3 oct 2021

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Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com

Vol XXXI No. 299

DIMAPUR, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2021 Pages 12 ` 5.00

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Danger of complacency on Covid-19 Proportion of new cases by ‘travellers’ have increased: H&FW DIMAPUR, OCT 2 (NPN): As Covid-19 lockdown curbs are being relaxed, entry of tourists allowed, reopening of schools and businesses also allowed, especially in view of the festive season ahead, a health official has expressed serious concern about complacency among people who are flouting the Covid safety protocols. Though Nagaland’s weekly positivity rate (2.1%) has been below 5% for the past seven consecutive weeks, the official however cautioned that the second wave of Covid-19 has not ended yet. Open flouting of Covid-19 protocols is rampant in the state where people thronging crowded places are not wearing face masks since it is a largely held belief that after taking both vaccine jabs it totally safe. “People are still dying, though not as it was during

Petrol, diesel prices touch record highs DIMAPUR, OCT 2 (NPN): State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased prices of petrol and diesel on Saturday pushing the rates to new record highs across the country. According to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers, price of petrol was hiked again by 25 paise per litre while diesel price was increased by 30 paise per litre. The fourth increase in its rates this week has sent petrol prices above Rs.100 in most major cities of the country. After the latest rate revision, prices of petrol and diesel in Dimapur rose to Rs.100.65 per litre and Rs.92.59 per litre respectively. In the state capital Kohima, prices of a litre of petrol and diesel stood at Rs.101.65 and Rs.93.40 respectively. According to a PTI report, the price hike follows international oil prices soaring to near three-year high as global output disruptions forced energy companies to draw more crude oil out of their stockpiles. The basket of crude oil India imports has averaged $78 per barrel in last few days. Prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes.

This is it!

"Kindly accept this bundle of cash as donation. It is not important as to where this money comes from but where it'll be used." K Y M C

Graph-1 CONFIRMED CASES THIS WEEK % Category Cases 76% Self- Test/ Random Test 136 11% Travellers 19 7% Traced contacts 13 4% Security personnel 7 3% Frontline workers 5 TOTAL 100% 180 (Source: H&FW department)

Graph-2

(Covid-19 confirmed cases in %)

40

2020

34

35

2021

30

30

26

25

24

20 15

8

5 0

1515

13

10

0.20.4 11 .02-1

1-1.5

7

23

10 2

5 1

3

6-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-106

the peak of the second wave. People need to be extra careful and follow safety protocols/guidelines issued by the government,” the official said. Many virologists have warned against such complacency which they said

will only propel the expected third wave to arrive sooner than later and more fatal. According to Central health officials, the third wave is likely to infect mostly children from ages 3 and above. Earlier this week, the

Centre, in a communication to chief secretaries of all states cautioned against the possibility of COVIDappropriate behaviour not being adhered to strictly during the upcoming festival which may lead to a surge in cases again. Despite a decline in COVID-19 cases, it is critical to enforce guidelines that allow regular festivities in a cautious, safe and COVID-appropriate manner, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla asserted. He said the daily COVID-19 cases and the overall number of COVID-19 patients in the country are decreasing steadily but there are still localised spreads of virus in a few states and COVID-19 continues to be a public health challenge in the country. M e a n w h i l e, i n i t s weekly bulletin released on Saturday, State Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) department pointed out that the proportion of new weekly positive cases by “travellers” have increased from 5% to 11% in the last three weeks. (See Graph-1)

With regard to distribution of confirmed cases by age-group, the department said that between 2020 and 2021, proportion of cases increased by over 7000. (See Graph-2). The department further informed that the state reported 180 new cases during the week (between September 25 to October 1), the lowest since June this year. Further, five deaths were reported from the week (Dimapur: 4 and Mokokchung: 1) taking the total Covid-19 deaths to 651. A total of 25 Covid hospital admissions were reported during the week, the lowest since May 2021. State logs 30 fresh cases: Nagaland on Saturday recorded 30 fresh Covid-19 positive cases while no deaths were reported during the day. Of the fresh cases 20 were from Dimapur, four in Mokokchung and three each in Kohima and Phek, taking the total caseload to 31295. The death toll remain unchanged at 666 (including 15 non-Covid deaths).

PM launches Jal Jeevan Mission app, Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh

India’s Covid-19 vax coverage crosses 90 crore

to help provide tap water connection in every rural household, school, anganwadi centre, ashramshala and other public institutions. Speaking after interacting with gram panchayats and pani samitis/village water and sanitation committees (VWSC) on the Jal Jeevan Mission, Modi said the mission is not just about bringing water to people but it is also a decentralisation movement that is village and women-driven. “From the time of Independence till 2019, only three crore households in our country had access to tap water. Since the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, five crore households were provided with water connections,” he said. “Today, water is reaching every household in about 1.25 lakh villages in about 80 districts of the country.

NEW DELHI, OCT 2 (PTI): India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 90-crore mark with over 65 lakh vaccine doses administered on Saturday, the Union Health Ministry said. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports by late in the night, it said. “India’s COVID-19 va c c i n a t i o n c ove r a g e has crossed the 90 crore landmark milestone (90,42,59,810) today. More than 65 lakh (65,27,196) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today,” the ministry said. According to data shared by the ministry, of the total number of doses administered, 65,77,50,687 were first jabs and 24,65,09,123 second ones.

Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI, OCT 2 (AGENCIES/PTI): On the occasion 152nd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the Jal Jeevan Mission App and interacted with Gram Panchayats and village water and sanitation committees (VWSC) He also launched the Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh, where any individual, institution, corporate or philanthropist, be it in India or abroad, can contribute

Motor Vehicles (Driving) Regulations, 2017 Issued by: Dimapur Traffic Police “Cares for You” Initiative, 2021 Regulation – 9: Precautions to be taken at intersections  The vehicle shall invariably slow down when approaching a road intersection, a road junction, a pedestrian crossing or a road corner, and shall not enter any such intersection, junction or crossing if it is likely to endanger the safety of other road users moving onto, or already on, such intersection, road junction, pedestrian crossing or road corner  At intersections and junctions, vehicles approaching from the right side shall have the right of way: Provided that this sub-regulation shall not apply - (a) When the junction or intersection is being regulated by manual signals by an authorised person, traffic lights or mandatory traffic signs; or (b) when the vehicle is exiting a minor road and entering a major road  A motor vehicle shall not enter an intersection if the traffic on the intersection has come to a standstill even if it is on the main road or has a signal to proceed.

That is, today’s India has done more work in just two years than what was done in the last seven decades,” he said. In aspirational districts, piped water connections have risen from 31 lakh to over 1.16 crore, Modi said. He said it has to be ensured that the situation of bringing water to any part of the country through tankers or trains never arises. In an apparent dig at previous Congress dispensations, he said for a long time those who were responsible for policy-making lived in abundance of water. They had water at their homes and in their swimming pools, Modi said. “They had not seen poverty and it was just an attraction for them... They should have strived for an ideal village but they kept liking the shortcomings in the villages,” he said.

Nagaland to host first-ever national athletic event 56th National CrossCountry Championships DIMAPUR, OCT 2 (NPN): Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has allotted the 56th National CrossCountry Championships 2022 to Nagaland—the first-ever national

athletic event to be held in the state. Taking to twitter, the state chief minister Neiphiu Rio expressed gratitude to the AFI for allotting the national championships to Nagaland. “This will be the first-ever national athletic event to be hosted by Nagaland. We look forward to welcoming the athletics fraternity,” Rio tweeted.

Replying to chief minister’s tweet, the AFI thanked Rio for taking up the championships. “We look forward to a great event in Nagaland,” AFI stated. Associate vice president of AFI and advisor to CM, Abu Metha, has appealed to all sections to extend support and make it an event to make Nagaland proud.

Shifting of DC office: Dmu CSOs form core panel; to hold ‘mass citizens rally’ on Oct 5 tober 5, 2021 at 9am in case there was no positive response from the state government till October 4, 2021. The rally would be taken out from Clock Tower junction to DC office. The committee has, therefore, appealed all the responsible citizens of Dimapur district to be ready to assemble at the venue “for the cause of Dimapur citizens.” As informed earlier, the core committee is comprised of two members each from CSOs and five senior citizens as members, besides legal advisers. It may be mentioned that the Civil Society Organizations had served a five-day deadline with effect from September 29, 2021 on the chief minister to cancel the September 7 home department notification

for shifting of the district election office and disaster management cell the new complex at Chümoukedima including all other orders/ notice issued by the government. The CSOs also demanded removal of the tag “HQ: Chümoukedima; Camp: Dimapur” from the letter head of DC Dimapur. The “ultimatum” was jointly signed by presidents/representatives of DUCCF, Sumi Council Dimapur, Dimapur Naga Students’ Union, Naga Council Dimapur, Easter n Nagaland People’s Union Dimapur, GBs Union Dimapur, Ao Senso Telongjem Dimapur, Naga Women Hoho Dimapur, Kachari Tribal Council Nagaland, Dimapur Eastern Naga students’ Union and Dimapur Lotha Hoho.

Intl tourists may be permitted to travel to India by Oct 15

India logs 24,354 new Covid cases, 234 fresh fatalities

DIMAPUR, OCT 2 (NPN): As resolved on September 30, the Dimapurbased Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) formed a core committee against shifting of deputy commissioner (DC) office Dimapur at a meeting on October 1, 2021. The core committee through its media cell said it had at a meeting on October 2, 2021 unanimously decided to object the “publication dated September 29, 2021” and strongly demanded the government to reconsider the order dated September 7, 2021 issued by principal secretary home. The meeting also reaffirmed the September 29 ultimatum served on the state chief minister. Further, the core committee resolved to hold “a mass citizens rally” on Oc-

NEW DELHI, OCT 2 (AGENCIES): Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik said on Saturday that International tourists may be able to travel to India by October 15 and an announcement is expected to be made by the Central government soon. The development comes after seeing a sharp decline in Covid cases, and vaccination landmark reached to its fullest extent. “International flights have started and we have requested for charter flights to resume by a particular date so that people can book trips to India and nowhere else.” “As corona decreases, we will start national and

international tourism,” the minister said. Shripad Naik told reporters on the sidelines of a Gandhi Jayanti function here. The announcement will be made soon and there is a possibility of it beginning after October 15. International charter flights account for a bulk of the foreign tourist footfalls to Goa. Earlier this month, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant had forwarded a request made by travel and tourism industry stakeholders to the Union Home Affairs Ministry urging the latter to grant permissions to international charter flights at the earliest.

Nagaland coffee attracts global interest DIMAPUR, OCT 2 (NPN): Minister for Planning & Coordination, Land Revenue and Parliamentary Affairs Neiba Kronu met the international coffee buyers in Delhi, who were en route to Nagaland to explore the potentiality of the coffee products. In a press note, Thomas Thailu, OSD planning & coordination, said that during interaction Carl Wessel and Dr. Pieter Vermeulen shared their desire to buy coffee and stressed that farmers should get good price. Both from South Africa, Carl Wessel is the coowner of Deluxe Coffeeworks, one of the major coffee buyers in the world and has several branches across the globe while Dr. Pieter Vermeulen is the founder of Naga Coffee

(L-R) Neiba Kronu, Dr. Pieter Vermeulen and Carl Wessel in Delhi.

and a coffee expert. While interacting with the buyers, Kronu highlighted the vision for Nagaland and said that there were many untapped resources in Nagaland and has the potential to compete with the rest of the world. He also shared about “trees for wealth” project and Coffee, which could be

Covid antiviral pill cuts risk of hospitalisation, deaths: manufacturer WASHINGTON, OCT 2 (ANI): An antiviral pill has been found to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and deaths by 50 per cent in patients diagnosed with COVID-19 during clinical trials. The drug, which is made by US firm Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is called Molnupiravir. It has proven to be consistently effective against all strains of COVID-19, including the highly contagious delta variant, The Hill reported. The company said it plans to submit an application for

emergency use authorisation to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as soon as possible based on the trial’s results. If granted the authorization, Molnupiravir could be the first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19, Merck’s statement noted. An analysis of phase three trials found that 7.3 per cent of patients treated with Merck’s drug were hospitalised within 29 days, according to the company’s Friday statement. Every participant in the

study was unvaccinated and had at least one underlying health condition that increased their chances of developing a more serious case of COVID-19. Some of the most common health factors among participants included obesity, diabetes, heart disease and being over the age of 60. The trial was conducted at more than 170 sites in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan and South Africa. Of the study participants who received a placebo, 14.1 percent were hospitalised or

NEW DELHI, OCT 2 (PTI): India logged 24,354 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 3,37,91,061, while the active cases declined to 2,73,889, lowest in 197 days, according to the Union health ministry’s data updated on Saturday. The death toll climbed to 4,48,573 with 234 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The active cases comprise 0.81 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.86 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

died by the last day of the trial. No deaths were reported in patients who were given Molnupiravir during the duration of the trial, while eight deaths were reported in those who were treated with placebos. “This is a phenomenal result, I mean this is a profound game-changer to have an oral pill that had this kind of effect,” former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on CNBC. “With these compelling results, we are optimistic that Molnupiravir can become an

important medicine as part of the global effort to fight the pandemic and will add to Merck’s unique legacy of bringing forward breakthroughs in infectious diseases when they are needed most,” Robert M. Davis, CEO and president of Merck, said in a statement. “Consistent with Merck’s unwavering commitment to save and improve lives, we will continue to work with regulatory agencies on our applications and do everything we can to bring molnupiravir to patients as quickly as possible,” Merck added.

one of the main aspects to boost the economy of the state particularly the farmers. Further, Kronu shared about the honey and the local ginger production, which has low volume, but high value with lots of medicinal values. The buyers were also looking to buy other products from Nagaland.

Dumping, parking along road banned in Kohima DIMAPUR, OCT 2 (NPN): Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kohima, Gregory Thejawelie, has prohibited dumping of construction/ building materials, stone, logs, timbers etc. and parking of off-road vehicles along the road/highway. DC has ordered immediate removal of all such obstructing materials/off-road vehicles, failing which materials would be removed, confiscated and disposed off and defaulters penalised. DC stated that off road vehicles would also be towed away by the police at the expense of the owners. In the exigent case whereby loading/un-loading of materials was inevitable, the concerned owners are to undertake between 6pm and 7am and not prior or after the scheduled time. K Y M C


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