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Bengaluru techie’s wife who was accused of spreading the coronavirus is yet to test positive: Here is their version of what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Bengaluru techie’s wife who was accused of spreading the coronavirus is yet to test positive: Here is their version of what happened

On Saturday, the Times of India (TOI) had reported an incident in which the 25-year-old wife of a techie, who had himself tested positive for the coronavirus, had fled to Agra to her parent’s home. The TOI report had subsequently stated that the wife who had fled Bengaluru to reach Agra also tested positive for the coronavirus.

The report quoted health officials as saying that the wife, who had recently returned from her honeymoon in Italy and was put under quarantine after her husband showed symptoms of the disease, escaped from Bengaluru on 8 March, took a flight to New Delhi, and then went to Agra to be with her parents.

The report had said that the techie had been tested positive for COVID-19 on 7 March. In its updated report, the Times of India updated by stating that the techie, who is a Google employee, was tested positive on 12 March.

The report also accused the wife of the techie of resisting the attempt of the health officials to take her and eight other family members to isolation wards, and it was only after the intervention of the district magistrate and police force that the wife could be taken to an isolation ward along with her family members. Further, the report also stated that the father of the lady refused to cooperate with the team of health officials and also lied that his daughter had left for Bengaluru.

However, a report published by Swarajya stated that there is no truth to the Times of India’s story as it has published an incorrect sequence of events. Swarajya reached out to the brother of the infected techie, who shared that the family has been shocked by the report and the following outrage across the social media against the couple.

The brother of the techie spoke to Swarajya on the condition of anonymity, stated that his brother had got married sometime in mid-February. The couple then travelled to Athens, Greece, from Delhi for their honeymoon on 23 February.

Further, he added that the couple travelled to Greece, Switzerland, and France, and took a flight on 6 March 2020, from Paris, France, to Mumbai. The flight had a small layover in Munich, Germany. He also emphasised that his elder brother and sister-in-law had never gone to Italy in the first place, as reported by the Times of India. The couple returned to Mumbai on 6 March midnight, while the TOI report stated the couple had returned on 27 February, the younger brother clarified.

The younger brother also categorically stated that the couple had passed through the screening process at the Mumbai airport, where they were checked for body temperature and signs of flu. The couple cleared the screening process and spent the weekend at their parents’ residence in Navi Mumbai. On 8 March evening, the couple took a flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru. The flight was to land at night in Bengaluru. According to the younger brother, the techie had no signs of flu whatsoever at that time.

The couple did not leave the airport, as the wife of the techie was scheduled to leave for Delhi from the Bengaluru airport at 01:40 am (9 March). He added that the couple, given the excessive luggage from their honeymoon, decided to fly together to Bengaluru, instead of his wife directly leaving for Delhi.

The brother of the techie also stated that his sister-in-law left for Agra to be with her family for her first Holi after marriage. It is a prevailing tradition in many parts of the country where the girl spends her first Holi after the marriage, not at her in-laws, but at her parents’ place.

Rejecting the chronology of events published by Times of India, the brother of the techie stated that the couple never left the Bengaluru Airport, and thus did not escape any quarantine facility. The techie returned home after his wife departed for Delhi. He did not show any signs of fever, the brother confirmed. Therefore, when the wife had left Bengaluru, it was not known that her husband had caught the coronavirus infection.

Reportedly, On 9th March morning, the techie returned to work at his office in Bengaluru. The same morning, Google also conducted an internal screening process where they did not permit anyone with a temperature higher than normal to work. Interestingly, the techie passed this process and was allowed into the office premises.

However, he started complaining of a headache a few hours later citing a lack of sleep. Later, he returned home merely three-four hours later and by evening he was running a high fever. The brother said he helped the techie with some basic medicines for fever, believing it was another routine flu. Even on the morning of 10 March, the high fever persisted.

Later, the techie accompanied his brother to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. In the evening, the techie voluntarily submitted the necessary samples for testing. They were also told that they would be reached out to within 24-hours if anything risk worthy was found in the testing.

On the evening of 11 March, the techie got a call from the doctor who told him that he was being moved to a hospital as they were suspecting him to be positive for COVID-19. However, the doctor did not confirm the same at that point.

Read- UP govt invokes Epidemic Diseases Act Sec 3 to tackle the spread of coronavirus, action against people refusing quarantine, hiding symptoms

By 11 March late-night, the techie was admitted to the Jayanagar General Hospital. The brother who stayed at home was asked to be in self-quarantine and report if he too suffered from any symptoms. By 12 March noon, the family had the confirmation of the techie being tested positive for coronavirus.

Soon, the medical team in Agra had swung into action after they were informed about the report. They reached the residence of techie’s wife, who had already by then was in Agra. They requested her and her family to accompany them for testing. However, upon reaching the premises, the techie’s wife, to her dismay, discovered that the place was filthy and reeking of bad smell, according to them.

Reportedly, the wife of the techie was already in Agra on 9 March itself while her husband, as per the updated report of TOI the techie tested positive on March 12. It can be said that when the wife travelled to Agra, she was not even aware that her husband had contacted the coronavirus.

Health officials in Agra allowed the wife and her family to return home and be in isolation. Her first samples were collected on 12 March. The next day (13 March), the health officials returned to her place and requested her and the family to accompany them to the isolation ward. As the wife of the techie knowing the hygiene conditions of the facility, she resisted being in the ward.

The brother of the techie told Swarajya that Dr Mukesh Kumar Vats, Chief Medical Officer of Agra, had promised the lady that her concerns would be taken care of.

The lady was later moved to a better facility, but the family was required to move to the same ward. While the first test conducted on the wife of the techie on 12 March afternoon was inconclusive and showed no signs of her being positive for COVID-19, a second test was conducted on 14 March and the results of the same are still awaited. Her family has tested negative for COVID-19.

However, the TOI report blames the couple for being irresponsible and single out the wife of the techie for flying from Bengaluru to Delhi after escaping a quarantine facility. However, as per the sequence of events shared by the family, the wife did not leave the Bengaluru airport and her husband did not test positive for COVID-19 until 12 March.

At the time of writing this report, the wife of the techie is still not tested positive for the coronavirus and rattled by the hate she, her husband, and her family received online. Meanwhile, the techie is stable and is undergoing treatment for COVID-19.

The sequence of events narrated by the brother matches with another account given by a person who knows the family personally.

A person named Yash Archit had posted on social media that the couple had reached Bengaluru 8th, and the wife had left for Delhi on the same day from the airport itself, while the husband had tested positive for Covid-19  on 12th, so she can’t be accused of traveling after knowing that she might be infected.

Chinese real estate tycoon goes missing after he had criticised the Xi Jinping government for mishandling the coronavirus outbreak

OpIndia Staff
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Chinese real estate tycoon goes missing after he had criticised the Xi Jinping government for mishandling the coronavirus outbreak

In what can be another incident of Communist government in China silencing dissenting voices, a prominent business tycoon has gone missing after criticising the government over the handling of the Wuhan Coronavirus or the COVID-19 outbreak. Former Real estate tycoon Ren Zhiqiang, who is known as “the cannon” and member of the Communist party but a strong critic of the Xi Jinping led govt, became incommunicado after he wrote a scathing article criticising the Chinese government, according to his friends and well-wishers.

Sharply criticising the govt over its handling of the issue, Ren had written that the people’s lives are being ravaged by both the virus and the major illness of the system. He even called Chinese Premier Xi Jinping a clown, without naming him, saying the media’s attempt to portray him as a hero has no basis. He said, “I too am curiously and conscientiously studying Xi’s speech, but what I saw in it was the complete opposite of the “importance” reported by all types of media and online. I saw not an emperor standing there exhibiting his “new clothes,” but a clown who stripped naked and insisted on continuing being emperor.

Criticising the government for concealing the outbreak of the virus initially, Ren wrote, “trying to cover up the true facts with various “great achievements,” as if this epidemic began with your written instructions on January 7. So, what happened in December? Why wasn’t information made available promptly?”

“Trying to cover up the true facts with various “great achievements,” as if this epidemic began with your written instructions on January 7. So, what happened in December? Why wasn’t information made available promptly?” he added.

According to Overseas democracy activist Han Lianchao said on Twitter that Ren was detained and he is currently being investigated by the Beijing municipal branch of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Commission (CCDI). Citing friends in mainland China, Han said that Ren was detained on Thursday, and is being kept in a suburb of Beijing.

Entrepreneur Wang Ying, a friend of Ren, also posted on WeChat that Ren Zhiqiang has gone incommunicado. “The disappearance of Ren as a public figure is known to many. Organisations responsible should say what happened as soon as possible,” she said.
Ren, a former member of the Beijing Municipal Committee, had been under surveillance for the last four years. In 2016, he had openly challenged Chinese President Xi Jinping’s view that the country’s state media should be aligned to the party. After Ren had posted his comments on Weibo, the Chinese micro-blogging site, his account was blocked and he was put under probation for one year.

As the Coronavirus has spread to more and more countries, the Chinese government has started a propaganda war to portray that it handled the issue well and to hide that it had kept the issue hidden for a substantial period of time. Several articles have appeared in international media praising the Chinese government, grossing over the fact that it is Chinese govt that allowed the virus outbreak to grow without effective control and without informing the world at the right time.

Maharastra government suspects 3431 people of being illegal immigrants, 603 deported to Bangladesh in the last 4 years

OpIndia Staff
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Maharastra government suspects 3431 people of being illegal immigrants, 603 deported to Bangladesh in the last 4 years

On Saturday, the Minister of State for Home in Maharashtra, Shambhuraj Desai, informed the Legislative Assembly that 3,341 people staying in the state are suspected of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh while 603 people had been sent back to their home country in the last four years. He added, “A total of 660 cases have been lodged against people for not having Indian citizenship.”

Last month, at least 22 Bangladeshis (12 women) illegally staying in the state were apprehended in Maharastra’s Arnala area in Palghar district, roughly 60 kilometres away from Mumbai.

In January this year, the Saki Naka police arrested 3 illegal immigrants, namely, Abdul Halim, Munir Shaikh and Saiful Muslim who entered West Bengal from Bangladesh and reached Mumbai 8 years ago. The cops found that the Bangladesh nationals were using the IMO app to call their families in their home country. While Halim worked as a food vendor, the others worked as welders in Mumbai.

Another illegal immigrant from Bangladesh named Jamal alias Shaikh Soloman Mulla was nabbed by The Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) of Pune City Police on March 6. The investigation revealed that he came to India more than a decade ago by illegally crossing the India-Bangladesh border. While he didn’t have any valid passport and visa, he had an Aadhar card and a PAN card in his possession.

These documents were obtained by submitting forged documents. He owned a paan shop in Budhwar Peth area of Pune. Police revealed that Jamal got married to a woman who is also a Bangladeshi national, and the couple was involved in flesh trade in the Budhwar Peth area.

Earlier, the Raj Thackeray-led party has doubled down on its strategy of cornering the Uddhav Thackeray government on the issue of pervasive illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan in Maharashtra. “Bangladeshi and Pakistani infiltrators need to be evicted from India. If this is your stand, then you need to clean up these colonies of infiltrators which have cropped up in your own backyard in Bandra first”, read the poster put up by MNS workers outside Matoshree.

Arrested Maoist leader Srimathi came out of her hideout in forest to establish connection with Anti-CAA groups: Intelligence reports

OpIndia Staff
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Arrested Maoist leader Srimathi came out of her hideout in forest to establish connection with Anti-CAA groups: Intelligence reports

Sources in the Indian Intelligence Agency suspect Maoist leader Srimathi aka Savita, who operated in the forest belt of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, of having links with Anti-CAA groups, reported The Hindu.

Srimathi who carried a bounty of ₹ 4 lacs on her head was apprehended on Tuesday by the Q Branch CID police at Anaikatti in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. Agencies are of the view that she came out of her hideout to establish contact with leaders orchestrating the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Internal Security) N. Kannan was quoted as saying, “The arrest of Srimathi is a major setback to the Maoist activities of the Westen Ghats Special Zonal Committee operating in the trijunction. She is involved in more than a dozen cases and is wanted by the Karnataka and Kerala police.” Maoist literature, pen drive and a mobile phone were also seized.

Another official added, “We had a tip-off that she was coming out of the forest for a specific assignment. Special teams were keeping a close watch in the Anaikatti area and nabbed her.”

It has also come to light that Anti-CAA protestors had been planning to storm government-run offices and go on an indefinite strike. Keeping in mind the suspicious link between Maoists and such protestors, security has been beefed up at several vantage points in the state.

The cops have enhanced its presence and intensified patrolling to keep a check on anti-social elements. The Police anticipate clash between Pro-CAA and Anti-CAA groups if one group is allowed to “congregate” in a public building. The cops have sternly warned against any such agitation that may disrupt the law and order in the State. Since no permission was sought for any protest by the people, hence any such attempts would be considered unlawful.

Earlier, the Indian intelligence agencies have picked up cross-country electronic chatter where people believed to be Pakistani operatives are reprimanding their sources for failing to organise Anti-CAA protests with enough mobs on March 3-4 despite the funding at their disposal.

Rajasthan Mahila Congress Secretary Reena Mimrot wishes HM Amit Shah gets infected with coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan Mahila Congress Secretary Reena Mimrot wishes HM Amit Shah gets infected with coronavirus

The Congress party’s contempt against BJP leaders is not unsurprising anymore. However, it has lately turned into an open hatred towards the BJP leaders as Congress party leaders are now wishing for their death.

Hitting a new political low, Rajasthan Congress leader Reena Mimrot, who is the state Mahila Congress Secretary, on Saturday wished that Home Minister Amit Shah be infected with the deadly pandemic Coronavirus.

Taking to Twitter, Congress leader vented her frustration out by sharing news that Australian Home Minister was tested positive for the Coronavirus and lamented that the Indian Home Minister was still lagging at getting infected with the coronavirus. The Congress leader indirectly hoped that Home Minister soon be affected with the coronavirus similar to his Australian counterpart.

The Congress party which has failed to be put up an electoral challenged to the BJP seems to be now resorted to wishing the death of the Home Minister of the country. At a time when the Modi government is fighting to tackle the menace of the global pandemic COVID-19, the Congress leadership has yet again indulged in such contemptible behaviour rather than joining hands with the Modi government to limit the spread of the contagious virus.

Read: As wife of Spain’s PM tests positive for Coronavirus, here are some other celebrities and World leaders affected

This is not the first time that this troll-turned-politician has indulged in such filthy act on social media. Last month, Rajasthan Mahila Congress Secretary Reena Mimrot was also caught spreading fake news to malign US President Donald Trump. She took to Twitter to share an obscene image of Donald Trump’s lookalike groping a woman claiming that he is the US President.

Just yesterday, in a similar act, Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi had indirectly wished that Prime Minister Modi be tested positive for the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus that has now become a global pandemic. However, after being called out by netizens for his hateful behaviour, Quraishi has undone his retweet and claimed that he was trying to ‘report’ the hateful tweet as ‘offensive’ when he retweeted it ‘by mistake’.

As wife of Spain’s PM tests positive for Coronavirus, here are some other celebrities and World leaders affected

OpIndia Staff
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As wife of Spain’s PM tests positive for Coronavirus, here are some other celebrities and World leaders affected

On Saturday, the Spain Government informed that Begona Gomez, the wife of Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, has tested positive for the deadly Covid-19 also known as Coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. This information came hours after Sanchez in an address to the people announced a national lockdown to contain the pandemic.

Both of them are in a state of good health and are quarantined at their residence in La Moncloa Palace in Madrid. Earlier, the Minister of Equality and the Minister of Regional Affairs tested positive for Covid-19.

Begona Gomez now joins a slew of world leaders who have been infected by the coronavirus outbreak. On March 13, Australian Home Minister Peter Dutton tested positive for Covid-19. He said “This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat. I feel fine and will provide an update in due course. It is the policy of Queensland Health that anyone who tests positive is to be admitted into a hospital and I have complied with their advice.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife was also diagnosed with coronavirus. Prime Minister Trudeau had self-isolated after his wife developed symptoms for the deadly virus which has claimed lives of thousands across the globe. According to a statement issued by Trudeau’s communication director, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau developed mild symptoms and following the medical advice was put in isolation. The health professionals reached out to those who were in close contact with her.

Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress Rita Wilson had also tested positive for COVID-19. Hanks took to Twitter to make the announcement regarding his diagnosis. The couple then got medical attention and got tests done for coronavirus which came out to be positive. The Hanks were in Australia for production of Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley movie where Hanks is playing Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Fabio Wajngarten who serves as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications secretary had accompanied the latter in his US trip and attended an official meeting with the US President Donald Trump. Reportedly, he had developed flu-like symptoms and was diagnosed with coronavirus. The same was confirmed by a second test. Wajngarten had earlier uploaded the photo of his meeting with Trump on Instagram along with the caption, “Make Brazil Great Again.”

Trump initially said, ” Let’s put it this way, I am not concerned.” However, the White House recently released a statement where Trump’s personal physician Sean Conley was quoted as saying, ” Last night, after an in-depth discussion with the President regarding COVID-19 testing, he elected to proceed. This evening, I received confirmation that the test is negative.”

Anti-Hindu riots: Arrested PFI secretary Mohammad Iliyas contested 2020 Delhi elections from riot-hit area on SDPI ticket

Shashank Bharadwaj
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Anti-Hindu riots: Arrested PFI secretary Mohammad Iliyas contested 2020 Delhi elections from riot-hit area on SDPI ticket

On Thursday, the Delhi Police had arrested two members – Parvez Ahmed and Iliyas, associated with notorious Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) for instigating and funding the anti-Hindu riots in the national capital.

In a shocking expose, it has now revealed that one of the accused – Mohammad Iliyas, who was the secretary of the PFI had also contested in the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls from Karawal Nagar on a ticket from Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which is linked to radical Islamist organisation Popular Front Of India. The other accused Pervez Ahmed is the Delhi president of PFI.

The arrests of the riots-accused had come after the Enforcement Directorate had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against notorious radical Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) for instigating and funding anti-Hindu Delhi riots in Delhi. The two office bearers of radical Islamic organisation PFI, president Parvez and secretary Ilyas, were arrested for questioning by the Delhi Police on charges of hatching a conspiracy to incite riots in northeast Delhi.

Another PFI member Mohd Danish was earlier arrested in connection with the anti-Hindu Delhi riots. Danish has been working with PFI since 2018 and is the general secretary of Trilokpuri area in Delhi.

The investigations had revealed that the senior PFI functionaries have admitted to certain transactions linking the outfit to the funding of anti-CAA protests in the capital and some other places. The agency had also questioned several people connected with PFI at its Delhi headquarters and found evidence of collection of Rs 120 crore, at least Rs 50 crore of which came as cash donations for which the source was not disclosed. The PFI is headquartered at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi.

Interestingly, the ED has also seized a tab from PFI’s Delhi unit president Parvez Ahmed which it claimed has records of a chain of conversations between him and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. Mohammad Parvez Ahmed was reportedly also in regular touch with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh and several Congress leaders including Udit Raj.

The central probe agency has also filed a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Tahir Hussain. His alleged links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) are also being investigated. The role of Aam Aadmi Party leader Tahir Hussain in the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) employee Ankit Sharma and also inciting riots in the Delhi has now been under scanner.

On Monday, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police had arrested Tahir Hussain’s brother Shah Alam. Three other people who had given shelter to Shah Alam have also been arrested. Reportedly, Shah Alam was also present in that now-infamous multi-story building that belonged to Tahir Hussain when the riots were ongoing.

NGOs, Environmentalist silent as ‘secular’ Shiv Sena allows axing of 300 trees for metro construction in Mumbai

OpIndia Staff
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NGOs, Environmentalist silent as ‘secular’ Shiv Sena allows axing of 300 trees for metro construction in Mumbai

After creating a ruckus over the felling of trees in Aarey forest, the Congress alliance partner – Shiv Sena has now decided to cut and transplant more than 300 for the elevated Metro-2A corridor between Dahisar and DN Nagar in Mumbai, reports Times of India.

On Monday, the Shiv Sena-led tree authority panel gave its nod to axe 159 trees and transplant 151 trees which were an obstruction to the construction of the metro line in Kandivli’s Laljipada, DN Nagar in Andheri and Goregaon. The decision by Uddhav Thackeray-led comes months after it had stalled the project.

On February 14, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had tabled the proposal to cut the trees following an application from the MMRDA, which is implementing the Metro project. The proposal was stalled by the Sena, which sought more details on the plan. However, on Friday, Shiv Sena-led tree panel cleared the proposal, with certain recommendations.

Read: Aarey activist hugs random roadside tree outside Aarey, Twitterati demands Rs 50 be cut for ‘overacting’

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had issued a public notice stating that 304 trees to be removed for the purpose and asked residents to submit their suggestions and objections by November 8 last year. The work on 18-km Metro 2A corridor is being carried out by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Reportedly, the trees are to be removed from the areas near Oshiwara, Kandivali and Dahisar.

Following the decision to cut the trees, Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav said, “We have asked the BMC to keep a strict vigil on where these trees are being transplanted…the authorities implementing the Metro project should ensure that the trees are transplanted in a municipal area, where the BMC can monitor their survival rate.”

The civic tree authority on Friday sanctioned a proposal for appointing a consultant for the Miyawaki method of the plantation at a cost of Rs 2 crore. The BMC has decided to increase urban forest cover by adopting the Japanese technique of growing dense plantations in a short time. The Miyawaki technique was developed in Japan by botanist Akira Miyawaki to build dense native forests in urban areas.

Read: NGOs and assorted ‘liberals’ protesting against Mumbai Metro are wrong: Here are the facts of Aarey Colony Metro Shed

The ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, which often advocates for eco-conservation by cancelling the metro project at Aarey on ‘concerns’ that trees are being cut, seems to have taken a U-turn by deciding to axe more than 300 trees for the construction of a metro line.

Shiv Sena, especially under the leadership of Aaditya Thackeray, has been extremely vocal on the issues of environmental conversation, as the young Sena prince had opposed the BJP government decision of felling of trees at Aarey Milk colony to construct a Metro shed.

Later, when Uddhav Thackeray became the CM of Maharashtra, he had stopped construction of the metro car shed in the Aarey Milk Colony and had registered against officials and a contractor for allegedly cutting of trees along the route of Metro Line in Thane.

However, a month after extreme activism by Shiv Sena to impress its coalition parties – Congress and NCP, the now ‘secular’ party Sena had exposed its hypocrisy by ordering the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation to chop down 1,000 trees for a Bal Thackeray memorial in Priyadarshini Park.

Interestingly, the environmental activists, NGOs and liberals who had hit the streets to protest against the then BJP government in the state for axing the trees at Aarey colony have now suspiciously chosen to remain silent. Perhaps, the activist seems to have come to a conclusion that it is a right step to axe the trees for the metro as the decision has been taken by the secular alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and the NCP.

UP govt invokes Epidemic Diseases Act Sec 3 to tackle the spread of coronavirus, action against people refusing quarantine, hiding symptoms

OpIndia Staff
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UP govt invokes Epidemic Diseases Act Sec 3 to tackle the spread of coronavirus, action against people refusing quarantine, hiding symptoms

The Uttar Pradesh government has put the state on high alert in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. Preventive restrictions have been put in place across the country to restrict the spread of the novel coronavirus, reports Zee News. In one such decision, the UP government has decided to invoke Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act to tackle the virus outbreak. According to the provisions of the act, any suspect who hides the symptoms of COVID-19 or refuses quarantine and medical assistance and raises obstacles to the government response to tackle the outbreak will face jail and fine under section 188 IPC.

It is pertinent to note here that the central government had already involved Epidemic Diseases Act Section 2 in its fight to control the spread of Coronavirus. Section 2 of the Act makes Health Ministry advisories enforceable. Since Health is a state subject, the state was supposed to invoke Section 3 of the act.

The Lucknow administration has ordered legal action against those suspects who do not cooperate in the prevention of coronavirus. The District Magistrate said that if any suspected patient of coronavirus or a person who comes in contact with such affected do not co-operate with the authorities, then it is considered to be obstructing the government in its fight to contain the epidemic. Under the new regulation, the accused can be imprisoned for up to six months and fined up to one thousand rupees or both.

Additionally, the Uttar Pradesh government has also declared the closure of all schools and colleges where the examination process is not going on till 22 March. Isolation wards have been set up in all the 75 districts and medical staff of doctors, paramedical, the nursing staff is being provided with the necessary training.

This comes after the Centre’s decision to direct the state governments to invoke the Epidemics Diseases Act, 1897, which gives officials at state levels powers to take extraordinary steps to combat an outbreak.  

The regulation was the latest step taken to ramp up efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus in the capital after they were increasing number of cases of people deliberately hiding the symptoms or escaping from the quarantine facilities, leading to a scare that the epidemic could further spread to others.

The number of coronavirus positive cases in the country has risen to 84 which includes the two deaths in Delhi and Karnataka. Seven persons have been tested positive, including five from Uttar Pradesh and one each from Rajasthan and Delhi.

Despite ICMR saying that India has reached local transmission stage of coronavirus, Caravan publishes fake news claiming govt of India and ICMR denied it

OpIndia Staff
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Despite ICMR saying that India has reached local transmission stage of coronavirus, Caravan publishes fake news claiming govt of India and ICMR denied it

Amid the coronavirus scare across the globe, the government of India has virtually shut down the country off to foreign tourists as a preventive measure and making foolproof arrangements to tackle the spread of the deadly virus. The Centre also said that it will treat Covid-19 as a notified disaster to provide assistance under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). At the time when the states, as well as the central government, collectively, are maximising efforts to contain the deadly Covid-19 virus, there are few media outlets, like the Caravan Magazine, who are busy spreading lies about the government of India through their shoddy journalism.

The online magazine tried to defame the government by maliciously claiming that India is trying to conceal the real situation the country while tackling the novel Coronavirus spread.

In one of its article published on March 14th, 2020, titled: “WHO categorises India as having local transmission of Coronavirus, but government maintains denial”, the writer Vidya Krishnan, falsely claimed that “at two separate press briefing held on Friday, both the health ministry and the Indian Council of Medical Research—also a government body—rejected the possibility of local transmission”.

Screenshot of the original Caravan article

The report said that while WHO (World Health Organisation) has categorised India as having local transmission, but both the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian government are denying it. It claimed that govt was working under the assumption that coronavirus infection is happening only from abroad, and local infections are not taking place.

But that is a completely false claim, because the Indian Council of Medical Research has already stated that India is at stage 2 of transmission, which means local transmission.

There are four states of the novel Coronavirus disease. Stage 1 is getting imported cases, stage 2 is a local transmission, stage 3 is community transmission and stage 4 is when it turns into an epidemic.

Caravan asserted that what the Indian government and ICMR are claiming is in stark contrast to what the World Health Organisation has said about India’s position in it’s latest situation report.

The Caravan writes that according to the latest Situation Report from the World Health Organisation, issued on Thursday, categorised India among countries having local transmission. India has joined countries such as Italy, Korea and China in the category, all with high burdens of the virus and ongoing human-to-human contagion domestically.

It furthered that despite this disclosure, “Indian government continues to operate under the assumption of having to deal with what the WHO categorises as “imported cases only”—where transmission has been limited to international travellers alone”, basically trying to say that India has declined, being in the stage-2 category (local transmission) of the disease and has maintained that it is still in stage 1 (getting imported cases).

However, experts at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)- India’s top health research body, have clarified that “India has a 30-day window to halt the beginning of community transmission”, which is stage 3. For any person with even average IQ, this statement itself will mean that India is currently in stage 2.

According to a report by the Economic Times dated March 14, titled “Community transmission of Covid-19 is inevitable: ICMR”, experts at the ICMR have elaborated that India is at stage 2 now, and the experts said that stern precautions were being taken so that going to stage 3 could be halted. “Taking these precautions will help so we don’t go into stage 3 which has happened in all other countries including Italy, China, the US and Europe. Going to that stage is inevitable but if we can prevent, that window of opportunity is now,” added ICMR director-general Balram Bhargava.

Screenshot from Economic Times report

A report by CNBC TV18 also clarifies the same. It writes that experts at ICMR have said that “India is at stage 2 and there is a window of opportunity where we all together can contain it at stage 2, which involves local transmission, not community transmission.

For the uninitiated, the Indian Council of Medical Research is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research and is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. It operates under the government of India, therefore it is a little unfathomable how the Indian government can dispute or deny the information passed on by its very own department. Moreover, Caravan claimed ICMR contradicted WHO report, which is completely false.

Read- The worst of 2019: Caravan asking the caste of fallen Pulwama jawans

So far, two deaths from coronavirus have been reported in India while more than 80 people have tested positive for the virus till now. Many states have ordered shut down of educational institutes, swimming pools, malls, movie theatres, gyms and places of large public gatherings as preventive measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

On March 11 (Wednesday), the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic after 1,18,000 confirmed cases and 4,291 deaths in 114 countries were reported. Following the announcement almost all countries, including India, have scaled up its responses and put in place even stricter controls to contain the spread of coronavirus cases.

Update: After Caravan’s lie was pointed out by social media users, they have now updated their report. They have changed the headline from “government maintains denial” to “government downplays it”. In the body also they have replaced “rejected” with “downplayed”.

Even though Caravan has made minor changes to the report and ‘regretted’ the error, the basic premise of the article remains false. As Indian authorities have acknowledged local transmission of coronavirus, that means India is on the same page as WHO on the matter, and there is no evidence that the Indian government is downplaying the threat of coronavirus. Government has not only cancelled visas as claimed by Caravan, but also have been appealing to people to avoid social gatherings, sports events have been cancelled, schools, movie halls have been closed in several states, public awareness campaigns are going on how to prevent transmission of the virus. A massive quarantine program is also going on where people who came in contact with infected persons or showed symptoms are kept in isolation. All of these are measures are meant to prevent local transmission only.

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