Children in masks during a magic performance at a shelter in New Delhi on Thursday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tracker Updates: The ICMR Thursday said the government was carrying out 24 tests for one positive case even as the coronavirus cases in India neared the 13,000 mark, including 420 deaths and 1,488 recoveries. “Japan tested 11.7 people per one positive; for Italy the number is 6.7, in US its 5.3; UK its 3.4. Here we do 24 tests for one positive. Can’t say we are testing less,” ICMR’s Dr R R Gangakhedar said.
The ICMR also said rapid testing kits would not be used for diagnosis but for surveillance, especially in hotspots. In its daily briefing, the Health Ministry said over 10,500 isolation beds had been made available by the Railways and 325 districts in the country had no cases of the novel coronavirus. The ministry also said 325 districts in India have no cases of the novel coronavirus.
The number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 12,759 on Thursday, including 10,824 active cases, 420 deaths and 1,514 recoveries. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state with 3,202 cases now and 194 deaths. The government has identified 170 districts across the country as COVID-19 ‘hotspots’ or ‘red zones’, and another 207 districts as ‘potential hotspots’.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, interacting with the media, said the government’s decision to impose a nationwire lockdown was like “a pause button”, and would not help in solving the crisis. He advised the government to scale up testing, and called for a decentralisation strategy, in which chief ministers had more say as the fight against COVID-19 was at a state and district level.
Globally, the total number of COVID-19 cases has crossed 2 million, including over 136,000 fatalities, with Europe accounting for more than two-thirds of the deaths. Europe has reported 88,716 deaths, while the United States has the single highest toll at 26,950, followed by Italy (21,645), Spain (18,579) and France (17,167). (Click here to follow our coverage of Covid-19)
People stand in queue outside a grocery store amidst a nationwide lockdown restricting most human activity
At the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. (Express photo)
The total number of coronavirus cases in India have neared 12,000
In a significant development for COVID-19 diagnosis and testing in India, a reputed medical institute in Kerala has been successful in developing a low-cost diagnostic testing kit that can give results of the viral infection in two hours. READ HERE
Two more cases have been reported from Meghalaya, taking the total number of cases in the state to seven. Both are family members of the first patient.
The total number of novel coronavirus cases in the national capital on Thursday climbed to 1,640, with 62 fresh cases and six deaths being reported in a day, according to Delhi government authorities. Of the total cases, 1,080 are those who have been brought to facilities through special operations, the same as on Wednesday.
With six more fatalities reported, the death toll from COVID-19 in Delhi has jumped to 38.
New York has extended its lockdown till May 15, according to reports by the US media. The US has most number of fatalities from the novel coronavirus, crossing 30,000
3,02,956 samples from 2,86,714 individuals have been tested of the novel coronavirus so far. 12,581 have been confirmed positive.
286 new COVID-19 cases found in Maharashtra, taking tally to 3,202. The death toll rises to 194 with 7 more fatalities over the past 24 hours, a state health official said. Meanwhile, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said 50 out of 1,400 Tablighi meet atendees tested positive for coronavirus, whereas the rest are still being quarantined. 'Maharashtra has sought permission from the Centre for plasma therapy. Rate of doubling of virus cases in the state has come down,' he said.
While the ICMR claims that India was conducting 24 tests for one positive case, citing global data, the number of total cases in the country neared the 13,000 mark, including 420 deaths as of Thursday. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, earlier today, addressed a virtual press conference and said the national lockdown was "like a pause button" to coronavirus and would not actually help in handling the crisis. Here is the COVID-19 India update as on April 16.
Gurgaon police arrested 16 people after stopping two ambulances, which was ferrying migrants to Bihar being misrepresented as patients , thus violating the lockdown.
The BJP on Thursday hit out at Rahul Gandhi for his claim that lockdown is not a solution to the coronavirus pandemic and asked why then the states where the Congress is in power extended it before the central government did so.
The ruling party also contested the Congress leader's claim that India was not doing enough testing, saying the number of tests carried out by it are one of the highest at this level of infections.
Senior BJP leaders B L Santhosh and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe attacked Gandhi while party spokesperson Sambit Patra mocked him by playing on certain words and phrases used by the former Congress president.
"While the Govt has a catch-the-bull-by-horns approach and is trying to defeat Covid-19, he (Gandhi) is airing views with an approach that smacks of a 'given up' mentality, certifying that 'it can't be controlled' but will have to be 'managed'! Painful, seriously!" Sahasrabuddhe said. (PTI)
Various news reports in recent weeks have pointed out that for some Covid-19 patients who needed intensive care, the journey to recovery is a long one. After leaving the ICU, they may suffer from what is known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which can happen to any person who has been in the ICU.
As per the WHO-China Joint Mission report that examined 55,924 laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19, over 6.1 per cent were classified as critical, which means they experienced respiratory failure, shock and multiple organ failure.
Many critical cases need ICU admissions. According to The Lancet, critically ill Covid-19 patients are older, and have more comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes. Read more
At least 23 police personnel have tested positive for coronavirus infection in Maharashta so far, an official said on Thursday. Fifteen of these personnel are based in Mumbai, he said.
Since March 22, at least seven police officers and 16 constables have been found to have contracted the infection, the official said.
All of them are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in the state, and their condition was stable, he added.
The police in every district have been provided with mobile disinfection vans, he informed. (PTI)
Over 270 cases were registered and 3,501 people detained in the national capital on Thursday for violating orders, police said.
The country is currently under a lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
According to the data shared by the police, 275 cases were registered under section 188 (for disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC till 5pm.
A total of 3,501 people were detained under section 65 (persons bound to comply with reasonable directions of police officers) and 346 vehicles impounded under section 66 of the Delhi Police Act, they stated.
A total of 1,021 movement passes were issued, the police said. (PTI)
Dharavi on Thursday recorded 26 new COVID-19 cases — the highest single-day jump since the first case was reported from the area on April 1. With this, 86 people have been tested postitive for the virus in Dharavi.
A 58-year-old man, who had tested positive, died on Thursday, taking the toll in Asia’s biggest slum to nine. BMC has initiated contact tracing of the 26 new patients, including a 13-year-old boy. The senior-most person to be infected is 70.
With COVID-19 cases being found in new localities, Dharavi now has 22 containment zones.
FIR filed in Saharanpur against four acquaintances, including a relative, of Tablighi Jamat's chief Mohammad Saad for hiding formation during contact tracing. Two relatives were tested positive earlier.
The Delhi High Court Thursday refused to give urgent hearing to a plea seeking direction to private and unaided schools in the city to waive off fees for the period they are not fully operational due to coronavirus.
The plea by advocate Amit Sahni was mentioned before the High Court Registrar, seeking direction to schools not to pressure its students to pay fees or charges and also direction to the Delhi government to provide sufficient funds to schools to bear their liabilities like salary of staff and other expenses.
Sahni informed that he has mentioned the matter before the registrar on Wednesday and also uploaded a letter on the link provided by the High Court registry explaining the urgency but he was informed by the registry that “your request for urgent listing has been rejected”.
Due to suspension of court functioning since mid-March due to the lockdown, the HC and all trial courts in Delhi are only hearing urgent matters through video-conferencing.
A 24 year old migrant worker housed in a relief camp with 318 other migrants labourers tested positive in Nashik on Wednesday night. The migrant who worked as a cleaner on a truck was amongst one of the thousands of migrant labourers who had decided to walk from Mumbai towards North India but were intercepted in Nashik by the local police on March 30.
Since March 30 the man was housed at a relief centre that was set up by the state government. Over 318 migrant labourers had been out up in a hostel of the State's social justice department which had been converted into a relief camp. Authorities said that they had out up four individuals in each room in the facililty to ensure social distancing. While most of the workers were screened before they were moved to the facility the 24 year old complained of feeling feverish and having a cough only on April 13. He was subsequently moved to a hospital run by the Nashik Municipal Corporation and was subsequently tested. His test results that came out if Wednesday night confirmed that he was Covid 19 positive.
Soon after the results came out the enitre area was sealed. Eight individuls who lived in the patients room as well as the adjacent room have been moved to a hospital and their samples have been sent for testing. The other 114 individuals who stayed in the same building are also being screened.
(Source: Twitter/@arivalayam)
The opposition DMK and its allies on Thursday demanded the Tamil Nadu government to provide a special assistance of Rs 5,000 each to all family ration cardholders in the state besides a relief of Rs one crore to kin of frontline workers falling prey to COVID-19.
DMK president M K Stalin, who held a video conference with the leaders of alliance parties, said the Central and state governments should work out a new relief and economic package to all sections affected by the pandemic.
Stalin, seen wearing a mask, said the state government should implement the Madras High Court verdict permitting the direct distribution of food, essential commodities and other relief to the needy affected due to the lockdown being implemented to combat COVID-19, after prior intimation to government officials. (PTI)
1. 13 Mar to 21 Mar 2020: Medical team comprising five doctors, two Nursing Officers & seven Paramedics were deployed in an advisory role to assist the Male govt to set up its domestic COVID protection measures
2. 11 Apr 2020: Eight Medical Officers and seven Paramedics were deployed for capability development of Kuwaiti government and setting up of RTPCR machine
3. Medicines and medical equipment are being provided to Nepal government
4. Other Medical teams are on stand by to be deployed in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
Evacuations and Lodging at Quarantine Facilities1. 2 Feb to 18 Feb 2020: 248 Indian male citizens, mostly students, were evacuated from Wuhan and quarantined at Manesar Army Wellness Facility2. 27 Feb to 12 Mar 2020: 124 people evacuated from Diamond Princess Cruise at Japan and quarantined at Manesar Army Wellness Facility3. 11 Mar 2020 to Apr 2020: 83 people evacuated from Italy and quarantined at Manesar Army Wellness Facility. These included six citizens of Indian origin from Italy and three citizens of Indian origin from US. 82 were discharged after being confirmed negative while one positive case was referred to Safdarjung hospital4. 15 Mar 2020 to as on date: 236 Indian citizens evacuated from Iran and quarantined at Jaisalmer Army Wellness Facility. Out of these, 19 were COVID positive and were admitted at AIIMS Jodhpur. Nine of them have since recovered. Nearly two battalion strength of troops vacated their living accommodation to assist in establishing these national level facilities for the people of India5. 16 Mar 2020 to as on date: 53 Indian citizens evacuated from Iran and quarantined at Jaisalmer Army Wellness Facility. Out of these, 03 were COVID positive and admitted at AIIMS Jodhpur6. 18 Mar 2020 to as on date: 195 Indian citizens evacuated from Iran and quarantined at Jaisalmer Army Wellness Facility. Out of these, 22 were COVID positive and admitted at AIIMS Jodhpur7. 25 Mar 2020 to as on date: 277 Indian citizens evacuated from Iran and quarantined at Jodhpur Army Wellness Facility8. 29 Mar 2020 to as on date: 275 Indian citizens evacuated from Iran quarantined at Jodhpur Army Wellness Facility9. 28 Mar 2020: Army Wellness Centres established to handle likely surge in civilian cases of COVID-19
According to the Ministry of Health Affairs, the total cases of the novel coronavirus in India rose to 12,759, of which there are 10,824 active cases. The death toll also rose to 420.
82 people recovered from COVID-19 in Karnataka so far.
*3,336 Indians have been infected overseas, and 25 of them have died due to COVID-19, sources told The Indian Express.
*India is getting 6.5 lakh testing kits from China today, more testing kits from South Korea expected. US, UK, Malaysia, France, Canada also approached, sources said.
*Over 35,000 foreign nationals from 48 countries evacuated have been from India, they added.
Japan tested 11.7 people per one positive; Italy that number is 6.7, In US its 5.3; UK its 3.4. Here we do 24 tests for one positive. Can't say we are testing less: Dr R R Gangakhedkar, ICMR. He also said there was no evidence to talk about the effect of summer on spread of the virus.
Rapid testing kits will not be used for diagnosis but for surveillance, especially in hotspots: Dr R R Gangakhedkar, ICMR.
"Not all antibodies are such that they can fight the same infection for life; that's the case with chicken pox antibody; difficult to say whether presence of antibody against COVID-19 gives immunity for life," he added.
In the last 24 hours, 30,043 tests were conducted of which 3,712 were in 78 private labs. Can test over 78,000 people per day if we work two shifts: Dr R R Gangakhedkar, ICMR
Our case fatality rate is 3.3% and percentage of people recovered 12.02%. Mahe, Patna, Nadia, Pratapgarh, Porbandar, South Goa, Pauri Gadwal, Pilibhit, Rajauri, Vilaspur Durg, Rajnandgaon completed 28 days without case: Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health
Union Health Minister and MoS Health held a video conference with the WHO yesterday and made an action plan on how to use polio surveillance network alongside WHO for COVID-19: Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health.
A North Indian migrant labourer who walked from Mumbai to Nashik and was subsequently kept in a Government relief camp in Nashik from March 30 has tested positive for Covid 19. Over 300 migrants are housed in the facility and are now being screened for symptoms.
At Folds design studio's workshop in Mumbai, face-shield are manufactured, a personal protection device in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)
In Ludhiana, an order permitting restaurants/eating joints for home-delivery of food from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm stands withdrawn. Deputy commissioner Pradeep Aggarwal issues fresh orders. None allowed to home-deliver food and will be booked if found doing so.
Concerned by increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in Surat city, Gujarat government Thursday ordered to put five areas of the city under curfew from Thursday midnight till 6 am, April 22, said an official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
The decision was taken after Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a video conference with top officials in Gandhinagar like Chief Secretary Anil Mukim, Director General of Police Shivanand Jha, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sangeeta Singh and top officers of Surat like Surat Police Commissioner R B Brahmbhatt, Surat Collector Dhaval Patel, and Surat municipal commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani.
The areas include those falling within the jurisdiction of five police stations that include Salabatpura, Mahidharpura, Lalgate, Athwalines, and Libayat. In Limbayat police station, the area falling under Kamrunagar police chowky will be under curfew. The release added that there will be relaxation in the curfew between 1 pm and 4 pm for women to fetch daily essential items such as milk, vegetables, medicines, grocery.
Hyundai Motors has given the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Advanced Diagnostic Testing Kits worth Rs 4 crore to help cater to over 25,000 individual amid the coronavirus outbreak. These kits, which will help the government scale up testing, have been shipped in from South Korea. The company has also donated Rs 5 crore to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Fund, augmented the supply of ventilators and other respiratory aids, distributed PPEs and masks, and distributed dry rations to adversely affected sections of society.
"Hyundai is committed to the fight against COVID-19. To provide further assistance to the government's efforts, we have handed over Globally Proven -- COVID-19 Advanced Diagnostic Testing Kits imported from South Korea. These can help the government scale up testing efforts in affected regions and arrest the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in India," SS Kim, MD and CEO of Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said.
On April 4, a 25-year-old migrant from Kerala, working as a technician in an electronic company in Abu Dhabi, returned to his shared accommodation to his roommate struggling with a fever. The temperature was 101 degrees Fahrenheit. The number of coronavirus positive cases in UAE had already crossed 3,500 by then. However, the seven roommates, all from Kerala, decided to wait another day. Here's their story.
A marine commando who was injured during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks is auctioning his marathon medals to raise funds for the battle against COVID-19, and has already contributed Rs 2 lakh. Praveen Teotia was among the Indian Navy’s MARCOS marine commandos who were part of ‘Operation Black Tornado’ at Mumbai’s Taj Hotel in 2008. The Shaurya Chakra awardee took four bullets to the chest, suffered a serious injury to the right part of his chest and suffered damage to his left ear. Today, Teotia is a marathon runner who has participated in events across the world and has decided to auction his medals to contribute to the fight against COVID-19. Read Rahul Sadhu's report.
A marine commando who was injured during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks is auctioning his marathon medals to raise funds for the battle against COVID-19, and has already contributed Rs 2 lakh. Praveen Teotia was among the Indian Navy’s MARCOS marine commandos who were part of ‘Operation Black Tornado’ at Mumbai’s Taj Hotel in 2008. The Shaurya Chakra awardee took four bullets to the chest, suffered a serious injury to the right part of his chest and suffered damage to his left ear. Today, Teotia is a marathon runner who has participated in events across the world and has decided to auction his medals to contribute to the fight against COVID-19. Read Rahul Sadhu's report.
Rahul Gandhi says, "It is a real possibility that post coronavirus, the nature of India's democracy could change. We know how to make sure India is democratic, don't worry about that. Right now we have to focus on how to fight the virus."
In case you are just tuning in, Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi is addressing the media. He says, "I may disagree with PM Narendra Modi on a lot of issues, but this is not the time for that. We have to be united in our fight against the coronavirus. Fighting together is not going to take India forward. If we fight each other we will lose."
"India is the only country that is attempting a lockdown with the migrant population. There is no other country that has the same scale of migration. The response in Kerala is completely different from that in UP. The Centre needs to give more power to chief ministers," Rahul Gandhi says. He also advises against using all ammunition now, but says give out as much money as possible to the poor.
"I would have liked a more detailed conversation between the states and the Prime Minister. I would have liked a more decentralised system to tackle COVID-19," says Rahul Gandhi. "COVID-19 cannot be controlled, has to be managed... It is more than a conversation, it is a method of working."
"There is no food shortage in the country. We have a lot of grain in storage. We should distribute that and provide free ration to the poor. We have to preempt this and make a food safety net," says Rahul Gandhi. "It pains me that our food supply has not been able to reach the poor yet. Our MSMEs need to know what is being done for them. This is now a national issue, a security issue."
Talking about the government's prepardeness to tackle the COVID-19, Rahul Gandhi says, "The main forces to fight is at the state and district level. In Kerala's Wayanad, we got success because the state machinary was effective. The Prime Minister needs to empower machinary at states and dsitrict levels."
He also says that he doesn't want to discuss about the past actions of the government and that the country should come together to fight this "emergency-like situation." "Don't use blunt instruments. Adopt a nuanced apparoch," Gandhi says.
Rahul Gandhi, speaking to reporters, says: "I have been speaking to experts in India and abroad on the COVID-19. A lockdown is like a pause button, it is in no way a solution to the problem. Lockdown allows time and space to put in medical resources, ramp up testing, prepare hospitals, create architecture to fight the virus before it picks up again." Gandhi says the real weapon is "testing". He advises the government push testing aggresively, maximise testing and use it strategically.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is holding his first-ever Zoom press conference. "We are in a very serious situation. All political parties have to work together, if we want to defeat this virus," he says.
The Congress is holding a party meeting on Zoom, which is live on YouTube. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to address party leaders any minute now.
DMK chief MK Stalin sports a mask as he video-conferences with allies amid the coronavirus.
Just like the rest of the world, anonymous UK-based street graffiti artist Banksy is also ‘working from home’. And now, another one of his artworks has appeared — this time not on the streets, but inside his own bathroom. The artist recently uploaded a series of photographs revealing his latest work on Instagram. In the pictures, we can see his walls covered in rat drawings, along with a caption that reads: “My wife hates it when I work from home.”
With 34 new COVID-19 cases reported from Karnataka in the last 19 hours, the total number of novel coronavirus cases in the state rose to 313 on Thursday. This is the highest number of cases recorded in a day so far in the state. Of the new cases, 17 are in Belagavi, 7 in Vijayapura, 5 in Bengaluru, 3 in Mysuru and 1 each are from Kalaburagi and Mysuru.
According to the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, 13 deaths have been reported in the state so far, 82 people have recovered from the infection. As many as 218 patients are under treatment as on April 16 (12 noon).
After witnessing a remarkable improvement in Delhi air quality in the last few weeks, there has been a slight dip Thursday with winds bringing in dust particles from the dry arid western region. The overall AQI stood at 150, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) latest data. SAFAR said the dust particles have slightly raised the pollution level in Delhi. Read more here.
Also, don't miss this story on how a game of Ludo ended in gunfire after one of the participants started coughing.
The world has been repeatedly advised about handwashing and infection from contaminated surfaces. But what about food? While there have not been any reports yet about studies on the subject, the answer is that food is probably low-risk as a source of infection. The virus spreads via droplets when someone coughs or sneezes, or when one touches one’s face with a contaminated hand. Read more here.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Asia's growth in 2020 to be zero due to the impact of the coronavirus, which is "severe and unprecedented". In a blog post, the body wrote: "Growth in Asia is expected to stall at zero per cent in 2020. This is the worst growth performance in almost 60 years, including during the Global Financial Crisis (4.7 per cent) and the Asian Financial Crisis (1.3 per cent)." It added that Asia "still looks to fare better than other regions in terms of activitiy", reported PTI.
During the weekend, the English mathematician John Horton Conway, 82, died of COVID-19. He will be best remembered for the “Game of Life”, which he invented around 1970 and which continues, 50 years later, to fascinate people, including many who are not mathematicians. What is the Game of Life? Read our explainer here.
In Maharashtra, the police have made a group of people, who violated the lockdown orders to go on a morning walk, perform yoga in Bibvewadi area of Pune.
Sports psychologist and former international shuttler Gayatri Madkekar, who now helps elite athletes at Pune’s Lakshya Foundation, had never seen “happiness” as a problem needing a cure. This was until the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown. Dr Gayatri is also left vetting athletes’ Netflix choices, so they steer clear of what she calls “dystopian, diabolical, dysfunctional content” which can trigger anxiety for being scarier than the nightmare that’s already thrust on the world currently. Slaves of regimented routines, a large part of the challenge for mental trainers was to wean athletes away from constant thoughts about the game — owing to the danger of burnout. Staying at home throws up its own set of issues. Read Shivani Naik's report.
Although hand hygiene is considered an effective means for warding off novel coronavirus infections, the lack of access to clean water itself is an ongoing challenge that the country has been facing for several years. In an advisory to state governments, the Centre has said: “Frequent washing of hands with frothing soaps is recognized as the most efficient and effective measure in the listed preventive measures for controlling the spread of the virus. Thus, there is an urgent need to ensure that safe potable water is available to all citizens particularly in the rural areas where facility of medical sanitizers may not be available.” Read our explainer.
A report released by a volunteer group has pointed to the scale of the hunger crisis and economic distress among migrant workers stranded in cities. Since March 27, two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a lockdown to tackle the spread of COVID-19, a group of academics and right to food activists began receiving distress calls from migrant workers stranded in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana. Till April 13, the group of 73 volunteers of the Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN) were contacted by 640 groups of stranded workers — comprising 11,159 workers across the country. They helped the workers by cash transfers (Rs 3.8 lakh), linking them to local organisations and arranging for government facilities.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked all nonprofit organisations with foreign contribution licences to update the government on their efforts towards containing the COVID-19 outbreak every month. In a letter dated April 7, Sumant Singh, a director at the MHA, requested all NGOs that are allowed to receive funding from overseas under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, to fill a form online to report their COVID-19 related activities by the 15th of every month. Read more here
Its passenger services may be suspended till May 3 but the Indian Railways is gearing up to run trains for a group of very special passengers on multiple routes. Close to 1,200 officers and jawans of the Indian Army are likely to take trains from Bengaluru to their postings in various parts of India this month. They had been stuck due to the 21-day lockdown, and no other way of transporting them could be worked out. “The moment lockdown was announced these officers were in training at different training centers in Bengaluru, Belgaum and Secundarabad, all of which are under the Southern Command,” sources told Avishek G Dastidar and Krishn Kaushik. Read more here.
According to the WHO, a critical lesson from the 2014-16 West African Ebola epidemic was that both the public and private sector need to work in tandem in responding to large-scale epidemics. In the COVID-19 response in India, the private sector — which includes the for-profit and not-for-profit segments — has to play an even more important role, as it is the dominant provider of health services in the country, writes Indu Bhushan, CEO, PM-JAY.
Google's Chief Exexcutive Officer Sundar Pichai has confirmed to employees that Alphabet will "significantly" slow hiring in 2020 due to the coronavirus. According to Bloomberg, Pichai, in his email, wrote: "We're only a quarter of the way through 2020, and it's already been the most unusual year in memory. None of us could have predicted that most of us would now be working from home during the biggest global pandemic of our lifetimes.
"We believe now is the time to significantly slow down the pace of hiring, while maintaining momentum in a small number of strategic areas where users and businesses rely on Google for ongoing support, and where our growth is critical to their success. By dialing back our plans in other areas, we can ensure Google emerges from this year at a more appropriate size and scale than we would otherwise. That means we need to carefully prioritize hiring employees who will address our greatest user and business needs. Your leads will be in touch with you about how this will work for your team," he wrote.
A top cop in Gujarat's Vadodara, who is also a literary writer off duty, is using his humourous couplets to make lockdown violators in the city understand the importance of social distancing. His satirical tweets, which he says is god-gifted, are working as comic relief for Vadodara residents and are making them ask for more updates on the crackdown on violators by him. “We are filing portrait photography and face sheet records in addition to the mandatory anatomical (black) slates for those who are stepping out of their homes to assess the ongoing situation.” It might sound like a service description but it is a warning to compulsive lockdown violators who have been giving poor excuses to Gujarat policemen. The message above is one among the many satirical tweets from Deepak Meghani, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Vadodara for Zone 1.