June 30, 2020

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Nagaland Post

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Vol XXX No. 204

DIMAPUR, TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2020 Pages 12 ` 5.00

11 killed in terrorists attack Pak Stock Exchange

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international, Page 9

Lockdown in Nagaland till July 15

Correspondent

KOHIMA, JUN 29 (NPN): After considering the spike in COVID-19 cases in Nagaland, the cabinet on Monday decided to extend lockdown in Nagaland till July 15. Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio informed this to media persons after the cabinet meeting held at the civil secretariat here. He said the decision was made after officials of the health & family welfare (H&FW) and home departments briefed the cabinet about the prevailing situation in the state vis-à-vis COVID-19. Rio said the recommendations of the district task forces were also taken into account by the cabinet before deciding to extend the lockdown till July 15. He said this was done to maintain status quo on the current lockdown measures. Rio also said cabinet decided to send an appeal to ENPO over its five-day deadline earlier served on the State government to act on Judicial Inquiry Committee (JIC) report over the Tuensang fiasco. Also speaking to media, planning & coordination and parliamentary af-

PM to address the nation today

NEW DELHI, JUN 29 (PTI): PPrime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on Tuesday evening, his office said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 4 PM tomorrow,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted. Doordarshan will telecast the Prime Minister’s address live. It is believed that Modi will share his views on Unlock 2.0, which will kick in from Wednesday. Prime Minister Modi said on Sunday said that the country will have to focus on defeating coronavirus and bolstering the economy as it exits from the lockdown.

NSCN(R) reacts to Governor’s letter

DIMAPUR, JUN 29 (NPN): NSCN(R) through its MIP has reacted to the contents in the Governor’s letter to the chief minister, describing it as “very unfortunate and simply a Malicious and Sinister move”. NSCN (R) said that history can never be changed or re-written no matter how hard one tries to. However, it claimed that the “very attempt to distort it by some respected personalities like Ravi is very unbecoming of a Interlocutor/Governor”. (Full text on p-6)

This is it!

“The Chinese have technically withdrawn their PLA but tactically left armed construction workers.” K Y M C

A view of the Clock Tower junction in Dimapur during the ‘janata curfew’ on March 22. (NP)

fairs minister Neiba Kronu, who is also High Powered Committee spokesperson on COVID-19 activities, said the appeal letter to “forgive and forget” on the lapses will be written by the cabinet secretary (chief secretary), besides another appeal letter to ENPO by the H&FW department. Asked about the Governor RN Ravi’s letter, the chief minister informed that he had explained the law and order situation in the State and other issues, at a meeting with the governor on June 19 in the presence of deputy chief minister Y Patton and ministers G Kaito Aye, Neiba Kronu, Temjen Imna Along and Jacob Zhimomi.

He said the government would submit a report on its findings to the governor since the latter had brought up issues of various departments. Compared with the 1960s till 1997 when ceasefire began, the chief minister claimed that the law and order situation in the State had “tremendously improved”. To buttress his claim, Rio reminded that Nagaland had received the “Best State” award for maintenance of law and order in the small States category for two consecutive years 2018-19 and 2019-2020. He added that the award spoke volumes and therefore there was no need to dwell in detail. Meanwhile, the cabi-

net also decided to take stringent measures to seal borders with Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur by deputing more police personnel at the interState check gates. M e a n w h i l e, c h i e f secretary Temjen Toy has informed that all existing guidelines with regard to lockdown, notified on May 4 and subsequent order on June 10 will remain in force. These include relaxations regarding opening of religious places/places of worship for public, and another order dated June 20 regarding plying of local taxis and auto rickshaws in the border sub divisions, shall continue to remain operative in Nagaland till July 15 2020.

State COVID-19 cases rise to 451 States push for NAGALAND COVID-19 STATUS AS ON JUNE 29, 2020 District Dimapur Kiphire Kohima Longleng Mokokchung Mon Peren Phek Tuensang Wokha Zunheboto Total

Asymptomatic cases 52 0 86 0 0 38 83 1 20 0 3 283

DIMAPUR, JUN 29 (NPN): Nagaland on Monday reported 36 fresh COVID-19 positive cases and 4 recovery from various quarantine centres (QCs), taking the state’s total tally to 451 cases-- 283 active and 168 recovered. In a tweet, Health minister S. Pangnyu Phom said 18 cases were detected from Jakhama QC (Army personnel), 17 cases from Tuensang QC and 1 from Peren QC. Further, he said four patients, three from Di-

Recovered 131 0 26 0 0 0 6 0 5 0 0 168

Total Cases 183 0 112 0 0 38 89 1 25 0 3 451

mapur and 1 from Kohima recovered on Monday. Till June 29, a total of 11,661 samples had been sent for testing, out of which 7,868 samples were received at the BSL-3 lab (NHAK) and a total of 7,637 samples tested. Of these, 360 had tested positive. In addition a total of 4,897 samples have been tested by Truenat, out of which 85 samples tested positive and sent for confirmation by RT-PCR.

plasma therapy

NEW DELHI, JUN 29 (PTI): Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana are among the states making a big push for use of convalescent plasma therapy for treatment of critical coronavirus patients. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a convalescent plasma therapy-cum-trial project with a state medical department official calling it the “largest” initiative of its kind in the world. In the Delhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced setting up of a ‘plasma bank’ while Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said the state will soon start convalescent plasma therapy in all its medical colleges. Plasma therapy involves taking antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 and transfusing those into a coronavirus patient to help kickstart the immune system to fight the infection.

nagalandpostofficial nagalandpostofficial

India’s COVID-19 tally close to 5.5L NEW DELHI, JUN 29 (PTI): Another big single-day spike of 19,459 COVID-19 cases took India’s tally close to 5.5 lakh on Monday, even as the recovery rate further improved to 58.67 per cent. India’s COVID-19 case tally rose to 5,48,318, while the death toll climbed to 16,475 with 380 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data. This is the sixth consecutive day that coronavirus infections have increased by more than 15,000. The country has seen a surge of 3,57,783 infections from June 1 till date. The number of active cases stands at 2,10,120, while 3,21,722 people have recovered, and one patient has migrated, according to the updated data. The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners. The gap between recoveries and active cases is 1,11,602 as of Monday, with the recovery rate now at 58.67 per cent, the ministry said. A total of 12,010 COVID-19 patients have been cured since Sunday.

Manchester City cruise into FA Cup semis sports, Page 12

Centre issues ‘Unlock 2’ guidelines Schools, gyms to remain shut; flight & railway services to be expanded DIMAPUR, JUN 29 (NPN): Centre on Monday night issued guidelines for the month-long ‘Unlock 2’-- the “phased re-opening” of activities. The fresh guidelines said schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till July 31. It added metro rail, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places will also remain shut. Similarly, social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions and other large congregations will continue to be disallowed. Domestic flights and passenger train operations will be expanded in a calibrated manner. Movement of individuals will remain prohibited between 10 pm to 5 am throughout the country.

zones. Containment zones will be demarcated with the objective of breaking the chain of transmission. Only essential activities will be allowed and no movement of people will be allowed in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies. There shall be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance and other clinical interventions in such zones. States/UTs may also identify Buffer Zones, outside the containment zones where new cases are more likely to occur. Within the Buffer Zones, restrictions are considered necessary may be put in place by district authorities.

National Directives for COVID-19 management:

Face covering: Wearing of face cover is compulsory in public places, workplaces and during travel. Social distancing: Individuals must maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet in public places. Shops will ensure physical distancing among customers and will not allow more than 5 perContainment zones sons at one time. Gatherings: Large Lockdown will continue to remain in effect public gathering, congregatill July 31 in containment tions continue to remain

prohibited. Marriage gatherings: number of guests not to exceed 50 Funeral related gatherings: Number of persons not to exceed 20 Spitting in public places: It will be punishable with fine, as may be prescribed by the local authority in accordance with state laws, rules and regulations. Consumption of paan, gutkha, liquor, tobacco, etc in public places is prohibited. Additional directives Work from home: As far as possible the practice of work from home should be followed. Staggering of work/business hours will be followed in offices, workplaces, shops, markets and industrial and commercial establishments. Screening and hygiene: Provision for thermal scanning, hand wash and sanitizer will be made at all entry and exit points and common areas. Frequent sanitisation of the entire workplace, common facilities and all points which come into human contact like door handles, etc will be ensured, including between shifts.

Mon district to start rapid antigen tests Correspondent

KOHIMA, JUN 29 (NPN): In order to ramp up testing in Mon district and ease the time taken for receiving confirmation from ICMRRegional Medical Research Centre Dibrugarh, Transport & Communication, Civil Aviation & Land Resources minister P Paiwang Konyak has ordered 625 rapid antigen and confirmatory test kits. The antigen-based testing kits, donated by Paiwang, have been purchased for Rs 4,50,000, all of which are expected to reach this week. Centre along with the Indian Council of Medical Research on Monday planned to use the rapid antigen-based COVID-19 method to push the more rigorous RT-PCR test for detection of the virus. “Antigen based test is a rapid point-of-care test that can be done on the spot without posing a biosafety

hazard as it doesn’t deal with analyzing a live virus,” a senior ICMR official said, adding it could help to determine an ongoing infection quickly. ICMR and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have independently evaluated the efficiency of antigen testing kit in detecting COVID-19 coronavirus infection, after which ICMR approved and allowed all States to start using rapid antigen testing kits. According to reports, the antigen test kit developed by South Korean biotechnology firm SD Biosensor has been found to have a very high specificity with

moderate sensitivity that can show results within 30 minutes. Speaking to Nagaland Post, Paiwang said taking samples to ICMR Dibrugarh for confirmation of tests took many days even as the spike of COVID-19 cases in the district was alarming, because of which he said he felt the need to have more testing kits whereby tests could be done and confirmed in the district itself within a day. DC, SP and barber test negative: Confirming that Mon DC, SP and the barber who gave the duo haircuts had tested negative, Paiwang said a second test

would be conducted in the next few days. And only after the second tests confirm their negative status, the DC and SP would resume their duties, he added. All returnees to be tested: He said inmates of COVID Care Centre, Mon would be compulsorily tested, even as 248 returnees out of 1,397 from the district had been released as they had all tested negative. Considering the extended number of days in quarantine centre for Mon district, the huge number of returnees and the increase in COVID positive cases, including frontline workers, Paiwang opined that additional funds should be allocated. He also expressed concern for other districts having more positive cases and stated that additional funds should be given so that proper management and containment of the such cases could be efficiently carried out. (Cont’d on p-8)

India bans 59 apps including TikTok, UC Browser DAYO flays personalized attacks on Along NEW DELHI, JUN 29 (PTI): India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country. The ban, which comes in the backdrop of current standoff along the Line of Actual control in Ladakh with Chinese troops, also includes WeChat and Bigo Live. The list of apps that have been banned also include Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call – Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein. This marks the largest sweep against the Chinese technology companies. The Information Technology Ministry in a statement said it has received many complaints from vari-

ous sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India”. “The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures,” the statement said. The IT Ministry said it has invoked its power under section 69A of the IT Act and rules, and has decided to block 59 apps in view of information available that they are “engaged in activities which are prejudicial to

sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. The move will “safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace”, it added. The list included prominent names like TikTok (which has over 200 million users in India), SHAREit, WeChat, UC Browser, Helo, Likee and Cam Scanner, among others. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, under Home ministry, has also sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking these malicious apps, the statement said, adding that there has been a strong chorus in the public space to take strict action against apps that harm India’s sovereignty as well as the privacy of citizens.

Likewise, there have been similar bipartisan concerns, flagged by various public representatives, both outside and inside Parliament. “On the basis of these and upon receiving recent credible inputs that such apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government of India has decided to disallow the usage of certain apps, used in both mobile and nonmobile Internet enabled devices,” it added. Comments from these companies could not be immediately obtained. “There have been raging concerns on aspects relating to data security and safeguarding the privacy of 130 crore Indians. It has been noted recently that such concerns also pose a threat to sovereignty and security of our country,” the statement said.

DIMAPUR, JUNE 29 (NPN): Dimapur Ao Youth Organisation (DAYO) has taken strong exception to “personal attacks” on Higher Education and Tribal Affairs minister Temjen Imna Along following his letter to BJP central leaders urging for postponement of delimitation exercise in Nagaland. DAYO p r e s i d e n t , Aotemsu Aier and general secretary S. Pangertoshi in a release, mentioned that the letter from Along to the BJP central leaders had conveyed the March 2 collective decision of the cabinet, where chief minister was also present. The Ao youth organization said National People’s Party (NPP) member Hayithung Bill Lotha’s allegation, that Along’s letter to the central BJP leaders was his own, was “unac-

ceptable and a direct insult and challenge to the entire Ao community”. It also termed statements of Lotha Hoho and Lotha Students’ Union, as equally unfortunate and unacceptable. DAYO said it expected Lotha Hoho and Lotha Students’ Union to be more responsible and do thorough research before going to the press for this kind of sensitive matter. According to DAYO, Along as an elected member and a member of the cabinet, had every right to convey the cabinet decision. DAYO said condemning and pointing out a particular cabinet minister was nothing short of resorting to tribalism. Since the cabinet decision to delay the delimitation process was not made by Along alone, DAYO said it would “not allow any

Tom, Dick and Harry to condemn our leader under any circumstances.” Further , DAYO said it was very unbecoming of a member of a national party (NPP) like Hayithung Bill Lotha to indulge in tribal politics for his own personal agenda and interests by branding tribal leaders of 11 Naga tribes as “so-called self-styled leaders and megalomaniac fools”. DAYO also recalled that the state government had, in a letter to Registrar & Census Commissioner of India on August 22, 2005, officially rejected the 2001 census citing several inconsistencies, erroneous data, exaggerated and implausible population figures. Therefore, DAYO asserted that carrying out delimitation exercise on the basis of a rejected census was not jus(Cont’d on p-8) tified. K Y M C


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