By: Nadeem Nadu

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir reported 132 new covid-19 cases while as four persons succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday.

29 of the fresh cases were reported from Jammu Division and 103 from Kashmir, taking the overall tally to 338047.

There were four deaths, two each from the Valley and Jammu division, due to the virus during the last 24 hours, they said. So far 4485 persons—2188 in Jammu and 2299 in Kashmir—have died due to the virus, they said.

Giving district wise details of the fresh cases, the officials said that Srinagar reported 32 cases, Baramulla 19, Budgam 25, Pulwama 5, Kupwara 8, Anantnag 1, Bandipora 6, Ganderbal 6, Kulgam 1, Shopian 0, Jammu 14, Udhampur 1, Rajouri 1, Doda 7, Kathua 3, Samba 0, Kishtwar 0, Poonch 3, Ramban 0 and Reasi 0.

Moreover, 188 Covid-19 patients recovered during the time, 26 from Jammu Division and 162 from Kashmir, they said.

So far 331959 patients have recovered, leaving active case tally at 1601—431 in Jammu and 1170 in Kashmir.

They said there was no new confirmed case of mucormycosis (black fungus) reported today. So far 58 black fungus cases have been confirmed in J&K, the officials said.

The officials also informed that 58040 doses of covid-19 vaccine were administered during the time in J&K. (GNS)

By: Jahangeer Ganaie

Srinagar: As two dozen cases of Omicron have been reported in different states of India, the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday claimed that as no case of new variant has been detected in the Union Territory so far.

Top health officials of J&K said that samples are being sent for genome sequencing and so far no case of Omicron has been found.

Dr Shashi Sudan Principal GMC Jammu said that no case of Omicron has been reported while adding that they are ready to tackle any situation.

She said that with 500 beds at DRDO and 200 beds at MCH Jammu, GMC Jammu and its associated hospitals have now 2800 beds available and among them 90 percent beds are oxygen supported.

Surplus oxygen is available and training is being continuously given to staff to tackle any situation, she said adding that omicron is said to be more transmissible so people must take precautions as prevention is better than cure.

She said that in such situations there is no room for overcrowding, and people must follow Covid appropriate behavior and try their level best to avoid contracting virus.

She said the government is on its toes as RT-PCR has been made mandatory for every tourist besides that travelers even after reported negatives are asked to keep vigil on themselves for two weeks at least.

Dr Salim Khan HOD Community Medicine GMC Srinagar said there are same symptoms in omicron as are in Covid and same preventive measures must be taken to avoid its contraction. (KNO)

New Delhi: As many as 946 people died after taking Covid vaccines, while 1,019 were admitted to hospitals following complaints of adverse medical conditions.

“Total deaths and hospitalisation following use of all three Covid-19 vaccines were 946 (0.00008 per cent) and 1019 (0.00008 per cent), respectively,” Minister of State (MoS) for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

The Minister stated that causality assessment of 89 deaths has been completed.

“The number of deaths classified under different causality assessment categories include vaccine product related – four, coincidental – 58, indeterminate – 16 and unclassifiable – 11,” noted the Minister.

As per official data on November 30, 2021, a total of 123.25 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered and 49,819 Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFIs) have been reported.

In medical parlance, AFEI refers to any untoward medical occurrence, which follows immunisation and which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with the vaccine and are reported through the AEFI surveillance system. Investigations and causality assessment help in establishing a cause and effect relationship.

The data placed in Rajya Sabha showed that out of total AEFIs, 47,691 were minor, 163 were severe and 1,965 were serious AEFIs.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on public health with lakhs of people becoming casualty to it, ever since its outbreak early last year.

As on December 2, 2021, a total of 4,69,724 deaths due to Covid-19 have been reported by the states and Union Territories (UTs) across the country. (UNI)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the BJP MPs to remain present in Parliament and actively participate in the legislative work.

In the first meeting held at Dr Ambedkar International Center outside the Parliament House complex, the Prime Minister reprimanded the MPs and said they did not need to be reminded of this repeatedly like school children, as he once again stressed that MPs should be present in their Houses.

In a warning message to the MPs, he said “Apne aap mein parivartan laiye, warna parivartan apna aap aa jayega, (change yourself or there will be changes).” The issue of suspension of 12 MPs was also discussed in the meeting.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the suspension would be revoked, if the MPs apologised.

“We explained why they had to be suspended. The country has witnessed whatever took place. It’s on record. If they apologise even today, we’re ready to withdraw the suspension,” Joshi said after the meeting.

He further said that the Prime Minister asked the BJP MPs to organise MP Sports Competition, MP Tandrust Child Competition and Surya Namaskar competition in their respective areas, besides felicitating the Padma awardees.

The Prime Minister said that on December 14, he would invite the district and divisional presidents of his Parliamentary constituency for ‘Chai pe Charcha’ in Varanasi.

BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda also asked all party MPs to go to their respective constituencies after the Winter session of Parliament, interact with the district and divisional presidents of the party and call them for ‘Chai pe Charcha’ (discussion over tea).

Tribal MPs of the party, meanwhile, honoured Modi for declaring the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda on November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas (Tribal Pride Day).

Apart from Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and many other Ministers and party MPs were present in the meeting, which is usually held in the Parliament House Complex on every Tuesday during the Parliament session.

However, the meeting was held at Dr Ambedkar International Center outside the Parliament House complex this time. (UNI)

New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday called for the BIMSTEC nations to come together to fight natural disasters, including pandemics like Covid-19, and also stressed on the need to join hands to fight possible future biological warfare.

Speaking at a curtain raiser event ahead of Panex-21, a multi-nation disaster management exercise involving the BIMSTEC nations, Army Chief General MM Naravane also stressed on being prepared, stating that the Covid-19 pandemic was not yet over.

“We are already facing a pandemic like Covid-19 and such disasters will continue to happen in future. It is important for us to put our heads and minds together, so we are able to respond in a rapid manner,” General Rawat said.

“Another issue I would like to highlight is that this is also becoming a new kind of warfare… If biological warfare is somehow starting to take shape, we have to work together as BIMSTEC nations,” he added.

The CDS also highlighted the importance of drawing Common Legal Frameworks and setting up Information Sharing Mechanism to facilitate defence cooperation between security and judicial agencies of the member nations.

Army Chief General Naravane urged the participating countries to use the opportunity provided by the exercise to develop mechanisms for close transnational coordination to combat contingencies like the pandemic in the future.

“Emergence of new variants and resurgence of cases suggest that the pandemic of Covid-19 is far from over,” the Army Chief said.

Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, meanwhile, drew attention of the participants to the significance attached by India to the BIMSTEC, as part of our “Neighbourhood First” policy.

“The success of the last two BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercises (DMEx-2017 at Delhi and DMEx-2020 at Puri) speak of the close coordination mechanism that the BIMSTEC nations share,” he said.

The Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief exercise, PANEX-21, will see the participation of BIMSTEC nations.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal. The Member nations are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

The exercise will witness holding of a Seminar, Table Top Exercises and Multi Agency Exercise between December 20 to 22 at Pune. The culmination of the event will be with the capability demonstration by Indian Industries, in association with FICCI to showcase their capabilities, innovations and range of products available to assist government agencies in planning, preparation and conduct of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations. (UNI)

 ‘Below normal minimum temperatures expected this winter’

Srinagar: As the weatherman has predicted dry weather conditions for next 10 days, an independent weather forecaster, Kashmir weather, here on Tuesday forecast season’s first cold wave in Kashmir on weekend

According to a statement issued by Kashmir Weather, a Western Disturbance (WD) is currently affecting Jammu and Kashmir. “As the WD is weak, it won’t be causing any rain/snow over most parts,” it said.

However, the Kashmir Weather informed that from 09 onwards, there is possibility of significant drop in minimum temperatures.

“At most places it will stay in the range of -3.5°C -6.5°C, while at a few places it can drop up-to -10°C (maximum drop is expected on 10th night & 11th night.),” the statement said, adding that much harsher temperatures are expected after 15 December, with indications maximum temperatures will also stay below normal.

“As the forecasts keep changing, a separate forecast on this will be issued during the next week. While IMD has predicted above normal minimum temperatures this winter, in my opinion (analysis) minimum temperatures will stay below normal. Features of last winter match with this winter and also from the past trend it has been observed that J&K sees below normal minimum temperatures when La Niña conditions are present during the winter months.”

Regarding maximum temperatures, they are very likely to stay around normal or above normal (most likely to stay above normal), it added.

“Precipitation is likely to be below normal during this winter. However, this doesn’t mean that chances of any heavy snowfall event aren’t there. It means over a period of 90 days (when taken on an average scale), precipitation amount is likely to be below normal,” the statement said, adding that slight chances are there of around normal precipitation.

“A Western Disturbance is expected around 15 December that may cause light snowfall in some plains,” it said, adding that in the coming days, a separate forecast regarding this will be issued when accuracy improves. (Courtesy Kashmir Weather)