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  • 17 new positive cases reported today, 28545 persons under observation

    Srinagar April 04: The Government Saturday informed that 17 new positive cases of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), 03 from Jammu division and 14 from Kashmir division, have been reported today thus taking the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 92.

    According to the daily Media Bulletin on novel coronavirus (COVID-19), out of 92 positive cases, 86 are Active Positive, 04 have recovered and 02 have died.
    Furthermore, till date 28545 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance which include 10606 persons in home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 682 in Hospital Quarantine, 86 in hospital isolation and 12795 under home surveillance. Besides, 4376 persons have completed their 28 days surveillance period.
    The Bulletin further said that till date 1397 samples have been sent for testing of which 1250 have tested as negative, and 55 reports are awaited till April 04, 2020.
    The Bulletin urged the general public to stay indoors, strictly implement social distancing measures, disclose recent travel history to COVID-19 affected countries and report any contact with positive cases voluntarily.
    “People who are not suffering from medical conditions or having breathing difficulties may use the handmade reusable face cover, particularly when they step out of their house. These face covers could be made out of clean cloth available at home, which needs to be thoroughly cleaned and washed before a face cover is stitched/made. The face cover should be prepared in such a manner that it can cover the mouth and nose completely and can be tied over the face easily,” reads the advisory.
    Furthermore, it said two sets of such face covers be made so that one can be washed while the other is used. “Hand washing would still remain essential criteria and hand should be washed before wearing the face cover. There must not be sharing of face covers and a face cover must be used by only one individual.”
    It was informed Aarogya Setu a mobile application has been developed by the Government of India that uses Bluetooth and GPS to inform you when you might possibly be at risk of exposure. The users of the app shall be informed regarding risks, best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of COVID-19. This app, advisory said also helps people to assess themselves the risk for their catching the COVID-19 infection. The app is available for free on iOS and Android.
    Advisory urged religious leaders not to allow and carry any social ceremony including solemnizing marriages at religious places that can defeat the purpose of social distancing and make people vulnerable for COVID-19.
    Stressing to avoid unnecessary visit to hospitals, advisory said in case anyone develops fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, seek medical advice promptly. “People should call on Covid-19 helpline No.s so that they can be provided correct medical advice and directed to the right health facility, if needed.”
    In case of any emergency people can avail free ambulance services 24×7 at their door steps by calling on toll free No. 108. Pregnant women and sick infants can avail free ambulance services by dialing toll free No. 102.
    Similarly people can also call on toll free national helpline number 1075; J&K Covid-19 Helpline No.s 0191-2549676 (UT level Cell), 0191-2520982, 0191-2674444, 0191-2674115 (For Jammu Division), 0194-2440283 & 0194-2430581(For Kashmir Division) for support, guidance, and response to health related queries on Novel Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19).
    With regard to personal hygiene, advisory stressed on frequent hand washing with soap and water and to observe, coughing and sneezing etiquettes.
    Public is advised to strictly follow the advisories issued by the Government from time to time and are urged to rely only on the information released by the government in this regard through the daily media bulletin to print and electronic media.
    People are advised to refrain from spreading rumours and pay no heed to them at the same time.

  • J&K’s statehood to be restored when Omar would roam without security in Lal Chowk: BJP

    Srinagar, Apr 03: Bharatiya Janta Party’s general secretary (organization) Ashok Koul on Saturday said Jammu & Kashmir’s statehood would be restored when former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would be able roam without security cover in Srinagar.

    To a question about Omar Abdullah’s demand for restoration of statehood, Koul said they are not averse to restoration of J&K’s statehood when peace will return to the Union Territory.

    “We also want restoration of statehood but it cannot be granted when there is violence, militancy and corruption in J&K,” he told wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

    Koul said return of peace in Jammu & Kashmir is must for restoration of its statehood. “We won’t have any objection to restoration of statehood when Omar Abdullah and other political leaders would be able to roam freely in Srinagar and Jammu,” he said. Omar on Saturday had tweeted that statehood should be restored and elections be held—(KNO)

  • ‘Don’t eat raw, undercooked meat, Chicken’: DFCO Kmr caution people

    Srinagar, Apr 04: The Drug and food control organization Kashmir, Saturday cautioned people against eating raw, undercooked meat and unprocessed food products.
    “Though there is no risk to catch the Covid-19 disease from eating chicken and mutton, but yes people must not eat raw or undercooked meat and unprocessed food products, Assistant Food commissioner, Hilal Ahmad Mir told Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) over phone.

    Coronavirus predominately affects the respiratory system and spreads from human to human via droplets while sneezing, coughing, contaminated hands and surfaces.
    He told KINS that as a precautionary measure, we advised people to avoid consumption of raw or undercooked meat as well as unprocessed food products.

    “Frozen food items must be consumed only after cooking them properly. Good hygienic practices must be followed before consuming raw fruits and vegetables, Mir said.
    He further said that they we are keeping a close watch on the situation. “Transmission through food is unlikely and so far there is no evidence that people have become infected by swallowing the virus in or on food,” he maintained.

    When asked that another misconception doing the round is that one might contract the virus from imported goods packed in affected countries, Mir said “The virus is not going to be transported in a box, adding, “There is no evidence that anyone has got infected from a package”.

    It is to mention here that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has claimed that they have not found any “conclusive evidence” of the food-borne transmission of the deadly virus.”

    “There is no scientific evidence to show that coronavirus spreads through eating chicken, mutton and seafood, FSSAI chief G S G Ayyangar had said.

    “There is a misconception that coronavirus will spread through chicken, mutton and seafood. There is nothing like that. It is scientifically not proven,” he had said. (KINS)

  • More than 90% patients recover from coronavirus illness: DAK

    Srinagar Apr 04: Sounding a note of reassurance, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Saturday said most people who catch the novel (new) coronavirus recover completely.
    “More than 90 percent patients who are diagnosed with the viral infection return to a normal state of health,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
    Based on the data from China which has passed the peak of its suffering from the pandemic, Dr Nisar said of the 81, 639 confirmed cases of the novel virus, 76, 755 (94%) patients have completely recovered from the illness.
    “The milder cases which comprised of 81 percent of total cases recovered on their own and they just needed nothing more than a paracetamol for fever.” he said.
    “Just under 14 percent of cases were severe and most of them got well,” he added
    Dr Nisar said approximately 5 percent of patients were critically ill and vast majority of them required mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure.
    “While the overall fatality rate was 2.3 percent, it was 49 percent in those with critical disease. Deaths were most common among people who were older than 80 years of age,” he said.
    Dr Nisar said most COVID-19 patients who end up on ventilation go on to die.
    “A study from Wuhan China found only 3 of 22 ventilated patients survived,” he said.
    “Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is an advanced type of mechanical life support improves the chances of survival in critically ill patients,” Dr Nisar said adding “WHO recommends ECMO to those patients who are refractory to conventional ventilation.”
    “Kashmir valley has so far reported 71 lab confirmed cases, and most of them are doing well and some have completely recovered,” he said.
    “Those who have mild symptoms typically recover from the illness in about 10 days to two weeks’ time, while those who experience more severe illness can take an average of 24 days to recover,” said Dr Nisar.

  • Coronavirus | New York State records highest number of deaths in single day from COVID-19

    The death toll in the state now stands at 2,935, an increase of 562 deaths in just one day, says Governor Andrew Cuomo

    PTI

    The New York State reported its highest number of 562 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, with a person dying almost every two-and-a-half minutes, as Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed redistribution of ventilators and protective gear to hospitals with greater need.

    Coronavirus cases in the state, the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., crossed 1,00,000 and it recorded the highest increase in the number of deaths from the virus in a single day between April 2 and 3, Mr. Cuomo said.

    The death toll in the state now stands at 2,935, an increase of 562 deaths in just one day, Mr. Cuomo said.

    The curve continues to go up, Mr. Cuomo said while addressing reporters on Friday.

    The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state now stand at 1,02,863, nearly half of all COVID-19 infections in the U.S., where the tally has reached 2,77,953. New York City alone has 56,289 coronavirus patients.

    Mr. Cuomo also gave a grim assessment of the rising number of casualties, saying the state witnessed the highest single increase in the number of deaths since we started.

    More than 7,000 people have died in the US, and 1,867 in the New York City alone, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Centre.

    “More people in New York died from the virus in the last 24 hours than in the first 27 days of March. The state’s death toll has nearly doubled in the last three days,” The New York Times said.

    Shortage of PPEs

    The Governor also expressed anger over the short supply of essential medical equipment for healthcare professionals to help them deal with the surge in the cases across the state and the country.

    He said personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gowns and face shields are in short supply in New York as they are across the country and there is need for companies to make these materials.

    “It is unbelievable to me that in New York State, in the United States of America, we can’t make these materials and that we are all shopping China to try to get these materials and we’re all competing against each other,” he said.

    Holding up an N-95 mask and a medical gown, Mr. Cuomo said “these are not complex materials and we will work with New York manufacturers, will finance the transition necessary to make these materials.”

    “I mean we talk about them as if they’re very complicated,” he said, adding that “it can’t be that we can’t make these. It can’t be that companies in this country and in this state can’t transition to make those supplies quickly.”

    Mr. Cuomo asserted that he is not going to get into a situation where the state is running out of ventilators and people are dying because there are no ventilators but there are hospitals in other parts of the state that have them but are not using.

    He signed an executive order allowing the state to redistribute ventilators and personal protective equipment from hospitals, private sector companies and institutions that don’t currently need them and redeploy the equipment to other hospitals with the highest need.

    “Those institutions will either get their ventilators back or they will be reimbursed and paid for their ventilators so they can buy a new ones. I can’t do anything more than that. But I’m not going to be in a position where people are dying and we have several hundred ventilators in our own state somewhere else If you don’t get the ventilator back, I will give you my personal word, I’ll pay you for the ventilator. I’m not going to let people die because we didn’t redistribute ventilators,” he said.

    Trying to increase supply of ventilators, says Governor

    Mr. Cuomo has warned that the state has about six days of ventilators in its stockpile and he is doing everything possible to increase the supply.

    “We are talking to the federal government to be as helpful as they can but in truth I don’t believe the federal stockpile has enough (ventilators) to help all the states because you can’t buy the material at this point. We’re still trying to buy from China,” he said.

    A report in The New York Times quoted chief medical officer of the Mount Sinai Health System Vicki LoPachin as saying, “it is hard to put fully into words what we are all grappling with as we navigate our way through this pandemic. We are healing so many and comforting those we can’t save — one precious life at a time.”

    The report added that in signalling the strain on hospitals, Lenox Hill Medical Center in Manhattan temporarily experienced a drop in pressure in its oxygen supply Friday. The cause was apparently the heavy demand.

  • 14 more test positive in Kashmir, COVID-19 tally in J&K rises to 92

    Srinagar, April 04: The number of COVID-19-affected patients increased in Jammu and Kashmir to 92 as fourteen more persons tested positive for the infection in Kashmir Valley on Saturday, officials said.

    Official sources told GNS that among those who tested positive include 8 persons admitted to GMC Baramulla. Five other persons are admitted to SKIMS while another one is at Chest Disease hospital Dalgate, one of the Kashmir exclusive COVID-19 management hospitals, they said.

    Earlier three persons tested positive in Udhampur district of Jammu division.

    “Three more positive cases reported today from Narsoo, Udhampur. All contacts of a positive patient from Udhampur with travel history abroad,” Principal Secretary Planning, Information and Government Spokesperson, Rohit Kansal tweeted.

    As per officials, out of these 92 COVID-19-affected people, 87 are active patients as three persons—two from Jammu and one (first COVID-19 patient) from Kashmir have been discharged while two others died. Among the active cases, 68 are in Kashmir and 19 are in Jammu. (GNS)

  • 2 minor boys held before joining militancy, handed over to families in Baramulla

    Baramulla, April 04: Two minor boys, apprehended from north Kashmir’s Baramulla district last week while trying to join militancy, were on Saturday handed over to their families after counselling.

    A police officer told GNS based on information that the youth ” were going to join the path of violence after being misguided by local militants and their accomplices, police moved swiftly and apprehended them in Kreeri belt of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district”.

    After proper counselling, both minors were handed over to their respective families after counselling, the officer said. (GNS)

  • Mishandling of case of first deceased Covid-19 patient: ‘Patient was offered ambulance but he preferred his own vehicle: Inquiry Officer

    Srinagar, April 4: Additional Commissioner Tasaduq Hussain Mir who was made inquiry officer to probe the alleged mishandling of the deceased Covid-19 patient from Hyderpora, originally an inhabitant of Sopore Saturday said that the patient had preferred to visit SKIMS Soura in his own vehicle, despite an ambulance being offered by doctors at JVC SKIMS Bemina. He, however, said that Medical Superintendent JVC SKIMS Bemina failed to sense the gravity of the situation and didn’t inform the Principal JVC, Coordinator and the district administration about the serious case.

    Pertinently, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, P K Pole, had asked Additional Commissioner Kashmir Tasaduq Hussain Mir to enquire into the matter and try to find out why and how the case was mishandled and patient allowed to mingle with the people.

    Additional Commissioner Tasaduq Hussain Mir told Kashmir News Trust that due to lock down and restrictions he has not recorded the statements of medicos in question. He said these days it takes a lot of time in paper work. “It is to be seen why the Medical Superintendent JVC SKIMS Bemina didn’t informed the Prinicipal, Coordinator and the district administration about the patient. I will shortly record the statements,” Mir said.

    He added that initial inquiry reveal that JVC SKIMS Bemina had offered an ambulance to the patient, but a relative doctor accompanying him shifted to SKIMS Soura in his own private vehicle,” he said.

    “I will record the statements of Medical Superintendent SKIMS Bemina and Head of the Department, Chest Medicine SKIMS Bemina and fix the responsibility,” he added.

    Tasaduq Hussain Mir added that inquiry is not linked to death. “I have been ordered to find out whether the case was mishandled and protocol was followed or not,” he said. (KNT)

  • Hackers are trying to hack into your WhatsApp account, steal data: What to do

    Hackers are sending messages on WhatsApp to users asking for OTP to login to the account and misuse their personal details. In fact, even steal money.

    Lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic has shut almost all businesses and services across the nation but hackers seem to be really busy at this crisis time as well. Hackers are leaving no stones unturned to hack into your WhatsApp account and steal your personal information. They are sending messages and users are reportedly falling for them. According to WABetaInfo hackers are sending messages to users asking for OTP to login to the account and misuse their personal details. In fact, even steal money. Hackers are also sending emails to trap WhatsApp users.

    Several users are complaining of receiving messages from unknown phone numbers asking for the OTP they “mistakenly” sent to them. Given most users aren’t aware of the tactics hackers use they are sending the text with the OTP to login to the WhatsApp account. Doing so is making users lose their WhatsApp account. This is how hackers are getting access to your personal chats, data such as phone number, name, email ID, bank account details, Facebook login and many more.

    Never fall for these messages if in any case you receive them. It is advisable to just ignore these messages or simply block the number that you received the message from. We have listed out some tips to protect your WhatsApp account from these hackers.

    How to prevent hackers from hacking into WhatsApp

    Enable two-step verification: A lot of people don’t know about this feature and hence don’t enable it. But this is a feature that can prevent hackers from hacking to your WhatsApp account. This feature is available for both iOS and Android phone users for a long time. To enable the two-step verification feature on WhatsApp first head over to the Setting menu > Account > Two step-verification > click on enable. You will then need to set up a PIN that only you will know.

  • Foreign investors sell over ₹1 lakh-cr. securities in a month, for first time in history

    But domestic institutions save markets the blushes, buying stocks worth ₹55,595 crore in March and arresting a further plunge

    Ashish Rukhaiyar

    For the first time in the history of the Indian capital markets, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold securities worth over ₹1 lakh crore in a single month.

    As per data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), the cumulative net outflow from the debt and equity segments was pegged at ₹1.18 lakh crore in March — more than double the previous high of ₹44,000 crore witnessed in June 2013.

    Further, both the equity and debt segments have individually registered new highs in terms of monthly outflows of ₹61,973 crore and ₹60,376 crore, respectively.

    COVID-19 concerns

    According to market participants, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has affected stocks worldwide is the primary reason for such record outflows as foreign investors shy away from riskier assets and also, emerging markets.

    The global death toll of the pandemic had crossed the 50,000-mark with more than 10 lakh confirmed cases. In India, the last few days have seen a greater rise in the number of new cases thereby adding to investor concerns.

    Incidentally, the impact of the record sales by overseas investors has been clearly visible in the stock markets with the benchmark Sensex registering its worst monthly fall in over 11 years. In March, the 30-share barometer lost a little over 23% (23.05% to be precise) which was the highest since October 2008 when it plunged 23.89%.

    Currently, the Sensex, which closed at 27,590.95 on Friday after falling 674.36 points, or 2.39%, is trading over 53% lower than its intraday record high of 42,273.87 touched in January.

    Interestingly, buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs), which include banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and domestic financial institutions, has been acting as a strong counter force to the selling by foreign investors.

    As per BSE data, March also saw the highest-ever monthly net purchases by DIIs who bought equities worth ₹55,595.18 crore. This was again double that of the previous high of ₹26,033.9 crore registered in October 2018.

    In the current calendar year, while FPIs have sold equities worth ₹51,832 crore — they were net buyers in January and February — DIIs have bought shares worth ₹74,554 crore.

    Meanwhile, the voluntary retention route, or VRR, in debt securities, which was opened up for FPI investments in January, has seen an inflow of ₹4,165 crore in March while hybrid securities saw a marginal outflow of ₹19 crore, according to NSDL data.