WHO Gives Strict Warning On Novel Coronavirus

The World Health Organization warned the world that the novel coronavirus might never go away. Michael Ryan, the emergencies director of WHO said that the world had a new virus for the first time and therefore it was very difficult to predict when the world would prevail over it.

WHO’s warning on novel coronavirus

It could end up becoming just another endemic said Michael Ryan. While speaking to the media in a virtual conference in Geneva, the director gave example of HIV and said that it didn’t go away and that the world had come to terms with that virus. Also, he said that there was a very long way to go before the world could return to normal. The director stressed on the need to stay the course.

Ryan condemned attacks on healthcare workers

He termed attack on doctors, nurses and paramedics to be over-reactions from ill-informed communities. He further said that COVID-19 brought the best out of the world but at the same time the disease also brought the worst out of the people. He asked the world to resist those senseless acts.

Condition of novel coronavirus

The virus has taken almost the entire world in its grip. There are over 4.2 million infected persons and nearly 300,00 have been killed by the virus worldwide. Countries are taking strict control measures including lockdown but these measures need to be continued for a long time to tide the wave of virus.

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Indian Economy Got 20 Lack Crore Boost

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a mega economic package in addition to giving hits at Lockdown 4 in his Tuesday night address to the nation. The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will give more details about the financial package in the coming days.

Highlights of the PM’s speech

• Announcement of 20 lack crore package for all sectors. A task force under the leadership of Finance Minister is studying the economic fallout of the pandemic. And it will soon come out with a solution.

• The 20 lack crore package also includes the 1.7 lack crore announced in March. The fiscal package is 10% of India’s GDP.

• It is said that the fiscal package is inspired by the 30-billion-pound fiscal stimulus announced by UK government.

• The PM said that the fiscal stimulus was aimed to lessen the financial burden of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

• The government will allow paying wages for the firms that retained their labor force throughout the lockdown period.

• The PM mentioned that the package would focus on land, labor, liquidity and law. It would help small businesses and farmers.

• The PM also included well-being of the migrant workers in his speech and said that the financial stimulus would be a real help for the workers.

• Lockdown 4 will start on May 18 but this time there will be more relaxation for the areas that are almost free from the virus. It is to be noted that lockdown has brought the economy to a grinding halt.

Source: https://bit.ly/2WqIXvr

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PM Hints Lockdown To Stay Post May 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted that the nationwide lockdown could be extended beyond May 17 but with some relaxation. Yesterday, he had a meeting with chief ministers over video conferencing where he asked the CMs to send their suggestions on easily lockdown by May 15.

PM talked to CMs

The meeting concluded with CMs getting time to give their suggestions as many states want to resume economic activities after a long lockdown. But at the same time, they agreed to keep certain areas under restrictions as the cases of novel coronavirus aren’t showing any sign of easing.

Exit formula for lockdown

There is no clear strategy on easing restrictions but it is agreed upon that the lockdown will be lifted in a phased manner with restrictions lifting one by one depending on the number of cases coming from different areas.

The lockdown 1 stopped all activities across the length and breadth of the country but some restrictions were eased in lockdown 2. The lockdown 3 saw more freedom in certain areas. But the time isn’t ripened to life the lockdown completely. The states will give their suggestions on easing out the lockdown.

Coronavirus in India

In India, the number of COVID-19 patients have crossed 67,000 mark on Monday and it is expected to increase in the coming days. AIIMS director Dr. Randeep Guleria had already said that the peak of coronavirus had yet to come. According to him, the coronavirus peak would come in June or July.

Source: https://bit.ly/3boxYqM

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Railway Resumes Passenger Train Service But With Limitations

Indian Railways is going to resume its passenger train service from May 12 but with certain restrictions. These trains will run on selected routes and tickets for the trains could be booked from 4 pm today. It is to be noted that passenger train service was suspended on March 25 when a nationwide lockdown was imposed on the country.

Resumption of passenger train service

In the beginning, 15 trains from New Delhi to various destinations will be run. The destinations covered in 30 journeys will include Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Tripura.

All trains will have AC coaches and there will be limited stops in the journey. According a statement issued by Indian Railways, these would be special trains connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, and Jammu Tawi.

Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal confirmed running of special trains with his tweet. He tweeted that the Railways would start operation of passenger service with 15 special trains.

Ticket booking and other conditions

Ticket for the special trains can be booked online. Only the IRCTC website and mobile app are allowed to sell tickets. And the passengers are warned not to buy tickets from agents. Only passengers with confirmed tickets will be allowed to board the trains and they will have to come with due protection. Also, the passengers will have to go through virus screening at the platforms.

Source: https://bit.ly/2SVpwbW

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Booze To Cost 70% More In Delhi From Today

Delhi government decided to add a 70% corona tax on liquor sale. The tax will be applied to the MRP (maximum retail price) of each bottle. The decision was taken on Monday and it will be implemented from Tuesday. The government wants to increase its revenue with liquor sale.

70% on liquor sale in Delhi

The Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal chaired a cabinet meeting on Monday morning to discuss ways to harvest liquor sale to boost revenue of the state that is down by more than 100% in comparison to last year. Delhi’s revenue in April 2019 was Rs. 3,500 crore but it plunged to Rs. 300 crore in April 2020.

The CM discussed the corona tax model with his cabinet colleagues and ordered charging 70% for per bottle from the buyers. After the renewed price, a bottle that costs Rs. 1,000 on MRP will now cost Rs. 1,700 due to the tax. The additional tax will help boost the revenue in the coming days.

Liquor sale in Delhi

Delhi government has authorized agencies to sell liquor in the capital. These agencies are DTTDC, DSIDC, DSCSC and DCCWS. And they are allowed to issue licenses to private firms to sell liquor from the government authorized premises.

On Monday, the standalone liquor shops located outside the marketplaces opened their shutters to sell booze. And people came out in thousands to buy liquor. But the worst thing is that they didn’t follow social distancing guidelines while buying liquor.

Source: https://bit.ly/2yuWDwm

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Google Closes Its “Thank You” Series Of Doodles With Honoring Coronavirus Helpers

In the series to honor those at the frontline against the battle with COVID-19, Google releases a Doodle honoring all the people across the globe that are helping in going the world as a community in COVID-19 times.

Google’s Doodle for helpers

The illustration shows helpers from different sectors including farming, food service, grocery divisions, healthcare and researcher fields coming together and working to make the society corona free. The Google India shared the Doodle with a tweet that the best way to thank to all those on the front lines was by staying at home. Together, the world would move past this.

Google’s “Thank You” series

Today’s Doodle for coronavirus helpers is the second in the “Thank You” series of Google. On Monday, Google honored teachers that are helping students with their online studies. Also, Google said on Monday that it would continue the “Thank You” series for the coming weeks.

The series started on April 6 with thanking of health workers and the scientific community that are at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19. Google said that it was starting a series to recognize the efforts of al those that are at the front line to keep the world safe from coronavirus.

Google Thanks teachers

Many schools have switched to online teaching due to COVID-19 lockdown. In this situation, the teachers are doing a great job by taking online classes to continue the education. Google honored … Read the rest

Trump Accuses WHO Of Bias And Threatens To Cut Funding

US President Donald Trump accused the World Health Organization of bias towards China during the coronavirus pandemic and said that he could cut US funding to the WHO for its biased behavior.

Trump threatened WHO

Donald Trump said WHO, the UN body, could see a very powerful hold on funding from the US. It is well-known that the US is the biggest contributor of funds to WHO.

Trump pursues an America First policy and he has criticized WHO and other UN and multinational organizations in pursuance of his policy. But he revealed no details about the amount of fund to be withheld. On the contrary, he said that he was not saying, he was going to do that. He would look at ending the funding, added Trump.

Trump accuses WHO of bias

Donald Trump accused WHO of being very China centric while giving a faulty recommendation against curtailing international travel to stop the virus that first spread in China. He said that fortunately he rejected their advice on keeping the US borders open to China early on.

China also faced criticism from Republicans for mishandling the pandemic and Trump had expressed doubt over the statistics of coronavirus cases and deaths shared by China. Also, the Trump is facing criticism for initially downplaying the virus.

Trump likened the novel coronavirus to an ordinary flu and said that it was under control in the US. But soon he accepted that it was a national health emergency.

Source: https://bit.ly/2xYkqnI

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Big Bazaar In Udupi Found Violating Government Orders On Coronavirus

On Tuesday, the Udupi police came down heavily on the retail chain Big Bazaar. The retail chain was accused of flouting government guidelines on containing the spread of COVID-19.

Police action on Big Bazaar

The police party comprising of Deputy Commissioner G Jagadeesh, Superintendent of Police N Visnuvardhan and others were on a surprise visit when they found the Big Bazaar outlet selling essential items at a higher price despite government’s guidelines for curbing black marketing.

There were over 25 staff working in the outlet at the time of inspection and they were caught operating air conditioner despite strict warning from the government.Also, the police discovered there was no safety measure for visitors that were allowed to walk-in the store without worrying about safety of other and the staff.

Tehsildar Pradeep Kurdekar lodged a complaint against the retail chain on the report of the police team. The report was registered at Udupi police station and the necessary action taken.

Malpe port to be shut

The Deputy Commissioner also visited the Malpe Harbour to meet the Malpe Fisherman’s Association. He instructed the association to suspend all activities. The association president Krishna Suvarna asked for some time to sell the catch of Tuesday evening before suspending the activities. The DC allowed them to finish their activities till Wednesday evening.

Source: https://bit.ly/3dnSwBX

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Cops Detain Shaheen Bagh Protestors Amid Delhi Lockdown

After 101 days of sin-in protest, Shaheen Bagh in Delhi was cleared of the protestors. It was heart of protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act of CAA. Delhi Police reached Shaheen Bagh at around 7 am and cleared the site by arresting the remaining protestors.

Delhi imposes Section 144 over COVID-19

Following the orders of banning large gatherings in the capital, cops asked the Shaheen Bagh protestors to leave the site but they refused. Finally, the cops have to use force and detain nine people including six women and three men to clear the site. Soon the civic body will clean up the protest site. Also, the Jaffrabad and Turkman Gate sites were cleared using force.

Delhi reports 30 coronavirus cases

Following the orders of countrywide restrictions in the wake of rising coronavirus cases, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a lockdown on the city. Delhi has recorded 30 COVID-19 cases and one death. It has sealed borders with adjoining states; public transport is shut and shops closed except those that sell essential goods. The country has recorded 470 cases and nine people have died so far.

Clearing Shaheen Bagh protests

CAA protesters at the ShaheenBgh were urged to call off their agitation on December 15 but they refused to obey the orders. They said that the sit-in would continue with necessary precautions. They simply reduced the size of the gathering. Shaheen Bagh protests had made international headlines due to CAA protest. Also, they were attacked several times before.

Source: https://bit.ly/2wxD9WV

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All Exams In The Country Postponed Till March 31

The educational ministry asked all educational institutions including Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to postpone all exams till March 31 in view of coronavirus outbreak.

HRD secretary Amit Khare, in an official communication, said that the while maintenance of academic calendar and exam schedule was important, equally important was safety and security of students that were appearing in various exams as also of their teachers and parents.

Exams postponed

The order applies to CBSE-affiliated schools that are conducting tests of 10 and 12 classes; National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main) and all autonomous organisations under the education ministry.

But the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE) is allowed to conduct board exams for 10 and 12 classes.

The announcement of postponement of exams was made amid the increasing number of coronavirus cases in India. It was the latest in the curbs put across the country to contain spread of COVID-19.

Fresh coronavirus cases reported

There were only 14 coronavirus cases reported since Tuesday but what is more worrisome is that the Indian Army also reported a coronavirus case. The armed forces have decided to strengthen their measures to check spread of COVID-19.

The soldiers coming from home will be checked for flu-like symptoms. Also, non-essential leaves of soldiers including leaves for conferences are cancelled till further order. Meanwhile the Human Resource Development Ministry announced to hold e-classes on Swayam Prabha DTH channels for school students.

Source: https://bit.ly/2Uj8sg2

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