The area around Matoshree, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s residence, has been sealed by the BMC as a precautionary measure after a tea vendor in the area tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus, CNN News-18 has reported. It is not yet known how the person contracted the virus or if he has infected anyone else.
Other media outlets, however, have reported that the tea vendor is only suspected to be Coronavirus positive and the infection hasn’t been confirmed yet. The BMC has not put up notices informing people of the sealing of the area and warned that those found in violation of the same will be punished.
Maharashtra currently has the highest number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases with 748 as of now. It has also recorded the highest number of deaths by far with 45. While there has been an organized campaign to project Uddhav Thackeray as someone who has handled the crisis remarkably well, there have been numerous avenues where the Maharashtra Chief Minister and his government have regularly come up short.
The DGP of Himachal Pradesh, SR Mardi has cautioned that people diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus should refrain from spitting on others, else charges of ‘attempt to murder’ would be registered against them. If the person who is being spat on dies, unfortunately, then, the perpetrator will be booked for ‘murder’.
If a coronavirus positive person spits on any person, then, he/she will be charged with attempt to murder. If the person who has been spat upon dies, the coronavirus positive person will be charged with murder: Himachal Pradesh DGP SR Mardi https://t.co/jVyEuIOcfc
On April 5, Uttarakhand DGP Anil Kumar Raturi had warned members of the Tablighi Jamaat to report to the administration by Monday, failing which cases would be registered against them under sections of ‘murder’ and ‘attempt to murder.’ He added that those people who would voluntarily come forward will be tested and treated.
People who had attended Tablighi Jamaat event should come forward and disclose the information within 24 hours, otherwise, FIR will be registered against them under sections of murder and attempt to murder: Uttarakhand DGP Anil Raturi (file pic) #Coronaviruspic.twitter.com/QsswQPlvow
The move comes at the backdrop of the recklessness of the Tablighi Jamaat members who had endangered public health by attending a religious congregation and then by deliberately spitting on the medical staff in a bid to spread infection.
‘Earlier, the Tablighi Jamaat members who were shifted to quarantine facilities in Delhi after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 had allegedly behaved in an unruly manner with the facility staff and doctors, as stated by CPRO Northern Railway Deepak Kumar. According to Kumar, occupants made unreasonable demands for food, misbehaved and abused staff members and started spitting all over and on persons working/attending them, including doctors. They also started roaming around the hostel building.
In yet another ghastly attack on the healthcare workers by Islamists, the Tablighi Jamaat members who were quarantined at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College in Kanpur, after they attended Congregation in Nizamuddin, Delhi and came in contact with several people with Coronavirus, had misbehaved with the medical staff and spat on them during their stay at the hospital in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Similar instances of deliberately spitting on others and hurling abuses by the members of Tablighi Jamaat have been reported in many places.
There seems to be a strange dichotomy in the number of cases and deaths due to the Wuhan Coronavirus being reported from West Bengal. An expert committee has also been set up by the state government to ‘audit’ the deaths in the pandemic. In a significant incident on the 2nd of April, after an expert committee announced that seven people had died due to the Chinese Coronavirus in Bengal, Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha quickly issued an “explanation” to claim that the number of deaths was in, fact, three.
Sinha had said, “The expert committee said that the total number of COVID-19 cases is 53. Let me explain to you that three out of the 53 persons have tested negative have returned home. This makes the number of such persons 50 out them nine have tested negative in the second test which takes the number down to 41.” “Now out of the 41, some have co-morbidities such heart and kidney problems. Some of them have died…The total number of active novel corona positive case is 34 and the number of novel Coronavirus related deaths in the state is three,” he added. As for the death, Sinha claimed, “They had co-morbidities and that’s why they were hospitalised. That’s why we are saying that the four cases are not COVID-19 deaths. It would not be correct to hurriedly describe it as COVID-19 related deaths as it may create panic.”
An expert committee has been formed that will determine the cause of death for those who died after testing positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. An order by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of West Bengal states on the 3rd of April, “The Committee will examine the BHT, treatment history, laboratory investigation reports, death certificates or any other documents as may be deemed necessary for determining the cause of death of a patient who had tested positive for COVID-19.” Intriguingly enough, the expert committee was formed by the same order a day after the Chief Secretary brought down the death count in the state from seven to three.
The order of the Health and Family Welfare Department, West Bengal (Source: Amit Malviya/Twitter)
Furthermore, between Saturday night and Sunday morning, four more people succumbed to ‘co-morbid conditions’ at hospitals across Bengal. Thus, at least eleven people who had tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus have died thus far in West Bengal but the official death count of the disease in the state only says three. It has not yet been confirmed officially whether the four individuals died ‘due to coronavirus’.
In addition to all of this, there are other aspects that are a cause for great concern in West Bengal. On the 5th of April, IANS reported that locals clashed with the Police at the AJC Bose Botanic Garden, Shibpur after locals saw a corpse being taken to the Abdul Road Burial Ground by some individuals wearing Personal Protection Equipments (PPEs). Panicking, the locals wanted to know why was the body being buried by individuals wearing the PPE.
The matter soon escalated and the Police were forced to send in more personnel to tackle the situation. According to the Police, the death certificate mentioned cardiac arrested as the cause of death but the deceased had developed a fever and respiratory distress prompting authorities to take all precautions.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that as of 12 pm on the 6th of April, there were only 61 active Coronavirus cases in West Bengal, of which 55 were from 7 families. However, as per the Ministry of Family and Health Welfare, there are currently 67 active cases excluding the 10 cured and 3 deaths.
As a nationwide lockdown was announced in Indian by PM Modi from 25 March onwards, owing to popular demand, the re-telecast of the legendary TV series Ramayan was started by the state broadcaster Doordarshan. As expected, the viewership of Doordarshan soared instantly.
Soon the re-telecast of Mahabharat and other serials like Shaktiman and Byomokesh Bakshi was announced. But none of the serials matches the popularity of Ramayan. While it is understood that for the majority of the people in India, the Ramayan serial not only has a spiritual connection, but also a deep nostalgia of the late 80s, when there was no internet, no cable TV and life was much different, but the Ramanand Sagar creation seems to have much of the 21st century born ‘millennials’ hooked too.
Memes, jokes and discussion of the TV serial are flooding the social media. The language, the style of conversation presented in the serial and the scenes are being shared widely.
However, while Lord Ram is the hero of Ramayan, when it comes to memes, it is “Bhrata Laxman” who is stealing the show. The role of Laxman was played by Sunil Lahiri, and his facial expressions, dialogues and style are winning hearts now all over again, over three decades after he acted in that role. Here are some hilarious ones:
Laxman’s replies to Parshuram when he threatens Lord Ram at the scene of Sita ma’s Swayamvar has been a favourite of meme makers. Laxman’s witty and hilarious responses have won hearts and the internet too.
Many twitter users have agreed that Laxman ji is the master of all ‘savage replies’,’befitting responses’ and facial expressions that are the absolute favourite of meme makers.
The re-telecast of the Ramayan serial has created new viewership records for DD. An unbelievable number of people are watching the 1987 TV series. There were apprehensions that the re-telecast may not be very popular given the advancement of cinematography techniques, computer graphics and the changing taste of viewers, but the Ramayan serial seems to have smashed all speculations. While some memes may seem crude, many are in good humour, bringing some light-hearted moments while the nation #stayshome to fight the Wuhan coronavirus.
A new aspect of the Wuhan Coronavirus has emerged. According to doctors, a significant portion of the patients of the Chinese Coronavirus has sustained heart damage. It is not yet clear whether the heart damage is due to the virus itself or if it is a consequence of the body’s reaction to the infection. In addition to lung damage, many patients of SARS-CoV-2 are developing heart problems and dying of cardiac arrest, Kaiser Health News has reported.
An initial study has reportedly discovered heart damage in as many as 1 in 5 cases, leading to heart failure and death even when there are no signs of respiratory distress. With more data coming in, experts in the field are coming to believe that the virus does infect the heart muscle as well. But determining whether the virus causes the damage or the body’s reactions do is difficult because severe illness alone can influence the health of the heart.
“Someone who’s dying from a bad pneumonia will ultimately die because the heart stops,” said Dr. Robert Bonow, a professor of cardiology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and editor of the medical journal JAMA Cardiology. “You can’t get enough oxygen into your system and things go haywire.” Bonow is one of the heart specialists who believe there are four or five pathways for a COVID-19 infection to damage the heart. But Bonow said that the damage could be a result of the virus directly infecting the heart. Initial research indicates the Wuhan Coronavirus attaches to certain receptors in the lungs that are found in heart muscle as well.
Patients with heart diseases were much more likely to show heart damage afterwards but some patients with no previous heart disease also showed damage. It was also observed that patients with no preexisting heart conditions who incurred heart damage during their infection were more likely to die than patients with previous heart disease but no COVID-19-induced cardiac damage. The cause of it isn’t entirely clear yet but genetic predispositions or exposure to higher viral loads is suspected.
Doctors have also warned that the Chinese Coronavirus could cause brain damage in some infected patients by triggering inflammation that can lead to bleeding and the death of cells. A woman in her 50s from Detroit had lost big chunks of brain cells and similar issues of the central nervous system have been reported from Italy and China. Studies from 2002 and 2003 on the SARS virus, with which SARS-CoV-2 shares great genetic similarity, had found virus particles inside brain cells, including the cells in the brainstem that regulate breathing. The mechanism of the virus that helps it infect brain cells, however, is not properly understood yet.
In addition to these, it is also suspected that the Wuhan Coronavirus could cause long term or permanent damage even among patients who have made a full recovery. The virus is also believed to adversely impact male fertility and cause damage to testicles although it is believed to be temporary as of now. Long term damage to lungs and reduced lung activity has also been observed among those who have recovered from the infection.
Former AAP MLA, currently with the Congress party, Alka Lamba has resorted to an extremely vulgar diatribe against Olympic medalist Yogeshwar Dutt on social media. After her initial vulgar tweet against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, to which Dutt responded, Alka Lamba made vitriolic remarks against the sportsman. In her initial tweet, she had said, “The Sangh has nothing to do with politics. But the the truth is that all the leaders of the BJP are illegitimate spawns of the Sangh.”
Source: Alka Lamba/Twitter
Yogeshwar Dutt responded to the extremely inappropriate tweet by Alka Lamba saying, “Who is an illegitimate spawn can be known by your words. Your upbringing is revealed by your mentality. The person on whose photograph you have written this, the love that people of this country have for him you must have seen it. The country is standing by him, apart from some mentally ill people like yourself.” It was then that Alka Lamba let out her deranged rant.
Source: Twitter
Alka Lamba told Yogeshwar Dutt, “Abbe Yogeshwar Dutt, ask your mother who your father is? Do you feel ashamed of putting your DP with your father? Why so? The person with whom you have kept your DP, if your mother says he is your father then you should agree to her because a mother never lies. It’s not for no reason that you have taken offense.”
Yogeshwar Dutt responded to the crass tweet saying that it was too much to expect someone who could not even maintain her own dignity on social media to consider the dignity of his mother’s or the Prime Minister’s. He also said that Alka Lamba will now play the victim card. The Congress leader is infamous for her antics. During the Delhi Elections, in which she was candidate from the Congress party, she slapped a worker from the Aam Aadmi Party. Formerly an MLA from Chandni Chowk, she had quit Aam Aadmi Party and CM Arvind Kejriwal after series of controversies.
The Wockhardt hospital situated in Mumbai’s Agripada was on Sunday fenced off after 26 nurses and 3 doctors in the hospital were tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) decreed that nobody would be allowed to enter or leave the hospital premises until everyone in it tests negative twice consecutively.
Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani expressed shock over the number of positive COVID-19 cases emerging from a medical facility. He said that a team has been set up under the executive health officer to investigate how the infection spread among so many people within the hospital setting.
“It is really unfortunate that such a big cluster of positive coronavirus cases emerged from a hospital. It is the fault of hospital administration that about 300 staffers have to be quarantined. They should have taken better precautionary measures. We have set up a team to identify how the virus spread among so many people in the hospital setting,” he said.
According to a report published in Hindustan Times, the COVID-19 positive nurses have alleged that the hospital administration’s careless negligence is the reason behind the spread of the infection to other staffers. A couple of weeks back, On March 20 two suspected and positive Covid-19 patients were shifted to the hospital from Kasturba Gandhi Hospital. While the confirmed cases were kept in ICU wards, the suspected cases were kept in general wards where other non-COVID-19 patients were also being provided treatment.
As many as 270 more throat swab samples of the hospital staffers, doctors and nurses have been sent to test. Nurses who were tested positive for the virus were shifted from their quarters in Vile Parle to the hospital. The hospital’s canteen continues to be functioning and provides food. Senior inspector Savalaram Agawane of Agripada police station said that two police personnel have been deployed at the hospital to restrict the movement of people.
The United Nurses’ Association(UNA) said that they were neither quarantined nor removed from the shifts until the symptoms became apparent- a charge that the hospital denied. The union has also alleged that the nurses were not provided with PPEs despite attending to suspected coronavirus patients.
In a letter, UNA and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan contended that both the COVID-19 wards of the hospital are full. They have claimed that the hospital refused to provide access to the nurses to their own test reports, adding that several of those who were in quarantine in the hostel were shifted to COVID wards in the hospital. Some of who were attending to the COVID-19 positive nurses are also added to the COVID ward, the letter said. In a set of demands put forth by the bodies, one included not putting pregnant nurses on duty.
Three children were burnt alive in a village in Sindh, Pakistan on Sunday. The incident occurred at Shakil Mahar village near Dad Leghari in district Ghotki of Sindh. The bodies of the children have been completely charred and the Police said they could not be identified. The fire engulfed five houses, it is being reported. All the goods and valuables in them have been turned into ashes.
The cause of the fire could not be determined immediately, however, it is being reported that the fire broke out when a stove in one of the houses malfunctioned. But not everyone is buying it. Rahat Austin, a lawyer and an activist, claimed that the houses were set on fire and according to him, a woman was also severely burnt as a consequence. His tweet, which we are not embedding here due to extremely graphic content, can be seen here.
According to Austin, Bari Khan Patafi, an MP from the Pakistan Peoples Party, visited the place but no action has been taken thus far. “We appreciate that step sir but please address the real issue. Beating around Bush is of no use,” he said. Austin said that another incident of arson had occurred at Umeed Ali Rindh village, tehsil Chhachhado, in Tharparker, Sindh. Seven houses are said to have been burnt in that incident.
Non-Muslims in Pakistan and Hindus especially are persecuted greatly by the Muslims of the country. Women are raped at an alarming frequency, forcibly converted to Islam and life is made hell for them. To help the non-Muslims of the country, the Indian Parliament has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act which reduces the residential requirement for naturalization from 11 to 5 years.
Ace cricketer Zaheer Khan found himself at the receiving end of hate when assorted Islamists attacked him for heeding Prime Minister Modi’s call for lighting a Diya on April 5, 2020, in solidarity with the fight against the Wuhan coronavirus.
Akin to millions of Indians who followed PM Modi’s request to light a lamp or torch for 9 minutes starting 9 PM on April 5, 2020, cricketer Zaheer Khan too lighted a lamp and posted the photo of the same on his official Instagram page.
Zaheer Khan’s official Instagram page
However, Khan’s gesture did not sit well with some of his rabid co-religionists who were prompt in slamming him for being a “Modi Bhakt” and not standing with the Markaz attendees who are responsible for about 30 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country.
One Instagram user Saquib Tanzil asked Zaheer why is he not supporting the Markaz. Another user, Md Taslim Anjum, derided Khan as a ‘Modi Bhakt’ for his noble act of encouraging the healthcare workers and uplifting the country’s morale by lighting a lamp. “Sad, one more Muslim person is Modi bhakt. Waah Modiji Waah, ek aur Muslim pe jaadu lar diye,” he wrote.
Zaheer Khan’s Instagram feed.
One Musheer Ahmed, who seemed inordinately discontented with PM Modi denigrated Khan for lighting the lamp. He bewailed that Khan would even consume “cow dung” if PM Modi asked him to do so, while admonishing him if he had lost his marbles for heeding PM Modi’s call to express gratefulness for the doctors, healthcare professionals and others who are tirelessly working and putting up a brave fight to ward off the threat of coronavirus.
It appears that fanatic Islamists on social media were thoroughly rattled by Muslim superstars who chose to follow PM Modi’s request of lighting a lamp or torch at their respective balconies as a mark of respect and show their solidarity in the fight against COVID-19. Earlier yesterday, another Muslim cricketer Mohammad Kaif received a barrage of criticism from the Islamists on his Twitter timeline after he posted a video of his family lighting a lamp to express his gratitude for all the doctors, medical staff, sanitation workers, govt. employees, police and army personnel, media personnel, bankers, essentials’ shopkeepers and all other warriors fighting COVID-19.
Scores of zealous Islamists descended on his Twitter and Instagram page, expressing vehement protest and abusing the former cricketer for coming out in support of PM Modi’s initiative. Many suggested that he must offer namaz instead to fight coronavirus. That he was ‘fooled’ to celebrate and light a lamp ahead of BJP’s foundation day. Others expressed disappointment that Kaif too had turned out to be a ‘Modi Bhakt’. The hatred continued on his Instagram page as well where he uploaded the same video he had on Twitter.
This is not the first time that radical Islamists have targeted Zaheer Khan for sharing photos that did not conform to their blinkered worldview. In October 2019, Khan was abused incessantly across various social media platforms for sharing a picture with his wife actress Sagarika Ghatge and wishing happy Diwali to everyone. Attacking Khan, several fundamentalists asked what face will he show to Allah if he celebrates Diwali like this.
The Stranded in India portal that was launched by the Ministry of Tourism on March 31 has seen registration of 769 foreign tourists who are stranded in different parts of India, owing to the nationwide lockdown imposed on the wake of Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak.
769 foreign tourists from all over the country register on ‘Stranded in India’ portal in first five days.Assistance in various forms being rendered to those requesting for help through the portal: Ministry of Tourism #COVID19pic.twitter.com/AcfwIZ5Ez2
According to the official release, every State government and Union Territory Administration has identified Nodal Officers for assisting such foreign tourists. The Ministry of Tourism has been coordinating with the Nodal Officers regarding the requests by the foreign tourists for facilitating ground support. It also clarified that the requests for transfer between states or to home countries by the foreigners will be coordinated with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and the respective Embassy.
The Stranded in India portal can be accessed through the Incredible India website and will provide factually correct information to foreign tourists to ease their fears and confusion. The portal will also enable smooth evacuation of stranded tourists with the help of their respective governments.
The Tourism Ministry assured, “The world is facing an unprecedented situation. We are with you in these difficult times. If you are a foreign traveller stranded anywhere in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can help you get in touch with the concerned authorities.”
Earlier, the Government of India had suspended all tourist visas and e-visas granted on or before March 11. All incoming visitors including Indian nationals were advised against non-essential travel because of the Coronavirus pandemic. “All existing visas, except diplomatic, official, UN/international organizations, employment, project visas, stand suspended till 15th April 2020,” it had said in the statement.
The order came into effect from 1200 GMT on Friday, March 13. Visas of all foreigners already in India remained valid and they were asked to contact the nearest FRRO/FRO through the e-FRRO module for extension/conversion etc of their visa or grant of any consular service if they chose to do so.
