'Kerala is probably the only state, where (with regard to) the clinical management and the overall protocols, we have an infectious disease team heading the whole containment plan.'
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 72nd Republic Day.
The death toll rose to 5,394 after a record single-day spike of 230 fatalities in the 24 hours since Sunday 8 am, the Union Health Ministry said in its morning update. It showed the number of confirmed cases rising by 8,392 to 1,90,535. However, a PTI tally of figures announced by states and union territories, as of 9.35 pm, showed a higher death toll of 5,501.
'Testing is a very good strategy if only symptomatic people are transmitting the disease.' 'Here asymptomatic people, with minimum, trivial symptoms, are transmitting too.' 'Testing, treating, tracing contacts and quarantining them -- yes, it will work up to a certain extent.' 'But more important is physical distancing, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and cocooning, protecting with reverse quarantining the most vulnerable people, senior citizens, people with other major medical problems.' 'To me, that makes much more sense.'
The move came after a three-member inquiry panel of the government submitted its final report to Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who described the incident as 'not acceptable'.
'India is too large a place to have just 10 labs performing these Covid-19 tests.'
In its morning update, the Union health ministry said the total number of positive cases has reached 2,16,919 with a record spike of 9,304 new cases since Wednesday 8 am across the country, while the death toll has increased to 6,075 with 260 more fatalities in this period. A PTI tally of figures announced by different states and union territories, as of 9.50 pm, showed a higher number of confirmed cases across the country at 2,17,389 and the death toll at 6,233.
'It will only get worse, definitely, for the next month and one-and-a-half months.'
From India's fight against COVID-19 to China face-off, Kovind spoke on several issues during the televised address.
Jaishankar said that the situation in the region has now stabilised and lots of restrictions have been rolled back including the operationalising of landlines and mobile towers and resumption of economic activity.
'Install the app for yourself and your family.' 'Make sure that everybody you come in contact with on a daily basis -- your drivers, your maids, your colleagues at work -- make sure they too are using the app.' 'Also encourage people who carry some influence, like office managers, to convince their employees to do the same.' 'This only helps in improving your safety levels.'
'As of this moment, we have 1,173 ventilators, 2,695 ICUs and about 10,408 plus isolation beds.' 'But this number keeps changing with every passing hour as we incorporate more private as well as government hospitals in our fight against the pandemic.'
'There is a joke that is cracked in hushed tones sometimes in Manipur, what would many of the insurgent outfits do if AFSPA is indeed taken away? What would they fight against?'
Dr Arun Jamkar, former vice chancellor, Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, makes a strong case for reforming Indian medical education and believes that the National Medical Commission Bill is historic.
'This novel format of diplomacy -- the informal summit -- will not only facilitate bilateral communication and reduce miscalculations at the very top level of the two governments, but possibly open the space for China and India to speak in one voice on various issues of mutual concern,' note Feng Renjie and Ding Kun Lei
'Modi and Obama are transformational leaders. There can't be a better occasion than to see them together, making their own 'firsts' in a festival of the Republic of India,' says Tarun Vijay, MP.
Rohit Nandan, secretary, ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship, talks to Anjuli Bhargava.
Breastfeeding lowers chances of being a victim to cancer and circulatory diseases. Among children, it prevents diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Enabling labour to become more globally mobile can produce higher remittances with powerful 'brain gain' dividends.
Patients from any part of the country will soon need to travel no more than three hours for treatment of the kind available in large metros.
'Predictions are that numbers will continue to rise till May end and maybe in the first half of June will be our peak.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India and the United Kingdom are economically made for each other.
Naresh Chandra -- distinguished civil servant and diplomat -- passed into the ages on Sunday, July 9. Ambassador T P Sreenivasan salutes a patriot like none other.<
'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
The British administration ignored the mounting evidence of violence between Hindus and Muslims... Military historian Barney White-Spunner traces the countdown to the tragedy in his book, Partition.
'I had to convince myself that I was steely enough to operate on a cold-blooded killer.' 'For all my medical experience, this was something I had never done!' 'If something happened to Charles, I knew my fate was sealed for me.' 'I would be called Doctor Death until I breathed my last.' 'Success was my only hope of escaping that fate.' A fascinating excerpt from heart surgeon Dr Raamesh Koirala's Charles Sobhraj, Inside The Heart Of The Bikini Killer.
India has so far succeeded in staving off the deadly virus that has claimed over 4,500 lives abroad.
'If the court realises, within a couple of years, that women are making all kinds of allegations for other ulterior motives, then it will become difficult for women,' well-known Supreme Court lawyer Mukul Rohatgi tells Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
'Diplomatic engagement will continue even as India keeps all its options open with respect to discretely targeting the Pakistani military and its terrorist proxies.'
The families of the Muslim youth from Hashimpura who were shot dead 28 years ago had some committed supporters in their long struggle for justice.
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