China reports no domestic coronavirus cases amid rise in imported infections
Beijing: China has reported no new domestic cases of the novel coronavirus but confirmed 39 imported infections, taking the death toll to 3,270 as the country ramped up measures to strictly quarantine people coming from abroad to prevent a recurrence of the COVID-19 outbreak, health officials said on Monday.
Nine persons died of the deadly virus in the country on Sunday taking the total death toll so far in the Chinese mainland to 3,270, China's National Health Commission, (NHC) said on Monday.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland has reached 81,093 by the end of Sunday. It included 3,270 people who died of the disease, 5,120 patients still undergoing treatment 72,703 patients discharged after recovery, it said.
Also, no new locally transmitted case was reported from the country on Sunday, including from the virus epicentres Hubei province and its capital Wuhan.
Last week for three consecutive days China reported zero cases of the locally transmitted cases in a major milestone in efforts to contain the vicious virus after it surfaced in the Wuhan city in December last year.
But one domestically transmitted case reported in Guangzhou on Saturday, which was traced to contact with an imported case.
The NHC said on Monday that no new domestically transmitted case of the COVID-19 was reported on the Chinese mainland on Sunday but 39 new confirmed cases were reported all of which were imported, which takes the total number of such cases 353.
Of them, 10 were reported in Beijing and Shanghai respectively, and six in the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong respectively.
The provinces of Shandong and Gansu both reported two cases and Zhejiang and Henan, and Chongqing Municipality each reported one. By the end of Sunday, 353 imported cases were reported, the NHC said.
However, the NHC has not specified whether the imported cases were that of foreigners or Chinese nationals arriving from abroad. It said 136 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.
By the end of Sunday, 317 confirmed cases, including four deaths have been reported in Hong Kong, 21 confirmed cases in Macao, and 169 in Taiwan, including two deaths, the NHC said.
As the country saw a surge in imported infections, the government announced that all international flights scheduled to arrive in capital Beijing will be redirected to airports in 12 other Chinese cities from Monday.
International passengers flying to Beijing will instead land in airports in 12 cities including Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing and Shenyang as their first points of entry, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said in a statement.
Passengers will go through customs clearance and quarantine at these airports, and those having passed quarantine inspection can fly to Beijing in their original flights, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The entry arrangements for the Beijing-bound international flights will be adjusted in a timely manner in accordance with the COVID-19 outbreak situation, the statement said.
According to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker, the death toll from the virus globally has risen to 14,641 with 336,000 cases reported in 173 countries and territories.
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14 injured as J-K protests Khamenei's killing; several curbs imposed to maintain order
Srinagar (PTI): At least 14 people, including six security personnel, were injured on the second day of protests that erupted in Jammu and Kashmir following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli attack, officials said.
Authorities have imposed restrictions to curb people's movement, shut down education institutes and throttled mobile internet speeds in the Union territory as precautionary measures.
Officials said that 75 rallies were held at various places in the Kashmir Valley, while a few demonstrations were held in the Jammu region as well. Security forces had to use mild force to disperse the protesters in some areas.
Protests broke out in Bemina, Gund Hassibhat, Saidakadal, Nigeen, Foreshore Road and Jehangir Chowk areas of Srinagar city, in the Pulwama town of south Kashmir, and Budgam in central Kashmir -- all of which have a large Shia population, as agitators marched through the streets, raising anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.
While most of the protests were by and large peaceful, clashes erupted at a few places, forcing the security forces personnel to use mild force to disperse the protestors, the officials said.
They said 14 persons -- eight protestors and six security forces personnel -- were injured during these clashes in the Kashmir valley.
Severe restrictions had been placed on the movement of people in parts of Kashmir. The curbs were imposed against the backdrop of a call for a one-day strike given by Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama (MMU) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
He had urged people to observe the strike "with unity, dignity, and in peace".
The authorities had sealed Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk with barricades erected all around it, while a large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel were deployed across the city to prevent gatherings of protestors, officials said.
They added that concertina wires and barricades were placed at important intersections leading into the city while asserting that these were precautionary measures imposed to maintain law and order.
The authorities also closed all educational institutions for two days, as a precautionary measure for the safety of students and to maintain law and order. Similar curbs were imposed in Shia-dominated areas in other districts of the Kashmir valley. Mobile internet speeds were also throttled across Kashmir.
The MMU's strike call was supported by several political parties, including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti.
"Extending our full support and solidarity with the shutdown call of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on the martyrdom of Iran's supreme leader. This is a day of mourning to remind the world that injustice anywhere wounds the entire Muslim Ummah and all who stand for truth," she said.
Police issued an advisory urging all media organisations and news platforms to exercise the highest level of responsibility and professionalism in their reporting.
"Please refrain from publishing unverified information, speculation, or rumours; ensure that all reports are confirmed through credible and authoritative sources before dissemination; and avoid sensational headlines that may create unnecessary panic," the advisory read.
In the Jammu region, a partial strike was observed in Kishtwar and Doda districts of the Chenab valley region, with groups of people holding peaceful protests to condemn the killing of Iran's supreme leader.
The law and order situation across the region remained peaceful by and large, with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, the officials said.
Most of the shops and business establishments remained closed in both Kishtwar and Doda district headquarters and in other major towns in response to separate bandh calls given by religious leaders to protest the alleged aggression of the US and Israel.
The Imam of Jamia Masjid Kishtwar, Moulvi Farooq Ahmad Kachloo, also led a protest rally from the place of worship to the nearby bus stand, the officials said, adding that the protesters chanted slogans against the US and Israel before dispersing peacefully.
Reports of protests were also received from Bounjwa, Drabshall and Chatroo in Kishtwar, Gandoh and Bhaderwah in Doda, they said.
In Ramban district, which also falls in the Chenab Valley region, Shia mourners organised special prayers at Chanderkote for the second day to pay homage to Khamenei and others who lost their lives in the US-Israel attacks.
The Muslim community also held protests at different places in the Rajouri and Poonch districts. Several Muslim organisations have called for a Rajouri bandh on Tuesday after a joint meeting at the local Jamia masjid.
The president of the Islamic Welfare Organisation, Rajouri, Shafqat Mir, said the present situation is quite worrisome and the US, as well as Israel, have crossed all limits of humanity by directly targeting Iran and killing the supreme leader.
Protests and mourning assemblies for Khamenei were also held in the Kargil district of the Union Territory of Ladakh. A large number of Shia mourners assembled at the Hussaini Park in Kargil to take part in the protest.
