J&K records 3,308 new Covid-19 cases, 51 deaths in 24 hrs
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir have registered 3,308 new Covid-19 cases in the span of 24 hours. After the latest surge in cases, the tally in the region has reached 2,70,621 on Sunday. The death toll has increased to 3,563 after Jammu and Kashmir reported 51 fatalities caused by Covid-19. Read more on The Dispatch.
This year’s first suspected case of Black Fungus admitted at GDC Srinagar
Srinagar: A suspected Mucormycosis (Black Fungus) patient is admitted at Government Dental College (GDC) Srinagar. Officials at the Dental College Srinagar said that a suspected case of black fungus is admitted at the hospital, however, final confirmation is yet to come. Dr Irshad Ahmad Misger, Assistant Professor at Oral & Maxillofacial department Government Dental College Srinagar said that a patient from Srinagar, who was tested positive for Covid-19 on May 05 this year and had recovered recently, has been admitted at GDC and is a suspected case of black fungus. He said that patient is on long-term steroids and is also suffering from “uncontrolled diabetes.” He said that they are going for biopsy of the patient to get the final confirmation tomorrow the report of which is likely to get confirm in next two days. Read more on The Dispatch.
Jammu court denies bail to 2 illegal Rohingya immigrants
Jammu: A court here has denied bail to two illegal Rohingya immigrants who were arrested two months ago, saying their release shall create law and order problems. The court also said that it cannot be ruled out that the accused persons may be involved in criminal as well as militant activities. The accused, Ashiqur Rahman and Abdul Gafoor, who were living in Bathindi here, were arrested during a major verification drive against illegally settled Rohingya Muslims in March after they were found in possession of various documents of Indian citizenship prepared fraudulently. Rejecting the bail application of Rahman and Gafoor on Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu, Kishore Kumar said it is very strange that a large number of documents had been prepared by the accused persons to impersonate themselves as Indian citizens. Read more on The Dispatch.
Strict restrictions continue; no significant dip in fresh COVID cases in Kashmir
Srinagar: Strict restrictions continued for the fourth successive week on Sunday even as there was no significant dip in the number of fresh coronvirus cases in Kashmir valley, where ‘COVID curfew’ remained imposed since April 29 to curtail the spread of the deadly infection.
Even though the spread of COVID-19 has dipped significantly in Srinagar, which still remains the highest contributor to the infection tally, the simultaneous rise in fresh cases across other districts in the valley is sustaining the spike. Barring Shopian, the number of fresh COVID-19 cases recorded everyday in the rest of the districts of the valley has remained in three digits, indicating that the virus has spread to villages and far flung areas. Read more on The Dispatch.
Case registered in Rajouri for burning pages of religious text
Jammu: The Rajouri police on Sunday lodged a criminal case against unknown people for tearing some pages of a religious scripture and burning them. Asking people to maintain calm, the police said they have begun an investigation into the sacrilegious act and hoped to arrest the offenders at the earliest.
The case was registered under section 295 and 153 of the Indian Penal Code the sections related to injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class and promoting enmity between different groups, police said in a statement. Read more on The Dispatch.
Facing public ire, BJP to rank and file: connect, go out, focus on welfare
New Delhi: Caught on the back foot over its conspicuous absence during the second wave of the pandemic and a groundswell of public fear and resentment, the BJP leadership has asked its leaders to be visibly more “empathetic and sympathetic”.
As part of this outreach, sources said, party leaders have been asked to step up their “social activities” to ensure delivery of medicines, availability of hospital beds as well as actively monitor the ramping up of health infrastructure, which includes installation of oxygen plants in government hospitals. Read more on The Dispatch.
Moderna refuses to send vaccines to Punjab, says it only deals with Centre
New Delhi: Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer Moderna Inc declined Punjab government’s request to procure vaccines, state nodal officer Vikas Garg said in a statement on Saturday.
Garg also said that Moderna refused to send vaccines to the state government citing their policy which outlines that the company will only deal with the Centre. “One of the Covid vaccine manufacturer ‘Moderna’ has refused to send direct vaccination to the Punjab government as according to their policy, they only deal with the Government of India and not with any state government or private parties,” the statement said. Read more on The Dispatch.
COVID infection after vaccination may be less severe: Union Minister Dr Jitendra
NEW DELHI: Calling upon all the eligible persons to go for vaccination, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today said that COVID infection, if it happens after the vaccination, may be less severe and therefore, even if the vaccination may not give 100% protection against the Corona infection, it might still serve as a great buffer to the severity or virulence of the disease. Read more on The Dispatch.
J&K among one of best performing UTs/States in Country in terms of vaccination: LG
Jammu: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today addressed the people of Jammu and Kashmir through a video message, in which he sought active participation from various stakeholders to complement Government’s efforts in the fight against Covid pandemic. In his message, the Lt Governor urged the elected PRI representatives, teachers, ASHAs, Anganwadi, ANM workers and voluntary organizations to play an active role in effective implementation of Covid preventive measures in rural areas. Read more on The Dispatch.
Deputy commissioners authorised to utilise all staff for Covid-related work in J&K
JAMMU: Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has authorised deputy commissioners to utilise all available staff for Covid-related work like mobilisation for vaccination, testing and surveillance, an official order said on Sunday.
It also stated that ASHA and Anganwadi workers would be trained and empowered to assist in Covid mitigation efforts in the Union territory, while the health department would ensure establishment of telemedicine arrangements in all districts to enable patients to call and consult doctors. Read more on The Dispatch.
Srinagar: Gunshots were heard in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, but there was no loss of life or injury reported, police sources said.
The sources said the shots were heard near Women’s Degree College in Pulwama in south Kashmir. No loss of life or injury has been reported so far, they said, adding the details were being ascertained. Read more on The Dispatch.
Army helps douse major forest fire near LoC
Jammu: The Indian Army on Sunday doused a major fire near the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, preventing damage to seasonal crops in two villages, officials said. Read more on The Dispatch.
Our prayers are with India, says BTS as country battles COVID-19
New Delhi: “Let’s never lose hope.” This is the message from the South Korean music sensation BTS to their fans, known as ARMY, in India as the nation grapples with the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The group enjoys a massive following in India and is yet to tour the country. Asked if there was a message for the ARMY in the country amid the pandemic, member V told PTI in an email interaction, “Our prayers are with India. Stay strong ARMY and let’s never lose hope.” The septet, also comprising RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, and Jungkook, recently released their second English single “Butter”. Read more on The Dispatch.
UK study finds COVID vaccines highly effective’ against B1.617.2 variant
London: A new study by health officials in England shows for the first time that two doses of COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against the B1.617.2 variant first identified in India.
Public Health England (PHE) said on Saturday that while the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was 88 per cent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 from the B1.617.2 variant of concern (VOC) two weeks after the second dose, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was 60 per cent effective against symptomatic disease from the B1.617.2 VOC. Read more on The Dispatch.
Absconding rape accused held in J&K
Jammu: A man, who had allegedly abducted and raped a woman about 17 months back, was arrested on Sunday by Reasi police from Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Chaklass-Jamaslan village of Mahore in Reasi, had allegedly abducted the woman and raped her repeatedly in December 2019 and went underground to evade his arrest after committing the crime, a police spokesman said. Read more on The Dispatch.
PM Modi review preparedness to tackle cyclone Yaas
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for timely evacuation of those involved in off-shore activities as he chaired a high-level meeting to review the preparedness of states and central government agencies to deal with the situation arising out of cyclone Yaas. Read more on The Dispatch.
Bangladeshi woman journalist arrested under colonial-era official secrecy law gets bail
Dhaka: A Bangladeshi court on Sunday granted interim bail to a senior woman investigative journalist who was arrested on charges of violating a colonial-era official secrecy law that triggered widespread protests, including by the UN.
Rozina Islam, a senior reporter of Bangla daily Prothom Alo, the largest daily newspaper based on circulation, was on Monday last detained for over five hours by Health Ministry officials for allegedly clicking a picture of a document with her cell phone without permission. She was later arrested by the police. Read more on The Dispatch.
LG Mathur reviews COVID-19 situation in Ladakh
Leh: Ladakh Lt Governor R K Mathur reviewed the COVID-19 scenario in the union territory and called for intensifying testing across villages to control the spread of the infection, an official spokesman said on Sunday. He also directed the health department to begin infrastructural development and strengthen the paediatric section to tackle the possible third wave besides building up medicine stock for black fungus for an immediate emergency, the spokesman said. Chairing a virtual meeting with senior officers here on Saturday, the Lt Governor also appealed to all to follow guidelines relating to funerals, marriages and other social functions. Read more on The Dispatch.
India records 2.40 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases, 3,741 fatalities
New Delhi: The daily rise in coronavirus cases in India remained below the 3 lakh-mark for the seventh consecutive day, with 2.4 lakh new cases recorded in a single day, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.With the fresh cases, India’s tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,65,30,132. The death toll due to the disease rose to 2,99,266 with 3,741 fresh fatalities, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed. Read more on The Dispatch.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar arrested in wrestler murder case
New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar and another person were arrested on Sunday in connection with the Chhatrasal Stadium brawl case that led to the death of a wrestler here, officials said on Sunday. Read more on The Dispatch.
