Mubashir Aalam Wani

Srinagar, May 1: For the first time in the holy month of Ramadan, the Masjids and shrines across Jammu and Kashmir witnessed no buzz with all the religious places remaining closed for over one month now in wake of deadly Coronavirus outbreak.

No mandatory congregational prayers were witnessed in any Masjid or shrine on the first Friday here,  witnesses told news KNO, adding that even Dargah Hazratbal and historic Jamia Masjid, which otherwise remain flooded with devotees remained closed today for prayers.

The authorities as well as the religious clerics have appealed people to offer prayers at home to prevent the deadly virus from spreading, which claimed eight lives so far and left 614 people infected.

The Masjids and shrines in other districts besides Srinagar also remained closed for the prayers. The religious places have been closed amid lockdown across India, called by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in wake of Coronavirus.

Unlike previous Fridays in Ramadan, no stalls were seen installed outside the Masjids and shrines as well as in the markets where people were usually seen buying essentials and Attar, Miswak, Cap and other things.

Witnesses said that the lockdown continued to remain in force for 38th straight day in Jammu and Kashmir with authorities continue to deploy police and paramilitary troopers on roads to enforce the lockdown strictly.

They said the large contingent of forces were deployed on ground, who had erected concertina wires and put temporary barricades on the roads at many places, thus thwarting the vehicular as well as pedestrians movement in the respective areas.

It is worth to mention here that 105 red zones have been declared by the government so far, where the entry and exit of people is strictly being restricted and monitored.

The markets across Jammu and Kashmir continued to wear deserted look while as the business establishments and educational institutions including Schools, Colleges and Universities remained closed in the Union Territory –(KNO)

Precious Kashmir News
Kathua, May 1: In order to make arrangements for regulated movement of stranded people, students, tourists, pilgrims and other persons stranded at different places due to lockdown,   Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, K. K. Sharma  and  Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam today visited Lakhanpur and took stock of preparations being made by the Kathua District Administration.

At the outset, the Advisor said that the performance of J&K in fighting COVID-19 has been satisfactory till now. He said that with persistent zeal we can break the chain of transmission and make J&K Corona free.

CS while spelling out the initiatives undertaken by the Government said that 30,000 to 40,000 people of J&K are stranded outside UT due to the lockdown. Thousands of them have been evacuated and amplified efforts are on the way to rescue more people so that they can be brought back to their home as soon as possible, CS added.

In Lakhanpur, 3000 people can come at a time and 100 buses can ferry these people to their respective districts, but now onwards 100% Corona testing is mandatory for all the incoming travelers- by taking their blood sample- and necessary directions regarding this have already been given to the Mission Director, NHM, CS informed and stated that result of the blood test will be available within 24 hours.

Elaborating various aspects of evacuation of stranded people, CS said that HP and Punjab are nearer to J&K, that’s why the people stranded there were evicted first but there is no reason to worry for those people who are stranded at other, far off, places as a system has been put in place for evacuation and it is a matter of few days that all will get evicted.

For students, the CS divulged that, they flagged their location using different online platforms and the UT administration formed several groups to facilitate their regulated movement into J&K. Similarly, the left outs will also be facilitated at the earliest.

The Advisor and CS also inspected the quarantine centre at Lakhanpur.

Earlier, they also visited the Facility Centre of J&K SICOP at Kathua and had a meeting with the officers of SICOP and District Industries Centre.

They also visited two industrial units, Fena washing powder and Jackson generators. Also interacted with the managers of these industrial units and inquired about the difficulties faced by them during lockdown.

Later, the Advisor and CS also visited Seri village of Billawar to oversee the agricultural activities in the area. To facilitate the farmers, six tractors, thrasher, mobile vending cart, bore well and a diesel plough was also distributed among farmers by them.

A delegation of farmers also raised several demands in front of them which mainly pertained to crop damage due to monkey menace, requirement of a vegetable mandi and poly house for growing plants at controlled climatic condition.

The farmers also urged them for getting urgent repair of the damaged hand pumps as 50% of the installed hand pumps of the area are non functional and require immediate repair to prevent water crisis in the ensuing summer season.

Later the Advisor and CS also inspected the facilities being provided at the quarantine centre set up in the Degree College at Billawar.

Commissioner Secretary, Jal Shakti Department, Ajeet Sahu;  DC Kathua, O P Bhagat; Mission Director NHM, Bhupinder Kumar; Director Industries Jammu, Anoo Malhotra; Director Agriculture Jammu, Inder Jeet; MD SICOP, Atul Sharma;  SSP Kathua , Shailendar Mishra; Nodal Officers of Lakhanpur Control Room, Arun Manhas & Arvind Karwani; GM DIC, Babu Ram and other concerned accompanied the Advisor.

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, May 1: In order to mitigate the hardship to the public in the backdrop of COVID-19, the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (State Executive Committee) Government of Jammu and Kashmir notified Standard Operating Procedure for regulating activities of industries /industrial /commercial /private establishments  in pursuance to measures being taken up during lockdown.

As per the order, the Industries & Commerce Department has been vested with the authority for issuance of orders to permit operation of industrial units. The SOP has specified the categories of industry to be permitted to operate during the period of lockdown which included Essential Commodities comprising Basic Food processing activities, Packaged processed food items, Pharmaceuticals, Soaps, disinfectant and detergents, Agro products, Packaging Material, Cold Storages, Packaged Drinking water and Cotton Masks.

In addition, some activities have also been permitted on case to case basis like Repair of transformers and Parts thereof, production of cardboard/ wooden boxes for apple/ fruit packing, Industries operating in rural areas, Brick Kilns in rural areas and production units requiring continuous manufacturing process. Besides, manufacturing activities within the Industrial Estates have been allowed on case to case basis where the arrangement for stay of workers is possible within the premises or an adjacent building.

Besides, the units manufacturing Medical/Health infrastructure items, Sanitization Tunnels/ fumigation Tunnels are also to be permitted to operate on case to case basis if existing within the Industrial Estates. Specific manufacturing activities, if essential, for meeting requirement of the Government and projects like development/construction and other works of industrial estates are also to be permitted.

Likewise, services including Print and electronic media, IT & ITES, Data and Call Centres for Government activities only, CSCs, e-com companies, Courier Services, Cold Storage & warehousing, Private Security Services, Hotels & Home Stays accommodating persons stranded due to lockdown and establishments used for quarantine facilities would to be permitted to operate.

The Department of Industries & Commerce under the guidance of Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce, has permitted 1007 industrial units to operate during the lockdown period in Jammu while as 468 units have been permitted in Kashmir as per provisions of the Standard Operating Procedure. Corresponding to the above 786 units have resumed their operation in Jammu whereas 455 units have become operational in Kashmir.

The Department has facilitated operation of all Pharmaceuticals and Oxygen gas bottling units. Other category of units which have been permitted to operate included Flour Mills, Rice Mills, Oil Mills, Packaging Material, Dal & Besan, Animal/ Poultry Feed, Surgical bandage, Disposal Syringes, Cotton and Dental material, Packaged Drinking Water, Iodized Salt, Agrochemicals, Spices, Cold Storage Facilities, Milk Processing, Soap Detergents, Sanitization Tunnels, Food Processing, Steel Rolling Mills/ Furnaces, Plaster of Paris, Cement, Paints, PVC Granules, Mosquito Coils, Briquettes, Mattresses, Textiles, Cotton Masks etc.

The Industries & Commerce Department in unison with the Department of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has been able to ensure availability of essential commodities across J&K with effective maintenance of supply chain with no shortage of any item been reported from any part of J&K. The department has also facilitated operation of some warehouses where the material was to be supplied for construction of Government projects like Steel Authority of India Ltd.

However, permission for operating these units has been granted on the condition of following Social distancing norms as specified by the government under the notified SOP. The commuting of workers has to be done with only 30% capacity of the mode of transport used. The owners are required to keep the premises properly sanitized. The workers have to undergo thermal screening twice a day and wear masks. Medical insurance of the workers has been made mandatory besides strict ban on use of Gutka and Tobacco inside the unit premises and provision of hand wash and Sanitizer at sufficient number of places inside the unit premises observed.

It has been stipulated that the units shall operate with not more than one third of the staff and management to ensure maintenance of Social Distancing at the work place. Smaller units with strength of less than 20 persons and units where the labour resides within the unit premises are kept out of the purview of this stipulation. Pharmaceutical units have been permitted to work with 60% of the workforce.

The officers of the Industries & Commerce Department, have been asked to inspect such units on weekly basis to monitor the observance of norms of social distancing and related measures, inspected 221  units in Jammu Division upon which on observation of discrepancy permission in respect of 01 unit has been withdrawn by the Director Industries & Commerce, Jammu.

On the directions of Commissioner Secretary Industries & Commerce, the J&K Handloom Development Corporation and Khadi & Village Industries Board (KVIB) have also mobilized their units to augment mask production for meeting the demand from various district authorities. About 8 Lakh masks have been manufactured by 28 units of the said Corporations after their operation during lockdown.

J&K SIDCO and J&K SICOP are regularly carrying out fumigation and sanitation drives in all their estates on regular basis to ensure proper hygiene in the estates.

The Industries & Commerce department has also mobilized the Industrial units to come forward in CSR Activities. The Industrial Units have distributed sanitizer, masks and gloves. The activities also included making arrangements of food for workers and labourers in the industrial areas. Some units have also made monetary contribution towards J&K Relief Fund and PM CARES to the tune of Rs 50 lakh besides a Quarantine facility has been setup in Industrial Estate Lassipora by the concerned Industrial Association. Likewise, 4 COVID Sample collection booths have been donated to Health Department along with installation of Sanitization tunnels.

Active positive cases 348; Bandipora worst hit with 128 cases; all 26 patients cured in Jammu district    

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, May 1: Jammu and Kashmir Government on Friday said  that 25 more people from Kashmir tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir to 639.

According to the daily Media Bulletin, out of 639 positive cases, 384 are active positive, 247 have recovered and eight have died.

Moreover, 31 more COVID-19 patients have recovered and discharged from various hospitals, of Kashmir Division.

The bulletin said that out of 21695 test results available, 21056 samples have tested as negative till May 01, 2020.

Furthermore, till date 71837 travellers and persons in contact with suspected cases have been enlisted for surveillance which include 8109 persons in home quarantine including facilities operated by government, 185 in Hospital Quarantine, 384 in hospital isolation and 8430 under home surveillance. Besides, 54721 persons have completed their surveillance period.

Providing district-wise breakup, the Bulletin said that Bandipora has 128 positive cases with 01 fresh case on Friday, 92 are Active Positive, 35 recovered (including 11 recoveries today (Friday)), 01 died; Anantnag district reported 12 new cases which led to 95 positive cases with 94 Active Positive, 01 died; Srinagar reported 02 fresh cases today taking positive cases to 91 with 20 Active Positive, 69 recovered (including 11 recoveries today), 02 died; Baramulla reported 01 new cases today taking total number of positive cases to 85 with 56 Active Positive, 26 recovered(including 5 recoveries today), 03 died; Shopian has 74 positive cases including 2 cases reported today, 57 Active Positive, 17 recovered (including 4 recoveries today); Kupwara reported 06 new cases today taking its positive cases to 55 with 36 Active Positive, 19 recovered; Budgam reported 01 new positive cases leading to 21 such cases of which 10 are Active Positive with 11 recovered cases (including 01 recovery today); Ganderbal has 14 positive cases with 01 Active positive and 13 recovered (including 08 recoveries today); Kulgam has 11 positive cases with 08 Active Positive and 03 recoveries (including 1recovery today); Pulwama has 07 positive cases with 04 active positive, 03 recovered.

Similarly, Jammu has 26 positive cases and all of them have recovered; Udhampur 20 positive cases of which 02 are Active Positive, 17 recovered and 01 died, while as Samba district has 04 positive cases and all the cases have recovered; Rajouri has 04 positive cases, 01 active positive and 03 have recovered; Kathua has 01 positive case who is active positive; Kishtwar had only 01 positive case who has recovered; Ramban has 01 positive case who is Active Positive; Meanwhile, Reasi has 01 positive case who is Active Positive.

The bulletin said that the breakup represents districts from which the patients have been traced or are ordinarily residing.

Emphasizing upon the importance of wearing masks, advisory issued in the media bulletin said people are informed that “wearing masks protects you and your family members from the COVID-19 infection”.

Masks lower the chances of coronavirus entering the respiratory system through droplets still in the air from an infected person when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales, the advisory informed.

1,993 fresh cases, 74 deaths recorded in 24 hours

United News of India
New Delhi, May 1: India recorded its highest single-day spike of 1,993 Coronavirus cases and 74 fatalities on Friday, pushing the overall tally beyond 35,000-mark.

As per latest update from Health Ministry, the total infections stood at 35,043 with 1,147 fatalities.

As many as 565 patients recovered in past 24 hours, the data shows, taking the total recovery to 8,889.

Majority of the cases are from the state of Maharashtra, where the tally breached 10,000-mark and reached 10,498 with 583 fresh cases. As many as 27 more deaths were reported in the state, taking the total fatalities to 459.

Gujarat, at distant second, registered 313 fresh cases, bringing the total infections in the state to 4,395. Seventeen more people succumbed to the viral infection, taking the casualties to 459.

Delhi continues to maintain its third position with 3,515 cases and 59 deaths. As many as 82 fresh cases and three deaths were reported in past 24 hours.

With 2,660 cases and 137 deaths, Madhya Pradesh comes fourth in the tally, followed by Rajasthan with 2,584 confirmed cases and 58 deaths.

Tamil Nadu is placed at sixth position with 2,323 infections and 27 deaths, while Uttar Pradesh is at the seventh place with 2,203 cases and 39 fatalities.

The state of Goa has become Covid free with all seven patients in the state recovering.

India is under strict nationwide lockdown, whose second phase will end on May 3.

Precious Kashmir News
Jammu, May 1: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Baseer Ahmad Khan, who is overall in-charge of coronavirus control efforts in Kashmir, convened a meeting here today to review the measures being put in place by various departments regarding prevention and control of COVID-19.

Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, All Deputy Commissioners of Kashmir Division, Director SKIMS Soura, Principal GMC Srinagar, Director Health Services Kashmir, MD, JK Medical Supplies Corporation, Principal SKIMS Medical College Bemina and other concerned participated in the meeting via video conferencing.

During the meeting, the officers gave a detailed presentation regarding the preventive measures and steps to curb the spread of coronavirus.

While stressing on dealing with the situation as per the recommended guidelines, Khan said strict lockdown must be enforced, especially in Srinagar, Bandipora, Anantnag and Shopian districts which have reported large number of COVID-19 cases in Kashmir.

The meeting also discussed the facilities available at quarantine facilities set up for shifting of suspected cases.

The Advisor said that health officials must maintain a constant watch on cases and immediate reporting and shifting of those who might develop COVID-19 symptoms is of critical importance.

He also directed the Deputy Commissioners to increase requisite facilities in their respective districts and ensure the availability of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, in case of exigency.

The Advisor directed them to ensure distribution of ration and other essential commodities to the consumers so that long queues and large gatherings at ration depots are avoided.

The meeting was informed that daily surveillance of Respiratory Tract Infection cases in ten districts is  going on, Rapid Response Teams (RRT) are in place in every district, samples are being collected and  data analysed, besides cluster cases are being investigated.

The Advisor asked DCs to classify their respective districts into zones and address their issues on priority basis. He also directed for imparting training to Police and employees of district administration in dealing with COVID-19 infected or suspected persons.

He stressed the concerned departments to ensure sanitation and fumigation drives across the valley.

He also called for roping in Panchs, Sarpanchs, Urban Local Body employees and Tehsildars in the process of identifying the people who have recently arrived from outside the valley and have not been screened.

The Advisor reiterated that all departments should work in convergence for creating awareness in community about the disease and the precautions to be taken.

He said everyone has to play its due role in combating the deadly disease. He urged people to cooperate with the administration and be well-informed about all precautions that need to be followed to prevent spread of the infection.

Advisor Baseer Khan directed the officials to put in their best efforts to prevent the spread of the virus and asked them to intensify efforts to find the suspected cases. He said that proper guidelines need to be followed while dealing with the evolving coronavirus situation.

Meanwhile, the meeting was also informed about the stock position of masks, Personal Protective Equipment, VTMs and other equipment besides functioning of 24×7 district control rooms.

The Advisor was also informed that around 50 chemotherapies are being given to cancer patients every day at SKIMS and other hospitals. He was also informed that medicines are also been provided to such patients.

It was also informed that all possible assistance is being provided to pregnant women during the lockdown and a dedicated ambulance service has been designated for the same.

United News of India
Washington, May 1:US President Donald Trump has said that he is confident the Coronavirus originated from a laboratary in China and declared that he could impose tariffs as a punishment for the communist country’s alleged inefficient management of the outbreak which allowed it to become a global pandemic.

Trump told reporters that he has examined the evidence and is ‘highly confident’ that the Coronavirus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, though he refused to share more details regarding the ‘evidence’ that has led him to this conclusion.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Thursday declared that the virus was not man made but said that more investigations are required to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or it was the result of an accident at a Wuhan laboratory.

Kyodo News quoted Trump asserting that the virus should have never been “allowed to escape China” and it should have been contained at the source.

The US has in the recent days questioned China’s handling of the Coronavirus outbreak, on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo too expressed regret that the international community has not been given access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology so that the origin of the virus can be studied.

He also said that several labs in China are conducting work on contagious pathogens and it is not clear whether these are adopting the required levels of security to prevent future pandemics from taking place.

Srinagar, May 1: Medicos have taken samples of a young woman, who died at SMHS Hospital here, to ascertain whether she was a COVID-19 patient or not, a local news agency KNT reported on Friday.
It said the 21 year old woman from South Kashmir’s Anantnag district was admitted to SMHS Hospital here after she developed acute chest infection.

Hospital sources said that girl died during wee hours and her body was shifted to mortuary at Government Medical College Srinagar.

Medical Superintendent SMHS Hospital, Dr Nazir Chowdary told KNT that the samples of the deceased girl have been taken. “We are waiting for the report,” he said while confirming the death of the young girl. He however, said that he doesn’t know the cause of the death.

Nodal Officer for Coronavirus, Dr Saleem said that only the doctor who treated her can tell the reason of her death. He said that it is a norm to collect swabs for COVID-19 of any patient  who dies in the hospital.
Another doctor who wished not to be named said that she had developed complications after delivery. (KNT)

Tri forces to conduct special activities tomorrow  

United News of India
New Delhi, May 1 (UNI) As a mark of gratitude and thanking the Corona Warriors of the country, the defence forces will conduct special activities on May 3 across the nation, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat said on Friday.

He said that the Air Force will conduct flypast from Srinagar to Trivandrum and another one starting from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kutch in Gujarat to express gratitude and solidarity with Covid Warriors and the spirit of countrymen for adhering to government guidelines during the present times.

The flypast will include both transport and fighter aircraft and flower petals will also be showered at some places like the hospitals where Covid patients are being treated.

The Army will also conduct mountain band displays along some of the Covid-19 hospitals in almost every district of the country.

The armed forces will also lay wreath at the police memorial on May 3 in support of the police forces.

The Navy will have its warships deployed in formations in coastal areas in the evening.

Navy warships would also be lit up and their choppers would be used for showering petals on hospitals.

The Chief Of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Friday expressed gratitude to all covid warriors on behalf of the defence forces , for ensuring that all of us remain safe and are able to overcome this problem of Covid 19.

Praising the frontline COVID warriors, he said that we have seen in the manner how medical professionals have toiled everyday to make sure cases recover, all nurses, other medical staff, sanitation workers, police personnel have been standing with them in this hour.

He also praised and expressed gratitude towards the delivery boys who have been delivering essentials at homes.

General Rawat also thanked media for reaching out the message to the entire population from government time to time in this fight against pandemic.

“The plan of action was finalized at the meeting earlier in the day presided over by the Raksha Mantri with the three Service Chiefs, CDS and NSA”