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COVID-19: Telangana considers Shutdown until March 31 March 14, 2020 18:17

The state government of Telangana has decided to order for shut down of the educational institutions, shopping malls and theatres until 31st of March, in the move to contain the spreading of the deadly novel coronavirus. The government has also initiated precautionary ,measures and has urged the people to avoid public gatherings and to have marriages and other functions with less gathering.The high- level committee meeting has been chaired by K Chandrashekhar Rao who is the chief minister of the Telangana state. The committee meeting has been chaired in the State Assembly complex on Saturday and has decided in expediting the precautionary measures after examining the measures which have been taken by various other states in order to curb the spreading of the deadly novel coronavirus.The health experts have been learnt to have recommended for the shutting down of various shopping malls, theatres where many number of people would be attending. This move has been made in order to reduce the people gathering at a place and therefore the people of the state of Telangana have also been advised to avoid the functions and get- togethers.The Cabinet meeting which has been scheduled today in the evening has been attended by Eetala Rajendar who is the Health Minister, Somesh Kumar who is the Chief Secretary, DGP M Mahender Reddy and also by the officials from various other departments.By Shrithika Kushangi

COVID-19 in India: 83 infected, 2 dead March 14, 2020 13:05

India has reported its first death caused by being infected by the deadly coronavirus on the 12th of March which was regarding the death of a 76- year- old man in Kalaburgi of Karnataka died of coronavirus, said the officials. The case of casualty due to coronavirus in India has also been recorded on the next day i.e., the 13th of March which was of a 68 year old woman from Delhi, said the health officials.It has been said by the Union Health Ministry that a total of 83 people have been confirmed as being infected by the deadly novel coronavirus in India and that three people have been cured and discharged.The government of India has suspended all the visas excluding a few categories such as diplomatic and employment till the 15th of April, in the view of the coronavirus pandemic and the increase in the number of cases of people being infected by the deadly novel coronavirus in the country.The government of India has also advised its citizens to avoid traveling abroad and the facility of visa- free traveling that which has been granted to the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders has also been kept in abeyance till the 15th of April.According to a statement, all the travelers who are coming to India which also includes the nationalities of India who ave been arriving or have visited the countries like China, Iran, Italy, Republic of Korea, Spain, France and Germany after the 15th of February would be quarantined for a minimum of two weeks.With the increase in the number of confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly novel coronavirus in the country, the state governments and the Union territories have taken a number of various preventive measures and the governments of Kerala and Delhi have shut down the schools and the cinema halls in order to prevent the mass gatherings.The administration of Jammu and Kashmir has ordered the closure of primary schools and the anganwadi centers and also to shut down the cinema halls across the region till the 31st of March while the government of Karnataka has also issued a temporary regulation which has asked all the hospitals of private as well as the government hospitals to have flu corners in order to screen the suspected cases of being infected by the deadly novel Coronavirus.The regulation also says that, no person or institution would be using print or electronic media for spreading the false information on coronavirus with no prior permission of the Department of Health & Family Welfare. It has added saying that if any person has been found in indulging in any such activities would be punished.A campaign called as ‘Namaste over Handshake’ has been started by the government of Karnataka which would be encouraging the people to greet in the traditional Indian style of namaste in order to curb the spread of the deadly novel COVID-19 virus.The Ministry of Shipping has said that only the international cruise ships which had intimated their call to the ports by the 1st of January of the year 2020 would be allowed and that they would be allowed only at the ports which have the facility of screening for the passengers as well as the members of the crew.It has been said by the government of India that a total number of 11,71,061 passengers have been undergone the screening at the airport so far.By Shrithika Kushangi

India suspends all Tourists Visas from March 13 to April 15 March 12, 2020 12:50

The government of India has imposed stringent travel curbs as it has suspended all the tourist visa in order to prevent the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus in the country, as said by the government in a statement on Wednesday.According to the statement, it has been said that all the existing visas, except the diplomatic, official, UN/international organizations, employment, project visas, would be suspended till the 15th of April of 2020 and the order is said to be come into effect from 1200 GMT on the 13th of March. The decision of suspending the tourist visas has been taken at a meeting of a group of ministers which was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Harsh Vardhan who is the Health Minister and the meeting included Hardeep Puri who is the aviation minister, S Jaishankar who is the foreign minister and also a committee of secretaries chaired by secretary of the cabinet.The facility of visa- free travel which has been granted to the OCI card holders is also kept in abeyance till the 15th of April.The statement that has been released has also said that any foreign who intends to travel to India for any compelling reason may have to contact the nearest Indian Mission and that all the travelers coming to India which also includes the nationalities of India who have visited or are coming from China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany after the 15th of February would have to undergo the quarantine period for a minimum period of two weeks.The Health Ministry has advised the Indian nationals to avoid the non- essential travel to overseas and they have been told that a quarantine period of minimum two weeks would have to be undergone after they return to the country India. This move has been taken by the government of India after the World Health Organization has classified the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus as global public health emergency on the 30th of January.The coronavirus which has been officially named as COVID- 19 has been spreading across 114 countries with 126,380 confirmed cases of people being infected by the deadly novel COVID-19 and the deaths that have been caused due to being infected by the virus has increased to 4,634 in number until now.The number of people infected with the deadly novel COVID- 19 in India has been recorded as 73 until now with no confirmed deaths that have caused by being infected by the virus.By Shrithika Kushangi

India to evacuate Kashmir pilgrims and students from Iran March 11, 2020 18:54

The government of India has said that it is in the process of evacuating 1,400 nationalities of India from Iran which is the worst affected by the outbreak of the deadly novel COVID-19 after China. Among the 1,400 Indian nationals stranded in the Iran, most of the people are said to be residents of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.A statement has been tabled before the Rajya Sabha, S. Jaishankar who is the Minister of External Affairs has said that of the 6000 Indian nationals who are living in Iran, around one thousand are said to be pilgrims mainly from Ladakh, Jammu & Kahmri and Maharastra and around 300 students are said to be mostly from Jammu & Kashmir and one thousand have been identified to be fishermen from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.According to the records, around 9000 people have been infected with the deadly novel COVID-19 all across Iran.New Delhi has temporarily suspended direct flights between India and Iran with the increase in the number of confirmed cases of people being infected by the deadly novel coronavrus in Iran. The suspension of direct flights between New Delhi and Iran has been temporarily suspended from the 27th of February.It has been said by the minister that the Indian embassy in Tehran and the consulates in Bandar Abbas and Zahindan had reached out immediately to the nationalities of India in Iran in order to ascertain the welfare of the Indian nationals and are staying in touch with them.The Minister of External Affairs has told the House that the initial focus is on the visiting pilgrims and that many of the visiting pilgrims are said to be in Qom where the incidence of the coronavirus is strong and also the Indian students are being focused.The minister S Jaishankar has added saying that the southern province of Iran which include the cities of Asaalouyeh, Chiruyeh and Kish where most of the fishermen are said to be located have not been severely affected and therefore these factors would be guided by being approached in the further coming days.With the increase of confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly coronavirus is increasing at an alarming rate in Iran, a team of six health officials of India has been deputed to the coronavirus- hit Iran in order to set up the facilities of testing and sampling in Iran.The first batch of samples received in India have been tested where in it comprised of 108 samples and were received in India on the 7th of March . among the samples that have been tested, fifty- eight Indian pilgrims which include 25 men, 31 women and two children have been tested negative and they have been repatriated in special IAF C-17 flight on the 10th of March, as said by the minister of external affairs S Jaishankar.The government of India has also received the samples of another 529 Indians at the National Institute of Virology which is located in Pune, for testing.S Jaishankar has said that collection of samples in Tehran would be continued and the aim is to ensure the earliest possible return of all the Indian nationals after being appropriately tested and are screened. The minister had added saying that the government of India is working with the authorities of Iran in order to operate some limited commercial flights which would be used for facilitating early return of the Indians who are remaining in Iran.By Shrithika Kushangi

Karnataka man dies, could be first COVID-19 casualty in India March 11, 2020 16:28

A man of 76 years of age who was being treated as a suspect to have contracted the novel coronavirus has passed away. It has been said that if the reports of the tests show as positive as the deceased has been suffering from the deadly novel coronavirus, then it would be the first fatality of the country India caused due to the deadly coronavirus.The deceased has been identified as Mohammed Hussain Siddiq who was being treated at a hospital in Kalaburagi, Karnataka as he was showing symptoms like cold, cough and breathlessness which are said to be the symptoms for contacting the deadly novel coronavirus.However, the health officials have said that it would be false if it is said that the death has been caused by being infected by the COVID-19 as the reports are yet to come.A statement has been made by a senior official at the Karnataka health department where in it has been said that the sample from the patient has been collected and are sent for testing for the deadly novel COVID-19. he has also requested the media to help the government in creating awareness but not in creating panic among the people.The samples that was collected from the patient have been sent to Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory of the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute and the lab has told to test the throat swabs of the patient on priority.Sharat. B who is the Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi has said that the cause of the death should yet to be determined whether the death has been caused due to being infected by the deadly novel COVID-19 or not.It has been said that the patient Mohammad Hussain Siddiq has been treated for around three days after which the family members of the patient have decided to take him to Hyderabad for further treatment.The Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi Sharat. B has said that the patient has been given symptomatic treatment when their family had taken a decision of shifting him to Hyderabad for further treatment.He had added saying that Mohammad Hussain Siddiq had died on his way back from Hyderabad in the ambulance during last night. The samples and blood of the patient have been taken and were sent to the National Institute of Virology which is located in Bangalore and the reports are not yet received and therefore the cause of death being caused due to being infected by the deadly novel COVID-19 is just being suspected and not yet confirmed, said Sharat.Four cases have been reported in Bengaluru so far with Mohammed Hussain Siddiq being one among them, said the state health department information till Tuesday.By Shrithika Kushangi

Kerala confirms 6 new cases of COVID-19 March 10, 2020 14:51

Pinarayi Vijayan who is the Chief Minister of Kerala has said that six more fresh cases of coronavirus have been reported in the state of Kerala on Tuesday.These announcements have been made by the Chief Minister at a press conference after a special cabinet meeting has been chaired where in Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the total number of patients suffering from the deadly novel COVID-19 in the state of Kerala has now increased to twelve and that nine out of the twelve are said to be in Pathanamithitta, two in Kottayam and one is said to be in Kochi.K K Shailaja who is the state health minister of Kerala has said that all the others except the one minor of 3 years of age in Kochi, has been infected through the three people who have come from the COVID-19 hit Italy dodging the state authorities, as said by the minister who has also attended the press conference.With an increase in the number of confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly coronavirus, the state of Kerala has canceled all the public functions for a month and the classes for the children from one to seven are said to be suspended in all the schools across the state of Kerala.The government has also requested the theatres and the cinema halls to curb their operation for a temporary time period. The Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also said in the press conference that all the functions, festivals and the wedding has to be deferred as there would be large numbers of people gathering. The people of the state have also been requested by he Chief Minister saying that the rituals can be conducted but to keep them limited at home. The Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala has also suggested that the devotees avoid visiting the Sabarimala shrine which is said to be opening on Thursday for the monthly poojas.The deadly coronavirus which has been officially named as COVID-19 has been first identified in the Wuhan city of China and the novel coronavirus has been reported of spreading at an alarming rate across China and also across several other countries claiming lives of several thousands of people and also infecting many more. The first case of death being caused by getting infected by the deadly coronavirus that has been recorded, has been first reported in Philippines.Currently, the number of confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly novel COVID-19 has been recorded as the number being 114,542 in number and the number of deaths that have been caused by the deadly COVID-19 has been recorded to be 4,028.By Shrithika Kushangi

Karnataka reports a Confirmed Case of COVID-19 March 10, 2020 12:39

The government of Karnataka has said on Monday that one person in the state has been tested positive for the deadly novel COVID-19 with which the number of confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly coronavirus has been increased to being 44 in total.The patient who was reported as being tested positive for the deadly coronavirus has been identified as a software engineer of forty years of age with a recent travel history to the United States, as said by Dr Sudhakar who is the medical education minister of Karnataka.It has been reported that the software engineer who has been infected by the deadly coronavirus had travelled from Austin, Texas on the 28th of February through the city of New York and then to Dubai before he had landed in Bengaluru on the 1st of March. It has been said that the wife and daughter of the patient are currently lodged in the health facility in the city and that one of the colleagues have also been admitted to the hospital as he has shown similar symptoms.The driver of the software engineer and also three members of his family have been kept in the isolation home. It has been said by the government that information has been collected of around 2,555 possible primary and the secondary contact who probably might have come in contact with the infected person.The state of Karnataka is now in the list of the states of India where the confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly coronavirus have been recorded with the other states being Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi.The World Health Organization has given a statement on the 7th of March whre in it has been mentioned that the number of cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 10 million globally.The government of Karnataka has made a decision for ordering an indefinite closure of the pre- primary and kindergarten sections in the schools across Bengaluru as a precaution to curb the deadly novel coronavirus or COVID-19 from spreading.The medical education minister of Karnataka has said that the classes till fifth standard in Bengaluru rural and urban would be remained close till the further orders.It has also been said that several number of school have sent back their students in Bengaluru while the other schools have decided to continue as planned in order to help the working parents who may not be able to make the sudden preparations for taking care of their children.The state of Karnataka has strengthened all the surveillance and the containment measures against the deadly novel coronavirus from spreading. It has been recorded that 982 people in total have been identified for the observation out of which 266 people have completed the observation for 28 days and the 700 people are continuing home quarantine, as said by the government. The people who have been under observation also include the people with recent travel history to the deadly novel COVID-19 affected countries and also the people who have come in contact with the people who have been tested positive for the deadly novel coronavirus.By Shrithika Kushangi

COVID-19: Number of cases in India rises to 31 March 06, 2020 13:29

The number of confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly coronavirus has been increased to 31 in India with the latest being a man from Delhi with a recent travel history to Thailand and Malaysia.The number has shown a drastic increase when fourteen from a group of tourists from Italy have been tested positive for the deadly coronavirus.It has been said that Iran would be operating special flights between Tehran and New Delhi in order to evacuate the passengers who have been stranded due to the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus.An official in the Iran Embassy has said that special flights would be starting between the countries of Iran and India for the passengers who have stranded in Iran. He has added saying that the Indian passengers can be sent back to their home country only after getting a proper approval of the authority of India.The government of Delhi has been pushed in deciding to shut the primary schools till the 31st of March due to the rise in number of cases being confirmed of being infected by the deadly coronavirus.The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Brussels, Belgium which has been scheduled for the next week, for the India- European Union summit has also been postponed in order to stay safe from the deadly coronavirus which has been spreading at an alarming rate and to curb the virus from spreading.Meanwhile, an emergency $8.3 billion spending bill have been passed by the US lawmakers in order to combat the coronavirus as the health workers have boarded a cruise ship which has been held off the coast of San Francisco for testing the sick passengers and the crew.The deadly coronavirus which has been officially named as COVID-19 has been first identified in the Wuhan city of the Peoples Republic China and it has spread at an alarming rate across China and also across several nations claiming the lives of several thousands of people and infecting many more. The first case of death that was caused due to being infected by the deadly novel COVID-19 has been first recorded in Philippines.Currently the deadly COVID-19 has infected 98,437 people around the globe and the number of deaths that have been caused due to the deadly novel COVID-19 has been recorded as 3,387.By Shrithika Kushangi

30 confirmed Coronavirus cases Reported in India March 05, 2020 18:23

The number of cases of being infected by the deadly coronavirus has been climbed to 30 as a new case has been reported on Thursday in Ghaziabad.Although the government of India has decided to screen all the passengers who are entering the country from the borders, 23 news cases have been reported in India which includes 15 tourists from Italy and a man from Gurgaon on Wednesday.Nirmala Sitharaman who is the Finance Minister of India has said that the government of India is working intensively for ensuring meaningful intervention, if needed, in order to deal with the impact that has been made by the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak.The finance minister has said that different ministries of the Indian government has been working in tandem to deal with the impact that has been made by the deadly coronavirus which has been officially named as COVID-19.A new case of tested positive for being infected by the deadly COVID-19 has been recorded in India with the total count being 30. the new case has been recorded in Gurgaon when an employee of Paytm which is an app used for online payments, has been tested positive after he has returned from a vacation in Italy.The company Paytm has shut its offices in Gurgaon and also in Noida for a couple of days in order to get the buildings sanitized.The spokesperson of the company has said that the patient has been receiving appropriate treatment and the complete support of the company has been extended to the family of the patient who has been tested positive for being infected by the deadly COVID-19.“As a precautionary measure, we have suggested his team members to get health tests done immediately,” the spokesperson said. He has added saying that “However, there will not be any impact on our daily operations and Paytm services will continue as usual.”By Shrithika Kushangi

Nirbhaya Convicts to Hang on March 20, says Delhi Court March 05, 2020 18:16

The four convicts of the Nirbhaya case of gang- rape and murder in the year 2012 will be hanged on 20th of the month of March at 5:30 in the early hours of the day, as ruled by a Delhi court on Thursday. The death warrant issued for the four convicts of the Nirbhaya case to be hanged on the 20th of March is said to be the fourth death warrant that has been issued by the Delhi court.The issuing of the death warrant has been done after the mercy plea that has been filed by one among the four convicts Pawan Gupta was rejected by the President Ram Nath Kovind.All the legal options for the four death row convicts for getting relieved from the death sentence had been exhausted with the rejection of the mercy plea of Pawan Gupta by the President Ram Nath Kovind.Dharmendra Rana who is the additional Sessions Judge has fixed the new date for the execution of the hanging of the four death row convicts of the Nirbhaya case. The date has been fixed as 20th of March after it has been told by the Delhi government that all the legal remedies that can be performed by the four death row convicts to escape from being hanged has been exhausted.The lawyer for the four death row convicts of the Nirbhaya case has also tol the court that there has been no legal impediment for the court in proceeding for fixing the date of execution.Asha Devi who is the mother of the victim of the Nirbhaya case has expressed that she hopes this would be the final date for all the four of them to be hanged on the 20th of March and that Nirbhaya has asked to ensure that all the culprits would be punished and that such crime should never repeat, while she was dying.The Nirbhaya case which has shook the entire nation in the year 2012 was about a gang- rape and murder of a young woman of 23 years old. The four convicts along with two others which includes a minor had gang- raped the young woman and had also tortured her with an iron rod on the night of the 16th of December in the year 2012. the victim has died on the 29th of December at a hospital in Singapore.One of the accused who was just short of 18 when he had committed the crime was released as he was considered as a juvenile. He has been released after spending three years at a reform home and Ram Singh who was the main convict of the Nirbhaya case was found hanging in the jail.The execution of the death warrants of the four convicts who were Mukesh Kumar Singh of 32 years old, Pawan Gupta of 25 years of age, Vinay Sharma of 26 years old and Akshay Kumar Singh of 31 years old have been deferred three times due to the delay made by the convicts in exhausting the legal remedies as all the convicts in the case are to be hanged together.By Shrithika Kushangi

COVID-19 outbreak: 29 positive cases in India March 05, 2020 11:24

The health ministry of India has confirmed as many as 23 news cases in the country from the places of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and the total number of people who has been infected in India is said to be 29.A Paytm employee who is of 26 years of age and a resident of Pankha Road in Janakpuri has been identified as the second confirmed case of coronavirus infected person in Delhi. It has been said that the patient has recently returned from a vacation from Italy which is now a hotspot for coronavirus.A majority of the people who have been confirmed as being infected by the deadly coronavirus is said to be among a party of the tourists from Italy which also included the wife of a 69 year old man who is currently undergoing treatment in Jaipur who is said to have possibly carried the infection from Italy.The others have included the six relatives from Agra of the resident of Delhi who had been tested positive for the infection earlier.The health officials in the places of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have been facing a massive task in tracing and conducting tests to everyone who have come in contact with the people who were infected as these are the places where the patients of COVID-19 have been travelling and the estimated number of such people is said to be more than hundred.According to a source, the nationals of Italy who have been tested positive for the deadly coronavirus have been travelling across Rajasthan, Agra in Uttar Pradesh and also parts of Delhi before they were put into isolation or have been quarantined.The sources from the government have said that all the four persons were found to be positive for being infected by the deadly coronavirus are said to be stable excluding the Italian of 69 years of age who is said to be the first in his group to be detected with the deadly novel coronavirus and is said to be under treatment at Sawai Manshingh (SMS) hospital in Jaipur.Harsh Vardhan who is the union health minister has said that there is no need to panic as all the states including the Delhi- NCR where the maximum number of positive cases of being affected buy the deadly COVID-19 has been recorded, have been asked to create more isolation facilities, by the government.Arvind Kejriwal who is the chief minister of Delhi has also announced that a state task force has been created in order to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and also to keep in check the marketing of medical masks and sanitizers.The deadly COVID-19 was first identified in the city of Wuhan in China and has spread at an alarming rate across the city and also across several countries and has also claimed several lives. The first case of death caused due to getting infected by the deadly COVID-19 has been recorded in Philippines.According to the records, around 94,348 cases of people being infected by the deadly coronavirus which has been officially named as COVID-19, have been reported and around 3,221 deaths due to the COVID-19 have been reported.By Shrithika Kushangi

364 women officers inducted by Indian Army in 2019 March 03, 2020 10:41

Shripad Naik who is the Minister of State for Defence has said that the Indian Army has inducted 364 women officers in the year 2019 when compared to the number of women officers inducted in the year 2018 which was 819.The Minister of State for Defence has written in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha where in he has stated that the Indian Air Force has inducted 51 women officers in the year 2019 when compared to the year of 2018 when the number was 59. He added saying that the Air Force figure does not include the women officers in the medical and the dental branches.The minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik has also said that 54 women officers were inducted in the Indian Navy in the year 2019 as compared to the number being 38 in the previous year of 2018.Shripad Naik has said that the number and the percentage of women officers in the Indian Navy excluding the Medical, Dental and Military Nursing Service branch is 527 which is said to be 5.12 per cent and that the corresponding figure in respect of Indian Air Force is 1,601 which is said to be 13.82 per cent.By Shrithika Kushangi