Jeddah: Saudi Arabia reimposed curfew in Jeddah to contain the spread of coronavirus in the city.
The curfew will be imposed in the city between 3 p.m. and 6 a.m. from today for the next two weeks.
During this period all office will remain shut. Employees of both public and private sectors are not supposed to work from office.
No prayers in the mosques will take place for the next two week.
As no gathering of more than five people is allowed, restaurant and cafes will not allow customers to have food on their premises. Although domestic flights and train journeys are not suspended, entry and exit should not be in curfew hours.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia decided to deport expats who fail to abide by the coronavirus protocols.
‘Individuals who fail to abide by preventive measures, including wearing medical or cloth face masks, failing to observe social distancing and refusing to have their temperatures taken, will be fined SR1,000. The fine will be doubled if the violation is repeated. Residents will be deported after paying the fines,’ Gulf News quoted the Okaz newspaper as saying.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recorded 93,157 COVID-19 cases, with 611 deaths.
Bald men may be at higher risk of suffering from severe Covid-19 symptoms, emerging evidence suggests.
The link is so strong that some researchers are suggesting baldness should be considered a risk factor called the “Gabrin sign”, after the first US physician to die of Covid-19 in the United States, Dr Frank Gabrin, who was bald.
The lead author of the key study behind the association, Professor Carlos Wambier of Brown University, told The Telegraph: “We really think that baldness is a perfect predictor of severity.”
Data since the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in January has shown that men are more likely to die after getting coronavirus. In the UK, a report this week from Public Health England found that working-age males were twice as likely as females to die after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
Until recently, scientists have been at a loss at why this might be, pointing to factors such as lifestyle, smoking, and immune system differences between the sexes. But increasingly they believe it could be because androgens – male sex hormones like testosterone – may play a part not only in hair loss, but also in boosting the ability of coronavirus to attack cells.
Ruobing Su/Business Inside
This raises the possibility that treatments suppressing these hormones, such as those used for baldness as well as diseases like prostate cancer, could be used to slow the virus down, giving patients time to fight it off.
“We think androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells,” said Professor Wambier.
As well as the trial being discussed using baldness drugs in the US, a separate trial has been launched by Matthew Rettig, an oncologist at UC Los Angeles, in 200 veterans in Los Angeles, Seattle and New York, using prostate cancer drugs.
The trials follow two small studies in Spain led by Professor Wambier, which found that a disproportionately high number of men with male pattern baldness were admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
In one study, 79 per cent of the men suffering with Covid-19 in three Madrid hospitals were bald. The study of 122 patients, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, followed an earlier piece of work among 41 patients in Spanish hospitals, which found 71 per cent were bald. The background rate of baldness in white men of a similar age to the patients studied is between 31-53 per cent. A similar correlation was found in the study among the smaller numbers of women with hair loss linked to androgens.
Other scientists said that more work needed to be done, but were excited by the potential link.
“Everybody is chasing a link between androgens …and the outcome of Covid-19,” Howard Soule, executive vice president at the Prostate Cancer Foundation, told Science Magazine.
Prostate cancer specialists are familiar with the role androgens can play in disease because in the prostate, the hormones stimulate an enzyme that boosts cancerous growth. In April, researchers published a paper in the journal Cell which showed that the enzyme TMPRSS2 is also involved in coronavirus infections.
To infect a cell, coronaviruses – including the novel SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19 – use what is called a ‘spike’ protein that binds to the cell’s membrane, a process that is activated by an enzyme. In this case, it appears that TMPRSS2 may be that enzyme.
Scientists do not yet know if the enzyme responds in the same way to androgens in the lungs as it does in the prostate, but other evidence appears to support the potential link.
A study from Veneto, Italy, of 9,280 patients found that men with prostate cancer who were on androgen-deprivation therapy – drugs that cut testosterone levels – were only a quarter as likely to contract Covid-19 as men with the disease who were on other treatments.
Karen Stalbow, Head of Policy at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “There have been several recent pieces of research which indicate there may be a link between male hormones and increased risk of Covid-19. This has led some researchers to investigate whether hormone therapies commonly used to treat prostate cancer, such as enzalutamide, could reduce this risk.
“However, most of the research so far has been in the lab, and there is conflicting evidence over whether the hormone therapies have the same impact in the lungs as they would in prostate cells. There are now several clinical studies starting which hope to address these issues, but much more evidence is needed before we can know whether these hormone therapies would be an effective treatment for Covid-19.” – The Telegraph
Srinagar: The medical experts Friday said that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has already entered into community transmission and now there is need to do mass testing.
Medical experts believe that getting a huge population of people back from different parts of the global especially those from affected areas has also led to a surge in number of positive cases here.
Talking exclusively to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) Dr Nisar Ul Hassan, valley’s renowned Flu expert who is also associate professor medicine at GMC Srinagar said “we have entered into community transmission and it has already given several indications with people having no travel or contact history proving positive for Covid-19 and the death of Hajin man was an eye opener.”
He said when large number of people with no travel history to affected areas or country and having no contact history with a positive patient are detected positive is community transmission and it’s the matter of testing and most of the patients are asymptomatic.
Citing an example about the mandatory testing of pregnant women, he said the number of pregnant ladies tested positive have no contact or travel history to affected areas is a sign of community transmission.
He said the authorities are doing target testing only as of now after a person is detected positive. “It’s the matter of mass testing for authorities to learn that it’s community transmission, now by way of mass testing we will get to know the exact magnitude of the percent of population involved,” he said.
He said it is basically if we have 20 percent of the population affected, it’s called community transmission and for that authorities must go for mass testing. “Like mandatory mass testing of pregnant women, similarly it has to be done in community and not to test a selected number of people only.”
Citing an example of an early indicator of community transmission, Dr Nisar said the death of a Tangmarg patient with no travel or contact history was an alarm of community transmission, similarly, death of Hajin man was also an indicator and eye opener.
He said evacuation from India and other parts of global should have been done on day one but getting them back now has resulted in surge in number of cases. He also said that restrictions have to continue for some time and there should be no ease in restrictions until the cases decline as JK has already entered into community transmission—(KNO)
New Delhi: The civil services preliminary examination 2020, postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be held on October 4, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced on Friday.
It said the personality test of the candidates selected through the last year’s civil services preliminary and main examinations will resume from July 20.
This year’s preliminary test was originally scheduled to be held on May 31, but was deferred due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said the announcement of fresh date for the civil services preliminary exam would allay apprehensions in some quarters of it being cancelled.
“It would also allay apprehension from the minds of some quarters who thought that they would become overage by the next year in case the exam was postponed. Candidates need not worry. The examination will be held as per the UPSC’s schedule,” he told PTI.
The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages prelims, main and interview — by the UPSC to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.
Lakhs of aspirants take the examination every year to be part of the country’s coveted civil services.
The decision on announcement of fresh date was taken in a meeting held by the Commission to review the prevailing situation due to COVID-19 lockdown.
“Taking note of the opening of lockdown and progressive relaxations being announced by the Central government and various states, the Commission decided to issue a revised schedule of examination/recruitment tests,” the UPSC said in a statement.
According to the revised calendar, the civil services preliminary examination 2020 will be held on October 4 (Sunday). The main examination 2020 will begin from January 8, 2021 (Friday) for five days, it said.
“The dates of notification, commencement and duration of examinations/recruitment tests are liable to alteration, if the circumstances so warrant,” the Commission said.
Personality tests for civil services (main) examination, 2019, for remaining candidates are being resumed from July 20, it said, adding “candidates will be informed individually.”
A common examination for both NDA& NA Exam (I) and NDA&NA Exam (II), 2020 will be held on September 6, 2020, the UPSC said.
The recruitment test for the posts of Enforcement Officer/Accounts Officer in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), earlier scheduled to be held on October 4, 2020, has been deferred, it said.
“New date for conduct of this recruitment test will be published on the website of the Commission at the time of issue of calendar of examinations/recruitment tests for 2021,” the Commission added.
Jammu: The traditional ‘Pratham Pooja’ (first prayer) for the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir Himalayas was held here on Friday, officials said.
Normally, the ceremony marks the start of the Amarnath Yatra which spans nearly two months. However, this year, according to sources, the yatra is likely to begin in the last week of July and its duration shortened to 15 days due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ‘Pratham Pooja’ was conducted by principal secretary to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor and CEO of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) Bipul Pathak, and SASB Additional CEO A K Soni.
The first prayers were performed as is the annual practice. This was done as per schedule, Pathak told reporters.
“The yatra will be conducted with social distancing measures and other SOPs in place,” he said to a question about the commencement of the pilgrimage to the 3880-metre high cave shrine this year.
Pathak said the yatra may take place after taking into consideration all possibilities.
“There are some problems. There is a shortage of labourers due to lockdown and preparations are still on,” he said.
According to the sources, helicopters are likely to be used for the yatra and it will conclude on August 3.
Earlier, the Amarnath Yatra was scheduled to begin from the twin tracks of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district on June 23. It would have concluded on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) on August 3.
Srinagar: For the first time in the country, three women have been appointed cash custodians for ATMs. Banking automation company AGS, which looks after the working and maintenance of ATMs, has appointed three women – two in J&K and one in Ladakh – as ATM cash custodians.
The three women – Sayeeda Begum, Zakia Banoo and Belqis Banoo – are responsible for loading of cash into the ATMs. The company has chosen to start with Srinagar, which is “the most difficult place because after that it can only get easier”.
33-year-old Syeeda Begum of Rajouri who lives in Jammu with her 13-year-old daughter and businessman husband says, “Initially, I was hesitant to take the job. Even my family had reservations. It was my husband, however, who encouraged me to give it a try. I appeared for an interview and was selected for the job last year.”
Syeeda said her shift begins in the morning when she gets cash from the bank: “Accompanied by a gunman, driver and a fellow custodian, I refill the ATMs assigned to me,’’ she says. Her shift lasts for eight to nine hours.
A postgraduate in history, Sayeeda was teaching in a private school before she switched careers.
“Not used to seeing a woman load cash into an ATM, people usually stare at me. It bothered me in the beginning, not so much now.”
These days women are excelling in every field and I hope more women take up jobs in the cash industry,’’ she says.
Zakia Banoo, 27, is the eldest among five siblings. Her parents are farmers and the job has given her family hope for a better future.
‘A friend told me about the post and after seeking my family’s permission I applied for the post and was selected. Each day, accompanied by a guard, I load the ATM in Kargil town in Ladakh.”
Dedicated to her job, at times Zakia also refills cash on Sunday, in case there is a shortage of cash. “It was quite a unique experience for me and initially it seemed difficult but now I have got the hang of it,” she says.
Captain Partha Samai, group head, HR, AGS Transact Technologies Ltd says, “The work of an ATM officer is not rocket science. It needs meticulous counting, diligence and honesty, which both men and women can posses. It is a baseless idea that this particular job can only be done only by men and not women.”
“The success of our female cash custodians has made us realise that the idea can be replicated in other states of the country,” Samai says.
“Once the lockdown ends, we will start advertising more posts for women as cash custodians across the country. We manage around one lakh ATMs across the country and have more than three thousand vehicles,’’ he said, adding that it was decided to start the scheme from J&K and Himachal Pradesh as fewer women from the states were part of the industry.
A CRPF spokesperson told Outlook that the pledge taken by a paramilitary unit to boycott the Chinese products was an emotional response of an individual unit to the prevailing situation along the LAC in Ladakh region.
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) unit based in Jammu and Kashmir has pledged to boycott all Chinese products in response to the current stand-off between India and China at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh region.
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The “emotional response”, as a CRPF spokesperson puts it, comes days after noted innovator and Ramon Magsaysay and Rolex Awards winner Sonam Wangchuk appealed people to boycott everything “made in China” saying that it will have resonance around the world in the present situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a video that has been widely shared on Internet, the CRPF personnel of the 177 battalion in north Kashmir’s Sopore could be heard taking a pledge to boycott ”Made in China” products like eatables, electronic gadgets, communication equipment etc. Outlook could not verify the authenticity of the video.
Central Reserve Police Force spokesperson in Srinagar, Pankaj Singh, told Outlook that it was an emotional response of an individual unit to the current situation (prevailing along the LAC). Singh said it is not the policy of the CRPF to boycott products of any country. However, he said, “the CRPF would adhere to the government of India’s stand on the issue and it believes in Swadeshi and promoting Swadeshi.
The Centre on September 25, 2014 launched ‘Make in India’ campaign, an initiative covering 25 sectors of the Indian economy to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India and enthuse with dedicated investments into manufacturing.
Last week, Wangchuk in his video from Leh had said that within a week, he would get rid of his Chinese mobile phone, and in one year, “I will throw out of my life anything that is made in China.
Being Muslim in new 🇮🇳 is to live in fear & perpetually having to look over one’s shoulder. From wilfully spreading COVID to brutally killing an elephant,we are accused of being root cause of every problem that ails the nation. In this new apartheid system, muslims are villains
Being Muslim in new 🇮🇳 is to live in fear & perpetually having to look over one’s shoulder.From wilfully spreading COVID to brutally killing an elephant,we are accused of being root cause of every problem that ails the nation. In this new apartheid system, muslims are villains
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari on Friday said the new recruitment rules for Class-IV jobs notified by the J&K government yesterday are completely prejudicial in nature and should be rolled back and modified in accordance with the standard rules governing the recruitment processes across the country.
In a statement issued here, Bukhari castigated the administration for handling such a sensitive issue in a “causal and mundane manner” which is not only detrimental to the interests of lakhs of unemployed youth but are fraught with dangerous ramifications for the peace and progress of Jammu and Kashmir.
“In the new recruitment rules notified on June 4, 2020 the administration has incorporated SRO-202 clauses which are not only obsolete but brazenly, unconstitutional in nature. The five-year probation instead of two years with denial of increments is totally against the right to equality enjoyed by all other citizens across the country except for the residents of J&K,” Bukhari said, while urging for personal intervention of the union home minster into the matter.
He said that the SRO 202 was formulated by the previous elected government under the constitution of erstwhile state of J&K, which presently stands revoked. “Since the Indian constitution and law is directly applicable to Jammu and Kashmir how can SRO 202 be still valid in such a situation? The government of India cannot have double standards for residents of J&K while the citizens in all others states enjoy equal rights under the constitution of the country. This contradiction needs to be alleviated, sooner the better,” he remarked.
He also questioned the J&K government’s stand on the report submitted by the Law Commission headed by Justice (Retd.) M.K Hanjura who had recommended reduction in probation period from five to two years for employees recruited under SRO-202 since its notification in 2015.
“It is highly disgusting that the present dispensation has continued with anti-youth SRO-202. Justice (Retd.) Hanjura led Law Commission had recommended to set these rules in tune and in line with Office Memorandum of Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, and also to be in consonance with the evolved concept of justice and equality,” Bukhari observed, adding that the present government seems to have trashed those recommendations.
He demanded those employees who have completed two years of probation on the date of the promulgation of Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation Act 2019 should be regularized forthwith and the cases of those employees who will be completing two years of probation on any future date may be taken up for such consideration as per the recommendations of the Hanjura Law Commission.
Taking an exception to the other lacunas in the new recruitment rules, the JKAP president said the additional weightage clause for the district cadre posts is also against the principle of equality. “How can the candidates from remote and inaccessible areas of a district be equated with their counterparts who reside and get education and exposure in urban areas of the same district? This is totally an unjustified clause which should be removed forthwith,” he demanded.
Bukhari also censured the administration for insisting the candidates for production of Domicile Certificates at the end of recruitment process saying that the clause in fresh recruitment rules is not only frustrating but loaded with political connotations which put a question mark on the intentions of government for addressing the burning issue of unemployment in J&K.
“The fresh recruitment rules in its entirety are demoralizing for the qualified youth of J&K who in absence of other private sector opportunities look for government sector with high hopes. These rules should be immediately rolled back and modified in accordance with the right to equality and equal pay to equal work enshrined in the constitution of the country,” the JKAP president demanded.