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More than half of Coronavirus cases among Indian nationals abroad in Singapore and Kuwait, cases almost double in little more than a week

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More than half of Coronavirus cases among Indian nationals abroad in Singapore and Kuwait, cases almost double in little more than a week

Singapore and Kuwait now account for more than half of the total Indians abroad who are infected by the Wuhan Coronavirus. A total of 6200 such infections have been reported in countries around the world, more than half of which are living in the two countries mentioned. As per reports, more than 2300 infections among Indian nationals, a major portion of which lives in the dormitories of Singapore, were recorded till late last week and more than 1300 infections were reported among expatriate Indians in Kuwait.

Other countries where a sizeable number of Coronavirus infections among Indians have been reported are Bahrain and Qatar with five hundred each and Iran with the number at three hundred. As per reports, on April 16 the total number of Indians infected in 53 countries was 3,336 and a total of 40 Indians have been reported dead abroad.

The total number of infections among Indians abroad has almost doubled in the past 8 or 9 days as it stood at 3,336 on the 16th of April. Between the 18th of March, when the government had informed the parliament that the number was 276 as on that day, 255 of which were in Iran, and the 16th of April, it took a month almost for the number to reach 3,336 but the jump from that to 6,300 took only a little over a week.

The welfare and treatment of the infected Indians have reportedly featured in the conversations between the Prime Minister and the external affairs minister and their counterparts in countries such as Singapore and Kuwait. During a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that his government will take care of the Indian migrant workers here as they take care of Singaporeans. In a recent conversation with PM Modi, his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah also said that his government “values the contributions of the large Indian community and would continue to ensure their safety and welfare in the present situation.”

Howrah: Mob defies lockdown, attacks Police trying to enforce guidelines as Coronavirus crisis deepens in West Bengal

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Howrah: Mob defies lockdown, attacks Police trying to enforce guidelines as Coronavirus crisis deepens in West Bengal

Policemen were attacked in Howrah, West Bengal on Tuesday after they entered the area to enforce the lockdown in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the worst affected areas of West Bengal, second only to Kolkata. In a video shared by a journalist associated with Times of India, security personnel can be seen running for cover after the mob came after them. A voice can be heard saying in the video, “These people are attacking the police station.” Loud noises can also be heard in the video.

In a different video shared by an associate editor at India Today, the mob can be seen dragging a policeman, apparently, to safety. A voice in the video [explicit language, viewer discretion advised] says that the face of the policeman has been injured. Another voice agrees. The voices appeared angry with the mob and wanted the Police to crack down on the mob.

As per reports, two to three policemen were injured in the mob attack. The incident occurred at the Belilious Road in Howrah when the Police asked people defying the lockdown to go back to their homes. The mob also attacked the Tikiapara Police Station and pelted stones at the policemen. Bottles were also thrown at the Police. A heavy police force and RAF have been deployed in the area.

Coronavirus Crisis Critical in West Bengal

The health-care experts believe that the situation in Bengal is very grave as the Mamata Banerjee-led government has not been giving real data to assess the actual seriousness of the pandemic. From threats to doctors for whistleblowing against the state government against lack of facilities to allegations of state government illegally disposing of dead bodies, there have been serious allegations against the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister herself is engaging in rants against the Central Government and a lack of cooperation on her part with authorities at the centre has been reported on numerous occasions. She is busy making false claims about the central government and accuse them of undue political interference in the affairs of her state. Mamata Banerjee has also asked Coronavirus positive patients to quarantine themselves at home, indicating that the spread of the virus is much greater than admitted by the state government.

Coronavirus scare: Four employees test positive, Maharashtra Secretariat to remain shut for 2 days

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus scare: Four employees test positive, Maharashtra Secretariat to remain shut for 2 days

On Tuesday, an official informed that the Maharashtra Secretariat would remain shut for sanitisation on April 29 and April 30, after four housekeeping employees were diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus. The same has been reiterated by the State Additional Chief Secretary (Services), Sitaram Kunte, in a circular.

Reportedly, the infected patients have been shifted to the isolation ward of a government-run hospital. While 3 of them tested positive on Sunday, one employee was diagnosed with the Chinese virus on Monday. Over 50 sanitation workers who work in the building had been placed under quarantine and tracing of people who have come in contact with them is underway.

The Maharastra Secretariat is functioning with fewer employees in light of the lockdown imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. It is important to mention that the Secretariat is being frequented by State politicians, several times a week.

Coronavirus Scare in other Government Institutions

On April 20, 125 families in the Rashtrapati Bhavan were asked to self-isolate after the daughter-in-law of a sanitation worker who lives in the same complex tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. Earlier, the mother of the woman’s daughter-in-law had died of the Chinese virus infection and her funeral was attended by all family members. As such, 25 families that are within the same block of the Rashtrapati Bhavan have been kept under strict isolation while an additional 100 families have also been asked to self-isolate.

Earlier, a staff of Parliament house who was working as a housekeeper was found infected with the Wuhan Coronavirus. As per reports, there are 3,000 staffers in the Lok Sabha, among them, this has emerged as the first case. The staffer was not at work since the budget session was adjourned on March 23. “Approximately ten days ago, he fell ill and went to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for check-ups including ECG. He was discharged on the same day,” an official said.

NITI Ayog shut for 48 hours too

Earlier today, the NITI Ayog building in Delhi was also shut for 48 hours after a director-level employee tested positive. The building will be shut for sanitisation. Healthcare workers are currently tracing the other employees who had come in contact with the concerned patient. An employee of the Supreme Court was tested positive for coronavirus too.

Extremists exploiting lockdown during the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic to recruit youth online: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

OpIndia Staff
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Extremists exploiting lockdown during the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic to recruit youth online: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that radical groups are exploiting the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic to and intensifying their efforts on social media to recruit youth online. Extremists are trying to capitalise on the ‘anger and despair’ unleashed by the economic crisis caused by the virus to increase their strength.

Guterres told a UN Security Council meeting on youth, peace and security that “these frustrations and, frankly, failures to address them by those in power today, fuel declining confidence in political establishments and institutions”. “When such a cycle takes hold, it is all too easy for extremist groups to exploit the anger and despair, and the risk of radicalisation climbs,” he said. He said that despite all of this, young people “are still finding ways to engage, support each other, and to demand and drive change” including in the fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the secretary-general’s envoy on youth, criticised the media for emphasising “the small minority of young people who disregarded guidelines” but “completely sidelining the thousands of young people who were already fighting in the front lines of the crisis.” She dedicated her speech “to all the young people who are putting their communities ahead of themselves within war zones, within refugee camps, within favelas and within settlements, showcasing grit and leadership that sometimes we even fail to see in our own political leaders.”

“Young people are a huge source of new ideas, solutions and innovation,” Estonia’s UN Ambassador Sven Jürgenson said. “During the current pandemic, however, they can be among the greatest victims.” He added that between 42 million to 66 million children could fall into “extreme poverty” as a result of COVID-19 and an analysis from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization showing that 91 percent of the world’s students are affected by school closures, and more than 1.5 billion students in 191 countries have trouble continuing their studies normally.” “This will lead to increased educational gaps, serious damage to the prospects for a better future and can potentially lay seeds of radicalization among young people, constituting a threat to peace and security,” Jürgenson warned.

US Ambassador Kelly Craft warned that the 400 million young people directly affected by violence or conflict are the most vulnerable in the matter. “Now, the imperative to protect them is even greater: on top of social, education, and health systems that (are) already weakened by conflict or disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic is triggering multiple, interlinked crises impacting hundreds of millions of young people,” she said.

Traumatised by devastating scenes, New York doctor who treated coronavirus patients commits suicide

OpIndia Staff
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Traumatised by devastating scenes, New York doctor who treated coronavirus patients commits suicide

Dr Lorna Breen, a New York-based doctor who was working at the Manhattan hospital and treated many coronavirus patients committed suicide on Sunday. Dr Breen, the medical doctor of the emergency department at the New York-Presbyterian Allen hospital, died in Charlottesville, Va, her residence, as per Charlottesville police.

Tyler Hawn, the spokesperson for the Charlottesville police station, said that she was taken to U.V.A. Hospital for treatment, but later succumbed to self-inflicted injuries. She herself had recently recovered from coronavirus. She had been to work after recuperating for about a week and a half. The hospital sent her home again before her family intervened to bring her to Charlottesville.

Suicide due to traumatized scenes

Dr. Breen’s father said that she was traumatized by the devastating situations around her. He said that she used to describe the devastating scenes of the toll of coronavirus took on patients. “She tried to do her job and it killed her,” he said.

As per reports, Dr. Breen did not have any history of mental illness. But she seemed detached when her father last spoke to her. She had described to him an onslaught of patients who were dying before they could even be taken out of ambulances.

In a statement of NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital said, “Dr. Breen is a hero who brought the highest ideals of medicine to the challenging front lines of the emergency department. Our focus today is to provide support to her family, friends, and colleagues as they cope with this news during what is already an extraordinarily difficult time.”

Lockdown extended in New York

Meanwhile, the coronavirus cases tally in the United States of America has reached 1.01 million. The superpower has reported 56,634 deaths due to contagion while nearly 140,000 have been recovered and discharged.

Union Health Ministry issues home isolation guidelines for ‘very mild’ and ‘pre-symptomatic’ Coronavirus patients

OpIndia Staff
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Union Health Ministry issues home isolation guidelines for ‘very mild’ and ‘pre-symptomatic’ Coronavirus patients

On Monday, the Union Health Ministry had issued new guidelines stating that only ‘pre-symptomatic Coronavirus patients or the ones with ‘very mild’ symptoms can opt for home isolation, after being clinically determined by a medical officer.

Importantly, the alternate arrangement of home isolation can only be available if the patient’s residence has required self-isolation facilities. This provision has been added to ensure that other members in the family are not infected by the deadly Chinese virus. Besides, the district surveillance officer needs to be regularly updated about the infected patient’s health status.

The patients have been advised to seek immediate medical attention in case of chest pain, difficulty in breathing, bluish discolouration of lips etc. Home isolation for pre-symptomatic cases can only be ended after being certified as ‘Coronavirus free’ by a surveillance medical officer, following laboratory tests.

Guidelines of the Health Ministry for Caregivers

As directed by the Health Ministry, the caregivers must take HCQ (HydroxyChloroquine) as a precautionary measure to protect themselves for the Wuhan Coronavirus. However, it must be taken as prescribed by a medical officer. They must be available 24/7 and communication with the hospital is mandatory during the complete period of home isolation.

India fights Coronavirus

On April 14, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that a total of 602 hospitals dedicated to Wuhan coronavirus treatment with 1,06,710 isolation beds and 12,024 Intensive Care Units had been set up across the country. Union Health Secretary, Luv Agarwal said, “The health ministry is continuously and rigorously working with States and Union Territories (UTs) to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country.”

According to the Health Ministry, 325 districts of India have remained unaffected by the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. Moreover, as reported on April 16, the country has achieved a recovery rate of 12%. India has 21,632 live cases of the Chinese virus and has recorded 934 deaths as of April 28.

On Tuesday, 28 April, India added 1594 news cases of coronavirus and 51 deaths. The total cases now stand at 29,974, with 7027 recoveries and 937 deaths.

After being called out for supplying faulty rapid test kits, China blames India for not being able to comprehend the utility of the kits

OpIndia Staff
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After being called out for supplying faulty rapid test kits, China blames India for not being able to comprehend the utility of the kits

China has blamed and accused India of mishandling the coronavirus rapid testing kits after they were found faulty. China’s statement comes hours after India cancelled orders for about half a million Chinese rapid test kits for coronavirus procured from China after they were found to be faulty, demonstrating a mere 5 per cent accuracy rate.

“We have also learned that there are strict requirements for the storage, transportation and use of COVID-19 antibody rapid test kits. Any operation which is not carried out by professionals in accordance with the product specifications will lead to testing accuracy variations,” Counselor Ji Rong, spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said on Monday.

Citing statements issues by the two medical companies, Ji Rong defended the two Chinese companies saying, “We have noticed that Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics already issued statements on this issue. They both stressed that their COVID-19 antibody rapid test kits had obtained the certification from the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA), meet the quality standards of China and exported countries, and have also been validated and approved by ICMR through National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and considered as satisfactory products.”

“The COVID-19 antibody rapid test kits produced by these two Chinese companies have been exported to well recognized in many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America,” the statement further said.

The Centre had procured 5 lakh kits from two Chinese companies – Wondfo Biotech and Livzon Diagnostic and distributed among the states. But after several state governments complained of inaccurate results, the kits were tested by the ICMR, following which they asked the states to stop future procurements and use of the ones distributed earlier.

The United Kingdom paid for trusting China

After exporting the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus to the world, China has now been caught dumping faulty Corona testing kits to various countries, which are now responsible for delivering misleading results during the tests.

The 2 million home test kits bought by the United Kingdom from two Chinese firms, namely, AllTest Biotech and Wondfo Biotech, for a whopping $20 million had also been found to be faulty and insufficiently accurate by a laboratory at the Oxford University. The Government had to pay the money upfront in 24 hours and collect the crates of test kits from a Chinese facility. Now, that the Chinese test kits have been found as unreliable, they have been left unused in the storage.

The Chinese firms had then too blamed the British officials for not being able to comprehend the utility of the test kits. 

Chinese testing kits failing world

Reportedly, the Turkish government had also discarded Chinese-made coronavirus rapid testing kits after finding out that they gave inaccurate results. The decision by Turkey to discard Chinese faulty kits comes after Spain had taken a similar measure to withdraw at least 9,000 Chinese-made kits after realising that they had only 30 per cent accuracy.

Similar results have emerged from the Czech Republic. It was reported that as much as 80 per cent of the 150,000 portable Wuhan Covid-19 rapid test kits “donated” by China were faulty, forcing healthcare workers in the country to rely on conventional laboratory tests. While China tried to give the impression that it had ‘donated’ the test kits, in reality, it was bought and paid for by the Czech government. Czech health ministry reportedly paid about USD 568,000 for 100,000 of the kits while the country’s interior ministry paid for the rest.

Uttar Pradesh: Days after performing funeral of Delhi-returned coronavirus suspect, 5 of a family test positive in the Islamnagar hotspot

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Days after performing funeral of Delhi-returned coronavirus suspect, 5 of a family test positive in the Islamnagar hotspot

Five family members of a deceased coronavirus patient, who probably contracted the infection at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, have now been tested positive for the pathogen, reports Amar Ujala.

The deceased person was from Islamnagar in Khatauli, Muzaffarnagar. The state authorities have now started searching for the people who had defied the lockdown and attended the funeral of the deceased.

The family had allegedly disregarded the protocol and washed the body of the deceased and thereafter buried it as per their customs. Several people have reportedly attended the funeral.

Deceased died two days after returning from Delhi

According to the report, the deceased had returned from Delhi on April 12. He had allegedly visited the Shaheen Bagh area multiple times during his stay in Delhi. He died on April 14 after being in self-quarantine for two days. It is being alleged that the state authority neglected to conduct tests. Despite the quarantine, they did not even know that the patient had died on April 14. It is only after the family members have been tested positive, have the district administration and the officers of the health department have sprung to action, said the report in Amar Ujala.

UP govt launches man-hunt

The administration has now launched a man-hunt and is in the lookout for all those who attended the funeral of the deceased. Samples are being collected. With the positive report of the deceased’s sister on Saturday and brother on Sunday, it has been confirmed that the person who returned from Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh did die of the infection caused by the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus. Until now, five people from this family have been found infected, including the deceased’s mother, and two children. However, the deceased’s wife has not been tested yet, as she has been observing Roza during Ramzan.

Shaheen Bagh sealed off

The Shaheen Bagh area of South Delhi which saw massive sit-in protests against the CAA and NRC for months had been sealed off after three new positive cases of Wuhan coronavirus were detected in that area on April 17. As the coronavirus cases keep rising in Delhi, more hotspots are being identified as containment zones. The anti-CAA protest sites were cleared with bulldozers on March 24 after the nation-wide lockdown was announced.

Notably, Islamnagar in Muzaffarnagar has also been declared as one of the hotspots by the Uttar Pradesh government, taking the total number of hotspots in the state to 180 in 40 of the total 75 districts. The Wuhan coronavirus pandemic was first confirmed in Uttar Pradesh on 5 March 2020, with the first positive case in Ghaziabad. Until now, Uttar Pradesh has reported a total of 1,955 confirmed cases with 31 succumbing to the infection

Health Ministry cautions on use of plasma therapy for coronavirus, says it can be harmful as still being tested

OpIndia Staff
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Health Ministry cautions on use of plasma therapy for coronavirus, says it can be harmful as still being tested

The Union Health Ministry today cautioned on use of plasma therapy as a possible cure for coronavirus. Addressing media, Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health said that plasma therapy is still in experimental stage and is not a proven therapy. He said that the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) is currently carrying out trials and trying to understand it better. “Till it’s approved no one should use it, it’ll be harmful to patient and illegal,” he said.

He further added that until the ICMR concludes the study and plasma therapy is proven as cure for coronavirus, the same should be used for research and trial purpose only. “If plasma therapy is not used in proper manner under proper guideline then it can also cause life threatening complications,” he said.

On Monday, Aggarwal had said how the stigma against coronavirus patients needs to be addressed positively. “We’ve to understand that there is no risk of transmission from recovered patients. They, in fact, can be a potential source of healing for antibodies using plasma therapy,” he had said while addressing media.

ICMR issues clarification on plasma trials

In a statement issued today, the ICMR said that currently there is no approved, definitive therapies for coronavirus and that convalescent plasma is one of the several emerging therapies.

However, there are risks attached to this as well including life-threatening allergic reaction and lung injury. Hence, a multi-centre plasma therapy have been initiated by ICMR to evaluate safety and efficiency.

Plasma therapy trials in India

Hospitals in some cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai have got permission from ICMR to conduct trials for plasma therapy. Many people who have been cured of coronavirus have come forward to donate plasma which could then be used for treating patients on a trial basis. According to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, one of the patients in Delhi’s LNJP hospital who is undergoing plasma therapy trial has seen significant improvement in health. As per reports, as of April 19, the ICMR has received 99 applications for participation in “Randomized Controlled Study to Assess Safety and Efficacy of Convalescent Plasma to Limit COVID-19 Associated Complications”. Generic protocol has been approved by Drug Controller General of India.

Plasma trials USFDA approval

The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) had also said that the plasma therapy has not yet been proven to be safe and efficient treatment for Chinese Coronavirus. In a statement issued on April 13, 2020, the USFDA had said, “Although promising, convalescent plasma has not yet been shown to be safe and effective as a treatment for COVID-19. Therefore, it is important to study the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 convalescent plasma in clinical trials.”

WATCH: Aliens Confirmed? Pentagon releases footage of ‘unidentified aerial phenomena’ captured by US Navy

OpIndia Staff
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WATCH: Aliens Confirmed? Pentagon releases footage of ‘unidentified aerial phenomena’ captured by US Navy

The Pentagon has formally released three unclassified footage captured by the US Navy which shows interactions with ‘unidentified aerial phenomena’. Many believe this is confirmation of the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) or aliens. One of the videos was captured in 2004 and the other two were captured in 2015. They were previously leaked in 2007 and 2017 and the United States Navy has already verified their authenticity.

The purpose of the declassification was to “clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos.” “The Department of Defense has authorized the release of three unclassified Navy videos, one taken in November 2004 and the other two in January 2015, which have been circulating in the public domain after unauthorized releases in 2007 and 2017,” said Susan Gough, a Defense Department spokesperson, in a statement on Monday. “After a thorough review, the department has determined that the authorized release of these unclassified videos does not reveal any sensitive capabilities or systems, and does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena,” she added.

“I can tell you, I think it was not from this world,” retired Cmdr. David Fravor told ABC News in 2017 of the 2004 incident. “I’m not crazy, haven’t been drinking. It was — after 18 years of flying, I’ve seen pretty much about everything that I can see in that realm, and this was nothing close.” In one of the videos captured in 2015, a voice can be heard saying, “There’s a whole fleet of them.” Another voice says, “They’re all going against the wind. The wind’s 120 knots to the west. Look at that thing, dude!”

After the videos were leaked initially, the US Navy issued guidelines in April 2019 on how pilots should report sightings of “unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft.” In the statement, it said that there have been “a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated airspace in recent years.” “These kinds of incursions can be both a security risk and pose a safety hazard for both Navy and Air Force aviation. For safety and security concerns, the Navy and the USAF takes these reports very seriously and investigates each and every report,” it said.

Over the years, more and more people have come to believe that aliens do exist and they have been to Earth and we are not alone in this world. Certain individuals in important positions have gone so far as to claim that the Pentagon is in possession of UFO wreckage but obviously, nothing of the sort has been proven yet. However, the release of the three footage by the Pentagon does prove that governments do take the matter very seriously.

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