The nationwide lockdown has transformed many otherwise buzzing streets across the country into tranquil expanses. It is on a few of such streets filled with ghastly echoes that the quaint figure of a female police officer goes about her duty with her colleagues, making sure that movement is restricted amongst the people in order to flatten the proverbial curve. Wearing the traditional khaki uniform of the Tamil Nadu Police -- a surgical mask stretched over her face, and a pair of gloves pulled over her hands for protection, India women's team midfielder Indumathi Kathiresan is barely recognisable to those stopped by her for checking on the streets of Anna Nagar, Chennai.
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'As per the current state guidelines, we can have a full crowd. You need to be vaccinated with one dose or you carry a negative test report which will be checked at the entrance,' Rajasthan Cricket Association secretary Mahendra Sharma said on Thursday.
This is the fifth consecutive day that coronavirus infections have increased by more than 15,000. There has been a surge of 3,38,324 infections from June 1 till date.
The corona deaths in India so far add up to 91,149 (September 24, 3.26 pm). It is seven-and-a-half times the number of Indian soldiers slain in all the wars (1947, 1961-1962, 1965, 1971 and 1999) in post-independent India's history, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He also highlighted that the number of active COVID-19 cases in the country are less than 7 lakh and the doubling rate has increased to 97.2 days.
In addition, 22,533 'Make in India' ventilators have been delivered to various states, Union territories and central institutions, the ministry said, adding that the Centre is also ensuring the installation and commissioning of the machines.
Asserting that the 'Tika Utsav', a vaccination drive between April 11 and 14, marks the beginning of the second big war on COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made several suggestions to people on tackling the virus and urged them to focus on personal and social hygiene.
The authorities have also asked fans to refrain from indulging in racist behaviour, adding that strict action will be taken against anyone flouting the rules. During the recent tour of Australia, some of the India players were racially abused, which has also been confirmed by Cricket Australia.
People have developed a fatalistic attitude where they believe that anything can happen. They think, 'there's no medicine, no beds in the hospitals, what are we alive for?' And when you get that kind of an attitude, you stop taking precautions
From offering office premises that can be converted into isolation wards to earmarking funds to be used for procuring kits, ventilators as well as personal protective equipment for health care workers, India Inc has put a united front to combat the unprecedented crisis facing the country.
We knew from the moment the pandemic took hold that this would be a long haul -- at least 12 to 18 months. Nothing should have changed that assessment, says Mihir S Sharma.
"Despite the high number of cases reported so far, we have been able to contain the spread to under 2 pc of population," said Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal.
"Lockdown and containment (measures) have been successful in keeping it low and preventing rapid spread," ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said, citing the sero-survey on COVID-19 spread.
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The stars Rediff.com Contributing Photographer Pradeep Bandekar sighted over the weekend.
He expressed hope that India will soon have indigenous production of vaccine against coronavirus.
The anti-government protests near the presidential secretariat in Colombo resumed on Sunday after the authorities lifted the nation-wide curfew to celebrate the Vesak -- what we call Buddha Purnima in India -- festival.
The court allowed Ravi to speak with her family members over phone for 15 minutes a day and meet with her lawyer for 30 minutes a day, while she is in police custody.
Gold demand in India dropped by 30 per cent during the July-September quarter to 86.6 tonnes, compared to the same period last year due to Covid-19 related disruptions and ruling high prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report.
Chairperson of the COVID Task Force for All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr Naveet Wig on Thursday said that the COVID-19 crisis is 'a dynamic situation' and to prevent a third wave of the pandemic, there is a need to keep changing strategies.
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported in various parts of Kerala as the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) was underway.
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He said that southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will see the current wave peak next week.
'We keep worrying about this variant or that variant. Forget about that.' 'Every variant can be stopped with a mask.' 'We don't want to do the simple thing of wearing a mask, but we worry ourselves to death about different variants.'
Ranbir revealed to journalist Rajeev Masand the other day that Alia and he would have gotten married this year, but for the pandemic.
The demand for minerals, boulders and sand is so great that it has fueled a black market and the goons who control this trade do not hesitate to kill law enforcement officers and reporters who have tried to expose them.
But still we have prepared the whole country for the worst situation, the Union health minister said.
Foreign teams that will land in India for next month's FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar have been exempted from quarantine and will only be required to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms during the stay.
'There's no point making grand plans all our lives when life itself is so fragile.'
'I try to say to myself, 'Don't cry in front of people'. But sometimes I can't help it.'
'The question is really can we prevent half a million deaths.' 'We are fast approaching that number.'
Modi urged the country to show patience during the vaccination drive as it had shown till now in fighting the pandemic.
'These reports of cases being very low in other states, is it true? Are the numbers believable?'
'And they are going to be milder because we are dealing with the vaccinated and are much richer in terms of the immune response in the population.'
Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh arrived in Raipur on Tuesday, March 2, to participate in the Road Safety World Series.
Any concerned citizen ought to start practicing hygiene by washing their hands properly and be aware of the brands that are certified.
What happens if China depreciates its currency. In that case, Chinese products will be cheaper and people will continue to buy their products: Abhijit Banerjee.
