Iran reports largest spike in coronavirus as 147 more die
Tehran: Iran reported its single biggest jump in deaths from the new coronavirus on Wednesday as another 147 people died, raising the country's overall death toll to 1,135.
The nearly 15 per cent spike in deaths amid a total of 17,361 confirmed cases in Iran marks the biggest 24-hour rise in fatalities since officials first acknowledged cases of the virus in Iran in mid-February.
Still, even as the number of cases continues to grow each day, food markets were still packed with shoppers on Wednesday and highways were crowded with traffic as families traveled between cities ahead of the Persian New Year, Nowruz, on Friday.
Iran's deputy health minister, Alireza Raisi, urged the public to avoid travel and crowded places. In a statement on state TV, Raisi told Iranians the coming period represented two "golden weeks" to try curb the virus from spreading further.
He criticized people for not adhering to the warnings to stay home, saying the virus is very serious. "This is not a good situation at all," he said.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday defended his government's response to the coronavirus outbreak in the face of widespread criticism that officials acted too slowly and may have even covered up initial cases before infections rapidly spread across the country.
In a speech to his Cabinet, Rouhani said the government was straightforward" with the nation, saying it announced the outbreak as soon as it learned about it on Feb. 19.
"We spoke to people in a honest way. We had no delay, he added.
The government has come under heavy criticism for what has been seen as a slow and inadequate response. For weeks, government officials implored clerics to shut down crowded holy shrines to stymie the spread of the virus. The government finally closed the shrines this week.
"It was difficult of course to shut down mosques and holy sites, but we did it. It was a religious duty to do it, Rouhani said.
Iran also announced it would close mosques for communal Friday prayers for a third consecutive week. Other Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have also cancelled Friday prayers in mosques.
The new coronavirus has infected more than 200,000 people around the world and killed more than 8,000. For most people, it causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.
World Health Organization director for the Eastern Mediterranean region, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, told reporters in Cairo via a virtual press conference that the many travel restrictions, imposed by various countries, are hurting efforts to combat the virus. They delay both the deployment of public health experts to countries that need support and the delivery of urgently needed medical supplies, he said.
In Israel, meanwhile, the Health Ministry said 90 more people had tested positive, bringing the country's overall number to 427, a day after authorities issued a new series of guidelines that put Israelis in near-shutdown mode. Israel has ordered tens of thousands into home quarantine, turned hotels into hospitals and was setting up drive-thru testing centers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of catastrophic consequences if people don't follow safety instructions. This is a huge crisis. We are only at the start of the campaign," he said in a televised address Tuesday evening.
Most controversially, the Israeli government has instructed the shadowy Shin Bet internal security service to start deploying the agency's phone surveillance technology to help curb the spread of the virus in Israel by tracking the moves of the infected.
In Iraq, a week-long curfew went into effect in Baghdad. Only pedestrians were allowed on the streets to buy necessary foodstuffs and medicine. Armed Iraqi police were seen patrolling the city and setting up roadblocks.
Still, some pilgrims in Iraq defied the curfew to observe the annual Shiite Muslim commemoration of the death of Imam Mousa al-Kazim. Thousands typically make the journey on foot to the revered imam's shrine in the Kadhimiya area outside of Baghdad.
Several men, women and children walked solemnly down Baghdad's Saadoun Street on Wednesday, determined to complete the journey to the shrine. Police stationed nearby did not intervene to stop them.
Demonstrators in Tahrir Square, the hub of Iraq's anti-government protest movement, issued a collective statement that they were suspending protest activities to help stop the spread of the virus. Iraq has had 11 deaths among 154 confirmed cases of the virus, which causes the COVID-19 illness.
In Egypt, coffee shops and restaurants were shuttered on Wednesday. Plain-clothed security forces urged people to go home in Cairo, a city of over 20 million.
I am financially ruined, how can I earn my living now, said Mohammed Gamal, a worker in a coffee shop that was shut down by authorities.
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Boy called ‘Fauji’ by APJ Abdul Kalam at age 3 becomes Lieutenant at 22
Dehradun: Nearly nineteen years ago, at a Passing Out Parade of the Indian Military Academy, then President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam held the hand of a three-year-old boy standing with his father and remarked, “Yeh fauji ka haath hai” (This is a soldier’s hand). On Saturday, at a similar parade, Dr. Kalam’s words came true in the most literal sense, as the same boy was commissioned as an officer in the Indian Army, drawing attention across the parade ground.
The inspiring story is that of Lieutenant Harmanmeet Singh, who was commissioned into the Indian Army at the age of 22.
With Harmanmeet Singh’s commissioning, a long-standing family tradition of serving the Indian Army, dating back to the early years after Independence, continues. He has become the fourth generation from his family to don the olive green uniform.
Lieutenant Harmanmeet Singh’s great-grandfather, late Subedar Pratap Singh, joined the Army in 1948. The legacy was carried forward by his grandfather, late Sepoy Daljeet Singh, his grand-uncle Major Bhagwant Singh, and Colonel Ujagar Singh.
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Born in Kanpur, Harmanmeet Singh trained as a cadet under the Technical Entry Scheme at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, where he won a silver medal. He has been commissioned into the 6 Maratha Light Infantry, the same regiment in which his father, Colonel Harmeet Singh, had earlier served as the Commanding Officer.
Colonel Harmeet Singh himself graduated from the Indian Military Academy on December 9, 2000, exactly 25 years before his son’s commissioning. He said the Army had always been an integral part of Harmanmeet’s world. Growing up, Harmanmeet admired his father in uniform and often wore outfits resembling Army uniforms and badges. “That was his favourite attire. Even at the age of three, while studying in kindergarten, he expressed his desire to become a Gentleman Cadet,” Colonel Harmeet Singh said with pride.
The moment marked not just a personal achievement for Lieutenant Harmanmeet Singh, but also the fulfillment of a prophecy-like remark made years ago by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, now remembered as a symbol of inspiration and destiny fulfilled.
