Current Affairs in Short: 20 August 2020

Vijaynagar, one of the remotest parts of India, gets mobile connectivity

• Vijaynagar, one of the remotest and easternmost parts of the country, has been connected with mobile connectivity. The area is a part of Arunachal Pradesh. 
• It was connected with mobile connectivity after Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited installed a network tower that has become functional now.
• BSNL launched 2G mobile service in Vijaynagar area on August 1, 2020. The area is situated in the easternmost corner of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Myanmar. Vijaynagar is not connected with any motorable road.
• The 2G mobile service will be a boon for the people of this isolated place. The nearest place to the area with a road is Miao, which is located 157 Km away from the circle. 

Kamala Harris becomes first Indian American to accept Democratic Party nomination for US Vice President’s post

• US Senator Kamala Harris has become the first Indian American to accept nomination for the US Vice Presidential candidate for Democratic Party. 
• During her acceptance speech, she said that she was honoured to accept the nomination for Vice President of the United States. She spoke about her own story of how growing up has shaped her.
• She said she was committed to the values of her mother and to the vision that is shared by Joe Biden, where there will be equality for all regardless of what they look like and where they are from. 
• While mentioning names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, she said they have got to do the work to fulfill the promise of equal justice under law while adding that none of us are free until all of us are free.

Odisha forms multi-disciplinary technical committee to monitor COVID-19 treatment

• The state government of Odisha has established a multi-disciplinary technical committee to monitor and provide 24x7 technical assistance to all the COVID healthcare facilities in the state. 
• The senior professors and doctors of the 7 medical colleges in the state have formed technical groups to guide the doctors of districts assigned to them.
• These technical groups have been set up to fix the infection trajectory, which is currently trending upward and also to bring the number of fatalities further down. The specialised groups would be guiding the doctors in a given set of districts, treating Covid-19 patients. 

Jal Shakti Minister tests positive for Coronavirus 

• Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has tested positive for coronavirus and has been hospitalised on the advise of the doctors. 
• The Union Minister himself informed about the same through a tweet. He informed that he had undergone the COVID test after experiencing some symptoms. 
• The Minister has asked all those who had come in contact with him in the last few days to get tested and take all the required precautions.

COVID Vaccine nationalism needs to be prevented: WHO Director-General

• WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has advised that COVID-19 vaccine nationalism needs to be prevented, as countries across the world secure early access to promising COVID-19 vaccines.
• The WHO Chief tweeted saying that for this reason, WHO is working with governments and the private sector through the ACT-Accelerator to ensure that innovations are available to everyone, everywhere starting with those at highest risk.
• The WHO Chief has called on all countries to work collectively to end the pandemic, by sharing finite supplies “strategically and globally”.