Archives for June 2020

Coronavirus: In Mumbai, daily growth in number of COVID cases has fallen to 2.43 per cent consistently for a week, which is lower than the national rate of 3.3 per cent

Mumbai:In the last three days, coronavirus recoveries in Mumbai have also outnumbered new cases 

The spread of coronavirus disease, which brought India’s financial capital to a standstill, seems to be slowing down offering hope that the damage can be contained with discipline and cooperation.

The daily growth in number of COVID cases in Mumbai has fallen to 2.43 per cent consistently for a week, which is lower than the national rate of 3.3 per cent. Mumbai’s daily growth rate was 2.7 per cent a week ago.

According to the public health department data of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, or the BMC, the rate at which cases are doubling also improved to 29 days, as on June 17, up from 20 days on June 3.

The doubling rate, or the rate at which number of cases double, is calculated over periods of three, five or seven days to observe the effect of containment measures adopted.

Out of the 24 wards in Mumbai, the most improvement was seen in Matunga area – part of F North ward – where doubling rate is 60 days, while in Dahisar area – part of R North ward – cases are doubling every 13 days.

The most heartening development, however, comes from Asia’s biggest slum – Dharavi – where the doubling rate is 46 days and, so far in June all of eight deaths have been registered compared to 50 deaths registered over the same period last month.

Dharavi is one of the 17,837 containment zones in Mumbai.

In the last three days, the number of coronavirus recoveries has also consistently outnumbered new cases.

However, the deaths in the city went up after government reconciled the hospital data. The total number of coronavirus related deaths now stands at 3,311.

“We did data reconciliation and after that the deaths, which had not been added earlier, have been added. The deaths were not hidden, but we have instructed all district collectors to ensure such lag in reporting does not happen in future,” Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.

Officials and frontline health workers, however, have warned that now would not be a good time for Mumbai to heave a sigh of relief as the monsoon has arrived and with rain would come many more diseases.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says the Chinese attack in Galwan, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, was pre-planned.

New Delhi:Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the price was paid by Indian soldiers.  

Unrelenting in his attacks on the centre over the Ladakh clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, Rahul Gandhi tweeted today that it is “crystal clear” that the government was “fast asleep” and jawans paid the price. He posted the fresh charge hours before an all-party meeting on the India-China that his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to attend.

“It’s now crystal clear that: 1. The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned. 2. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem. 3. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans,” the Congress leader tweeted, sharing a report quoting junior defence minister Shripad Naik as saying the attack was planned.

In an interview to news agency ANI, Mr Naik had said: “It is a matter of national security, there will be no compromise. We will not allow others to take our land. I pay tribute to all jawans who lost lives. The nation is proud of them that they made the supreme sacrifice. It won’t go in vain. It was pre-planned by China and Indian forces will give a befitting reply.”

The minister also said: “We were in talks with Chinese officials. Soldiers of both sides have demarche 2.5 KM. It is sad that China has attacked our soldiers in our territory and their soldiers have also been killed.”

Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi had posted that soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom”. He was fact-checked by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who said soldiers always carry arms but the rules of engagement do not allow use firearms during face-offs.

Indian soldiers were assaulted with iron rods and clubs wrapped in barbed wire laced with nails in the fight with the Chinese in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, close to the Line of Actual Control. Many were thrown off a steep ridge and some of the soldiers fell into the river Galwan.

Mr Jaishankar told his China counterpart Wang Yi the incident would have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship and China must take corrective steps. But both ministers agreed that “neither side would take any action to escalate matters.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to make full use of the expanded COVID-19 testing capacity and saving lives a top priority.

Coronavirus Cases India: India’s recovery rate is at 52.79 per cent.

India today reported over 12,000 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours in the biggest one-day spike. The country has so far reported 3,66,946 coronavirus cases; 1,94,935 have recovered. The number of dead is 12,237. The recovery rate is at 52.95 per cent. 

Maharashtra has the highest number of cases in the country. The number of fatalities across the state and its capital Mumbai went up sharply on Wednesday as the records were updated with 3,307 cases.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to make full use of the expanded COVID-19 testing capacity and saving lives a top priority. PM Modi also called for fighting the stigma associated with coronavirus and that people should be assured there is no need to panic if somebody has contracted the infection as the number of recovered patients has also been rising. The COVID-19 recovery rate for the country currently stood at around 53 per cent.

Petrol, Diesel Price Today: In Delhi, the price of petrol was increased by 53 paise per litre and diesel by 64 paise per litre with effect from 6 am.

Petrol and diesel rates were raised to Rs 77.81/litre and Rs 76.43/litre respectively in Delhi

Petrol and diesel prices were increased for the twelfth day in a row in metros on Thursday, as state-owned oil companies continued with the normal practice of daily reviews following a 12-week pause. With effect from 6 am on June 18, the price of petrol was increased by 53 paise per litre in Delhi, and diesel by 64 paise per litre, compared to the previous day. While the price of petrol was revised to Rs 77.81 per litre in the national capital from Rs 77.28 per litre the previous day, the diesel rate was increased to Rs 76.43 per litre from Rs 75.79 per litre, according to notifications from state-run Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer. (Also Read: How To Find Latest Petrol, Diesel Rates In Your City)

In the 12-day period, the price of petrol has been increased by a cumulative Rs 6.55 per litre in the national capiital, and diesel by Rs 7.13 per litre.

Domestic petrol and diesel are determined broadly by global oil prices and forex prices. 

International crude oil prices edged lower on Wednesday as a draw-down in US distillate stockpiles for the first time since March and a sharp drop in US crude production faced concerns over fuel demand due to fresh outbreaks of COVID-19.

Brent crude futures – the global benchmark for crude oil – were last seen trading down 0.3 per cent at $40.82 per barrel.

Earlier on Wednesday, the rupee ended at 76.16 against the US dollar, nearly unchanged near a six-week low registered the previous day. 

State-run oil marketing companies revise the prices of petrol and diesel from time to time, besides aviation turbine fuel (ATF) – or jet fuel – and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). However, since March 16, the oil companies had kept petrol and diesel prices on hold, possibly due to the volatility in global oil markets.

Fuel retailing in the country is dominated by state refiners – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. The three own about 90 per cent of the retail fuel outlets in the country.

India-China: The army has brought in reinforcements in Galwan valley in Ladakh, the site of the clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action, and other areas like Daulat Beg Oldie, Chushul and Depsang

Ladakh: Indian Army soldiers on a highway leading towards Leh in Gagangir

The Army will evacuate two villages in eastern Ladakh close to the Line of Actual Control or LAC amid tension after a deadly face-off between India and China on Monday, sources said on Thursday. Mobile network in border villages has been snapped and the Srinagar-Leh highway has been closed to traffic.

The army has brought in reinforcements in Galwan valley, the site of the clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action, and other areas like Daulat Beg Oldie, Chushul and Depsang.

The clash took place at a point called PP-14 or patrolling point 14 a few kilometres from the LAC, the de-facto border between India and China.

New satellite images from Reuters taken on Tuesday shows a massive build-up on the Chinese side of the LAC. Sources say the army is apprehensive that the Chinese may deploy troops at Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) to build pressure.

The army is reviewing decades-old rules of engagement with China of not opening fire on confronting Chinese troops. The Navy and Air Force are also on alert at the LAC.

On Monday, hundreds of soldiers clashed at a height of 15,000 feet, near the Galwan river. Indian soldiers were assaulted with iron rods, stones wrapped in barbed wire and nail-studded clubs in the fight that started in the afternoon and went on till midnight.

Soldiers were even thrown off a high ridge into the icy Galwan river. About 45 Chinese soldiers were also killed or injured, said army sources. The area also saw violent clashes in 1962, when Indian posts were overrun. But in over five decades, there had been no violence and no active Chinese presence.

Kerala said that in case countries lack facilities to conduct the tests, centre should make the necessary arrangements to test the returnees through the embassies in those countries.

Thiruvananthapuram: Antibody tests should be conducted on fliers if RT-PCR tests are difficult, Pinarayi Vijayan said

Expatriates who wish to return to Kerala will now have to undergo mandatory COVID-19 tests for the highly contagious coronavirus before boarding a flight to the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday. Apart from those returning under the centre’s Vande Bharat Mission, Indians coming back on chartered flights will also have to get themselves tested for coronavirus before boarding the flight.  

“It is not safe for the passengers to have a few infected people among them. If conducting RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests for passengers is difficult, antibody tests should be done,” the chief minister added.

The state government also said that in case countries lack facilities to conduct the tests, centre should make the necessary arrangements to test the returnees through the embassies in those countries. “This issue has been raised with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Airlines can also work with the health department to facilitate the tests”, Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Mr Vijayan also said that uniform norms on pre-flight testing should apply to all airlines. 300 SpiceJet flights have been cleared by Kerala to fly back stranded Indians to the state and the airline has communicated to the state government that they are ensuring pre-flight COVID 19 testing, Mr Vijayan said.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in a tweet slamming Mr Vijayan called his decision “inhuman”.

“@vijayanpinarayi’s decision to make #COVID19 certificates mandatory for expatriate Malayalees is anti-people, discriminatory & ill-conceived. It defeats the sole purpose of repatriation during the pandemic

Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier accused the Union Minister of spearheading “disinformation campaign”.

“Do not try to play politics using the health of the public during a disaster. If we don’t learn from our lessons, are we humans? Can we stay away from our responsibility to protect those who are arriving? Isn’t that our responsibility too? Central government must do what is expected of it. This is not something that can end with arguments. Decisions have to be taken keeping in mind the current need,” Mr Vijayan said.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, terming the chief minister’s decision as cruel, said coronavirus test results take four to seven days and cannot be obtained within 48 hours. Besides, it would also impose a financial burden on the returnees who are currently facing unemployment, he said, adding that he would observe a fast in front of the state secretariat on June 19 against the alleged indifference of the state and central governments towards expats.

Kerala has sought specific quarantine guidelines from the centre for residents of the state who are landing in Delhi, Mumbai or other cities and then reaching their homestate.

“Instead of them going through mandatory quarantine twice in two states, if they get tickets to proceed to Kerala within five days, they should be allowed to quarantine themselves in Kerala. But it would be best, if flights are extended to the state”, Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Kerala has reported at least 2,622 coronavirus cases with 20 deaths so far.

Officials from the armed forces, the district Collector, police personnel and elected representatives paid tributes and placed wreaths before the casket carrying the mortal remains of Havildar Palani.

Havildar Palani was among the 20 soldiers killed in a violent clash with the Chinese troops in Ladakh

Havildar K Palani, one of the 20 Indian army soldiers killed in a violent clash with the Chinese troops in Ladakh, was laid to rest at his native village with full military honours on Thursday.

A gun salute was accorded to the him before his body were buried at Kadakkalur village in the district, as scores of people including family members bid a tearful adieu to Havildar Palani who had made the supreme sacrifice on Monday.

Officials from the armed forces, the district Collector, police personnel and elected representatives paid tributes and placed wreaths before the casket carrying the body of Havildar Palani.

Officials later handed over the Indian tricolour, wrapped on the casket, to the family members of the departed prior to the burial.

Havildar Palani’s minor son performed the related rituals.

Earlier, the soldier’s body arrived at Madurai airport late on Wednesday, where officials from the armed forces paid their last respects to him.

The body was later brought to his residence early on Thursday.

District Collector K Veera Raghava Rao paid respects to the body and handed over a cheque for Rs 20 lakh, the solatium announced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, to the family.

On Monday night, 20 Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in the clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

The clash in Galwan Valley on Monday night is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India lost around 80 soldiers while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed.