Jammu and Kashmir extends lockdown till August 5 amid spike in COVID-19 cases

The Jammu and Kashmir government extended the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions till August 5, as per an order released on Friday. The previous order stated that the lockdown would continue till July 31.

The decision was taken in light of increasing cases of Coronavirus in the Union Territory. J&K registered 490 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections over the 20,000 mark, while the death toll rose to 377 with 12 more fatalities, officials said. Till now there are 7,765 active cases of coronavirus, while 12,217 patients have recovered so far, according to the officials.

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No 4G internet in J&K till August 19

In no reprieve to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir, the UT’s administration extended its ban on high-speed 4G internet till August 19. The Internet remains restricted to 2G speed for post-paid sim cards and verified pre-paid sim cards. The administration has maintained that this move is done due to the rise in anti-national activities over the coming weeks in the view of completing one year since the revocation of Article 370 and Independence Day.

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Restrictions have been put on communication links since August 5 in Jammu and Kashmir as the Centre abrogated Article 370 & Article 35 A which defined the permanent residents of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.  These were subsequently eased after the Supreme Court upheld that the continued ban on the internet was 'violation of freedom of expression'. Since the revocation, state-run internet provider BSNL has restored internet services throughout the Kashmir valley, but with a speed of 2G with special instructions. The temporary ban on social media sites was removed in March, however, complaints of inaccessibility persisted.

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(Image credits: PTI)