Home Blog Page 5600

Beware: spreading rumours about the Wuhan Coronavirus spread on social media can land you in jail for 6 months

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Beware: spreading rumours about the Wuhan Coronavirus spread on social media can land you in jail for 6 months

The total number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases in the country have risen precipitously. Over 400 active cases are reported from across the country, with Maharashtra leading, closely followed by Kerala. As many as 34 cases have been discharged or cured nationally and 9 deaths have been reported so far. In the wake of the spread of the virus, most states imposed lockdowns and heavy restrictions on intra and interstate travel. India has suspended all domestic flights, except solely cargo-carrying flights, effective March 25. “The operations of domestic schedule commercial airlines shall cease operations effective from the midnight that is 23.59 hours IST on 24/3/2020,” said a communication from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Most states have now notified the Regulations for prevention and containment of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). While the media has reported that according to these stringent rules, not following the lockdown can land one in jail for 6 months, what they have not reported is that anybody spreading rumours about the Wuhan Coronavirus spread can also land in jail for 6 months.

In the notification issued by most states now, a rule clearly stands out.

Rule by the State of Odisha for arresting spread of Coronavirus

The above excerpt is taken by the rules notified by the State of Odisha. It reads that no person/institution/organisation will use any print or electronic or social media for dissemination of any information regarding Covid-19 without ascertaining the facts. The rule essentially says that if anyone including an organisation is found indulging in such activity, it will be treated as a punishable offence under these regulations.

The Rules and Regulations notified further says that any

Odisha rules about restricting spread of Coronavirus

The rules then say that anyone found violating the provisions of these regulations shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.

Section 188 of IPC


If any person who violates the regulations cases obstruction, risk or injury, they can be imprisoned upto 1 year, however, if their disobedience caaases danger to human life they can be imprisoned for upto 6 months.

Considering the risk of the spread of Coronavirus, it is thus reasonable to assume that any disobedience of the regulations imposed by the state may invite imprisonment of upto 6 months along with fine, which includes spreading fake news through traditional media, electronic media or even social media.

Most states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha etc and even the Supreme Court have notified the same regulations with similar provisions.

Priyanka selling Rajiv Gandhi painting to Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor could be ‘proceeds of crime’, says ED

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Priyanka selling Rajiv Gandhi painting to Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor could be ‘proceeds of crime’, says ED

ED officials have stated that the sale of the MF Hussain painting to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor by Congress princess Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is being treated as ‘proceeds of crime’, as per a report in The Indian Express. The painting was sold by Priyanka to Rana Kapoor for a sum of Rs 2 crores.

Indian Express has also cited ED officials as saying that Priyanka could be summoned for questioning over the sale of the MF Hussain painting of her father the former PM Rajiv Gandhi to the Yes Bank founder after the current summons of major debtors and industrialists are over.

“The Rs 2 crore paid by Rana Kapoor to Priyanka Gandhi was received by him from the bank shortly before he gave it to her and thus becomes part of our investigation into the case. Both the buyer and the seller could attract action under Section 3 of the PMLA Act,” a senior official has been quoted in the IE report.

Section 3 of the PMLA says “whosoever directly or indirectly was connected with the proceeds of crime has projected it as untainted property shall be guilty of the offence of money laundering.”

Read: Painting row: Read how Congress’ Milind Deora desperately tried to get ‘Rana Uncle’ to buy the Rs 2 crore painting from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

The Income Tax department was already probing the Rs 2 crores withdrawn by Rana Kapoor and paid to Priyanka by cheque in 2010. When ED raided Kapoor in March and found the painting, it came to the light that the money was paid for the painting.

When ED had questioned Kapoor how he acquired the painting, he had presented the exchanged messages between him and Congress leader Milind Deora, also the letter of acknowledgement and a copy of the Rs 2 crore cheque signed by Kapoor.

However, KTS Tulsi, Congress leader and Gandhi family lawyer has stated that the ED cannot club the painting as ‘proceeds of crime’. Tulsi added that the sale of the painting was purely a private commercial transaction and the Congress party has already stated that it was shown in the Income Tax declaration by Priyanka Gandhi.

Kapoor was arrested earlier this month. Yes Bank is in the midst of a crisis as it accumulated a torrent of bad loans in 2018 by lending to corporate defaulters such as DHFL, Jet Airways and Cafe Coffee day and others. The bank was put on a moratorium by RBI for a period of 30 days, capping its withdrawals at Rs 50,000. The Reserve Bank of India has also announced ‘Yes Bank Ltd. Reconstruction Scheme, 2020’, changing the authorised capital to Rs 5000 crores and 2400 crore equity shares standing at Rs 10 each. In addition, SBI which leads the consortium of banks investing in the ‘reconstructed bank’ will not reduce its holding below 26% before the completion of three years.

Coronavirus outbreak: Total cases touch 492, no new case reported in Delhi on March 23, first case in Manipur

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Coronavirus outbreak: Total cases touch 492, no new case reported in Delhi on March 23, first case in Manipur

A day after the Janta Curfew concluded and the subsequent announcement made by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal imposing lockdown in the city, no new cases were reported from the National Capital on Monday, March 23, 2020. Delhi had reported about 30 positive cases until thus far with one patient succumbing to the novel virus. According to the Ministry’s official website, the total number of cases that have till date tested positive are 492 including foreign nationals and 9 deaths.

As of today, 6 of the 30 patients admitted in hospitals across Delhi were shifted outside the state and one has migrated outside the country. Of the 6 who were transferred outside the state, 1 patient each was shifted to Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu while 2 of the remaining were moved to Kolkata. Besides, 1067 patients are under government quarantine facilities in Delhi.

While only Delhi saw no new cases, India saw the highest jump in the number of new cases on 23 March. 99 new cases were reported from the country, with Maharashtra at the top with 23 new cases. The state now has 97 cases, with Kerala at a close second at 95 cases.

In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, all the international flights from March 23 till March 29 were suspended. In addition, the Delhi government has announced a slew of measures to counter the spread of the contagion. The government has declared complete lockdown of state until the midnight of March 31. No public transport services including private buses, rickshaws, autos will be allowed to ply the roads in National Capital. However, 25 per cent of the total fleet of DTC buses were allowed to ply on roads for those who are involved to dispense the essential services.

In the meanwhile, a 23-year-old woman from Manipur, Imphal, has tested positive for coronavirus, becoming the first case in North East India. She has a travel history of the UK.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country have risen precipitously. Over 400 active cases are reported from across the country, with Maharashtra leading, closely followed by Kerala. As many as 34 cases have been discharged or cured nationally and 9 deaths have been reported so far.

Coronavirus: Congress leader and ‘friendly journalists’ spread fake news that Assam Medical College healthcare workers have to wear plastic due to lack of protective gear

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Coronavirus: Congress leader and ‘friendly journalists’ spread fake news that Assam Medical College healthcare workers have to wear plastic due to lack of protective gear

Congress leader Harjit Bhatti, who is a doctor by qualification, on Monday took to Twitter to claim that healthcare workers in Assam Medical College are “forced” to cover themselves in plastic bags. He claimed that these plastic bags are the ones which are used to carry biomedical waste. He alleged that there is shortage of personal protection equipments (PPEs) in Assam Medical College.

Now deleted tweet of Dr Harjit Bhatti, Congress leader

His allegations were further spread by the usual suspects.

Vinod Kapri’s now deleted tweet

Filmmaker-journalist Vinod Kapri, who regularly indulges in spreading fake news, too joined in. Not to leave a chance to pounce on PM Modi even amidst a crisis, other ‘journalists’ took Bhatti’s tweet on face value, like they always do.

Similar news were shared by other ‘influencers’ with huge following on Twitter.

Joydas tweet liked by Mohammad Zubair

The tweet was liked by AltNews co-founder Mohammad Zubair (we are yet to see a fact-check on the same on AltNews).

‘Journalist’ associated with leftist propaganda website The Wire, too, shared Joydas’ unverified claims, which he later deleted without explanation.

Similar claims were made by Congress social media convener.

However, all their lies were called out by Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Calling the tweet of Congress leader Harjit Bhatti as ‘highly motivated’, Sarma clarified that the government has supplied good number of PPE kits in past three days. Sarma also informed that the police has been asked to register an FIR against Bhatti and investigate.

Read: Newslaundry quotes doctor to say JNU ABVP students received only “superficial” injuries. They lied: Here is the truth

Following Sarma’s clarification, Bhatti, Kapri and Joydas quietly deleted their tweets while Patel continues to put it on his timeline, perhaps because like their leader Shashi Tharoor, retweets are more important than facts during the time of crisis.

Meanwhile, Bhatti has tweeted another tweet with same image, claiming that he got calls from Assam Medical College and that they do have PPEs, but the plastic suit was ‘tested’ to be used should a shortage occur.

Again, there is no basis for these claims.

Who is Dr Harjit Bhatti

Dr Harjit Singh Bhatti is the National Convenor of the All India Medical Cell of the Congress party. In February last year, he was appointed to the post in the Congress party. Not just the Congress party, he is also close with the Bhim Army. He claims to the doctor of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad and has been very vocal in demanding medical care for Azad who currently out on bail, claiming that he is extremely unwell. He is not just a healthcare provider for Azad, but also a supporter, as he has been seen posting tweets with the hashtag #AzaadiForAzad.

From as far back as 2017, the media has been publishing comments by Dr Bhatti without any indication of his political affiliation. In fact, this phenomenon has continued well into 2020, almost a year after he became a post-holder in the Congress party. Media houses continue to quote him without disclosing his political affiliations and the official post he holds within Congress.

Bhatti’s quotes have been extensively used by media by identifying him as AIIMS doctor. Following violence perpetrated by leftist students on JNU campus early in January, Bhatti had claimed he was treating the students at AIIMS. In fact, Newslaundry introduced Bhatti as the former president of the Resident Doctors’ Association at AIIMS, and said that he was at AIIMS when injured students from JNU were brought there. However, the fact is that Bhatti is not a doctor associated with AIIMS. The Alumni page of AIIMS says that he is working at Manipal Hospital in Delhi. But the website of the hospital lists no doctor by that name. Moreover, when defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra called the hospital, he was informed that they have no doctor by that name.

Coronavirus lockdown: Delhi police gets bulldozers and clear​s Shaheen Bagh, protestors had threatened to continue their protest ‘no matter what’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Coronavirus lockdown: Delhi police gets bulldozers and clear​s Shaheen Bagh, protestors had threatened to continue their protest ‘no matter what’

The Shaheen Bagh drama has finally come to an end after the Delhi Police cleared the area. After Section 144 was imposed in Delhi in the face of Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, in the early hours of 24th March, Tuesday, the Delhi Police had first urged the protestors to clear the area and when they had refused to comply, protesters were detained and the area was cleared.

DCP of South East Delhi said, “People at the protest site in Shaheen Bagh were requested today to clear the site as lockdown has been imposed. But after they refused, action was taken against violators as the assembly was unlawful. Protest site has been cleared. Some protestors have been detained”.

A video was then reported by ANI where the Delhi Police was seen clearing the area of the barricaded tent and stage that had been illegally constructed by the Shaheen Bagh protestors. In the video, it can be seen that the Delhi police had to use a bulldozer to clear the area.

DCP Meena also said that there were male members also present at the Shaheen Bagh protest site and they had turned down Delhi police’s request to clear the area.

Police presence after Shaheen Bagh was cleared

Interestingly, it was only last night that the protestors had vehemently said that no matter what, they would not clear the protest site. In fact, they had claimed that if Prime Minister Modi was worried about the spread of Coronavirus, he should withdraw CAA and NRC to ensure their safety.

In a Facebook page named ‘Shaheen Bagh Protest’, Muslim women who were protesting at Shaheen Bagh had appealed to the people of Delhi to come to Shaheen Bagh in “large numbers” to “protect Shaheen Bagh” as they had said that the Delhi Police was about to clear the area. However, it appears like nobody really turned up to “protect” the protest as they were concerned about their own lives with the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Further, a Muslim man was heard saying last night that the Delhi Police can rain laathis on them, but they will not vacate the protest site. He said that the protestors will only move if the Supreme Court asks them to. In fact, the man in the video also said that more than the Wuhan Coronavirus, the protestors were scared of NRC and CAA. Additionally, the man in the video towards the end of his statement threatened with violence saying that if anyone comes to Shaheen Bagh ‘against the protest’, they will not be afraid to use their “hands and legs”.

Interestingly, their bravado seems to have been useless since after the imposition of Section 144 and the lockdown announced by the Central and State government, their congregation was deemed illegal and the Delhi Police moved in to clear the protest site.

Even the area near Jamia bears a deserted look.

Flyover seen from Jamia Gate number 7

There were some strange comments that had emanated from Shaheen Bagh after the clamour for the protest site to be vacated grew in the face of Wuhan Coronavirus spreading. One protestor had claimed that the Quran Sharif mentions Coronavirus and thus, nothing will happen to the protestors congregated there. Another protestor had claimed that the Wuhan Coronavirus itself is a ploy by Amit Shah to get them to vacate Shaheen Bagh.

Following the passage of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which speeds up Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities of the three neighbouring Islamic countries, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, violent protests had erupted in the national capital and other parts of the country. Following a call of Sharjeel Imam, the radical Islamist and JNU student who is currently arrested on charges of sedition, few women belonging to Muslim community sat on a protest at Shaheen Bagh. They blocked a bus stop and a main road causing severe problems to the public of Delhi. For about three months now, these so-called ‘protesters’ in Shaheen Bagh have blocked one of the busiest thoroughfares in the national capital in protest against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act.

It is pertinent to note that a four-month-old infant, Mohammed Jahan, had lost his life after suffering from severe cold and congestion during anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh. However, Nazia, the mother of the four-month-old infant Mohammad Jahan, was unapologetic about her son’s death but instead has chosen to ignore his death and rejoin the ‘protests’ at the Shaheen Bagh. 

A shocking video had also gone viral across social media platforms in which kids were seen holding posters of the four-month-old infant Mohammed Jahan who died at Shaheen Bagh. One of the protestors in the background had claimed that the death of the four-month-old kid was nothing but a ‘Qurbani’ or sacrifice for the anti-CAA movement

Coronavirus: Nagaland students in Kolkata called ‘coronavirus’, forced to leave their house

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Coronavirus: Nagaland students in Kolkata called ‘coronavirus’, forced to leave their house

A video has surfaced, in which a group of residents belonging to a particular locality are seen assaulting some students and then dragging them away from there. It is being alleged that in the incident which transpired in some locality in Kolkata, few students of Nagaland were harassed and forced to leave their houses by the local residents. They were also mocked by being referred to as “coronavirus”.

A digital media platform The North-Eastern Chronicle shared the video on its Instagram page, with the caption: “Students from Nagaland are forced to leave their houses in Kolkata, they are being harassed and mocked as “CoronaVirus”.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police had registered a case against a man who allegedly spat on Manipuri woman and called her ‘corona’. The incident allegedly took place in Vijay Nagar area of North Delhi on Sunday night. A case under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code is registered for insulting the modesty of a woman.

In a similar incident on March 18, two students from Darjeeling Hills studying at premier institutes in Kolkata had allegedly faced racial taunts linked to coronavirus in separate incidents on city streets.

Both had taken to social media sites to narrate their ordeal. One of them, a 21-year old woman who is pursuing Masters degree at the Presidency University, shared a video on WhatsApp on Monday, in which she was seen confronting two men who had allegedly uttered ‘coronavirus’ pointing at her on a central Kolkata.

The second incident involved a male student of the Jadavpur University, who claimed that when he was waiting for an autorickshaw, a transgender woman asked her companion to move away from him, saying “coronavirus esechhe” (coronavirus has arrived).

While the Kolkata Police sources said no complaint has been lodged by any of the two students, the students said that after they threatened to take action against the men, they apologised, therefore they did not take any follow-up action.

Pakistan: Minister of Education of Sindh tests positive for Wuhan Coronavirus, government deploys Army

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Pakistan: Minister of Education of Sindh tests positive for Wuhan Coronavirus, government deploys Army

Minister of Education and Labour for Sindh, Pakistan, Saeed Ghani, has tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. Ghani made the revelation in a video posted through his account on Twitter. He said that he was tested a day earlier and its results turned out to be positive.

The minister said that he has not felt any symptoms of the infection and felt healthy but nevertheless, he was isolating himself from everyone as he could infect others. “If anyone of my friends and acquaintances feels the symptoms, then please get tested and isolate,” Ghani said. The minister also urged people to take the government’s instruction seriously and advised them to stay at home so that the spread of the pandemic could be curbed.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has issued a notification announcing the deployment of the Army across all the provinces of the country including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. As of the moment of writing this report, Pakistan had recorded 873 cases of Covid-19 infections and six deaths due to the virus.

Pakistan has not been able to handle the pandemic very well. Earlier, shocking visuals had emerged of the quarantine camps in the country that showed that the facilities were extremely unhygienic and filthy and thus, would not help in curbing the spread of the virus at all.

India Inc. pitches in to support the battle against the coronavirus outbreak

OpIndia Staff
-
0
India Inc. pitches in to support the battle against the coronavirus outbreak

As the scourge of novel coronavirus sweeps across India, the Indian Business magnates have risen to the occasion to extend assistance to the government in their fight against the covid-19. Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, Anand Mahindra, the chairman of Mahindra Group and Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal have pledged their support amidst the unprecedented crisis that has triggered widespread lockdowns across many parts of the country.

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance has announced a slew of measures taken by the conglomerate to shore up India’s battle against the covid-19. Reliance has decided to step up production of 1 lakh masks per day, free fuel to emergency vehicles carrying Covid-19 patients and free meals to the needy ones in several cities to support the livelihood of those affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

In a press release, Reliance announced the measures it has decided to undertake to support the government’s effort in halting the spread of coronavirus and provide a cushion against the economic impact of the crisis. The press release said that the Reliance had deployed the combined strengths of Reliance Foundation, Reliance Retail, Jio, Reliance Life Sciences, Reliance Industries and all the 6 lakh employees of Reliance to fight against the covid-19.

The Key efforts initiated by Reliance against battling coronavirus include the following:

  • Reliance Industries has set up a first dedicated hospital for covid-19 in collaboration with Bruhanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) with a capacity of 100 beds at Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai for patients who test positive for coronavirus. All beds are equipped with the required infrastructure, biomedical equipment such as ventilators, pacemakers, dialysis machine and patient monitoring devices.
  • Sir H. N Reliance Foundation Hospital will be setting up a special quarantine facility to isolate travellers from notified countries and suspected cases identified through contact tracing.
  • Reliance Foundation to collaborate with NGOs across the country to provide free meals to people across various cities.
  • Reliance has set up a fully functional isolation facility at Lodhivali, Maharashtra and handed it over to the District authorities.
  • Reliance Life Science is importing additional kits and equipment for better and effective testing.
  • Reliance has announced that it has scaled up its production capacities to churn out 1 lakh masks per day to ensure that there is no shortage of protective equipment in the country.
  • RIL has extended initial support of Rs 5 crore to the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
  • Reliance Jio has teamed up with Microsoft team to build an online platform “Symptoms Checker” that enables users to check their symptoms for coronavirus from their homes and prevent unwarranted pressure on the medical professionals
  • Jio Haptik Technologies has powered the Indian government’s new Whatsapp chatbot around the coronavirus outbreak and provide verified information.
  • Reliance will provide free fuel to all vehicles used for transporting coronavirus patients for treatment and quarantined people as per the list provided by the government.
  • Through Reliance Retail, with their 736 grocery stores across the country, Reliance has assured sufficient supply of daily essentials, breakfast cereals, fruits and vegetables and items of daily necessities so that citizens don’t have to stock up. The stores will also remain open for longer from 7 am to 11 pm.

Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra group, cautioned that India might already be in stage 3 of the transmission and urged the government to announce the continuation of lockdown for a few more weeks to blunt the spread of the virus. He also added that he is exploring ways to use his organisation’s manufacturing facilities to make ventilators. Mahindra has also offered resorts under Mahindra Holidays as temporary care facilities for the patients.

In addition, he claimed that his group’s project team stands ready to assist the government and Army to help set up care facilities and that Mahindra Foundation will be setting aside a fund to help the worst-hit tide over the current crisis. Urging his associates to voluntarily make contribution to this fund, Anand said that he will contribute 100 per cent of his salary to the fund and add more over the coming months.

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal has pledged an amount of Rs 100 crores to fight the pandemic of coronavirus that has hit the nation. Agarwal took to Twitter to make the declaration while raising concerns for the daily wage earners who are amongst the most seriously affected by the contagion’s outbreak in India.

As of now, India has recovered 433 positive cases in COVID19 and 9 people have died till now. States across the country have announced stringent lockdown to curb the further spread of the disease which threatens to overwhelm the nation’s public health system.

Kolkata: Presidency University student reveals SFI plot to put fake rape charges against BJP supporters

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Kolkata: Presidency University student reveals SFI plot to put fake rape charges against BJP supporters

A student of Presidency University, Kolkata has alleged that she was asked by a member of the SFI to ‘sleep with’ people associated with the BJP on the campus so that she could then play the victim card when SFI would come to ‘rescue’ her. In a Facebook post, the student said, “All of this started in first year, when Malyaban Ganguly came up to me and said I should try sleeping with the BJP people in campus and then play a victim card while SFI would come up to rescue me and this is how they would throw BJP out.” Malyaban is an SFI leader.

Source: Facebook

The student said that she was mortified by the suggestion and said that she was ‘shattered’. She then confronted some of her close friends associated with the SFI. She continued, “The story doesn’t end her (sic), few days later, Manjima Dasgupta asked me to come and meet her and talk about this in front of Malyaban Ganguly to make things clear, however I disagreed and we talked somewhat far from Sukumar Da’s place where I found Magur Da and Malyaban talking. Anyway, Manjima di said, this won’t be tolerated by SFI and she would take care that this kind of things don’t happen (sic) and also said that ami jeno egulo arr kauke na boil (I don’t tell anyone else about this).”

Subsequently, the student received calls from several members associated with the SFI and asked whether she had told anyone about the entire matter. She continued, “This is the time, when I found Malyaban Ganguly staring at me creepily in campus, and doing random things like if I’m talking to someone else, he would come and push him/her in a joking way and greet them while he knew that I’m inevitably traumatised by everything that he did.” Furthermore, she revealed a charade was orchestrated to give the pretense that Malyaban Ganguly had been suspended only for her to later find out that the entire matter was a farce.

Source: Facebook

The student said that she wouldn’t be taking any legal actions in the matter. She also said several people mocked her for being ‘uncomfortable’ with the entire incident. According to her, they proved that “Songothon shobar cheye boro” (The organization is bigger than everyone). She also said that nobody cared when she suggested that Malyaban apologized to her and sought counseling for his perverse conduct. She, however, said that she doesn’t have proof of the incident.

Another student of the university has also made accusations of sexual misconduct against Malyaban. She has alleged that he tried to kiss her without her consent “made it look like it was consensual” when it was not. Simultaneously, he was going around telling people that she was like his sister. She added, “I confronted him with the help of my friends and my seniors but he kept denying and stating that it was consensual.”

Source: Facebook

OpIndia reached out to the lady for her comments on the allegations she has put across, she told us that the grave allegations she put against SFI are not “tool which could be used to share right wing propaganda”.

Sexual harassment allegations against members of the Leftist student organizations have surfaced time and again in Kolkata. In 2018, a member of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) who happened to be a student at Jadavpur University came forward with her account of the rampant sexual harassment she suffered within the organization. She had also encountered a negligent attitude from her higher-ups when she approached them over the matter.

Amidst coronavirus outbreak, IMCR recommends medicines to prevent infection in high-risk cases

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Amidst coronavirus outbreak, IMCR recommends medicines to prevent infection in high-risk cases

Amid increasing cases of coronavirus outbreak in India which has claimed 8 lives and over 400 confirmed cases till today, the National Task Force COVID-19 constituted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday recommended the use of hydroxy-chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 for high-risk cases.

In an advisory issued by the department, asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, and asymptomatic household contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases have been advised to be placed under chemoprophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine.

“Hydroxychloroquine is recommended only for a healthcare worker who is treating a #COVID patient. Secondly, it’s recommended only for persons staying and caring for a household positive patient. They can take that only for prophylaxis, only for prevention,” said ICMR Director-General Balram Bhargava.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has also approved the protocol recommended by the ICMR National Task Force for restricted use in an emergency situation.

The key considerations to administer the medication are:

  • The drug has to be given only on the prescription of a registered medical practitioner.
  • If anyone becomes symptomatic while on prophylaxis, he or she should immediately contact the health facility, get tested as per national guidelines and follow the standard treatment protocol.
  • The intake of hydroxychloroquine should be coupled with a proper lookout for adverse drug reactions through self-reporting using the Pharmacovigilance Program of India app or helpline.
  • The asymptomatic contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases should maintain home quarantine as per the guidelines even if they are taking hydroxychloroquine.
  • The drug is not recommended for prophylaxis in children under 15 years of age.
  • It is contraindicated in persons with a known case of retinopathy, known hypersensitivity to hydroxychloroquine and 4-aminoquinoline compounds.

As for the dosage it has been recommended that the asymptomatic healthcare workers who have been involved in the care of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases can be given 400mg of hydroxychloroquine twice a day on Day 1 and then 400mg once in a week for the next seven weeks. The drug has to be taken with meals. 

The task force also warned the health workers that placing them under chemoprophylaxis should not instil a sense of false security in them and asked the health-workers to follow all prescribed public health measures such as frequent washing of hands, respiratory etiquettes, keeping a safe distance of minimum 1 metre and use of personal protective equipment.

Bhargava also announced that the process of Covid-19 test kit manufacturing has been fast-tracked at ICMR-NIV Pune and two manufacturers are already approved.

The ICMR director furthered that he would like to clarify that FDA/CE approval isn’t mandatory. ICMR-NIV approved tests which will be done there on a fast-track basis will also be acceptable for COVID-19 testing, ANI reported.

1...5,5995,6005,601...7,670Page 5,600 of 7,670