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Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi pass off social-distancing picture from Gujarat as that from Tamil Nadu

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi pass off social-distancing picture from Gujarat as that from Tamil Nadu

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi today took to Twitter to share an image of social distancing being practiced. People in the picture were standing on circles which were drawn away from one other.

Singhvi tweeted that the social distancing was being practiced at a milk booth in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu.

Prima facie itself it could be concluded that the image is from Gujarat as the names of the stores are written in Gujarati. To identify which place the image is from, OpIndia tried to look for clues. One of the stores has the word ‘Chandrumanawala’ printed on the board. Chandrumana is a place in Gujarat, near Patan.

Chandrumana in Gujarat

Another store one can see in the background is one ‘Bhagwati sweet mart’. If you search for ‘Bhagwati Sweets Patan’ on Google, it throws up the image of the store which is similar to that in the above picture.

Bhagwati Sweets, Patan, Gujarat

Amusingly, the line is for grocery store and not even a milk booth. Same image with similar claims was shared by former Times of India Managing Editor (TIMS), Priya Gupta.

However, Gupta later corrected herself that the image was from Gujarat. Others also joined in in wrongly identifying Gujarat as Tamil Nadu.

Actual photo of a milk booth in Puducherry where social distancing was being followed was shared by Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi.

And while it is Puducherry or Gujarat, milk booth or no milk booth, that Indians have risen to the occasion and paid heed to PM Modi’s call to implement lockdown and social distancing while we fight coronavirus, the efforts of the people are worth encouraging.

Watch: Indian Doctor who has not seen his 2-month-old daughter for weeks urges people to stay home, breaks down on camera

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Indian Doctor who has not seen his 2-month-old daughter for weeks urges people to stay home, breaks down on camera

While the scourge of the coronavirus outbreak has severely disrupted the day-to-day lives of ordinary Indians, it has also exacted an enormous toll on the lives of doctors and healthcare workers who are tirelessly working to provide medical attention to the affected patients.

In such a demanding environment when the country is under a strict lockdown for 21 days, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are clocking in long hours at hospitals to ensure proper medical facilities are provided to the sick. The challenges facing them are underscored by an Indian doctor’s account of the sacrifices he has made amidst the coronavirus crisis.

Doctor Sanjay from AIIMS Delhi broke down on national television while reminiscing about his two-months-old daughter who he had not been able to see for weeks because of the enormity of the task at his hand. He also urged people to stay home and do their bit in helping the country in battling the novel coronavirus.

“I haven’t been home. 15 days back, it was my wedding anniversary so I had gone home for 2 days. I have a two-month-old daughter but I cannot see her. Please stay at home. Don’t come outside. Please help us in curbing the spread of this disease. A very big problem is approaching our country,” the doctor said.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 562 with Maharashtra top on the list with 116 coronavirus cases. PM Modi had yesterday announced a total lockdown of 21 days to battle the spread of the virus and prevent it from overwhelming the country’s public healthcare system.

Urging people to stay at home and not venture out in open unless very essential, PM Modi, during his address, said that even developed nations are struggling to control the spread of the novel coronavirus and if the situation got out of hand, India would have to pay an unimaginable price. However, he has ensured that items of daily necessities, milk, groceries and medicines will remain available during the lockdown.

Uttar Pradesh: 33-year-old with no foreign travel history tests positive for coronavirus, contact transmission confirmed

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: 33-year-old with no foreign travel history tests positive for coronavirus, contact transmission confirmed

A 33-year-old resident of Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh has been tested positive for COVID-19. As per reports, the person does not have any travel history from abroad. Dr. Sudhir Singh of King George Medical University, Lucknow said it is a confirmed case of contact transmission.

Earlier, a 45-year-old woman who had travelled to Mecca with a group of 37 people recently, had tested positive. Uttar Pradesh has reported 34 positive cases so far.

In India, community transmission has not been reported so far. Most cases in India are people who had contracted the disease from abroad or their immediate family members. The ICMR had already confirmed earlier that in India, coronavirus is at Stage 2, which means local transmission.

In Maharashtra, 87 people had been put under quarantine after an Anganwadi worker was tested positive. The said worker’s family members were also tested positive.

Pilibhit was recently in the news when, despite government orders restricting gatherings, police officers were seen leading a procession of people applauding healthcare workers at 5 pm on Sunday, 22 March.

COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the recent Coronavirus outbreak started in the Wuhan province of China in December 2019. The novel coronavirus was identified as a cause of the cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. It rapidly spread, resulting in an epidemic throughout China followed by an increasing number of cases throughout the world. Globally more than 300,000 confirmed cases have been reported.

As per WHO, the initial transmission was associated with a seafood market where most patients used to work that sold live animals. Later the market was closed to avoid infection. However, the transmission progressed from person to person, which became the main mode of transmission. The person to person transmission has occurred mainly via respiratory droplets. The symptoms of COVID-19 may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, and diarrhoea.

In India, total number of cases of coronavirus has reached near 520 and 11 patients succumbed to the disease. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday in an emotional gesture with folded hands requested the citizens to avoid stepping out of the homes till the next 21 days calling for a complete lockdown across the country.

He asserted that “If we don’t handle these 21 days well, then our country will go backwards by 21 years.” Quoting WHO PM said that the virus took 67 days from first reported case to reach 100,000 cases, it took 11 days from 100,000 cases to reach next 100,000 cases and took only 4 days to reach third 100,000 explaining the scale of the epidemic in order to make realize the citizens to stay home for avoiding the deadly epidemic.

Brazil President gives up on lockdown, says normal life should resume as their country is younger and warmer than Italy

OpIndia Staff
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Brazil President gives up on lockdown, says normal life should resume as their country is younger and warmer than Italy

Even as stringent lockdowns and exacting restrictions are placed by many countries battling the unabated proliferation of Wuhan Coronavirus, Brazilian President Bolsonaro is marching to a different beat to tackle the virus that has so far affected over 4,20,000 people across the globe and rendered about 19,000 dead.

As cities in Brazil came to a standstill following the lockdown in the country, the Brazilian President in his address on Tuesday night urged mayors and state governors to roll down the restriction measures, terming them as “hysteria” over the coronavirus and claiming that Brazilians have nothing to fear about Italy-like situation because of the Latin American country’s younger population and warmer climate.

“We must return to normality, life must continue and jobs be preserved. The few states and city halls should abandon their scorched-earth policies,” said Bolsonaro while adding, “Most people, including myself, have nothing to fear about the virus. In my particular case, with my history as an athlete, if I were infected with the virus, I would have no reason to worry, I would feel nothing, or it would be at most just little flu.”

Bolsonaro has been facing a growing storm of criticism in Brazil for his laissez-faire attitude towards taming the virus, downplaying it as “fantasy” and a “small flu” despite the contagion’s unbridled expansion to more than 122 countries across the world. Opinion polls have suggested that Bolsonaro’s popularity is plummeting as he displays cavalier disregard in acknowledging and dealing with a pandemic.

Brazil has so far registered 46 deaths due to coronavirus, with 12 deaths recorded on Tuesday itself. The cases have risen from 1891 to 2201 as per the government figures. However, if the evidence from the countries it has affected so far is to be considered, if sufficient measures are not put in place, it can lead to an exponential upsurge in the cases and greater chances of community transmission, making it all the more difficult for the country to control the situation.

In addition, Brazil’s economic prospects amid the pandemic are not very bright. According to data, consumer confidence has fallen to a three-year low in March and retail sales in January tanked at the steepest rate in over a year, illustrating that the consumer spending was already very weak even before the coronavirus outbreak hit the Brazilian shores.

The slowdown is all set to exacerbate as Brazilian city Sao Paulo began a two-week lockdown on Tuesday. However, if stringent measures are not imposed now, the pandemic has a potential of inflicting irreparable and devastating impact on the lives of Brazilians as evidenced in the contagion’s deadly run in Italy which has so far witnessed 6800 deaths and a total collapse of the public health system.

Italy has been under complete lockdown since March 9, 2020. The steady rise in the spread of the contagion in Spain has also forced the European country to impose drastic measures and curtail individual liberties in the face of lethal crisis. Witnessing Italy’s worsening situation, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom too followed the suit and ordered a mandatory lockdown of their countries barring the sale of essential items to combat the Wuhan coronavirus. India, too announced sweeping lockdown of the entire country for 21 days- the most severe step taken anywhere in the war against the coronavirus.

Afghanistan: Suicide bombers attack Gurudwara in Kabul, 150 held hostage, some rescued

OpIndia Staff
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Afghanistan: Suicide bombers attack Gurudwara in Kabul, 150 held hostage, some rescued

Armed terrorists and suicide bombers attacked a Gurudwara in Shor Bazar area in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday morning. 150 people have been held hostage. As of now, security forces are engaged in an attack with the gunmen. According to reports, many people who were inside the building have been rescued.

As per news agency ANI, one of the floors has been cleared up by Afghan forces and many people who were inside have been rescued.

At least four people have reportedly been killed in the attack so far. Efforts are on to rescue the remaining survivors.

Reports said the attack began at about 7.45 am Afghan time. Afghanistan’s interior ministry said they had cordoned off the entire area. Ambulances and Afghan special forces have also been sent to the site.

No terrorist organisation has yet taken the responsibility of the attack.

The Shor Bazar area of Kabul was once home to several gurdwaras but they were destroyed during the fighting in the 1980s. Kabul is still home to several thousand Hindus and Sikhs, who because of being the minority community in Afghanistan, have been facing severe discrimination. This has forced many Hindus and Sikhs living in the area to migrate to other countries.

India locked down: This is how the police and administration is ensuring 1.3 billion people maintain social distancing amidst coronavirus outbreak

OpIndia Staff
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India locked down: This is how the police and administration is ensuring 1.3 billion people maintain social distancing amidst coronavirus outbreak

The world’s largest democracy announced a total lockdown of 21 days starting midnight on 25 March, 2020 in a bid to curb the spread of Wuhan coronavirus. Videos have gone viral on social media where police administration can be seen taking steps to ensure that people adhere to the rules and are not loitering around, putting everyone’s health at risk.

Only essential goods and services like milk, groceries, fruits, vegetables, medicines are available and travel is also restricted for only emergency healthcare. In the above video, one can see police asking the man in a car to get off and asks him to put on the mask. The police is wearing protective gear as well. Later, the car is sanitised and he man is instructed that the police will escort his car to the hospital.

In an image shared by superstar Amitabh Bachchan, people can be seen standing in queue for groceries.

However, circles are made on ground to ensure people maintain social distancing. More visuals from Gujarat show people maintaining distance at grocery stores.

Those in Jammu and Kashmir who were found flouting the lockdown rules were made to sit in circles made on roads to maintain social distancing.

Even the Union Cabinet meeting that took place today had social distancing in place.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal took to Twitter to inform how the government is making sure the essentials like groceries food grains are in sufficient supply in states.

As we fight the pandemic, Amdavad Municipal Corporation workers have distributed food to the needy across the city. Restaurant owners have stepped up to help provide food to the people. The community has come together in this fight.

As per the official government figures, as of now there are 512 active COVID-19 cases in India currently. 40 people have been cured and discharged. India has had 9 casualties due to coronavirus as of 9:15 AM today.

I did not test for COVID-19, but it is ‘extremely likely’ that I had it. Now I have basically recovered: Globetrotting climate ‘activist’ Greta Thunberg

OpIndia Staff
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I did not test for COVID-19, but it is ‘extremely likely’ that I had it. Now I have basically recovered: Globetrotting climate ‘activist’ Greta Thunberg

Teen climate ‘activist’ Greta Thunberg has shared on social media that she is almost sure she had the Coronavirus and now has recovered. In an Instagram post, Greta has written that she was travelling around central Europe recently and upon reaching Sweden, had isolated herself away from her mother and sister for two weeks.

Greta has added that she started experiencing symptoms of a sore throat, cough, fatigue and shivers. The teenager wrote that her father, who had travelled with her from Brussels, had similar symptoms. She further wrote that anyone feeling ill was advised to stay at home so she had also done the same.

Greta has further written that in Sweden, one cannot get tested for coronavirus unless they are in the need for emergency medical care and anyone feeling ill is advised to stay at home and isolate themselves.

She affirmed that she has not been tested for COVID-19 but it is ‘extremely likely’ that she had the virus. She has also added that she has ‘basically recovered’ now and she almost did not feel ill during the last two weeks, adding that her last cold was much worse than this.

“Had it not been for someone else having the virus simultaneously I might not even have suspected anything. Then I would just have thought I was feeling unusually tired with a bit of a cough”, Greta wrote, implying that she suspects she had a coronavirus infection even without getting tested because people are getting infected with the virus.

Greta added that it is the very thing that makes low-risk people, that is young people, may not experience any severe symptoms at all, even if they are infected with the coronavirus, and that is what makes it most dangerous. She adds that since high-risk people, that is the old and sick, are more vulnerable to the disease, might end up contracting it from the youngsters if the young do not isolate themselves.

Greta has advised people to follow the advice from experts and stay at home.

It is not clear why Greta has been travelling around central Europe. In early March, the ‘activist’ had called for a ‘digital protest’ to the students in Sweden and around the world who had been following her in the “school strike for climate” movement. on social media, she had also urged activists to stay at home and post images with #ClimateStrikeOnline hashtag instead of joining demonstrations on streets.

Sweden has 2272 cases of coronavirus so far. But the testing for the virus is very limited as only those with symptoms that need hospitalisation and high-risk individuals, including medical staff working with the risk-groups are being tested.

Coronavirus: Commerce Ministry bans export of Hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug showing promise as an effective treatment in COVID-19 cases

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Commerce Ministry bans export of Hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug showing promise as an effective treatment in COVID-19 cases

In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry led by Union Minister Piyush Goyal has banned the export of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and its formulations. The drug has been showing promise as a potential treatment for the COVID-19 infection.

The order came soon after PM Modi’s announcement of a 21-day nationwide lockdown in India starting 25 March from 12.00 am. The Commerce Ministry has, however, mentioned that export on humanitarian grounds on case to case basis approved by the Ministry of External Affairs may be allowed. Also, exports from SEZ/EOU units may be allowed to fulfil export obligations and in cases where advance export licese has been issued before the notification.

Via Aditya Raj Kaul on Twitter

The letter by the ministry has also stated that shipments, where an Irrevocable Letter of Credit has already been issued before the notification will be allowed.

India is one of the largest producers of Hydroxychloroquine, the finished drug and its other pharmaceutical components.

It is notable here that there are many reports in international media and journals highlighting that the drug has been proven effective in COVID-19 treatment. Recently, US President Donald Trump had asked US hospitals to start stockpiling the drug.

China, South Korea and many other nations have been using Hydroxychloroquine as a treatment against COVID-19 infections. Indian hospitals have been using it too.

Recently, the National Task Force COVID-19 constituted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had recommended the use of hydroxy-chloroquine for high-risk cases, as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

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

Taiwan wrote to WHO on 31st December asking about human-to-human spread, WHO ignored under Chinese pressure: Here is what Taiwan says

OpIndia Staff
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Taiwan wrote to WHO on 31st December asking about human-to-human spread, WHO ignored under Chinese pressure: Here is what Taiwan says

The Wuhan Coronavirus has spread like wild fire throughout the globe. With over 4,00,000 positive cases now in the world and 18,907 deaths at the time of writing this article, the virus has taken the shape of a pandemic that is now being fought by completely locking down entire nations. It now emerges that on the 31st of December, Taiwan had written to the WHO (World Health Organisation) raising questions about the human-to-human contact aspect of the virus and the WHO had summarily ignored Taiwan.

Traditionally, due to Beijing’s objections, Taiwan has been denied membership to most international organizations including the WHO. Beijing forcefully alleges Taiwan as part of its territory that must one day be reunified with the mainland. China asserts that Taiwan has no right to participate in International Diplomacy, and WHO, which is now being mocked at as Wuhan Health Organisation, catapulted to Chinese demands.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei, the island’s Centres for Disease Control chief Chou Jih-haw said that it written to the WHO and China as early as Dec 31, asking for information about the newly uncovered virus outbreak in China’s Wuhan province, including whether there was human-to-human transmission.

Read: 5 million people from Wuhan, the ​epicentre of Coronavirus, had left the city before China put stringent restrictions in place: Report

“We asked them whether there’s a possibility of human-to-human transmission. We indeed asked them and reminded them of the matter,” Chou said. He said the WHO confirmed it had received the letter but did not respond to it.

While Taiwan officials had gone to China for research, they were also not allowed to see any patients or even go to the Wuhan market from where the Coronavirus had originated.

The WHO, in a statement to Reuters, did not directly address the issue of Taiwan being ignored, but said its office in China was informed of the “pneumonia of unknown cause” on Dec 31.

“Since that time until now WHO has regarded the event as very serious and applied the full range of attention to it from across the organisation,” it said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang denounced what he said were efforts to “politically manipulate” the outbreak, and that the WHO dealt with Taiwan under the “one China” principle.

It is pertinent to note that the WHO had acted almost complicit with China in hiding the severity of the Wuhan Coronavirus. WHO had declared the Wuhan coronavirus, which emerged from China and swiftly spread to other parts of the world, a pandemic only on March 11. Experts are of the view that this laxity and callousness has caused more than 14,700 deaths across the globe and that the organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, like China’s Xi Jinping, should be held accountable for recklessly managing this deadly pandemic.  

Read: Wuhan coronavirus: A pandemic that was started in China, covered up by China but China thinks calling it Chinese is ‘racism’

On the 11th of January, the WHO had even said that it did not recommend any specific travel precautions to travellers to and from Wuhan, China.

While it is well known now that the coronavirus infection had started and was spreading as early as November 2019, till January 14, the Chinese authorities have claimed that the Covid-19 did not show human to human transmission. A tweet by WHO that has now gone viral on social media reveals how China has been misleading the world about the pandemic.

That Taiwan wrote to the WHO as early as 31st December and till the 14th January, the WHO was maintaining that Coronavirus does not spread human-to-human shows the complicity of WHO in letting China lie its way through unleashing a pandemic on the world.

Coronavirus: Telangana Chief Minister says shoot at sight orders may be issued for violators

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Telangana Chief Minister says shoot at sight orders may be issued for violators

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said that if the violators continue to defy the prohibitory orders during the lockdown, then his government will have no other option but to issue shoot at sight orders and call in the army. Speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, Telangana CM threatened the public with a 24-hour curfew if people violate the lockdown orders.

“If people continue to be on the streets, then the army has to be called in and shoot at sight orders may be issued,” Rao said urging people to stay at home. As of now, Telangana has total 35 positive cases, including 10 foreign nationals of which, one has recovered.

As per reports, the government is also in talks with food delivery services like Grofers and Big Basket so that they could restart their deliveries. The state has put 19,000 foreign returnees including foreign nationals and all those who came in contact with them under surveillance. The government has also warned that strict action will be taken against those foreign returnees who do not adhere to quarantine instructions. He also informed that their passports may be suspended if they violate the lockdown and quarantine orders.

Read: Coronavirus: Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint republishes five-days old article claiming that Singapore has recorded zero Covid-19 deaths

He further said that curfew will be imposed from 7 PM to 6 AM and shops will be closed at 6 PM. Petrol pumps will also be shut down to keep people off the roads.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation and announced a 21-day lockdown across the country. PM appealed to people to stay at home during this time and assured citizens that all essential goods and commodities like milk, groceries, fruits and vegetables will be made available to people and that there is no need to panic. As per latest figures of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 562 total positive cases in India. Of these, 41 have recovered an 10 have died.

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