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Bizarre: A 60-year-old man in Pakistan tests positive for ‘pregnancy’, lab owner arrested

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Bizarre: A 60-year-old man in Pakistan tests positive for ‘pregnancy’, lab owner arrested

A 60-year-old man, identified as Allah Bitta from Pakistan, was declared ‘pregnant’ on Monday by a laboratory in Khanewal district, Pakistan’s Punjab province.

According to the reports, the lab in Khanewal had issued reports stating that the man’s urine test had confirmed his pregnancy.

Following the news, Khanewal’s district commissioner has now sealed the lab and arrested its owner, Amin.

No license to run the lab

The blood transfusion lab was being operated for the past two years. It was located across from DHQ Hospital, Khanewal. According to the police, Amin had previously worked as a technician at the hospital’s blood laboratory.

After an investigation, the health authorities confirmed that the lab was being run illegally and had not been issued a license. A case has been registered and Amin has been handed over to the police. The police are investigating the matter further.

Karnataka: Sanitation workers threatened, attacked near a Mosque in Chikmagalur, one injured

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Sanitation workers threatened, attacked near a Mosque in Chikmagalur, one injured

In yet another attack on frontline workers, a mob has attacked sanitation workers near a Mosque in Chikmagalur district, Karnataka.

According to reports, on Tuesday, 21 April, sanitation workers were on their duty near Uppalli Masjid in Chikmagalur city, when a mob attacked them. The sanitation workers were playing coronavirus awareness information on a loudspeaker, which is allegedly the reason behind the attack on the sanitation workers.

One injured during the attack

One sanitation worked identified as Manjunath has been severely attacked causing injuries to him. A lady sanitation worker Geeta was also threatened by the mob for collecting waste near the mosque premises. The injured sanitation worker has been admitted into a hospital.

A case has been registered against the mob at Basavanahalli police station in the city.

ASHA worker attacked in Mysuru, Bengaluru

In a similar incident on Tuesday, an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker in Mysuru, Sumayya Firdose, was attacked by three men named Mehboob, Khaleel and Zeeshan after she advised them to wear face masks and follow social distancing guidelines.

Sumayya Firdose, who is attached to the Bannimantap government hospital, was on rounds when the three youth abused and threatened her. She said that she had asked the men who were loitering around to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Enraged, the youth abused and threatened to kill her if she did not ‘mind her own business. 

Multiple cases of attack on frontline workers

On the evening of Sunday, 19 April, a team of health workers and BBMP officials in Bengaluru was brutally attacked by a violent mob in the Padarayanapura locality, a coronavirus hotspot. A group of BBMP doctors, nurses and ASHA workers had gone to the Padarayanapura locality to take into quarantine 58 primary contacts of coronavirus positive patients to a government-run quarantine centre.

The visuals of the incident doing rounds on social media show an unruly mob chasing, beating the government staffers, breaking the arrangements made by them and creating mayhem. More than 59 people have been arrested in connection with the attacks, including a local marijuana peddler named Firoza, who had allegedly instigated the mob.

Prior to that, a team of ASHA workers and nurses was also attacked in Bengaluru’s Sadiq Layout.

Kerala: 284 Tablighi Jamaat attendees from Nizamuddin Markaz still missing, authorities fear they may be carrying coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: 284 Tablighi Jamaat attendees from Nizamuddin Markaz still missing, authorities fear they may be carrying coronavirus

 At least 284 persons from Kerala who had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat convention in Nizamuddin in Delhi are still missing, giving a scare to the authorities.

According to a report in India Today, nearly 284 persons from Kerala who had attended the Markaz have switched off their mobile phones, which has made it extremely tough for the authorities to trace them.

Out of the thousands who had visited Delhi for Tablighi Jamaat congregation, 518 people had returned to Kerala. They had been soon identified and all of them was put under home quarantine. Incidentally, only six of them have tested positive.

Over 500 Tablighis suspects are out of Kerala

However, another 509 suspected Tablighi Jamaat attendees who had attended the Markaz in the period March 12-28 are out of Kerala and are currently based in other states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. Their details have been passed on to the home authorities of those states.

Though the state had reported 408 cases as of April 20 and has been statistically able to plateau the curve, the state authorities are now concerned that the missing Tablighi Jamaat members can topple the efforts.

Tablighi could be carriers: Kerala police

Kerala was the first affected state in the country to be affected by the Chinese pandemic. In total, the state has reported 408 cases, with 288 recoveries and three deaths. However, the state police now fear that some of these missing 284 Tablighi members of the total 1,311 from Kerala could be carriers and infect much more people in the state.

The Kerala police have been trying to hunt the Tablighi Jamaat attendees ever since the outbreak continued to spread in late March. The authorities were worried after call records suggested 1,311 people from the state were in the Nizamuddin area, nearly a third of the participants.

On March 29, IB director Arvind Kumar had informed state DGPs to trace the movement of the Tablighi workers in their area, ascertain their contacts and medically screen all of them. The chief minister approved on the police plan to identify and quarantine all the participants of the convention but warned the police to keep it away from the media glare.

The Kerala police are still worried about the 284 people who are still missing. “Every contact they make could spread the infection further and it could lead to an explosive community spread across the state,” said a senior police official as per teh India Today report.

Tablighi Jamaat – the epicentre of coronavirus transmission

The Tablighi Jamaat congregation, which took place in Nizamuddin Markaz in the first half of March, has become the mega-spreader of coronavirus in India, as many as more than one-third cases in India are linked to that event now. The persons who had attended the event, and their family members and those who came into contact with them are testing positive regularly, contributing the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.

The Tablighi Jamaat event was not only attended by Indian Islamic clerics but also foreign nationals. The alarm bells should have started ringing when seven Indonesian nationals associated with the organization tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Telangana after travelling from Delhi to Karimnagar for an Ijtema. However, it was only later that the full scope of the Tablighi Jamaat’s contribution to the spreading of the virus became prominent when nearly 300 Jamaatis in the Delhi’s Banglewali Masjid had to be taken to hospital for suspected coronavirus symptoms, many testing positive eventually.

Healthcare professionals write to West Bengal CM demanding transparent data on coronavirus, urge govt to ensure safety of healthcare workers

OpIndia Staff
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Healthcare professionals write to West Bengal CM demanding transparent data on coronavirus, urge govt to ensure safety of healthcare workers

Eight healthcare professionals associations in Bengal, including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), have written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanding more transparency on detection, treatment and deaths of coronavirus positive patients in the state, reports ANI.

In a joint letter written to Banerjee, the eight medical bodies asked the govt to share “real-time, transparent data of COVID-19” in Bengal and daily medical bulletins of all healthcare workers under treatment.

Ensure safety and security of frontline workers

The medical organisations also urged the West Bengal Chief Minister to ensure safety and security for all the frontline healthcare workers, and provide necessary protective measures as per ICMR and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

The 11-point letter, one of whose signatories in Trinamool MP Santanu Sen, also urged Mamata Banerjee to address the issue of adequate protective gear for frontline healthcare workers. The medical bodies also asked to set up more testing centres and empowering doctors to order tests of suspected patients.

Follow ICMR guidelines

The statement included that the Mamata Banerjee should adhere to the ICMR guidelines regarding issuing death certificates and suggested that committees set up by the state government to combat the pandemic ought to include epidemiologists, virologists and public health experts.

“With the permission of ICMR, more and more corona testing centres should be opened and at least one in every region and testing should be done as per ICMR guidelines. There should be a sample collection centre at least at every sub-divisional level,” read the letter.

The letter by all the eight bodies representing healthcare professionals in Bengal comes at a time when there has been massive criticism against Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government for lack of seriousness in efforts against coronavirus. There have been allegations that state government has been fudging numbers to show less number of cases in West Bengal.

West Bengal sitting on a “time-bomb”: Health experts

The suppression of facts and fudging of data has become a major worry for authorities and health experts in West Bengal, which has now snowballed into a huge controversy between the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government and health-care experts.

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.

Karnataka: Three booked for attacking and threatening to kill ASHA worker Sumayya Firdose for asking them to follow coronavirus guidelines

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Three booked for attacking and threatening to kill ASHA worker Sumayya Firdose for asking them to follow coronavirus guidelines

An ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker in Mysuru, Sumayya Firdose, was allegedly attacked by three men, Mehaboob, Khaleel and Zeeshan, when she advised them to wear face masks and follow social distancing guidelines. She was reportedly on rounds at Haleem Nagar in Mysuru on Monday to check for Chinese coronavirus symptoms. Following her complaint, an FIR was filed and the accused were taken into custody. The police is currently investigating the matter.

Sumayya Firdose, who is attached to the Bannimantap government hospital, was on rounds when the three youth abused and threatened her. She said that she asked the men who were loitering around to wear mask and maintain social distancing. Enraged, the youth abused and threatened to kill her if she did not ‘mind her own business. Thankfully, nearby people rushed to her rescue.

Attacks on ASHA workers

ASHA workers, along with other healthcare professionals have been attacked numerous times amid the coronavirus outbreak. In Darbhanga, recently, Bihar DGP’s warnings fell on deaf ears as miscreants from minority community assaulted and misbehaved with ASHA workers. Similar attacks took place on ASHA workers and police personnel in Panchkula, Haryana. In Bengaluru, instructions to assault the ASHA workers who had gone to collect data for coronavirus reportedly came from mosques. Earlier in January, an ASHA worker administering polio vaccine was thrashed in Kerala by a Muslim family after they thought she was collecting data for NRC.

Umar Khalid booked under UAPA, FIR says anti-Hindu Delhi riots was a ‘premeditated conspiracy’ by Khalid and others: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Umar Khalid booked under UAPA, FIR says anti-Hindu Delhi riots was a ‘premeditated conspiracy’ by Khalid and others: Report

JNU student leader Umar Khalid has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a case related to the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi, as per reports. Two other leaders from the Jamia Coordination Committee, Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar, were booked under the same Act. The two are now in judicial custody after they were arrested last week. The Police has claimed in the FIR that the communal violence was a “premeditated conspiracy” by Khalid and others.

The ‘activists’ have also been booked on charges of sedition, murder, attempt to murder, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and rioting. The FIR says that Umar Khalid had delivered provocative speeches at two different locations and appealed to citizens to hit the streets and block roads during the visit by US President Donald Trump to spread propaganda at the international level about minorities being attacked in India. The FIR also claimed that in this conspiracy, firearms, petrol bombs, acid bottles and stones were collected at numerous homes.

Earlier, Delhi Police special cell had issued notice to 50 members of the Jamia coordination committee for their alleged connection with rioting and criminal conspiracy pertaining to anti-Hindu riots in north-east Delhi that had claimed the lives of 53 people and had left, over 400 injured.

The Delhi Riots

Massive communal riots broke out in the national capital during Donald Trump’s visit to India. The riots cost huge losses to life and property. Over the course of the investigation, the role of Radical Islamist organization PFI and others came to the fore. Home Minister Amit had promised on the floor of the Parliament that a thorough investigation into the matter would be carried out and the guilty would be punished.

Amidst Coronavirus outbreak, PM Modi’s approval rating soars to 68%, higher than any other world leader: Here are the details

OpIndia Staff
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Amidst Coronavirus outbreak, PM Modi’s approval rating soars to 68%, higher than any other world leader: Here are the details

India has managed to relatively control the Coronavirus pandemic effectively. For its mammoth size and extremely dense population of 1.3 billion people, India has managed to arrest the spread to a large extent, better than many developed countries, due to early imposition of strict lockdown and containment measures. Even after the soar in cases due to the Tablighi Jamaat cases, the lockdown coupled with aggressively finding absconding Tablighi Jamaat members, the country managed to save itself from utter chaos and disaster, had the virus spread to a population this dense. Amidst the world battling the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic, pollster Morning Consult released approval ratings for every leader from most major democracies. In those approval ratings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has bagged the highest approval rating, ahead of any other world leader.

India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has the highest popularity among them: As of April 14, his net approval rating is 68, up from 62 at the beginning of the year. Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has the second-highest net approval over that period (36), though it fell slightly from 39 in January. During that same stretch of time, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has seen the largest surge in domestic popularity, with his net approval now up to 26 (from negative 26 on January 1). Morning Consult’s data shows that among all ten countries surveyed, Japan’s Abe has the lowest rating (at negative 33) and the worst decline in net approval, having fallen from negative 18 at the start of 2020.

Approval ratings of world leaders, where Prime Minister Modi has surged ahead
Approval ratings of world leaders, where Prime Minister Modi has surged ahead

If one sees the graph added in the Morning Consult’s tracker, one can see that the blue graph for PM Modi has surged above any other world leader and their approval ratings.

Approval ratings of world leaders where PM Modi has surged ahead
Approval ratings of world leaders where PM Modi has surged ahead

Interestingly, even back in January 1st, PM Modi’s Net Approval rating was 62, ahead of any other world leader. Now, it stands at 68 giving him a massive lead.

On April 14, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown to May 3, owing to the rising cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. The decision to extend the lockdown came at the backdrop of the sudden surges in Coronavirus cases from the Tablighi Jamaat linked individuals.

Prime Minister Modi in his address said, “Till April 20, every area, district, city, state will be keenly observed and checked how the lockdown is being followed. Whichever area succeeds in this 1-week test, will get some conditional relief and relaxation.” As of April 20, the Chinese virus had infected 14,175 people and claimed 543 lives. Several State Governments had decided to extend the lockdown further or tighten the restrictions to flatten the curve of Coronavirus cases. On the 21st, the cases stand at a total of 18985.

TikTok users Salim and Fahad arrested by Mumbai police, had claimed ‘police don’t touch celebrities’ while defying lockdown rules

OpIndia Staff
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TikTok users Salim and Fahad arrested by Mumbai police, had claimed ‘police don’t touch celebrities’ while defying lockdown rules

Mumbai Police today shattered the delusions of two self-proclaimed TikTok ‘celebrities’ who in a recent video uploaded on the popular social media app claimed that the police could not touch the celebrities like them for defying the lockdown restrictions. The two TikTok users in the video can be seen casually shambling on the streets of Mumbai suburbs without wearing masks, in gross violation of the nationwide lockdown restrictions that were extended until May 3 by Prime Minister Modi.

The Shivajinagar Police in Mumbai on Tuesday arrested 25-year-old Salim Shaikh and his friend 27-year-old Mohammad Fahad for uploading a video on TikTok in which Salim is seen bragging about the exemption from the law enjoyed by him on the account of his celebrity status. In the video, Salim claims that he had been asked by the police not to loiter around on the streets amidst lockdown but since he is a celebrity, the police won’t take any action against him.

However, soon after the video went viral, Mumbai Police sought to teach a lesson to the duo for their defiance. According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Zone 6, Shashi Kumar Meena, the duo, who are residents of a locality in Shivaji Nagar, were booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life). “They were arrested and subsequently released on bail,” Meena said, adding, “such defiance to the lockdown norms would not be tolerated.” 

Notwithstanding their TikTok popularity, the swift police action against the two youths has made them realised the cost of violating the lockdown restrictions. In a subsequent video, Fahad and Salim are seen issuing an appeal to everyone to abide by the lockdown norms and police instruction and venture out of their home only after wearing a mask.

Meanwhile, DCP Meena claimed that the police is mulling over taking action against the video app for granting a platform for such videos that encourage people to defy the lockdown restrictions even as the country is battling the scourge of coronavirus pandemic.

Pakistan: Charity group tests positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus, had met PM Imran Khan the previous week

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Charity group tests positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus, had met PM Imran Khan the previous week

Faisal Edhi, head of Edhi foundation has tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus. Faisal Edhi also met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan last week as per media reports in Pakistan. As per reports, Faisal Edhi had last week met Imran Khan to hand over a cheque of 10 million rupees to the Prime Minister’s coronavirus fund. Faisal claimed that he was with two more industrialists when he met the Pakistan PM. They were with him for about 6-7 minutes, as reported by Dawn.

Normally, once a person is detected with the Wuhan coronavirus infection, each and every contact is traced and isolated in order to curb the spread of infection. Faisal’s son Saad Edhi claimed that Faisal started developing symptoms soon after he traveled to Islamabad. Saad was quoted as saying by Dawn, “The symptoms lasted for four days before subsiding.” Faisal has been directed to self-isolate for the next week.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s personal physician, Dr. Faisal Sultan, who is also the CEO of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer hospital, said that Imran Khan is continuously busy with cabinet meetings and that he will recommend him to get tested. He said, “As soon as he is finished, I will meet him and recommend that he gets tested. We will follow all protocols in place and make recommendations accordingly.”

As of the time of writing this report, 9,505 cases were reported in Pakistan with 197 people dying of the disease.

Hapur, UP: Muslim youth attack Hindus suspecting them of disclosing the location of Tablighi Jamaat members, five injured

OpIndia Staff
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Hapur, UP: Muslim youth attack Hindus suspecting them of disclosing the location of Tablighi Jamaat members, five injured

Sarawa village in Hapur district, Uttar Pradesh, simmered after a minor argument between youths of different communities, over grocery, triggered communal tension in the village, with the two factions coming face to face Monday. According to a report by Amar Ujala, a small argument between one Imran and Prashant Tyagi, both locals of the area, escalated and suddenly Imran’s supporters started assaulting Prashant. They were soon joined by many other local Muslims, who attacked the Tyagi family and several other Hindus in the village. The mob pelted stones and assaulted with sticks, batons and sharp weapons. Soon the entire village was engulfed in this violence.

As per the report, the situation in the village had remained tensed for quite sometime after the police had caught some Tablighi Jamaat attendees from the village on the basis of the information passed on to them by an unknown informer. They were sent to quarantine after the information of their whereabouts were leaked. The Muslims in the area suspected that the information was passed on to the police and health department by some Hindu. Imran too was particularly angry about this and during his argument with Prashant, he had threatened him of dire consequences. This suspicion culminated into a full-fledged conflict between the two communities.

Prashant Tyagi, along with four other members of his family, were injured in the incident. The police personnel, who reached the spot after receiving information, had to resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Heavy police have been deployed in the village and an investigation has been initiated.

Police have arrested six rioters and lodged a complaint against several unknown miscreants who are now absconding. Prashant Tyagi and four of his family members, who were injured in the brawl, have been admitted to the hospital. Police Officer Rajesh Kumar has assured strict and speedy investigation into the issue. In what transpired, Prashant Tyagi had gone to one local grocery shop owned by one Gulfam to buy some pulses when he was approached by Imran. The two got into a small argument with each other. Soon Imran was joined by his supporters who attacked Prashant and others.

The Tablighi Jamaat time bomb erupted across the country in the last week of March when around 200 people with Wuhan Coronavirus symptoms were admitted to various hospitals in Delhi from the Markaz Nizamuddin and surrounding places. Subsequently, the area around the Markaz Nizamuddin was cordoned off by the Delhi Police. Soon, cases began to erupt across the country with links to the Tablighi Jamaat and the country stood horrified as the magnitude of the Islamic Missionary organization’s transgressions became known. But even so, a significant section of the media and the political class is going out of its way to whitewash and hide the crimes of the Tablighi Jamaat.

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