Current Affairs in Short: 21 August 2020

Punjab extends weekend lockdown, Mizoram extends total lockdown till August 24

• Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has extended the weekend lockdown in all 167 cities and towns and the daily night curfew from 7 pm till 5 am in the view of rising COVID-19 cases in the state. The decisions were taken by the Chief Minister during a virtual meeting today while reviewing the COVID situation with top officials. 
• The Punjab CM also ordered a complete ban on all gatherings except weddings and funerals across the state till August 31, 2020. All government and private offices in the state will also work with 50 percent capacity until the end of the month. 
• The Mizoram state government has extended the ongoing total lockdown in Aizawl municipal area till 4.30 am on August 24th. The decision was taken in the view of the extensive contact tracing necessitated by the detection of new COVID-19 cases in the last few days. 

India, S Korea deliberate on disarmament, non-proliferation issues

• India and South Korea held virtual consultations on disarmament and non-proliferation on August 20, 2020. 
• The Indian delegation was led by Indra Mani Pandey, who is the Additional Secretary in the Disarmament and International Security Affairs of the Ministry of External Affairs.
• During the deliberations, the two nations exchanged views on international and contemporary issues of mutual interest in the field of non-proliferation and disarmament. 
• They also agreed to take forward their fruitful discussions and to hold the next round of Consultations on a mutually convenient date.

Russia looks for collaboration with India to mass-produce `Sputnik V' COVID vaccine 

• Russia has expressed confidence in India's ability to mass-produce `Sputnik V' and is looking for collaboration. Russia has become the first country in the world to give regulatory approval to the COVID-19 vaccine.
• The CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev, stated on August 20, 2020 that India is among the countries with extreme production capacities. He said that the production of the vaccine is an important issue and they are looking for a partnership with Indian firms.
• Dmitriev expressed confidence that the collaboration will be able to meet the demand for the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19. He stated that countries like India, Brazil, South Korea and Cuba have extreme production capacities. 

India urges international isolation of Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism

• India on August 20, 2020 urged the international community to isolate Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism while exercising its right of reply to the statement by Pakistan at the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament.
• India in its reply said that Pakistan's Prime Minister had admitted to nearly 40000 militants on its soil. India stated that Pakistan's repeated aggression in Jammu and Kashmir in 1965, 1971, 1999 and Mumbai and Parliamentary attacks and Uri Pulwama terror attack show Pakistan’s state-sponsored policy of terrorism as evident in the inaction against terrorists like Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Ehsanullah Ehsan.
• India reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir have been and will always remain an integral part of India. It called upon Pakistan to end cross-border terrorism.
• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had led the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament. The two-day virtual event was jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliament of Austria with the assistance of the United Nations.

Gargled water alternative to swabs for COVID-19 sample collection?

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently published a study that revealed that gargle lavage as a feasible alternative to swabs for sample collection for COVID testing.
• The cross-sectional study was conducted by top researchers of ICMR at AIIMS Delhi on 50 patients between May and June. 
• The main objective of the study was to assess gargle lavage and swab as an appropriate respiratory sample for the detection of the COVID-19 virus. The second objective was to assess the patient acceptability of the two sampling methods.