The precision drone strike outside the Baghdad airport on Friday killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, top Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and a clutch of other Iranian and Iraqi figures.
In Baghdad, mortar rounds on Saturday evening hit the Green Zone, the high-security enclave where the US embassy is based, security sources said.
The Iraqi military said that one projectile hit inside the zone, while another landed close to the enclave.
Sirens rang out at the US compound, sources there told AFP.
A pair of Katyusha rockets then hit the Balad airbase north of Baghdad, where American troops are based, security sources and the Iraqi military said.
Security sources there reported blaring sirens and said surveillance drones were sent above the base to locate the source of the rockets.
The US embassy in Baghdad, as well as the 5,200 American troops stationed across the country, have faced a spate of rocket attacks in recent months that Washington has blamed on Iran and its allies in Iraq.
One attack last month killed a US contractor working in northern Iraq, prompting retaliatory American airstrikes that killed 25 hardline fighters close to Iran.
Tensions boiled over on Friday when the US struck Soleimani's convoy as it drove out of the airport and US diplomats and troops across Iraq had been bracing themselves for more rocket attacks.
(PTI/AFP)
The incident took place at around 12 a.m. on Sunday when unknown militants fired the rockets at the zone, which houses some of the main Iraqi government offices and the US embassy, the official told Xinhua news agency.
Sirens were heard in the zone, as the rockets landed on empty area and caused no casualty, the official added.
The heavily fortified Green Zone has been frequently targeted by insurgents' mortar and rocket attacks.
The roughly 10-square-km zone is located on the west bank of the Tigris River, which bisects the Iraqi capital.
(IANS)
Sources indicated that a consolidated report submitted to the Prime Minister's Office from the Home Ministry on Monday, based on assessments, had mentioned the implementation of earlier guidelines as well as a zone-specific plan to fight the pandemic. The government would start a mammoth exercise from next Monday (April 20) to categorise the country in zones.
Also Read: COVID-19 Lockdown Extended Till May 3, Announces PM Modi
A new set of exemptions in services and essential items is expected to be released as per the reports prepared by the Joint Secretary and above officials from different ministries following the countrywide exercise.
In this exercise, the Aarogya Setu App would play a major role, an official told IANS, adding it would help in categorising area-specific COVID-19 cases.
Here's an explainer on the zones:
Red: Areas with substantial numbers of positive cases would fall under this zone where there will be complete restriction. The government will try to provide door-to-door facilities in these areas.
Orange: The areas with a limited number of cases in the past and with no surge in positive cases recently would be included under the orange zone. Only restricted activities such as limited public transport and farm product harvesting is expected to be allowed in the coronavirus orange zone.
Green: The districts with no coronavirus positive cases would fall under the green zone. Exemptions may be given in these sectors as per the government's plan. Limited movement of people linked to essential services and business may be given extension. Opening of liquor shops and other essential items that play a major role in generating state revenue may get extension in this zone.
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in manufacturing of essential items like wheat four (atta), pulse (dal) and edible oils would be allowed to function freely in orange and green zones with strict maintenance of social distancing.
Agricultural activities are also likely to be allowed in these zones. Warehouse, cold storage will be allowed to freely function with allowance for to and fro movement of trucks and without regard to the nature of the goods whether essential or otherwise. Warehouses of companies should also be allowed to operate.
Movement of persons and vehicles, however, will have to follow the strict adherence to norms of hygienic and social distancing as it is required in the COVID-19 context.
It is strictly mentioned that the state and field authorities will implement the guideline related to trucks with "letter and spirit".
As per this "intra-state and inter-state movement of all trucks and other goods or carrier vehicles with one driver and one additional person is allowed as long as the driver is carrying a valid driver's licence. "This is irrespective of the nature of the cargo, whether essential or otherwise. No further permit or approval would be required."
The guideline issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on April 12 clearly directs the states and Union Territories (UTs) that "empty trucks or good carriers should also be allowed to operate while on way to pick up goods or returning after completing a delivery. Hence, there is no cause to stop empty trucks provided they have valid documents such as driving license and road permit."
Also Read: India Lockdown: Railway, Airline Passenger Services Suspended Till May 3
The government's focus would be to ensure that railways, airports, seaports, and customs authorities issue passes to their staff and contractual labour.
Similar steps would be taken by states and UTs so that they expedite issuing passes to workers engaged in manufacturing units.
(IANS)
There are 130 districts in the critical Red zone, 284 districts in the Orange zone and 319 in the Green corridor, as per the Ministry's classification and delimitation of zones for the week after May 3.
The list will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier and communicated to all States for further follow-up action in consonance with directions issued by MHA under Disaster Management Act, 2005, clarified Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan in his letter to Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs, in which he has designated these districts as Red, Orange and Green Zones.
Odisha's three districts- Jajpur, Bhadrak and Balasore where COVID cases have seen a steep rise over the last few days are classified in the Red Zone.
The silver lining for Odisha is Khurda district has been placed in the Orange Zone. However, capital city Bhubaneswar reportedly continues to be in the Red Zone, as one new case was detected on Wednesday just 7 days prior to hitting the target of 21 days.
Other districts in the Orange Zone are Sundergarh, Kendrapara, Koraput, Dhenkanal and Kalahandi. Rest of the 21 districts are placed in the Green Zone.
Designation of Red, Orange & Green Zones of districts in #Odisha by Union Health Ministry
Red Zone -- Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore
Orange Zone -- Khurda, Sundergarh, Kendrapara, Koraput,
Dhenkanal, KalahandiGreen Zone -- Rest Others#COVID19 #Covid_19india pic.twitter.com/rSM6tz7vPI
— OTV (@otvnews) May 1, 2020
It is further highlighted that based on field feedback and additional analysis at the state level, states may designate additional red or orange zones as appropriate. However, States may not relax the zonal classification of districts classified as Red/Orange as communicated by the Ministry, the letter mentioned.
The districts were earlier designated as hotspots or Red Zones, Orange Zones and Green Zones primarily based on the cumulative cases reported and the doubling rate. Since recovery rates have gone up, the districts are now being designated across various zones duly broad-basing the criteria. This classification is multi-factorial and takes into consideration incidence of cases, doubling rate, the extent of testing and surveillance feedback to classify the districts. As per the Ministry, a district will be considered under Green Zone if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the district.
The Health Ministry has also asked the States to ensure that necessary action for containment is initiated so as to break the chain of transmission of the virus in both red and orange zone districts reporting confirmed cases.
The containment zones in these districts have to be delineated based on:
Depending on the above factors, for urban areas residential colony/mohallas/municipal wards or police-station area/municipal zones/towns etc. as appropriate can be designated as containment zones.
Similarly, for rural areas - villages/clusters of villages or group of police stations/gram panchayats/ blocks etc. as appropriate can be designated as containment zones. The area should be appropriately defined by the district administration/local urban body with technical inputs from the local level. In the spirit of effective containment, it is advisable to err on the side of caution.
Further, a buffer zone around the containment zone has to be demarcated.
Necessary action should then be initiated in these areas as part of the containment action plans already communicated including-
Similarly, in buffer zones, extensive surveillance for cases through monitoring of Influenza-like illness (ILI)/Severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases in health facilities has to be taken up.
All States are accordingly requested to delineate the containment zones and buffer zones in the identified red and orange zone districts and notify the same, said the Health Ministry.
Uber will provide rides in green zones like Daman, Kochi, Guwahati and more places while it will provide rides in orange zones like Amritsar, Udaipur, Mohali and Gurugram, among others.
"If you must travel, Uber is ready to serve residents in these zones from Monday, May 4. Riders will constantly be notified with further information and the status of specific cities through our app," the company said in a statement.
The company recommends no more than two passengers per vehicle, and no one should sit next to the driver.
In red zones, Uber will continue to offer Uber Essential and Uber Medic services in these zones, which it has been providing during the ongoing lockdown.
Similarly, Ola is also resuming services in over 100 cities across India, located in green and orange zones. The operations will be launched in a phased manner across these cities.
All rides will be driven only across the identified safe zones and to ensure every driver-partner adheres to the safety rules, a mandatory selfie authentication mechanism has been put into place before and after every ride.
Furthermore, all cars will be cleaned and sanitized after each ride and flexible cancellation policy has also been introduced under which both the customer and driver-partner can cancel the ride if they feel the other party is not following the rules or not wearing a mask.
"Our fight against COVID-19 is a collective effort, and will be possible only with both our driver-partners and customers doing their bit to ensure that everyone has access to safe and high-quality mobility," said Anand Subramanian, Spokesperson and Head of Communications, Ola.
(IANS)
Clarifying its stance, treasurer of the association, Barada Acharya said though Odisha government was earlier apprised about the demands of bus owners, the notification issued by the government on plying of buses has not addressed the concerns raised by them.
"We had a meeting a couple of days back where it was unanimously decided that it's not feasible to ply buses with 50 per cent seating as the buses will run only from 7 AM to 7 PM while owners will have to bear full salary of employees and pay taxes and insurance premiums," said Acharya.
He further said that in line with the protocol for train passengers, the government should come up with some measures to test & screen the people boarding buses.
If any employee of a bus gets affected by COVID-19, the burden of his/her family will also be on the bus owners, said Acharya.
"Transportation comes under essential services and if the government books us under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) when we go on protest, why shouldn't we then get the benefits that others are getting under the act. Bus staff should also be insured," added Acharya.
Meanwhile, Odisha Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera said that the government has taken note of the concerns of the association and will soon come up with measures.
“Certain steps which address the concerns of bus operators have been proposed and these measures will be announced soon after the approval of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,” said Behera.
https://youtu.be/hYil8_eFcYI
While the State on Thursday reported its highest single-day spike in COVID-19 positive cases as 21 persons tested positive for coronavirus, Ganjam alone accounted for 17 cases while the rest are from Mayurbhanj.
Official sources said all the 21 persons who tested positive for COVID-19 are Surat returnees and they are in quarantine.
https://twitter.com/otvnews/status/1258277310874206208
With the detection of 17 new positive cases, Ganjam district’s Coronavirus tally has now zoomed to touch 21. The doubling of COVID cases has forced the Odisha government to place Ganjam district in the ‘Red Zone’ category today.
Ganjam district was earlier placed in Green Zone which was reclassified as Orange Zone after four Surat returnees tested positive for SARS-nCoV earlier this month. The number of Covid-19 cases in the district is likely to soar as people are still returning to the district from Surat and other parts of the country.
On the other hand, apart from Ganjam, the Health and Family Welfare Department has also tagged Mayurbhanj and Jagatsinghpur districts as ‘Orange Zones.’
It is pertinent to mention here that Mayurbhanj joined the list of COVID-19 affected districts after three confirmed cases were reported today. Jagatsinghpur had joined the list of affected districts after it reported four positive cases on Wednesday.
As per the data shared by State government, as many as 35,540 persons, who were earlier stranded in other States of the country due to the lockdown, have returned to Odisha by train, bus and other vehicles so far. A total of 7,451 people returned to the State yesterday.
Out of 206 positive cases, the number of active cases in the state stood at 142 while 62 patients have recovered so far. Two persons have succumbed to the disease.
Jajpur district now tops the affected district list with 55 COVID-19 positive cases (54 active), followed by Khurda with 47 cases (14 active). Balasore district has reported 25 COVID-19 cases (20 active) while Ganjan and Bhadrak districts have reported 21 confirmed cases till now.
Here is a detailed list of areas placed in Red, Green and Orange Zones.
Red Zone
1. Bhubaneswar
2. Ganjam
3. Jajpur
4. Balasore
5. Bhadrak
Green Zone
1. Malkangiri
2. Nabarangpur
3. Rayagada
4. Gajapati
5. Kandhamal
6. Boudh
7. Nuapada
8. Bargarh
9. Sonepur
10. Nayagarh
11. Cuttack
12. Sambalpur
13. Angul
14. Puri
Orange Zone
1. Koraput
2. Kalahandi
3. Bolangir
4. Khurda
5. Jagatsinghpur
6. Kendrapara
7. Dhenkanal
8. Deogarh
9. Jharsuguda
10. Sundergarh
11. Keonjhar
12. Mayurbhanj
Addressing a presser, the Ganjam Collector informed that due to the cumulative efforts there has been a massive change in the overall COVID-19 situation in the district. In July, Ganjam district had witnessed a single-day jump of around 700 cases and the positivity rate was around 60%. Now the cases are going down and the positivity rate is less than 15%, said Kulange.
The total COVID-19 cases in Ganjam district stood at 14,122 as on Friday, with 2,160 active cases (excluding today’s recoveries) and 151 deaths. The recovery rate in the district is 84 %.
Ganjam Collector informed that the overall testing in the district has increased by almost 10 times and crossed the 1 lakh-mark today.
Apart from the rural areas, several urban areas in the district are also gradually moving towards the green zone since the last five days, he added.
"Due to improved health infrastructure and bed availability, public confidence has increased and they are now coming forward for testing. Efforts are now on to bring down COVID-19 fatalities with focus on early detection of cases. In July, it was observed that critically ill patients were succumbing to the disease after admission. Now hospitals are getting time to treat COVID-19 patients including administration of plasma therapy. Since last 10 days, the COVID-19 deaths are also on a decline in the district due to early detection of cases,” Kulange added.
(Edited By Bikram Keshari Jena)
Also Read: Bhubaneswar Reports Another Spike In Local Contact Cases