By: Afaq Bhat
Srinagar: Despite authorities enforcing lockdown strictly, some bakery shops are doing a brisk business in many parts of Kashmir.
A video that went viral on social media on Saturday depicted that a few bakery shops were open and people were busy buying bakery ahead of Eid. “It’s unfortunate that when people are fighting COVID-19, a few among us seem insensitive towards the sufferings of our own people,” said an elderly resident Ghulam Ahmed.
He said, “People who are shopping on the roads should understand that there are many patients in their homes and hospitals who are fighting the deadly disease.”
A businessman said, “Situation is very grim. Every section of the society is facing huge losses but no one can be blamed for it as things are bad. The lockdown is for everyone. It’s the only way to stop the infection from spreading. All of us should understand the gravity of the situation rather than taking everything easy.”
He said, “Our community has faced tremendous losses during the past two years. Shops have remained closed ahead of important occasions due to COVID-19. But nothing is as important as human lives.”
“This is not the time to celebrate Eid by buying bakery and eating pastries and chicken patties. We should realize that the COVID has no medicine. People who get infected have no idea whether they will come out of it or not. In fact many people have died till date and Kashmir is recording the deaths daily. We have to show some respect towards the dead and the ones who are fighting COVID at different places. These bakery shops can turn into the COVID-19 hotspots,” said an observer.
He said, “The people who are making beelines at the bakery shops should understand that COVID spreads like wildfire at the crowded places and they too can fall prey to the deadly virus.”
It’s in place to mention here Police on Friday had registered a FIR against a departmental store at Jawhar Nagar for operating through the backdoor.
“The authorities need to act tough against the violators if they want to keep the crowd away from the markets during the Eid time. If people start flocking the markets it can spell a doom as the COVID cases will rise drastically. People need to cooperate as the authorities are enforcing the lockdown for the safety of people. Precaution is better than cure,” the observer added.
Crowded bakery shops can turn into COVID-19 hotspots
Covid-19: JK records highest 60 deaths, 4788 new cases
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir on recorded 60 deaths due to Covid, which is the highest single day death due to Coronavrus in J&K after outbreak of the pandemic last year. In last 24 hours, J&K also reported 4788 new Covid cases.
Of the new Covid cases, 1529 were reported from Jammu division and 3259 from Kashmir division, thus taking the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 211742.
Besides, 60 deaths were reported in J&K today. Of them 42 were reported in Jammu region and 18 fatalities were recorded from Kashmir.
Moreover, 2500 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and discharged from various hospitals including 910 from Jammu Division and 1590 from Kashmir Division.
According to the daily Media Bulletin on Covid-19, out of 211742 positive cases, 46535 are Active cases, 162535 have recovered and 2672 have died; 1139 in Jammu division and 1533 in Kashmir division.
The Bulletin further said that out of 7604448 test results available, 7392706 samples have been tested as negative till May 8.
Till date 1896171 persons have been enlisted for observation which included 86787 persons in home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 46535 in isolation and 126190 in home surveillance.
Besides, 1633987 persons have completed their surveillance period.
Providing district wise details of the fresh cases, the officials said Srinagar reported 853 infections, Baramulla 470, Budgam 444, Pulwama 325, Kupwara 131, Anantnag 573, Bandipora 83, Ganderbal 55, Kulgam 237, Shopian 88, Jammu 634, Udhampur 181, Rajouri 247, Doda 22, Kathua 169, Samba 66, Kishtwar 23, Poonch 82, Ramban 63, and Reasi 42.
Senior KAS officer dies of Covid-19
LG, Advisors, CS others grieved
By: Nadeem Nadu
Srinagar: Special Secretary to Government, Finance Department, and former Deputy Commissioner of Kulgam Dr Shamim Ahmad Wani died due to Covid-19 at GMC Jammu on Saturday, officials said.
They said that 54-year-old officer was admitted to GMC Jammu and breathed his last at around 11:30 hours, a senior doctor said.
The 1999-batch KAS officer was admitted to GMC Jammu, one of the important facilities for the management of the covid-19 patients, recently, the doctor added.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the demise and prayed God to give strengthen to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss.
“I express my heartfelt condolences on the demise of senior JKAS officer, Dr. Shamim Ahmad Wani, serving as Special Secretary in Finance Department. He was a dedicated officer who served the UT with distinction in various capacities,” he said in a tweet, adding, “May God give strength to the bereaved family members to bear this irreparable loss.”
Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Baseer Ahmad Khan also expressed shock over Wani’s demise.
Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar has expressed grief and sorrow over the sad demise of senior KAS officer, Shamim Ahmad Wani.
In a condolence message, Bhatnagar said that the officer was a dedicated and upright gentleman who always performed his duties professionally and diligently.
Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam, also expressed profound grief over the demise of Wani.
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved family members of the officer, Chief Secretary prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to near and dear ones to bear this irreparable loss.
Chief Secretary remembered Shamimas a dedicated, soft spoken and well-meaning officer who served with commitment in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner, Kulgam, Special Secretary, Finance and Commissioner, State Taxes among others.
India records 4187 deaths, 4.01 lakh cases in 24 hrs
New Delhi: India recorded 4,187 fatalities over the 24 hours pushing the cumulative death toll to 2,38,270, marking the worst daily increase since the start of the outbreak, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.
The number of confirmed cases has increased by 4,01,078 to 2,18,92,676 within the same period of time.
Of these, over 37 lakh cases are currently active, while more than 17.93 million people have recovered since the start of the pandemic.
At least 14 states are reporting cases in five figures. Maharashtra reported about 54,000 cases, Karnataka had nearly 49,000, while Kerala had over 38,000.
The Union Health Ministry Friday said states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand have shown plateauing of daily Covid cases gradually. The ministry also said that 12 states have over one lakh active Covid-19 cases while seven states have 50,000 to one lakh active cases.
Meanwhile, 16,73,46,544 people have been vaccinated against the virus since Jan.
India comes second in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the United States with more than 32.65 million patients.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. To date, more than 156.49 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 3.26 million fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Corona Curfew continues
602 violators fined, 58 FIRs registered, 106 arrested: Police
Srinagar: In order to prevent spread of Covid 19, the Corona Curfew continued to remain in place across Jammu and Kashmir for the ninth straight day on Saturday while police said that 106 persons were arrested in Kashmir for violating the norms.
The government has imposed lockdown across J&K till May 10 after the COVID cases witnessed a spike across the Union Territory.
The markets and the roads wore a deserted look throughout the day.
They said that the police and paramilitary troopers we deployed on the roads since the wee hours of this morning to enforce the lockdown. The barricades were also erected while the forces deployed on the roads had also erected concertina wires on the roads, thus halting the vehicular movement.
Moreover, the standalone shops and emergency services were functioning normally while the public transport too was plying normally on the roads.
A police spokesman said since the outbreak of 2nd wave of Coronavirus, K Police has enhanced its efforts to sensitise the masses about controlling the highly contagious Coronavirus. Slew of measures including restrictions u/s 144 have been put into place to contain the spread of Covid-19.
“In view of the record surge in daily cases across the Kashmir Valley, Police also enhanced the efforts to implement the Covid-19 guidelines/SOPs/restrictions strictly throughout the valley. During last 24hrs, Police has arrested 106 persons, lodged 58 FIRs and also realized fine to the tune of ₹91,150/- from 602 people for violating the guidelines/rules throughout Kashmir valley. Besides, 29 vehicles were also seized in Budgam, Sopore and Baramulla for violating guidelines/restrictions and indulging in illegal excavation and transportation of minerals,” he said.
He said 29 vehicles were also seized in Budgam, Sopore and Baramulla for violating guidelines and restrictions and indulging in illegal excavation and transportation of minerals.
“The special drive against the violators of Covid-19 guidelines/rules continued throughout all the districts of Kashmir to ensure that people adhere to SOPs/ guidelines envisaged by government to curb COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Police appealed to people to cooperate in containing the spread of Coronavirus by following the SOPs, guidelines and protocols for the safety of the people.
Decongest jails: SC orders re-release of all eligible prisoners
New Delhi: In the backdrop of an unprecedented Covid-19 crisis prevailing in the country, the Supreme Court on Saturday passed a slew of directions to decongest prisons and ordered forthwith release of all those prisoners who were granted bail or parole last year due to the pandemic.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Surya Kant said: “We direct that, those inmates who were granted parole, pursuant to our earlier orders, should be again granted a parole for a period of 90 days in order to tide over the pandemic.”
The top court noted that the Attorney General requested for relaxation of handcuffing of the prisoners as during the present outbreak of Covid19 there is a great danger of spread of the virus to the police personnel who have to hold the hands of the accused while being escorted.
“We may notice that India has more than four lakh prison inmates. It is observed that some of the prisons in India are overburdened and are housing inmates beyond optimal capacity. In this regard, we may notice that the requirement of decongestion is a matter concerning health and right to life of both the prison inmates and the police personnel working,” the bench noted in its order.
The bench added that the fight against the pandemic is greatly benefitted by transparent administration. The bench further added that all those prisoners who were allowed to go out on bail in March last year by the high-powered committees of states and UTs, constituted following top court’s order, be granted the same relief without reconsideration by HPCs to avoid delay.
“In this regard, our attention was drawn to example of Delhi, wherein the prison occupancy is updated in websites. Such measures are required to be considered by other states and should be adopted as good practice. Moreover, all the decisions of HighPowered Committees need to be published on respective State Legal Service Authorities/State Governments/High Courts websites in order to enable effective dissemination of information,” said the top court in its order.
The top court said the High-Powered Committee, in addition to considering fresh release, should forthwith release all the inmates who had been released earlier pursuant to order passed on March 23, 2020 by imposing appropriate conditions. Such an exercise is mandated in order to save valuable time, added the bench.
The top court also noted that there needs to strict control by authorities from arresting accused in contravention of guidelines laid down by the top court in Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar during pandemic.
“The fight against the pandemic is greatly benefitted by transparent administration. In this regard, our attention was drawn to example of Delhi, wherein the prison occupancy is updated in websites. Such measures are required to be considered by other States and should be adopted as good practice,” added the top court.
The bench also noted that all the decisions of HighPowered Committees need to be published on respective State Legal Service Authorities/State Governments/High Courts websites in order to enable effective dissemination of information.
“The spread of Covid-19 virus should be controlled in the prisons by regular testing being done of the prisoners but also the jail staff and immediate treatment should be made available to the inmates and the staff. It is necessary to maintain levels of daily hygiene and sanitation required to be improved. Suitable precautions shall be taken to prevent the transmission of the deadly virus amongst the inmates of prisons,” said the top court in its order.
Admin to distribute Covid kits among positive patients
Srinagar: The administration will distribute COVID kits, including an Oxymeter and medicines, to people who are testing positive for Coronavirus in J&K from Sunday.
An official said that the UT administration has decided to distribute COVID kit amongst all those testing positive for the virus in J&K from Sunday to equip people to fight this deadly disease.
He said the kit would include an Oxymeter, Medicine set – Paracetamol, Cough / throat medicine, an antiviral like Ivermectin, an antibiotic and Zinc + vitamin (zincovit). ”The kit would also have two pamphlets, including a list of Do’s and Don’ts and COVID protocol for home isolation,” he added.
He said Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir division and Jammu division will organise distribution in their divisions from Sunday.
Meanwhile, strict restrictions continued for the ninth successive day in Kashmir valley, where no prayers were held in major shrines and mosques, including Asaar-e-Sharief Hazratbal and historic Jamia Masjid, on the occasion of Jumat-ul-Vida, the last Friday of holy month of Ramazan in view of unabated rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration earlier this week extended the ongoing ‘corona curfew’ for the third successive time since April 29 in four districts, including Srinagar, Baramulla, Budgam and Jammu till May 10. Barring Shopian, the lockdown was extended by the respective Deputy Commissioners of other districts in the valley as there was no letup in the number of fresh COVID cases and deaths.
Robust mechanism in place to deal with Covid situation: Div Com
Urges people to adhere to Covid SOPs, guidelines
Kulgam: The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole Saturday said a robust mechanism is in place to deal with any kind of situation that may arise due to 2nd wave of Covid-19 in Kashmir division.
The Div Com said this during his visit to Kulgam where he took stock of Covid containment measures and made on spot and detailed inspection of various medical and healthcare facilities associated with Covid management in the district.
Accompanying the Div Com were, Deputy Commissioner Kulgam, Dr. Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat, Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad SSP Kulgam, Gurinder Paul Singh, Divisional Nodal officer for COVID, Dr. Waseem, ACR, CMO, Medical Superintendent and other concerned Officers.
During the visit, the Div Com took a detailed stock of medical infrastructure and oxygen availability besides the augmentations being made for effective mitigation of the pandemic here.
At District Hospital Kulgam, the he inspected the newly commissioned 1000 LPM oxygen plant and reviewed its functioning briefly. He directed the health officials to utilize the oxygen supply rationally and directed to made additional 300 LPM oxygen plant operational within two days so that the service can be utilized in addition for Covid-19 wards.
Earlier, the Div Com took stock of availability of oxygen and other facilities for Covid-19 patients at Emergency Hospital Qazigund and NTPHC Check Wagund.
It was given out that Emergency Hospital Qazigund is also dealing with Covid positive maternity cases.
The Div Com also visited toll plaza at Qazigund and took stock of functioning of testing centre/Kiosk at the spot.
The concerned informed that aggressive testing of passengers is carried out at the spot.
Later, he visited Covid designated centers at, Degree College Kulgam, GNM College and took stock of facilities available at these quartines/ Covid Care Centres (CCCs).
Talking to media, the Div Com assured that the administration has put in place all requisite facilities including Oxygen supply to deal with the any emergent situation that may arise due to 2nd wave of Covid.
He urged people to adhere to Covid related SOPs and guidelines in letter and spirit and termed it imperative and effective way to stop the spread of the virus.
Polie stated that collectively we can overcome this pandemic and appealed the public to strictly follow the restrictions besides avoiding gatherings to combat it. He said people shall also follow advises of Doctors and experts to remain healthy and avoid pressing panic button.
Covid +ve report not mandatory for admission to facilities: GoI
New Delhi: Requirement of a positive coronavirus disease (Covid-19) report is now no longer mandatory for admission to a Covid health facility, Union health ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry’s revised national policy for admission of Covid patients to various categories of Covid facilities mentioned that a “suspect case shall be admitted to the suspect ward of CCC, DCHC or DHC as the case may be”.
“No patient will be refused services on any count. This includes medications such as oxygen or essential drugs even if the patient belongs to a different city,” said the directive which was issued to the states and Union Territories (UTs).
The patient-centric measure was taken to ensure prompt, effective and comprehensive treatment of patients suffering from Covid 19.
“No patient shall be refused admission on the ground that he or she is not able to produce a valid identity card that does not belong to the city where the hospital is located.”
Admissions to hospital must be based on need and it should be ensured that beds are not occupied by persons who do not need hospitalization, it further said.
Besides, the directive mentioned that the discharge should be strictly in accordance with the revised discharge policy available
Hospitals under the central government, state governments and Union Territory administration including private hospitals (in states and Union Territories) managing Covid patients shall ensure the directive, said the directive.
Union health ministry has advised the Chief Secretaries of states and UTs to issue necessary orders and circulars, incorporating the directions within three days, which shall be enforced till replaced by an appropriate uniform policy.
The Health Ministry has earlier enunciated a policy of setting up three tier health infrastructure for appropriate management of suspect or confirmed Covid-19 cases.
Govt sets up 100 bedded oxygenated facility at Hajj House
Srinagar: In wake of spike in Covid-19 cases, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Srinagar has established an oxygenated 100 beded capacity Covid care facility at Haj House Bemina.
The facility has come up at Hajj House in just a week’s time.
While giving details, the CMO Srinagar apprised the Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, who is also the Chairman DDMA that, the patients referred by a physician having mild symptoms of Covid-19 infection and require oxygen support of less than 10 litres per minute can be admitted for Isolation as well as treatment.
He further added that the Health Department is in the process of procuring more Bulk Oxygen Cylinders and Oxygen Concentrators to augment the bed capacity at Hajj House.
The DC was further informed that a duty roster for Medical Officers and Paramedical staff has also been framed to look after the admitted patients.
It was informed that all 100 beds have been provided by the R & B department while PHE has made adequate arrangements for ensuring 24*7 water supply besides PDD has taken all measures to ensure uninterrupted Power supply at Hajj house. The PDD has also set up a 63 KVA capacity DG set as back up to overcome any power failure. A Fire Tender from Fire & Emergency Department remains stationed at Haj House as a precautionary measure.
With regard to sanitation, cleanliness and fumigation measures, the Chairman DDMA was informed that SMC has deployed a dedicated team for ensuring cleanliness and sanitization in and around the premises.
It was further informed that all necessary arrangements have been made by the Nodal Officer to provide food to the patients.
Earlier, the Chairman DDMA Mohammad Aijaz Asad said that the initiative of establishing 100 beded facility is aimed at decongesting tertiary care hospital occupancy. He said it will also serve the purpose decongesting the unnecessary occupancy of precious beds in tertiary care hospitals by shifting patients having oxygen requirement of less than 10 liters per minute and are not on injectable medications to facility at Hajj House. He said this is not a medical facility but oxygen support facility and shall act as an Oxygen Bank.
