Thiruvananthapuram, June 3: With the number of Covid-19 positive cases increasing in Kerala, the Health Department has decided to come out with fresh protocols.

With around 1,435 patients turning positive for the virus, Kerala has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country.

The directions have been given that all patients arriving with a fever at hospitals have to undergo Covid-19 tests.

Since fresh Covid cases started registering till now, eight Covid-positive patients have passed away.

Those patients coming with a fever will have to do an antigen test first, and if it is positive, they will have to take the RT-PCR test.

An advisory has been issued that those having health issues should use masks.

By-standers of those who are admitted to hospitals have to use masks, and all Covid positive cases have to be admitted to a separate ward.

Another reason why the health authorities decided to come out with fresh directions is that educational institutions in the state have opened on Monday, and a fever is raging in the state.

Meanwhile, while the fresh guidelines came out on Tuesday, in most private hospitals, all patients undergoing surgery had to come with a Covid-19 negative certificate, and this was being done as a matter of abundant caution.

Notably, the Covid-19 cases in the country have risen to 4,026 till 8 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Five fresh deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of fatalities to 37.

On Monday, Health experts assured that there is no need to panic as the current infection wave is unlikely to cause a higher burden on hospitals.

This fresh wave has been caused by two new coronavirus variants, NB.1.8.1 and LF.7, mutations of the Omicron offspring JN.1 variant. Both were found in India, as per data from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), set up under the Ministry of Health.

New Delhi, June 3: India struck deeper and wider inside Pakistan during Operation Sindoor than it officially acknowledged, a confidential Pakistani dossier on its internal military Operation ‘Bunyan un Marsoos’ has revealed.

The dossier, accessed by NDTV, documents at least eight additional Indian airstrikes that were not previously disclosed by Indian defence authorities.

Maps within the Pakistani dossier show Indian strikes on key cities such as Peshawar, Jhang, Hyderabad in Sindh, Gujrat in Punjab, Gujranwala, Bahawalnagar, Attock, and Chor — locations that were not publicly mentioned by the Indian Air Force or the Director General of Military Operations during the press briefings held after the May 7 counteroffensive.

The new details shed fresh light on the scale of Operation Sindoor and are being viewed as a significant factor behind Pakistan’s urgent call for a ceasefire.

Operation Sindoor was launched by India against the nine high-value terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack, in which terrorists associated with an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba killed 26 civilians, including one Nepali national.

The dossier contradicts Islamabad’s earlier claims of having inflicted heavy losses on India and instead underscores the depth of damage suffered on Pakistani soil.

Indian defence sources had already outlined the strike’s magnitude, including the targeting of key terror hubs across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack.

While initial briefings named several high-value targets, including the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters in Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba camp in Muridke, the revelation of deeper incursions suggests a strategic decision by New Delhi to allow Pakistan to reveal the full extent of the damage.

The newly disclosed targets reportedly include both military and dual-use installations in urban centres far beyond the areas acknowledged by India, indicating a far more ambitious and calculated military operation than previously understood.

Earlier satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies had already confirmed extensive damage at several sites, corroborating Indian claims of precision strikes against terror infrastructure.

The nine locations initially confirmed by India included Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, Chakwal, and the aforementioned terror bases.

Despite India’s clear statement that its actions were confined to targeting terror facilities, Pakistan responded with a barrage of drone and missile attacks against Indian civilian areas, religious infrastructure and military posts along the western front.

India’s counter-response included the targeting of 11 Pakistani air bases — Nur Khan, Rafiqui, Murid, Sukkur, Sialkot, Pasrur, Chunian, Sargodha, Skardu, Bholari, and Jacobabad — causing substantial military damage.

This unprecedented escalation, lasting three days, eventually forced Pakistan to request a ceasefire, a move widely interpreted as a sign of the heavy losses it sustained.

New Delhi, meanwhile, has reiterated that Operation Sindoor has redefined India’s counter-terrorism policy and emerged as India’s ‘new normal’ against terrorism, turning any major terror attack into a declaration of war.

The Pakistani dossier, now unintentionally validating India’s operational narrative, reflects the shifting paradigm of India’s military posture.

New Delhi, June 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dialled the Chief Ministers of Assam and Sikkim, as well as Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla, to take stock of the flood situation in the northeastern states and offered all possible assistance in dealing with the flood menace.

The northeastern states, including Assam, Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, have been battered by heavy rains in the past few days, thereby bringing life to a standstill and cutting off the key supply chain to remote locations in these states.

PM Modi assured Assam and Sikkim CMs, as well as the Manipur Governor, of all possible assistance from the Centre in the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts.

The incessant rains in the northeast states, including Assam, Sikkim and Manipur and other adjoining regions, have caused water levels in rivers to swell to menacing levels. Major rivers of the region, including Brahmaputra, Pachnoi, and Kushiyara, are said to be flowing at alarming levels. Lakhs of hectares of land have been inundated, confining people to their homes and forcing those living in low-lying areas to move to safer locations.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also took to X to inform that PM Modi called him to inquire about the flood situation in the state.

“I briefed the Prime Minister on how continuous rainfall in Assam and adjoining states has led to flooding and impacted many lives. I also apprised him of the relief operation undertaken by the state government,” he informed on X.

“The Prime Minister expressed concern and assured full support from the Central Government for our relief and rehabilitation efforts. Grateful for his guidance and unwavering support to the people of Assam,” he further said.

Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang, taking to X, thanked the Prime Minister for extending support regarding the landslide and flood situation in the state.

He also reiterated that the state administration remains fully committed to managing the situation and providing all necessary assistance to those affected.

In Manipur, the Army and Assam Rifles personnel are collectively carrying out the relief operation. They have so far rescued over 1,000 flood-hit people in Imphal East and Imphal West districts, grappling with a serious flood situation.

A flood bulletin issued by the Manipur administration on Monday informed that more than 56,000 people remained affected in at least 174 villages.