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Covidiots: New Zealand Health Minister goes to beach for a walk with family violating social distancing guidelines, get demoted

OpIndia Staff
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Covidiots: New Zealand Health Minister goes to beach for a walk with family violating social distancing guidelines, get demoted

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has demoted Health Minister David Clark to the bottom of cabinet rankings and removed him from the post of the Associate Finance Minister for violating social distancing guidelines during the 4-week national lockdown imposed in the country, owing to the outbreak of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Clark had been accused of flouting rules and taking his family to a joy ride to the beach during the early stages of the lockdown.

While tendering his apology, David Clark reiterated, “At a time when we are asking New Zealanders to make historic sacrifices, I have let the team down. I have been an idiot, and I understand why people will be angry with me. “As the health minister, it is my responsibility to not only follow the rules but set an example to other New Zealanders … I have apologised to the prime minister for my lack of judgment and offered her my resignation.”

Read: Christchurch Mosque shooting: New Zealand women wear Hijab to show solidarity with Muslims, critics term it ‘cheap tokenism’

Jacinda Ardern said that while under normal circumstances, she would have fired the health minister, at a time when the country is fighting the bigger war, she has only demoted him. “What he did was wrong, and there are no excuses,” she said. She also refused to accept the resignation of the Health Minister as it would have jeopardised plans to contain the transmission of the Chinese virus. “I expect better, and so does New Zealand,” PM Ardern emphasised. New Zealand which shut down its borders to most foreign nationals in March had reported 1160 cases of Wuhan Coronavirus and 1 death so far.

Watch: Pakistani doctors demanding protective equipment to fight coronavirus beaten, arrested by Imran Khan regime

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Pakistani doctors demanding protective equipment to fight coronavirus beaten, arrested by Imran Khan regime

In a shocking incident on Monday, over 50 doctors who were protesting in the city of Quetta in Balochistan, Pakistan against the lack of protective gear for fighting the Wuhan Coronavirus were beaten and arrested by the police.

A group of 100 medics and paramedics, demanding basic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks and goggles, took out a rally near Quetta’s main hospital. They, then, proceeded to demonstrate outside the residence of the Chief Minister.

The cops initially resorted to lathi-charge after a few of the protestors tried to enter the CM’s residence. As such, a scuffle broke out between the health workers and the police. 53 of them were arrested and held up for hours for ‘violating the law.’ They were released only after the Balochistan provincial government stepped in.

The protest took place took place at the backdrop of a severe shortage of safety equipment in the country, coupled with the case of 13 doctors who had been diagnosed with the Chinese virus. In March, a doctor and a nurse reportedly died are testing positive for the Chinese virus. The President of the Doctor’s Association in Quetta, Yasir Achakzai, revealed how the Pakistani government was flouting the official guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) meant for protecting doctors and other medical staff.

The spokesperson of the provincial Government, Liaqat Shehwani, however, alleged, “We had assured them that the PPE would be provided soon but they started the protest.” According to the Ministry of Health, the Wuhan Coronavirus had infected 3,277 people and claimed 50 lives in Pakistan so far.

Earlier, a series of videos posted by Pakistani citizens who were quarantined at Taftan camp on the border with Iran had gone viral which showed filthy, overcrowded camps. Videos circulating on social media showed people sleeping on floors and in corridors and packed into tents erected in a dirty courtyard. Moreover, the Pakistan government had made no attempts to separate sick pilgrims from the healthy.

No one from Nizamuddin Markaz tested positive, it is conspiracy to kill Muslims: Assam MLA Aminul Islam arrested for spreading lies and communalising coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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No one from Nizamuddin Markaz tested positive, it is conspiracy to kill Muslims: Assam MLA Aminul Islam arrested for spreading lies and communalising coronavirus

Assam MLA from Dhing, Aminul Islam, was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with an attempt to communalise government’s efforts to tackle the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA, while addressing the people of Assam through a video clip, had claimed that nobody from Nizamuddin Markaz had tested positive for coronavirus. Aminul Islam had also said that the isolation wards for coronavirus are like detention centres and it is a government conspiracy to kill a certain section of people.

“No one from Nizamuddin Markaz has tested positive for coronavirus. Only one person died because of some other disease,” Islam had reportedly told the people of Assam. He had also criticised the national and regional media and accused them of trying to malign the image of Muslim community. Islam also accused Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of trying to politicise the issue. Islam also alleged that the minority people are targeted and tortured in various quarantine camps set up by the state government.

Read: Laws will have no impact, Muslims will continue to have children: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal on Assam two-child policy

As per reports, Islam also accused the healthcare workers of injecting the healthy Jamaat attendees to portray them as sick and as coronavirus patients. Notably, Assam registered its first coronavirus positive case earlier this month after a Tablighi Jamaat attendee who had visited the Nizamuddin Markaz tested positive for the contagion.

It is imperative to note here that Tablighi Jamaat at the Nizamuddin Markaz held earlier in March has turned out to be a hot spot for coronavirus positive cases. Many of the attendees have been found misbehaving with the healthcare workers. They have resorted to spitting on doctors to molesting nurses and running amok naked in the wards. This morning, an FIR was registered against two Nizamuddin Markaz attendees in Narela quarantine centre after they had defecated outside in the corridor.

Coronavirus pandemic: India to relax blanket ban on hydroxychloroquine export, to allow limited export of the drug to certain ‘badly affected’ nations

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus pandemic: India to relax blanket ban on hydroxychloroquine export, to allow limited export of the drug to certain ‘badly affected’ nations

India had recently put a blanket ban on the export of hydroxychloroquine keeping in view the increasing domestic demand amidst the rising cases of Wuhan coronavirus. A government order dated April 4 had banned all existing export licenses and orders too. However, today, it has been reported that the Indian government will grant the license of export in appropriate quantities to all the neighbouring nations who are depended on India’s capabilities for production of hydroxychloroquine.

It is notable here that India had banned the anti-malaria drug’s export back on 25 March. After that USA, SAARC nations, UAE, Indonesia and several European and Latin American nations had requested India to lift the ban and allow export.

On 27 March, the Department of Pharmaceuticals had asked India’s drug prices regulator to examine if India has enough stocks to fulfil domestic demand as meet export demand as well.

Read: Coronavirus: Govt orders sale of Hydroxychloroquine strictly as per Schedule H1 norms, read what it means

India’s notification on 4 April read, “The export of hydroxychloroquine, and formulations made from hydroxychloroquine falling under any ITCHS code, including the ITCHS codes mentioned in the notification number 54 dated 25 March 2020, is no longer allowed SEZs/EOUs or any Advanced Authorisation or under the para 1.05(b) of Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 or against full advanced payment as specified under para 2 of the notification. The export of hydroxychloroquine, and formulations made from hydroxychloroquine, therefore, shall remain prohibited, without any exception.”

US President Donald Trump had stated that he had spoken to PM Modi and had requested to allow export of US orders of hydroxychloroquine. He had asserted that he is hopeful India will oblige. He had also mentioned in an answer to a journalist that there may be ‘retaliation’ if India does not allow the export of the drug to the US.

It is also notable here that the consignments cleared for exports were pre-existing orders by US and Brazil. MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava has stated, “Both paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine will be kept under ‘licensed category’ and their demand position would be continuously monitored. However, the stock position could allow our companies to meet the export commitments that they had contracted.”

The MEA will decide on allocations on a case-to-case basis after evaluation of domestic demand. Exports of existing orders are to be made after meeting domestic demands.

It has been reported that India has allowed limited consignments of hydroxychloroquine to be exported to USA and Brazil after personal called by US President Donald Trump and Brazil President Zair Bolsonaro to PM Narendra Modi.

Bolsonaro had earlier tweeted that he has sought PM Modi’s help to supply the necessary pharmaceutical components for hydroxychloroquine production in Brazil to fight against coronavirus.

The Indian MEA has stated that India will allow the export of hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol to some countries which are ‘badly affected’ with the coronavirus crisis. The MEA has also stated that no speculation and politicisation of the issue should be made.

It is notable here that India is the largest producer of hydroxychloroquine and its formulations in the world. Presently many nations have reported that the anti-malaria drug is showing promises as an effective treatment for the Wuhan coronavirus disease and hence the global demand has surged.

Islamists attack doctor for questioning an ophthalmologist who continued to operate on patients after retuning from Tablighi Jamaat

OpIndia Staff
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Islamists attack doctor for questioning an ophthalmologist who continued to operate on patients after retuning from Tablighi Jamaat

Dr Deepa Sharma, a doctor by profession, was attacked by Islamists on Twitter after she questioned the ophthalmologist Dr Idris Akbani who continued to see patients and even operated a few after returning from Tablighi Jamaat. Dr Idris Akbani is the Head of Department at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad, Telangana.

While Dr Akbani has tested negative for coronavirus, he has been instructed to be on home quarantine for a period of 14 days. And while initial tests could be negative, a 28-day quarantine period is necessary.

When Dr Deepa Sharma tweeted about the incident, she was attacked by Islamists who started accused her of spreading fake news.

However, soon after her tweet, Islamists attacked her and accused her of spreading fake news. In fact, Dr Deepa Sharma does not even mention that he has tested positive or negative. All she did was raise an alarm that a doctor working as HOD in RIMS, Telangana had attended Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin, which has emerged as a hotspot for coronavirus from 29th March onward. However, he had not disclosed the same. As can be seen above, his samples were collected on 2nd April, 2020, three days after the news of Nizamuddin Markaz being the hotspot surfaced. She was also accused of creating ‘immense fear’ amongst the people of Adilabad.

It is imperative to note here that Tablighi Jamaat attendees have contributed immensely to the spike in Chinese coronavirus cases in India. Moreover, many of the attendees have misbehaved with the medical and healthcare staff and have even refused to undergo tests. From molesting nurses and running amok without clothes in wards to excreting in the corridor at quarantine centre, the Tablighi Jamaat attendees have created havoc in the already stressed time.

Opposition attacks Modi govt for cancelling MPLADS fund, Congress, TMC, Left criticise decision to divert Rs 7900 crores for coronavirus fight

OpIndia Staff
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Opposition attacks Modi govt for cancelling MPLADS fund, Congress, TMC, Left criticise decision to divert Rs 7900 crores for coronavirus fight

The decision of the Central Government to suspend the MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) funds for 2 years and divert a total of ₹7,900 crores to the Consolidated Fund of India, in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, has drawn the ire of the Indian National Congress, Trinamool Congress, and other Opposition parties, as per a Times of India report.

Under the MPLADS scheme, a total of ₹5 crores is provided to the Members of the Parliament to suggest development work to the district collector in their respective constituencies. The scheme was formulated in December 1993 and is monitored by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation since 1994.

The government will thus save a total of ₹10 crores per MP for 2 years. As such, a total of ₹7900 crores from the 545 Lok Sabha and 245 Rajya Sabha members can be diverted to the Consolidated Fund of India. But, the Opposition was clearly not impressed.

Reaction of the Opposition

Congress politician Randeep Singh Surjewala said that suspending MPLADS funds will undermine the role and functions of a Member of Parliament. “If this money is finished, then this will have a direct negative impact on the people of the MP’s area and people of the country will lose out. If the country’s MPs lose their voice, then how will the Parliament function effectively. Hence, this needs to be restored”, he added.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider his decision regarding the suspension of MPLADS. In a separate Twitter thread, he claimed that he used his funds to supply rapid test kits & PPE maks to his constituency’s health workers.

Tharoor alleged, “Now the money will be allocated by the Centre &will follow the priorities & preferences of New Delhi, rather than reflect 543 sets of local needs.”

Manish Tewari, another Congress leader, dubbed the government’s move to fight the Wuhan Coronavirus as “a bit of an overstretch”. He alleged that suspension of MPLADS funds can make the existing humanitarian distress worse in the upcoming months. “MPLADS is a targeted and nimble instrument to customise micro-level interventions to alleviate distress. It is something that is required”, he was quoted as saying.

CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that “centralisation” was against the concept of ‘federalism’. He further alleged that the transfer of funds from the MPLADS is a reflection of the economic destruction caused since 2014.

There is enough evidence that COVID19 is best fought at the state and local level,” Yechury claimed. He also asked the Central Government to abandon the Centra Vista project in Delhi, in case it was short of funds. The CPI leader alleged further, “BJP has abundant funds from opaque electoral bonds, why isn’t it transferring it all to the govt during this crisis.”

Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy said, “The decision to temporarily suspend the MPLAD is arbitrary and whimsical. We are opposing it.” Interestingly, there seems to be a strange dichotomy in the number of cases and deaths due to the Wuhan Coronavirus being reported from West Bengal. On April 2, 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.

Tablighi Jamaatis’ piece of sh*t: Attendees defecate in corridor at quarantine centre, FIR registered

OpIndia Staff
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Tablighi Jamaatis’ piece of sh*t: Attendees defecate in corridor at quarantine centre, FIR registered

After reports of molesting nurses and spitting on hospital staff, two Tablighi Jamaat attendees were reportedly found defecating in the hospital corridor. According to Times of India journalist Raj Shekhar Jha, an FIR has been registered in this context.

The duo, Mohammad Fahad and Adnan Zahir reportedly created ruckus at Narela quarantine station and excreted in the corridor. The camp in-charge said that they are jeopardising the containment measures by their reckless behaviour. As per Amar Ujala report, the duo even misbehaved with office staff after defecating in the corridor.

FIR copy (image: @ANI on Twitter)

As per the FIR registered, when sanitation staff went to clean, two people were found to have done latrine outside room no 212.

Earlier, the nurses at MMG Hospital in Ghaziabad had accused the Tablighi Jamaat attendees of directing lewd gestures towards them while roaming around naked in the wards. Tablighi Jamaat attendees in Gujarat too created a ruckus at Sola Civil Hospital and refused to get tested claiming that the government wants to kill them. A Muslim doctor had to be called upon to explain the Jamaatis that it is vital to test them to stop spread the contagion.

About 1200 Tablighi Jamaat attendees are kept at the quarantine centre in Narela and the Army personnel have been deployed.

Coronavirus: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to ICU as his condition worsens

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to ICU as his condition worsens

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is undergoing treatment for coronavirus, has been moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) after his conditioned worsened yesterday afternoon. As per reports, Boris Johnson has been moved to the ICU on advice of his medical team. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is First Secretary to State, will deputise him wherever necessary.

The No 10 Downing Street spokesperson said that PM Johnson is receiving excellent care and is in ‘good spirits’. He is also staying in touch with his ministers to oversee UK’s preparedness to fight coronavirus.

The UK Prime Minister was taken to hospital on Sunday night when his fever continued despite being on self-isolation for over a week.

He took to Twitter to inform that since he is still experiencing coronavirus symptoms, he went to the hospital for further tests. As per reports, PM Johnson was given oxygen late on Monday afternoon after being shifted to ICU.

On March 27, the British Prime Minister announced that he has tested positive for Chinese coronavirus. Johnson’s confirmation on contracting the deadly contagion came weeks after his admission that he met coronavirus patients and shook hands with them at a hospital. In addition to Boris Johnson, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock also tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.

Punjab: Man tests positive for Wuhan Coronavirus after attending ‘health camp’ visited by foreign Christian missionaries

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab: Man tests positive for Wuhan Coronavirus after attending ‘health camp’ visited by foreign Christian missionaries

The husband of a sarpanch (ex-sarpanch by some accounts) in Ropar, Punjab has tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. He did not have travel history outside India and neither did he come in contact with the already known cases of the virus. The case threw the local administration into a frenzy as they struggled hard to unearth the source of the infection. Since then, the patient’s wife and son have tested positive for the virus. Later it was discovered that he had attended an event organized by Christian missionaries.

As it so happens, health camps were conducted in Chatamli, the village the patient is from, among other villages without the permission of the health department and administration. A total of 24 foreign nationals had participated in the health camp organized at Chatamali on the 13th of March. Intriguingly enough, none of the foreign nationals were doctors themselves. Reportedly, they are from the Christian Missionary Foundation. The medical check-up was conducted by private doctors from Mohali, Kharar and Chandigarh.

“Camp organisers did not take permission from any official including the health department, which was mandatory. We are inquiring if permission for camps held before or after March 13 in villages was taken or not. None of the foreign nationals were doctors. They did not conduct any check-ups or give any medicine. Instead, a team of doctors from Mohali and other areas checked villagers. The prayers were held by Pastor Randeep,” Ropar deputy commissioner Sonali Giri told TOI. Chatamli panchayat member H S Happy said, “The foreign nationals and doctors from Punjab conducted check-up and gave medicines. The foreign doctors even held prayers for every patient.”

Special Chief Secretary of Punjab, KBS Sidhu, said on Twitter on the 3rd of April that district administration was in contact with Pastor Randeep who he said brought 20 foreign nationals to the village. He, too, said that they had been to a few other villages as well. Randeep Mathews is Senior Pastor of New Life City Church and has been conducting medical camps in partnership with Christian evangelical organisation, Impact Nations, headquartered in the United States and Canada.

Swarajya reported, “The Ropar administration is involved in screening villagers in Chatamli village where three patients of a single family have tested positive. The camps was held in Manakmajara village on 12 March and residents of Lakhimpure and Thauna had also participated. All of these are either sealed or quarantined.” The report added, “A family of 14 in Tewar village which also falls in Ropar district is also under quarantine due to Covid-19 patient of Chatamli village. A member of the family from Tewar village was in the Mohali hospital and was assigned a bed next to Covid-19 patient before he tested positive.”

The Punjab Government is now sealing villages where the Christian Missionaries had organized medical camps. KBS Sidhu said on Twitter, “Three villages– Rauwal , Jaffarwal and Varsal Chak– were sealed as a precautionary measure, after getting information that health camps had been organised from 15-18 March by some foreigners – Christian Missionaries here.” He further added, “A friend of foreigners–who had attended a similar camp in Ropar district–had been found positive by Ropar team– in Ropar district. The entire village population has been screened– no one is symptomatic. Nevertheless, the villages as been declared as “quarantine zones”.” As per Swarajya, thousands of villagers have been put in quarantine.

Abrahamic Missionary organizations have contributed immensely towards the spreading of the Wuhan Coronavirus in India. The Tablighi Jamaat, which has emerged as one of the biggest spreaders of the virus, is an Islamic missionary organization. The same organization has also spread the virus across the entire South Asian region. In South Korea as well, a Christian cult was responsible for spreading the virus.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao suggests the extension of lockdown for 2 weeks post April 15, cites report suggesting lockdown till June 3rd

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao suggests the extension of lockdown for 2 weeks post April 15, cites report suggesting lockdown till June 3rd

As the 21-days nationwide lockdown announced by PM Modi draws to an end, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has suggested that the coronavirus lockdown that was to end on April 14 should be extended for a couple of weeks.

Taking a reference from the BCG report that said that the lockdown in India will be good until June 3, Rao suggested that an additional 2 weeks of lockdown would prove beneficial in the country’s fight against the coronavirus. However, there has been no official announcement on the extension yet made by the chief minister.

After Uttar Pradesh and Goa, Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao became the third chief minister to drop the hint that the lockdown can be extended. Rao has claimed that the only reason his government could control the spread of the coronavirus in the state is because they had been successful in carrying out the lockdown. He has also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lockdown as it seems to be the only potent weapon at this point in time with the state authorities to put a curb on the rising coronavirus cases in the country.

The number of total coronavirus cases in Telangana sharply rose to 321 as of April 6, 2020. Seven people in the state have so far succumbed to the deadly contagion. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country stands at 3851, with 111 fatalities.

The number of positive coronavirus cases in the country has steeply risen, especially after Tablighi Jamaat’s damning role in being a super-spreader of the infection came to the fore. In fact, it was the death of 6 Tablighi Jamaat meet attendees in Telangana that set the alarm bells ringing for the possibility of more positive COVID-19 cases linked to the congregation organised by the orthodox Islamist organisation. Out of the 3851 cases, more than 1000 have been linked to Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Markaz Nizamuddin, a staggering 30 per cent of the total number of cases in India.

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