Kanika Kapoor’s 3 aides home quarantined

Three close contacts of Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor from Mumbai have been home quarantined by the BMC. The three were in close contact with Kapoor while she was

Three close contacts of Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor from Mumbai have been home quarantined by the BMC. The three were in close contact with Kapoor while she was in Mumbai between March 9 and March 11. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, BMC said, “The three were tested on Sunday, however, after their results were concluded as negative, they were discharged from the hospital.”

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MH-CET exam postponed indefinitely

The state common entrance test (CET) cell on Tuesday decided to postpone the MH-CET for engineering and pharma courses indefinitely. The entrance test was originally scheduled to take place between April 13 and 23 this year. Meanwhile, Kurla tehsildar’s office has directed the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to handover space and facilities on its Deonar campus to the government for quarantine purposes. “The facility is primarily being sought to quarantine international passengers arriving in Mumbai, without any Covid-19 symptoms, for 14 days...,” stated a circular released by the institute. On Monday, few students staying in the hostels in the new campus were asked to move to hostels in the old campus.

Traffic police launch two new helplines

In a bid to ensure smooth traffic flow for vehicles plying on the road for essential and emergency services during the coronavirus pandemic, the Mumbai traffic police has launched two traffic helpline numbers — 24937747 and 24937755. “Vehicles pertaining to medical services, ambulance and emergency services can contact the helplines,” a statement issued by the Mumbai traffic police on Tuesday read.

Man booked for prank call

Thane police booked a 35-year-old man, Shreyas Gavas, for filing a complaint against his office, saying that it was open in spite of a lockdown. The police later learnt that the employee had been playing pranks, sitting at home. A case was registered against him at Kasarvadavli police station on Monday. Gavas was booked under the IPC and National Disaster Management Act.

One-Rupee clinic staff screen residents

The medical staff of One-Rupee clinics have been visiting housing societies to thermal scan residents free of cost and to assist reporting of the cases. The CEO of the clinic Dr Rahul Ghule said his teams, which till now had been screening commuters at stations, will visit housing complexes if requested. “If anyone wants to get screened, they can contact us,” said Ghule.

Govt must fill medical posts immediately: HC

The Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court (HC) on March 20 set aside three government resolutions (GR) of 2015, which allowed the extension of superannuation age of medical officers from 58 years to 60. It said due to coronavirus outbreak, its order will not affect those who benefited from the extension. The court has however, asked the state to fill the vacant posts immediately.

Quarantined man provided food by society

A 27-year-old engineer from Palghar who is under home quarantine after his return from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this month is being provided with food by the members of his housing society, even as the medical staff of the zilla parishad (ZP) and civic body. Though the man has been tested negative, his family is living in another society as a precautionary measure.

‘Fumigation with bleach poses no fire hazard’

While several concerns are being raised about housing societies using sodium hypochlorite (liquid bleach) for fumigation amid coronavirus pandemic, the Mumbai Fire Brigade has said that it is safe to use it for fumigating building premises or houses. According to MFB, sodium hypochlorite is not a flammable chemical, but one has to apply caution while using it and avoid it from coming in contact with the skin. P Rahangdale, chief fire officer, said, “It is completely safe for housing societies to use it.”

Trustee of Shafi Masjid booked under CrPC 144

The JJ Marg police booked the trustee of Sunni Shafi Masjid at Temkar street in South Mumbai on Monday evening for violating and disobeying the Mumbai Police order under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) issued with respect to curtailing the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease). According to JJ Marg police, a team of an intelligence unit was patrolling the area when they came across about 100 to 150 people offering prayers at the Sunni Sufi Masjid on Monday afternoon.

Woman alleges harassment by on-duty cop

A Public Relations (PR) professional alleged that a police personnel from Samta Nagar police station in Kandivli (East) passed a comment while she was returning home late on Monday night. She took to Twitter soon after the incident took place to express her ordeal. The incident took place somewhere around 11.30 pm in Samta Nagar. When asked, Dilip Sawant, additional commissioner, north region said, “We are enquiring into the incident.”

State to keep 2-hr window to feed strays

The Maharashtra government has stepped up efforts to ensure stray animals are not neglected during the lockdown period. The state animal welfare board has directed districts under lockdown to decide a two-hour window in which animal welfare groups can provide food and water to the animals. Meanwhile, the Central Zoo Authority issued a circular to all states to declare the upkeep of zoo animals as essential service.

‘Segregate used face masks from regular waste’

In order to ensure the virus does not spread more among staff members collecting and treating waste on a daily basis, the BMC has appealed to citizens to segregate used surgical or N-95 masks from household waste. Ashok Khaire, joint municipal commissioner, BMC, said, “We have been informing the societies to give segregate medical waste, but in most of the cases it’s mixed.”

Hackathon to invite solutions to fight Covid-19

A 48-hour online hackathon will be held on March 27 and 28 to invite technical solutions from researchers and innovators to fight the spread of coronavirus. The hackathon will be held by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and FORGE Accelerator. The winners of the hackathon will get a prize money of ₹7 lakh.

Youngsters provide grocery kits to needy

A group of 20-year-old girls have launched a crowdfunding project to provide groceries to the underprivileged. Within a few hours of launching their initiative on Tuesday, the group raised ₹28,000. Ayushi Shah, working under the support of Rotaract and Rotary Club of Bombay Uptown, says this is the first time she turned to crowdfund.

Gudi Padwa to be celebrated with caution

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Gudi Padwa or the Hindu New Year, will be a home celebration on Wednesday. “This pandemic has led to a special situation, we need a lot of strength in this time. We will certainly celebrate our traditional festival and raise the gudi for health and wellness of the country,” said Vaibhav Rane, a Kamothe resident.