7 APRIL NEWS: Coronavirus: Centre urges media to not speculate about extension of 21-day lockdown. After Telangana, CMs in 3 more states call for lockdown to be extended or lifted in phases. Refrain from religious profiling of COVID-19 cases: WHO in context of Tabligh ~ NEWS DIGEST

NEWS DIGEST EVENING

7 April 2020: 12 Shaban 1441: Vol: 12, No: 175

*CORONAVIRUS - INDIA*

Coronavirus: Centre urges media to not speculate about extension of 21-day lockdown

https://scroll.in/latest/958477/coronavirus-centre-urges-media-to-not-speculate-about-extension-of-21-day-lockdown

The Centre on Tuesday urged the media to not speculate about the extension of the nationwide lockdown until an official decision is announced. 21-day lockdown is set to end next week on April 15, but several chief ministers have called for an extension or only a partial lifting of restrictions, saying that it will be difficult to tackle the coronavirus epidemic otherwise.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has faced criticism for ordering the lockdown with barely four hours’ notice, is due to make a decision this week about whether to extend it or not.Addressing a daily press briefing, Joint Health Secretary Lav Agarwal said any speculation will create confusion. “All this is related to social media discussion,” he added. “Supreme Court has already instructed that unless its authentic information, it can create confusion among the public. Whatever decision we take based on the available facts, we will bring it to your notice. Unless it is officially communicated, I request you to not speculate about it.”Agarwal said the Cabinet secretary has already issued a clarification denying the extension of the lockdown. “It is true that states are asking for an extension, as and when decision is taken after discussions, I will let you know,” he added.scroll

Covid-19 lockdown: Venkaiah Naidu asks citizens to cooperate ‘if hardships continue beyond April 14’

https://scroll.in/latest/958462/covid-19-lockdown-venkaiah-naidu-asks-citizens-to-cooperate-if-hardships-continue-beyond-april-14

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday urged citizens of India to cooperate with the government on any decision it makes on the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus, and asked them to abide by it “even if the hardship continues beyond April 14”, NDTV reported. His statement came after at least three states – Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra – hinted that the 21-day lockdown may have to be extended beyond April 15.“Let’s live with the hardship a little longer for a better tomorrow,” Naidu said in a statement. He said the upcoming week would be critical in deciding on an exit from the lockdown. “ The data on the extent and rate of spread of the Covid-19 infection would have a bearing on exit strategy.”

Covid-19: After Telangana, CMs in 3 more states call for lockdown to be extended or lifted in phases

https://scroll.in/latest/958474/covid-19-lockdown-cannot-be-lifted-immediately-has-to-be-done-in-phases-says-rajasthan-cm

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said that the 21-day nationwide lockdown to control the coronavirus pandemic cannot be lifted immediately and that the rollback of restrictions must take place in a phased manner, PTI reported. At least three states, including Telangana, had hinted on Monday that the lockdown may be extended.“We cannot withdraw lockdown immediately,” Gehlot said during a video conference. “It has to be done in a phased manner, that is what I feel.” He added that the decision on withdrawing the lockdown in Rajasthan will be taken after considering the recommendations of a task force. So far, the state has 288 cases of the coronavirus and three patients have died.

Coronavirus: Meghalaya to lift several lockdown restrictions from April 15

https://scroll.in/latest/958458/coronavirus-meghalaya-to-lift-several-lockdown-restrictions-from-april-15

Meghalaya government on Tuesday decided to lift the lockdown in place to combat the coronavirus pandemic on April 15, NDTV reported. While a nationwide lockdown is in place till April 14, not a single case of the coronavirus has been reported in the state so far.All government offices in Meghalaya will start functioning from April 15, and private vehicles will be allowed on roads and agricultural activity will be resumed, the state government said. However, educational institutions will remain closed till April 30. Weekly markets in rural areas will resume while adhering to Covid-19 protocols as prescribed by the health department, the government said.

Covid-19: Countries looking to end lockdown should not remove all restrictions at once, says WHO

https://scroll.in/latest/958446/covid-19-countries-looking-to-end-lockdown-should-not-remove-all-restrictions-at-once-says-who

World Health Organization’s emergencies chief said on Monday that countries which are looking to exit their lockdowns, initiated to break the chain of Covid-19, must not relax all restrictions at once, AP reported. Mike Ryan said, instead, countries need to adopt a “calibrated, step-wise approach” to ending the lockdowns.“It probably would be a bad idea to lift all the lockdown restrictions,” Ryan said. “The lockdown is pushing the disease down. Once you raise the lockdown, you have to have an alternative method to suppress the infection.” He said that the method should be such that it keeps the spread of the coronavirus in control.scroll

Covid-19: Volunteers distributing relief material attacked allegedly by RSS supporters in Bengaluru

https://scroll.in/latest/958427/covid-19-volunteers-distributing-relief-material-attacked-allegedly-by-rss-supporters-in-bengaluru

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/volunteers-distributing-relief-material-attacked/article31274032.ece

Bengaluru : Unidentified people attacked the family members of Zareen Taj, an activist with psephologist Yogendra Yadav’s Swaraj Abhiyan, while they were distributing relief material amid the Covid-19 lockdown in Dasarahalli in Bengaluru last week, The Hindu reported on Monday. Taj alleged that the attackers were members RSS. Taj said four of her family members, including her son, and her son’s friend were injured in the incident. “A leader said they will not allow us to distribute ration till the Health Department checked and cleared it as safe as they alleged that we were spreading virus deliberately,” Taj said. The attackers also filed a police complaint claiming that the distributors were not following social distancing norms.Those attacked were identified as 23-year-old Syed Tabrez, the son of Zarin Taj and Bengaluru district secretary of Swaraj Abhiyan, and five others – Kiran, Junaid, Riyaz, Feroz and Amjad. Taj said that when the distributors approached the police, they were told that such disruptions will not be allowed in future.scroll/ the hindu

COVID-19: Muslims and Muslim volunteers heckled, harassed in Karnataka

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/covid-19-muslims-amd-muslim-volunteers-heckled-harassed-karnataka-121977

Ever since Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi resulted in a rise of COVID-19 cases in the country, several Muslims have been heckled and harassed in Karnataka. On Monday, residents of a village in Bagalakote humiliated members of Muslim community, who had gone to the banks of the Krishna river to fish. A video of the incident went viral on social media on Monday. Around 10 to 15 residents of Bidari village in Rabkavi Banahatti taluk in Bagalakote can be seen holding wooden sticks and iron rods, while heckling three Muslim men. The three men can be seen folding their hands and begging for mercy, while the village residents kick them and shoo them away with the wooden sticks. “Don’t touch them. They are the ones spreading the disease,” one of the men can be heard saying. One of them makes the men kneel in front of them and apologise for coming outside. “You people (referring to members of the Muslim community) are the ones who are spreading the disease. Why are you coming to our village? Do you know how many people have died?” one of the men can be heard saying. On Sunday night, a mob of men allegedly attacked two mosques in Belagavi district. Two separate cases have been registered in the district in connection with the attacks. Belagavi police say that the mosques were attacked by miscreants as the lights were on at 9 pm. thenewsminute

Refrain from religious profiling of COVID-19 cases: WHO in context of Tabligh

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/refrain-from-religious-profiling-of-covid-19-cases-who-in-context-of-tabligh-70262?fbclid=IwAR0MIydToA3vLzy7An-Y5NXBSKHS_3zZM5dO5xIW5KksVBmshTr5InG-UI0

Countries should not profile novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in terms of religion or any other criteria, WHO recommended in a press conference on April 6, 2020. A congregation of Islamic sect Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi has been widely panned after several attendees were tested positive of the virus SARS-CoV-2.The Government of India too weighed in: Union health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal, who has been briefing the media regularly, on April 5 sought to make a case that the outbreak would have spread slower but for the congregation. “The doubling rate (of COVID-19 infection) in India is 4.1 days. Had the congregation at Nizamuddin (of an Islamic sect called the Tablighi Jamaat) not happened and additional cases not come, this would have been about 7.14 days,” Agarwal said.According to WHO Emergency Programme Director Mike Ryan: “This does not help.” Having COVID-19 is not anybody’s fault. Every case is a victim. It is very important that we do not profile the cases on the basis of racial, religious and ethnic lines,” Ryan said on April 6 to a India-specific question.Since April 1, officials of the health and home ministries have been naming the sect's markaz (congregation) in its statements. downtoearth.org

BJP MP Falsely Claims COVID-Infected Tablighis Misbehaved in Wards

https://www.thequint.com/news/webqoof/bjp-mp-shobha-karandlaje-falsely-claims-covid-19-positive-tablighis-misbehaved-in-wards?fbclid=IwAR2TAJZfw6q_c6K56PC1rZTr0ieQ1sO-XpNra_0GKJ_8eNnBYZNEOYmKrTk

Karnataka BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje on Monday, 6 April, took to Twitter to claim that eight out of 70 Tablighis from Belagavi who had attended Tablighi Jamaat event at Delhi’s Nizamuddin had tested positive for coronavirus. Adding that the results of the rest were yet to come, she also claimed that the Tablighis in quarantine wards were misbehaving and spitting everywhere.The video shows what appears to be a packed quarantine ward where some people are lying down or sitting on beds. The person making the video shows three people standing outside an open window interacting with each other and then focuses the camera on a person inside the ward who can be seen dancing briefly.thequint

Zee Media caught spreading fake news on stone-pelting by Tablighi Jamaat members, forced to delete tweet after warning from Firozabad Police in Uttar Pradesh

http://www.jantakareporter.com/entertainment/zee-news-caught-spreading-fake-news-on-stone-pelting-by-tablighi-jamaat-members-forced-to-delete-tweet-after-warning-from-firozabad-police-in-uttar-pradesh/286910/?fbclid=IwAR2_4WlrlpxZtaNewXUziSQWxZ8NKmyFUi7s5tZBxlVNC-YbM-vXd8VHlBE#.Xov0tDo2AfE.facebook

Zee Media has become the latest organisation to be caught spreading fake news about the Tablighi Jamaat. The pro-BJP organisation was forced to delete its tweet containing the fake news after a warning from the Firozabad Police in Uttar Pradesh.In its tweet, now deleted, Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand had said, “Four Tablighi Jamaati test corona positive in Firozabad, stones pelted at the medical team that came to pick them up.” The Firozabad Police reacted swiftly to expose the lies spread by Zee News.Responding to the fake news by Zee News, the Firozabad Police wrote, “You’ve been spreading fake and misleading news. There has been no stone pelting incidents on the medical team or the ambulance in Firozabad. You must immediately delete this tweet posted by you.”When some users sought confirmation from the Firozabad Police if Zee News had indeed posted the fake news maligning the Muslim community, they confirmed that the tweet in question had been now deleted.Zee News has since then deleted the tweet containing the fake news about the Tablighi Jamaat. It has also edited its news item by removing the claims on stone pelting from its headline, which now simply says, “Four people from Tablighi Jamaat, who were hiding in Firozabad’s Farsi Mosque tests corona positive.”Earlier, the Saharanpur Police in Uttar Pradesh had exposed Indian media outlets for claiming that members of the Tablighi Jamaat had demanded non-veg food in quarantine and caused a ruckus when their demands were not met. The Sarahanpur Police had issued a detailed statement terming the claim as fake news.

Covid-19: Trump hints at retaliation if India turns down US request for anti-malaria drug

https://scroll.in/latest/958422/covid-19-donald-trump-hints-at-retaliation-if-india-turns-down-us-request-for-anti-malaria-drug

US President Donald Trump on Monday hinted at retaliation if India failed to provide his country the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to combat the novel coronavirus. The drug is one of the experimental and unproven means used to fight the virus.Answering a question at a daily briefing on the coronavirus pandemic in the US, Trump said he would be surprised if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped the export of hydroxychloroquine to his country. “I spoke to him Sunday morning and I said we appreciate it that you are allowing our supply to come out,” Trump said. “If he doesn’t allow it to come out, that would be okay, but of course, there may be retaliation, why wouldn’t there be?”

Covid-19: Centre partially lifts ban on export of hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol

https://scroll.in/latest/958438/covid-19-centre-partially-lifts-ban-on-export-of-hyrdoxychloroquine-paracetamol

Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday that the Centre has partially lifted the ban on export of some drugs and pharmaceuticals which can be used in treating Covid-19. The ministry said India has decided to export paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine in appropriate quantities “to neighbouring countries” on humanitarian grounds.The ministry said that the position of the stock of paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine in India will allow Indian companies to export these drugs as per prior commitments. Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, is an experimental but unproved treatment for the coronavirus disease.scroll

Hydroxychloroquine export: PM Modi has let down India, says CPI(M) leader Yechury

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/hydroxychloroquine-export-pm-modi-has-let-down-india-says-cpim-leader-yechury/article31277038.ece?homepage=true&utm_campaign=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR2IuR9cXDucsl-2XY8O8VA2smDehGNQbjCOvnVUK4Cq1ZIe9j6qwiUQzf4

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has let down India by succumbing to U.S. pressure.Mr. Yechury in a tweet said that while Mr. Trump’s statement was unacceptable, India’s quick capitulation was equally disappointing.thehindu

Coronavirus: Unemployment climbed to 23.8% in last week of March following lockdown, says CMIE

https://scroll.in/latest/958432/coronavirus-unemployment-climbed-to-23-8-in-last-week-of-march-following-lockdown-says-cmie

Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy said on Tuesday that the unemployment rate during the last week of March – with the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic beginning March 25 – rose to 23.8%. The overall unemployment rate in March was 8.7%, the highest in 43 months, or since Sept.2016.The organisation said the employment rate fell to an all-time low of 38.2% in March.“Labour participation rate fell to 39% and the employment rate was a mere 30%,” CMIE report said. The labour force participation rate is a measure of an economy’s active workforce.The organisation said that though the survey was suspended in the last week of March, enumerators who were in the field on March 24 and March 25 continued to report observations. The observations were procured through telephonic interviews.scroll

Air quality in Delhi declines after people burst crackers on PM’s ‘light candles’ appeal

https://scroll.in/latest/958363/air-quality-in-delhi-declines-after-people-burst-crackers-on-pms-light-candles-appeal

Air Quality Index in Delhi and its surrounding areas saw a decline as people burst crackers on Sunday night, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to light candles and lamps to show solidarity in India’s fight against the novel coronavirus.According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the air quality index in Anand Vihar on Sunday afternoon was 97 – which in the satisfactory category. However, the air quality index slipped to 143 in the moderate category on Monday.scroll

Maharashtra becomes first state to report over 1,000 cases as Shiv Sena takes dig at PM Modi, 'Claps, thalis and lights, like this we will lose COVID-19 war'

https://indianexpress.com/article/coronavirus/shiv-sena-coronavirus-saamana-narendra-modi-6351314/?fbclid=IwAR2DKWQn62Tr6b4Aayab_2QeAhMgriMR0tWDvKsSa0wqBoZp8D31VUqkE7w

The number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra has increased to 1018 after the state reported 150 new cases on Tuesday. With this, Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to report more than 1000 novel coronavirus cases. Shiv Sena, taking a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the war against COVID-19 cannot be won by clapping, clanging of plates or lighting lamps.An editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said people “misconstrued” PM Modi’s appeal while stating that the PM should clearly spell out what it expected from citizens and those not obeying orders should be punished.“Claps, thalis and lights…like this we will lose the war. There are many aspects to how people responded to these appeals. Citizens misconstrued the prime minister’s appeal…either PM cannot communicate with citizens or he himself wants such a festive atmosphere,” the Shiv Sena said.indianexpress

COVID-19 patients will be booked for attempt to murder if they spit on others: Himachal DGP

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/coronavirus-patients-isolation-himachal-6350273/

Himachal Pradesh DGP Sita Ram Mardi on Monday said that any coronavirus patient who spits on another person will be booked for attempt to murder, in an apparent reaction to an incident in Kangra’s Dobha village, where a 63-year-old woman — the first person reported to have the virus in Himachal Pradesh — had spat on health workers while they were taking her to hospital.“If any coronavirus patient spits on any other person, that patient will be booked for attempt to murder under section 307 of IPC,” he said in a video message, adding that a murder charge will be slapped if this leads to death.indianexpress

Poultry farmers ‘refuse to let Muslim drivers enter’, industry faces supply chain disruption

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/poultry-farmers-refuse-to-let-muslim-drivers-enter-industry-faces-supply-chain-disruption-6351969/

Pune :After a disastrous March, when rumours about links between poultry products and the coronavirus outbreak saw sales plummet, the industry is now facing another issue: farmers refusing to allow pick-up vehicles enter villages to transport market-ready birds.Poultry farms ‘place’ one-day-old chicks with farmers, who raise them for the next 40-45 days. The farmers are provided with necessary feed, supplements are raising charges by poultries, which then sell these birds to retail traders, who send drivers to lift the birds directly from the farmer’s coop. These drivers, in turn, transport the birds to retail sellers of chicken in urban or semi-urban areas, who sell freshly-slaughtered chicken to the customers.According to poultry industry insiders, since Tablighi Jamaat and the cases linked to it started making news, they have started facing resistance from farmers who have refused to allow drivers, many of whom are Muslims, to come to their fields. These incidents have been reported mainly from Nashik, Ahmednagar, talukas of Indapur and Junnar region of Pune district.indianexpress

Covid-19: Assam MLA arrested for allegedly saying quarantine facilities worse than detention centre

https://scroll.in/latest/958457/covid-19-assam-mla-arrested-for-allegedly-saying-quarantine-facilities-worse-than-detention-centre

An Opposition MLA in Assam was on Tuesday arrested for allegedly making controversial remarks about the condition of quarantine facilities and the hospitals treating coronavirus patients in the state, PTI reported. All India United Democratic Front leader Aminul Islam allegedly said that they are “worse than detention centres”.A purported audio clip of Islam’s conversation with another person was shared on social media, where he allegedly said that the living conditions in Assam’s coronavirus quarantine centers were worse than those at the detention centres for “illegal migrants”.

Covid-19: Cases filed against several Tablighi Jamaat members for alleged misconduct, negligence

https://scroll.in/latest/958468/covid-19-cases-filed-against-several-tablighi-jamaat-members-for-alleged-misconduct-negligence

The police in Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday registered cases against several members of the Tablighi Jamaat linked to a religious event held at Nizamuddin in Delhi last month that later emerged as a Covid-19 infection hotspot.The Delhi Police has registered two cases against a few members for their alleged misconduct in various quarantine centres in the Capital, according to Hindustan Times.A case was registered against two Jamaat members from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, after the sanitation staff of a quarantine centre in Narela area of Delhi accused them of defecating in front of their rooms.

Covid-19: Delhi to conduct rapid testing for 1 lakh people in infection hotspots, says Kejriwal

https://scroll.in/latest/958456/covid-19-delhi-to-conduct-rapid-testing-for-1-lakh-people-in-infection-hotspots-says-kejriwal

The Delhi government will do rapid testing for the coronavirus for one lakh people in the infection hotspots, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said at a press briefing on Tuesday. Kejriwal said his government will follow South Korea’s model and will begin large-scale testing in the Capital.“We have ordered kits for the testing of 50,000 people,” he said. “The kits have started arriving. We have also placed orders for the rapid test of 1 lakh people. The deliveries of kits will begin by Friday. Random tests will be done at hotspots and detailed tests will also be done.”scroll

COVID-19 death toll rises to 124 in India, total number of cases nears 4800

https://indianexpress.com/article/coronavirus/covid-19-tracker-latest-news-updates-6349282/

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tracker Live Updates: The death toll due to coronavirus has risen to 124 in India while the number of confirmed cases has jumped to 4,789, Union Health Ministry said in its latest update on Tuesday. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu remained the worst affected states with 1,018 and 690 cases respectively.Following requests from several state governments and experts, Centre is considering extending the nationwide lockdown after its ends on April 14 to stem the transmission of the novel coronavirus, government sources said. “A lot of state governments as well as experts are requesting the Central Government to extend the lockdown. Central Government is thinking in this direction,” sources said. At least 7 states, which together have reported 1,367 coronavirus cases—almost one-third of the total cases in India—had indicated on Monday that they would continue to have some restrictions in place even after the 21-day lockdown ends on April 14.

Covid-19: WhatsApp to limit sharing of frequently forwarded messages to just one chat at a time

https://scroll.in/latest/958453/covid-19-whatsapp-to-limit-sharing-of-frequently-forwarded-messages-to-just-one-chat-at-a-time

Messaging service WhatsApp on Tuesday announced that it had decided to limit sharing of frequently forwarded messages to only one chat at a time. The new limit is intended to combat the spread of fake news and misinformation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.“We’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel overwhelming and can contribute to the spread of misinformation,” the company said in a blog post. “We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation.”

Covid-19: Karnataka and Kerala have reached consensus on border issue, Centre tells SC

https://scroll.in/latest/958476/covid-19-karnataka-and-kerala-have-reached-consensus-on-border-issue-centre-tells-sc

The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed a clutch of petitions related to a dispute over a blockade at the border between Kerala and Karnataka amid the coronavirus outbreak, after the Centre told the court that the states have reached a consensus on the matter, The Hindu reported.Karnataka had moved the top court, challenging a Kerala High Court order to open the border to allow passage of patients from Kasargod district seeking medical services in Mangaluru. Karnataka, which imposed the blockade, justified that its border was sealed “in order to combat the spread of the pandemic”.

Covid-19: A teenager and a 60-year-old man with no symptoms test positive in Kerala

https://scroll.in/latest/958494/covid-19-a-teenager-and-a-60-year-old-man-with-no-symptoms-test-positive-in-kerala

Two persons in Kerala, who earlier did not exhibit symptoms of the Covid-19 infection, have tested positive for the coronavirus in Pathanamthitta district, NDTV reported on Tuesday. Out of the two cases, one is a 60-year-old man who recently travelled from Dubai to the district, while the other is a 19-year-old student who travelled from Delhi in March.The 60-year-old man who tested positive was quarantined between March 19 and April 6. He had flown back from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram on March 19 and then travelled to Pathanamthitta by road. He was asymptomatic but was still tested as he had returned from a country with a number of Covid-19 cases.

*CORONAVIRUS – WORLD*

Coronavirus Global death toll touches 75000