Woman’s death triggers protest in Jammu; inquiry ordered

    PTI

    Jammu: A 23-year-old woman died during treatment at a hospital here nearly two weeks after giving birth to a dead child, triggering protests by her relatives who alleged medical negligence and demanded a probe into her death, officials said on Sunday.

    Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sushma Chauhan said a three-member committee has been formed to investigate the case and asked to submit its report within seven days.

    The protesters, carrying the body of the woman, staged a sit-in on the main road at Chatta on the outskirts of the city on Sunday, alleging that she died within 10 minutes after intravenous injection was administered to her, the officials said.

    After several hours of protest, the body was cremated by her relatives only after the intervention of senior civil administrative officers who rushed to the spot and assured action in the case.

    Kuljeet Kour, who delivered a dead baby early this month, complained of abdominal pain and breathlessness at home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to Government Medical College Hospital here, one of the protesters said.

    He said the woman died in the hospital on Saturday afternoon but doctors took away all her medical records when the accompanying family members questioned their claim that she was COVID-19 positive and would be cremated as per the set protocol.

    “She tested negative for the virus on her admission in the hospital. She was sick but was not in a critical condition. We questioned the false claim and after our protest, a re-test was done which turned out negative and the body of the deceased was handed over around 11.30 pm for last rites, the protester said.

    Demanding a fair probe and stern action against doctors for their alleged negligence, he said “we have given a week’s time to the government to complete its inquiry and take necessary action against those involved”.

    “If justice is denied to us, we will restart our agitation,” he added.

  • J-K guv congratulates students scoring high marks in JEE

    PTI

    Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday congratulated two residents of the union territory for scoring high percentiles in the prestigious JEE Mains examination.

    With 99.77 percentile, Aryan Gupta of Jammu has topped the union territory, while Naveed-ul-Amin scored 99.23 percentile, an official spokesperson said.

    In his message, the Lt Governor observed that the youths of J-K inherently are very capable and ambitious and the union territory administration is committed to providing them with the best enabling environment to facilitate and nurture their capabilities.

    The Lt Governor underlined that their success is not only a matter of pride for the entire J-K, but it will also inspire many more youngsters to prepare, compete and excel at national and international levels, the spokesperson said.

    Sinha wished all the qualified candidates success in their future endeavours.

  • J-K records over 1K COVID-19 cases for 11th day

    PTI

    Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday recorded 1,686 fresh cases of COVID-19, while fourteen patients died in the last 24 hours, officials said.

    The total number of cases has now reached 54,096 and the death toll mounted to 878, they said.

    It was for the eleventh time in as many days that the number of fresh cases has crossed 1,000 in 24 hours.

    “The UT recorded 1,686 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours– 875 in Jammu and 811 in the Kashmir Valley,” the officials said.

    Jammu district reported the highest number of 405 new cases, followed by 185 in Srinagar district, the officials said.

    There are 17,481 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while 35,737 patients have recovered so far, they said.

    Meanwhile, eight coronavirus patients died in Jammu and six in the valley in the last 24 hours.

  • Pak shells forward areas along LoC in Poonch

    PTI

    Jammu: Pakistan on Sunday shelled mortars on forward areas along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing befitting retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said.

    There was no report of any casualty on the Indian side, he said.

    The shelling from across the border in Mankote sector started at around 5.45 pm and was going on when last reports were received, he said.

    The spokesperson said Pakistan initiated the ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars.

  • Militants attack security forces in Pulwama

    PTI

    Srinagar: Militants attacked a team of security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, but there are no reports of any loss of life, police said.

    “Around 5:45pm, militants fired on a party of Army’s Rashtriya Rifles at Parigam in south Kashmir’s Pulwama,” a police official said.

    The security forces retaliated forcing the militants to flee, he said.

    There are no reports of any loss of life or injury, he said.

    The area has been cordoned off and a search operation has been launched to nab the attackers, the official said, adding details are awaited.