'Keep this one to yourselves China,' says Omar Abdullah at prospect of new pandemic virus

As reports of a new strain of flu came in from China, National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that China should keep this flu to themselves. Omar Abdullah had earlier warned those tempted to support China and told them to be careful about 'what they wished for', citing the example of the treatment meted out to the Uighur Muslims in Xi Jinping's regime.

(Omar Abdullah's tweet in response to news of a new pandemic-potential flu being found in China)

As India banned 59 Chinese apps on Monday evening, Omar also said he doesn't have any Chinese apps on his phone and opined that if only PUBG had been a Chinese app and if the government would have banned it - 'a lot of youngsters in India would have found more time on their hands for studies & nation-building.'

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New pandemic-potential virus in China

Even as Coronavirus cases are on a rise worldwide, on Tuesday, a new strain of flu has been identified in China by scientists, as per reports. Scientists say that the virus is carried by pigs, but can infect humans and has the potential to become a pandemic. The new flu strain is similar to the 2009 swine flu, but with some new changes. Called as G4 EA H1N1, scientists say that the available flu vaccine might not be able to provide immunity from the virus. Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists opined that measures should be taken to control the virus swine industry must be monitored. 

READ | Govt of India bans 59 Chinese apps; Tik Tok, UC Browser, WeChat included in the list

Coronavirus outbreak

China has been facing worldwide criticism after the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus which has so far claimed 508,084 lives and 10,409,239 people have been infected. It is under the scanner for hiding the outbreak of COVID-19, with some reports suggesting that infection related to the virus may have started as early as in August in China.

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