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Employee of Odisha assembly tests positive for Chinese COVID-19, assembly to be sanitised and staff quarantined

OpIndia Staff
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Employee of Odisha assembly tests positive for Chinese COVID-19, assembly to be sanitised and staff quarantined

An employee of the Odisha Assembly has tested positive for the Chinese epidemic COVID-19 on Friday, making it the third case from the state.

According to the reports, the news about the staff being contracted with the Wuhan Coronavirus was informed by Speaker SN Patro on Friday. Following this, all the staffers will be quarantined and the entire Odisha Assembly building will be disinfected.

Reportedly, Odisha Assembly will shift its operations to the conference hall in Lok Seva Bhawan with 30% attendance of MLAs, informed the speaker.

Meanwhile, Odisha government’s COVID-19 spokesperson Subroto Bagchi stated that the persons who came in contact with the employee are being traced. Besides, the patient’s wife, daughter, driver are also kept in isolation.

On the other hand, the Health and Family welfare authority has issued guidelines for private hospitals, clinics and doctors in the wake of Chinese coronavirus outbreak. Reportedly, the third COVID-19 positive case from Odisha also visited Odisha Assembly dispensary apart from the clinic.

ISIS terrorist who attacked Gurudwara in Kabul was from India, killed Afghan Sikhs to avenge ‘plight’ of Kashmiri Muslims

OpIndia Staff
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ISIS terrorist who attacked Gurudwara in Kabul was from India, killed Afghan Sikhs to avenge ‘plight’ of Kashmiri Muslims

Armed terrorists attacked a Gurudwara in Shor Bazar Area of Afghanistan on Wednesday. Twenty-eight people lost their lives in the dastardly attack. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, however, the possible role of the Tehreek-e-Taliban backed by Pakistan has not been ruled out. India expressed its condolences towards the families of the deceased and said, “India stands ready to extend all possible assistance to the affected families of the Hindu and Sikh community of Afghanistan.”

The Islamic State communique claiming responsibility for the attack identified the terrorist as an Indian national ‘Abu Khalid al-Hindi’ who carried out the attack in order to avenge the supposed ‘plight of Muslims in Kashmir’. Meanwhile, Afghan and Western security agencies believe that the attack was ordered by Quetta Shura of Taliban at the behest of Pakistani intelligence. As per a report by Hindustan Times, the operation was code-named Blackstar and the Haqqani Network led by Taliban’s deputy commander Sirajuddin Haqqani and elements of Laskhar-e-Tayyeba were used to carry out the attack.

The report says that the actual target was the Indian embassy in Kabul. But, due to heavy troops deployment there, the terrorists chose to attack the Gurudwara instead, which is just 3 km away from the embassy building. The involvement of Pakistani deep-state is suspected, with the larger motive of forcing India out of Afghanistan, as per the HT report.

Four terrorists armed with AK-47, a part of the strike team of the group of terrorists, had attacked the Gurudwara. One of them was killed by the Afghan security forces but the rest escaped. According to intelligence agencies, the terrorist attack was a part of Pakistan’s efforts to drive out India from Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the US forces. With the USA gone, the objective is to use the strategic space offered by Afghanistan to renew their Jihad in Kashmir.

Saudi Arabia: Man spotted spitting on shopping carts tests positive for Coronavirus, may face the death penalty

OpIndia Staff
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Saudi Arabia: Man spotted spitting on shopping carts tests positive for Coronavirus, may face the death penalty

A man who was arrested for spitting at trolleys and doors at a shopping mall in Saudi Arabia reportedly can face a death sentence if found guilty of the offence, as he was tested positive for Wuhan Coronavirus.

As per reports, a man was seen spitting on the shopping trolleys, doors and other fixtures in a mall in the region of Hail in north-western Saudi Arabia, and was later arrested after being spotted by workers at the store. When he was tested for Coronavirus, he was found positive. This came when the whole world is struggling to get over the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, and his disastrous act can spread the infection among the public.

The person has been identified as a foreign national residing Baljurashi city in Saudi Arabia. He is being interrogated and the motive behind the detrimental act is not clear till now. After the incident came to light, the authorities asked everyone who had visited that store to hospital urgently to get themselves tested. The authorities are also screening the CCTV footage in the area to identify any other places he may have infected.

Notably, his act is considered a major crime in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The online portal of newspaper Ajel of Saudi Arabia said, “This behavior is religiously and legally condemned. It is regarded as imparting corruption by deliberately seeking to spread the coronavirus epidemic among members of society and stirring panic among them”.

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

Saudi officials explained that the offender will be facing charges that can go as far as the death penalty, as his actions can be considered a kind of first-degree murder. “He was clearly aware of the fever and the cough he was suffering from at that time and his action was only aimed at killing other people,” the officials said.

The Saudi Arabia authorities have reported two deaths from the novel coronavirus and a total of 900 confirmed cases in the country. The Country imposed a nationwide curfew on Monday. Till Thursday, the country’s thirteen regions were under curfew. Meanwhile, the curfew will start four hours earlier at 3 pm in the cities of Riyadh, Mecca and Medina that are the major cities of Saudi Arabia.

Following India, UK applauds their healthcare workers amidst coronavirus pandemic

OpIndia Staff
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Following India, UK applauds their healthcare workers amidst coronavirus pandemic

At 5 PM on Sunday, March 22, 2020, Indians from all walks of life across the country came out to heed PM Modi’s call to express gratitude for doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and other people involved in discharging essential duties even as the menace of novel coronavirus brought the country of 1.3 billion people to a grinding halt. While many condescending westerners and “liberals” mocked India for paying an emotional tribute to its care workers for working round the clock to contain the spread and treat the sick, the United Kingdom took a cue from India to thank their carers involved in tirelessly battling the coronavirus in their respective countries.

In the United Kingdom which has seen a recent spike in the coronavirus case, owing to British PM Boris Johnson’s laissez-faire approach to tackling the virus initially, thousands of Britons joined in the show of support for the National Health Service workers involved in providing healthcare facility to those in the grips of the deadly pathogen. Akin to their Indian counterparts, Britons in the UK flocked to their balconies and windows and clapped for the carers as a mark of respect and applaud for their work in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

The British Royal family and the Prime Minister too joined the well-wishers in their activity to hail the services provided by the healthcare workers in such distressing times. British celebrities and sports stars also participated in the pandemonium to express their gratefulness towards the healthcare workers.

Hollywood actor Daniel Craig joined in nationwide applause in honour of NHS workers during the coronavirus lockdown on Thursday.

Legendary footballer David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand too extended their tributes for the healthcare workers amidst the coronavirus crisis.

The raging coronavirus has affected more than 530,000 people globally, causing at least 24000 deaths up until now. Italy has been the worst-hit country by the pathogen, registering one-third of the total global deaths. The United States is leading the world in the total number of coronavirus cases. After wreaking havoc in China during its initial days, the Wuhan coronavirus has shifted its epicentre to Europe now as different European countries are scrambling to stem the spread of the virus. About 11600 people are so far tested positive for the COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, with about 578 deaths.

FM announcement was just a relief package, a stimulus package will be announced soon: NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar

OpIndia Staff
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FM announcement was just a relief package, a stimulus package will be announced soon: NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar

Hours after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a relief package to the country to help fight the Chinese epidemic COVID-19 yesterday, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar stated that it was just a welfare package and a comprehensive stimulus package is yet to be announced by the Modi government.

Speaking to India Today, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that the Modi government is likely to announce more measures that will have a wider impact on economic activity, and also address liquidity issues in the economy.

Commenting on the relief package announced by the Finance Minister, Kumar said that it was a fairly substantial welfare package given by the government to protect the poor, vulnerable who are likely to be most affected during the lockdown due to loss of livelihood opportunities.

Reportedly, Kumar also stated that the relief package for the marginalised announced by the Modi government on Thursday established the government’s priority in taking care of people who are most affected by the crisis.

“Subsequent packages will follow, focussing on how to prevent a wider impact in economic activity, so liquidity is addressed, and this situation does not lead to insolvency and bankruptcy,” Kumar said. “This is the highest priority of the government right now,” he added.

However, Rajiv Kumar also expressed his apprehensions about Gross Domestic Product growth likely being impacted in the next fiscal due to zero economic activity right at the beginning of the fiscal.

“In the next quarter, we will be lucky if we get a zero-growth rate. But it (GDP growth) could be even in negative. The overall growth rate for the financial year, however, will not go below 3-3.5 per cent. It’s too early to say anything because there are many factors that remain unknown,” Rajiv Kumar said.

He also added that the lockdown is an absolute necessity to “break the chain” and contain further spread of the deadly coronavirus. “We are hopeful that the number of new cases will fall and things will return towards normalcy. I am hopeful that three weeks would be enough for the Indian economy to bounce back,” he added.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday unveiled a Rs 1.7 lakh crore economic relief package to help the poor and marginalised. Her announcement came as 21-day nationwide lockdown began on Wednesday to curb the spread of highly contagious illness.

“No one will go hungry”, the Finance Minister had said, announcing relief under the Rs 1,75,000-crore package, dubbed as “Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan scheme”. The central government’s immediate focus is on alleviating the hardships of the migrant workers, urban and rural poor, she had added. The government also announced a special Rs 50 lakh medical insurance cover to the frontline workers toiling to avert the crisis. 

45-year-old Dubai returned Kerala man tests positive for Wuhan Coronavirus despite showing no symptoms

OpIndia Staff
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45-year-old Dubai returned Kerala man tests positive for Wuhan Coronavirus despite showing no symptoms

On Wednesday, a 45-year-old man from Adoor in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, with recent travel history to Dubai, had tested positive for the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus. Reportedly, he had shown no symptoms of the disease.

The man was kept under observation at his home. He had travelled to Thiruvantapuram via Bangalore from Dubai. The district administration is now tracking people who might have come in contact with the infected patient. The case has now added to the woes of the district health authorities amidst growing demand for collecting samples from 7,361 people currently under home quarantine in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak.

District Collector PB Nooh said, “This person had never developed any symptoms, including fever or cough. But, his samples were taken since there were widespread complaints that he was defying quarantine guidelines and was moving around. It was a surprise when he tested positive.”

Dr Amar Fettle, State Nodal Officer for Infectious Diseases, clarified, “In this case, there might have been some mild symptoms or he might have taken some drug for fever. All these might have suppressed the symptoms.”To diffuse the situation, the Health authorities had sent a few random samples of people under observation at their homes for testing. Many were found to have tested negative for the deadly pathogen.

In India, the coronavirus outbreak reached later than several other countries. The first case in India was reported on the 30th of January. The first case came from Kerala of a student who was studying at the Wuhan University. Since then, the pandemic has grown manyfold. As of today, in India, there have been 724 positive cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus, including 66 cured and 17 dead.

Now, the data from Covid19IndiaOrg analysed by Dr Anupam Singh, a doctor of internal medicine and dabbles in public health data science, has revealed that out of the several cases in India, 300+ cases are of those who had a travel history abroad and out of those 300 cases, 142 positive cases (roughly 50%) in India were of those who had returned from the Middle East. One can also see from Dr Singh’s research how in India, one person who does local transmission ends up spreading the infection to anywhere between 2 to 2.7 people on average.

Coronavirus lockdown: After popular demand, DD National to air ‘Ramayan’ twice a day from 28 March

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus lockdown: After popular demand, DD National to air ‘Ramayan’ twice a day from 28 March

On Friday, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting (IB) had informed that Ramanand Sagar’s iconic show based on Hindu Epic Ramayan will be retelecasted on DD National twice a day from March 28 in the wake of Wuhan coronavirus lockdown. One episode of the show will air in the morning between 9 am to 10 am while the other will be broadcast at night between 9 pm to 10 pm.

Ramayan, which featured Arun Govil as Shri Ram, Deepika Chikhalia as Maa Sita and Sunil Lahri as Brother Lakshman, recently completed 33 years since it was first aired. When the trio appeared on the comedy programme, The Kapil Sharma Show, they had received an overwhelming response from the viewers.

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Earlier, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar had tweeted that the team was in talks with the rights Holders of the show and were working out on technical and logistics issues.

Growing up in the 80s and the 90s, one of the fondest memories is of watching Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan on Doordarshan. The roads would go empty as the nation saw Arun Govil as Lord Ram. The iPad generation will now know how it was growing up back in the day when the Internet didn’t rule our lives. Now that the streets have gone empty again, thanks to the Chinese Wuhan Coronavirus, the public broadcaster has decided to bring back the epic on the small screen.

Banks allowed to defer EMIs by 3 months, cut in repo rate, liquidity injection of Rs 3.74 lakh crores: Highlights of the RBI Governor’s press conference

OpIndia Staff
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Banks allowed to defer EMIs by 3 months, cut in repo rate, liquidity injection of Rs 3.74 lakh crores: Highlights of the RBI Governor’s press conference

Speaking to the media on the unprecedented situation across the country due to the Chinese epidemic, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday announced a massive 75 basis points cut in repo rates to 4.4 per cent as a measure to counter the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reverse repo rate has been cut by 90 basis points to 4 per cent. Governor Das said this has been done to make it unattractive for banks to passively deposit funds with the RBI and instead lend it to the productive sectors.

Addressing the media, Das said that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to advance its meeting to this week and undertook a careful evaluation of macroeconomic and financial conditions.

Governor Das added that MPC voted for a sizable reduction in repo rate and has decided to maintain an accommodative stance. There were some differences in the quantum of reduction and MPC voted by 4:2 majority to reduce policy repo rate by 75 bps to 4.4 per cent, he added.

Liquidity Adjustment Ratio (LAF) has been cut by 90 bps to 4 per cent and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) cut by 100 bps to 3% of NTDL with effect from March 28, 2020, the Governor added.

“India has locked down economic activity. Keeping finance flowing is the paramount objective of the RBI. Financial activity is under severe stress,” the RBI Governor noted.

Shaktikanta Das also added that the central bank has taken several measures to inject substantial liquidity into the system. He added that the priority is to undertake strong and purposeful action to protect domestic economy. He also urged all the stakeholders to fight against the pandemic and asked banks to do all they can to keep credit flowing.

RBI Governor also added that the economic outlook is highly uncertain and negative.

“Appropriate that MPC decisions and other RBI actions must be seen as a comprehensive package with force multipliers. The first measures are to expand liquidity in the system. Strong fiscal steps necessary to deal with the situation, steps to enforce monetary transmissions and efforts to ease financial stress caused by COVID-19,” the Governor added.

Addressing the effect of the coronavirus on markets, the RBI Governor said that the large sell-offs in markets have intensified pressure on the economic system an RBI will conduct auctions of long term repo operation (LTRO) of three-year tenure up to Rs 1 lakh crore at a floating rate linked to the policy rate.

According to the RBI, these measures will result in total liquidity injection of Rs 3.74 lakh crore to the system.

The most important notification put out by the RBI on Friday was that all commercial banks have been allowed to grant a three-month moratorium on payment of instalments for all loans outstanding on March 1, 2020. Similarly, banks are also permitted to defer interest payment on working capitals by 3 months. These measures have been put in place to mitigate debt servicing burden to prevent transmission of financial stress to the real economy, provide relief to borrowers.

“All banks, lending institutions may allow a three-month moratorium on all loans,” said RBI Governor.

He added, “Lending companies, banks are allowed to defer interest on working capital repayments by three months. Banks may also reassess the working capital cycle and will not be treated as non-performing assets”.

RBI Governor Das also assured that the Indian banking sector is safe and sound. He added that the depositors of commercial banks including private banks need not worry about the safety of their funds. RBI has injected liquidity of Rs 2.8 lakh crore through various instruments equal to 1.4 per cent of the GDP, the Governor added.

“Along with today’s measures liquidity measures equal to 3.2% of GDP. RBI will take continuous measures to ensure liquidity in the system,” Shaktikanta Das added.

The central bank also added that the depositors should not resort to the panic withdrawal of their deposits. The Governor urged the depositors in private banks to not indulge in panic withdrawal.

“The macros are stronger than what it was post the financial crisis, the fiscal deficit and CAD is much lower and inflation conditions are benign. I remain optimistic despite current challenges. COVID-19 is upon us but this to shall pass. Stay clean, stay safe and go digital,” he added.

The RBI Governor’s press conference comes a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had unveiled a Rs 1.75 lakh-crore welfare stimulus package to the country. Her announcement came as 21-day nationwide lockdown began on Wednesday to curb the spread of highly contagious illness.

“No one will go hungry”, the Finance Minister had said, announcing relief under the Rs 1,75,000-crore package, dubbed as “Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan scheme”.

The central government’s immediate focus is on alleviating the hardships of the migrant workers, urban and rural poor, she had added. The relief measures announced had included direct cash transfers (under the DBT or Direct Benefit Transfer scheme) and food security-related steps aimed at giving relief to the poor workers hit by the countrywide lockdown.

The government also announced a special Rs 50 lakh medical insurance cover to the frontline workers toiling to avert the crisis. “With a deep sense of gratitude, I announce that all medical staff, Aasha workers, paramedics, doctors and nurses, will get this insurance,” Finance Minister Sitharaman had said, quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to them as “Gods in white”.

Watch: Former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar ‘praises’ doctors and nurses fighting coronavirus, says they are doing ‘Jihad’

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar ‘praises’ doctors and nurses fighting coronavirus, says they are doing ‘Jihad’

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, who has been lately making videos on Chinese coronavirus, has declared that the work of all the doctors who are fighting the Chinese pandemic is doing nothing short of ‘Jihad’.

Shoaib Akhtar took to his YouTube channel on Thursday to express his gratitude to the frontline health workers across the world who have risked their lives to limit the spread of the Chinese pandemic COVID-19. Akhtar also urged the people to express their gratitude by hosting a white flag on top of their houses on Friday.

“We should salute our sisters, nurses, paramedics and all the health workers for the service they have rendered. As today is the day of ‘Jummah’ (weekly Friday prayers), we shall hoist white flags on top of our houses to express our gratitude to these people,” said the former Pakistan fast bowler.

Akhtar also praised the health workers for risking their lives. “We stand in solidarity with you. You are not alone in this war. You have sacrificed yourself on the line of duty. I salute you,” he added.

However, Akhtar called the noble work of saving lives as ‘Jihad’, or Islamic religious war.

“What you are doing is nothing less than ‘Jihad’, you are fighting to save humanity. The doctors who are fighting to save people across the world are following the real principles of ‘Jihad’,” said Shoaib Akhtar as he indirectly referred doctors as ‘Mujahid’ – the Arabic word for Jihadists.

Just a week back, Shoaib Akhtar had shared another video slamming the Chinese. Akhtar had taken to his YouTube channel to question the Chinese for eating ‘non-halal’ animals like bats and then spreading the virus across the globe.

“When Allah has given so many halal animals, why eat bats and spread the virus?”, Shoaib Akhtar had questioned Chinese for their food behaviour which is largely being held responsible for the Chinese COVID-19 pandemic.

Shoaib Akhtar had also stoked a controversy after he had compared coronavirus related preventive lockdown to the curfew in Kashmir for internal security reasons.

The number of coronavirus patients in Pakistan has reached to 1,179, according to the latest official data. It is reported that at least 8 people have died due to Chinese Coronavirus in Pakistan.

Covidiots: Jalgaon man makes video riding a bike around town during the coronavirus lockdown, gets arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Covidiots: Jalgaon man makes video riding a bike around town during the coronavirus lockdown, gets arrested

A man in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon was arrested by the police for defying curfew orders. He was reportedly shooting a video of himself riding a bike during the lockdown.

The man’s video had gone viral on social media where he was seen riding a bike without a helmet, shooting the video with one hand while a child, the man’s son as per the video, was seen riding pillion, holding a bunch of bananas.

In a video uploaded by popular Twitter handle ‘Political Kida’, the man is seen saying, “See the whole world is under lockdown but father and son are roaming free, without any worries. We are out to buy bananas and we are roaming around the town. We have nothing to be afraid of. We are fearless because my name is Kala Dada”

Later, in another video, the man is seen inside a police station, holding his ears while police personnel are present around him. The man is saying, “I committed a big mistake. I should not have done it. I realised my mistake now. I will never do such a thing again. I am thankful to the police personnel, who are on duty 24 hours.”

Pictures and videos of people wilfully defying lockdown orders issued in the wake of coronavirus and in several cases, abusing, attacking police personnel when stopped, are doing rounds in social media. Recently, a Kolkata girl was seen abusing, and spitting on a policeman when her car was stopped. On Wednesday, two miscreants in Sanjay Nagar, Bangalore, were arrested for assaulting police personnel and hurling stones at them when their bike was stopped.

It is notable here that Maharashtra tops the list of states in India with the over 130 confirmed cases and 4 deaths.

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