'I will live in a nearby hotel but will not stay at home, that's it for me now, can't bear anymore lockdown days.'
'What I'm really worried about is that the day this lockdown ends, we will all rush to work and we'll kill the lovely environment we are seeing now.'
As India reached the halfway point in the 21-day coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, some states and rail and airline operators were considering measures to relax restrictions in phases from April 15. Simultaneously, the Centre has drawn up a cluster containment strategy to contain the coronavirus pandemic within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread to new areas.
'We need a candidate who will do our work and fight with the authorities; someone we can hold accountable.' 'Piyush Goyal is not that candidate.'
When the lockdown ends, Hasleen plans to come out of it a stronger person.
Rediff readers sent us these pictures to show how their kids are making the most of the lockdown.
Naren from Hyderabad tells us how his family saved money in the lockdown.
Kuldeep disclosed a lesser-known passion for art during the nationwide lockdown four years ago.
'India has been cleaved into two by a government that has shown amazing consistency in cleaving.' 'One India is gasping for life, and the other is doing yoga and clapping from balconies and WhatsApp groups,' observes Debashish Chatterjee.
We've never, ever been confined to our homes for so many days. What has the experience been like? Tell us!
"It is quite obvious to everyone that the situation in India is extremely serious," Dr Fauci, who is considered one of the world's top infectious disease specialists, told PTI in an interview.
Boris Johnson on Tuesday announced July 4 as the date for a significant lifting of lockdown restrictions in the country, with cinemas, museums, bars, pubs and restaurants being allowed to open their doors to the public once again.
'The challenge is to put in place a strategy for future courses of action beyond April 14 when the lockdown comes to an end,' notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
'The economic impact of this lockdown is evidently huge.' 'Its impact on the livelihood of vulnerable sections of the society is immeasurably bigger,' observes Mahesh Vyas.
The lockdown in India has been a timely, graded, proactive and pre-emptive public health measure to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and has been part and parcel of the government's overall strategy, Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and Chairman, Empowered Group 1, said at a media briefing on the COVID-19 situation.
The Centre has announced an extension for two more weeks in the nationwide lockdown. However, several relaxations will be allowed as per zones.
"Confinement is fostering the tension and strain created by security, health, and money worries. And it is increasing isolation for women with violent partners, separating them from the people and resources that can best help them. It's a perfect storm for controlling, violent behaviour behind closed doors," UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said in a statement calling the violence against women and girls 'a shadow pandemic'.
According to sources, government officials have asked industry bodies and manufacturers to submit key concerns and requirements to begin manufacturing activity.
After months of anticipation (and 31,000 submissions from the British public), the Britain's Duchess of Cambridge's final selection of images for Hold Still is available to view on the National Portrait Gallery's website. Designed to "capture and document the spirit, the mood, the hopes, the fears and the feelings of the nation" during lockdown, the project brings together 100 moving amateur shots of everything from at-home haircuts to make-shift classrooms; exhausted NHS staffers on duty to dedicated postmen in superhero costumes; pensioners FaceTiming with their grandchildren to mothers cradling their newborn babies. Below, see 22 remarkable images from Hold Still - then head to the The National Portrait Gallery website for the full exhibition.
Viren Rasquinha, who is the CEO of Olympic Gold Quest, stressed on the importance of sports psychologists for athletes in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics, which has been postponed to next year.
'There is one way to defeat the intention behind this directive: To patronise Muslim establishments that have been forced to identify themselves.' 'This is one opportunity for the Congress to show that the 'mohabbat ki dukaan' its leader talks about does exist.' 'Can Akhilesh Yadav, who has asked the court to take note of this directive, order his party members to do this?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
We need not spend much time going over what this government has done and is doing to the Opposition, by misusing the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. There is a daily update on that, notes Aakar Patel.
This will be the third video conference of the prime minister with the chief ministers after the spread of the COVID-19 in the country. Sources in the government indicated that besides discussing the way forward in dealing with the pandemic, the discussion could also focus on a 'graded' exit from the lockdown which is in place till May 3.
India's boxing icon MC Mary Kom shared her fitness secret with her fans on Monday as the Olympic medallist showed how she is making most of spending time at home during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a communication to the chief secretaries of the states and Union territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the guidelines for the fourth phase of the lockdown were issued after taking the views of the states, following a video-conference held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chief ministers on May 11.
Amarinder said predictions by health experts about the spread of the pandemic are 'horrendous and frightening'.
A day after Maharashtra witnessed the highest one-day spike of 25,833 Covid-19 cases, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said lockdown is an option but he trusts people to follow the norms on their own.
'Life has been very stressful and frustrating.'
Less than six months ago, Delhi was gasping for breath. Authorities said air quality had reached "unbearable levels". Schools were shut, flights were diverted, and people were asked to wear masks, avoid polluted areas and keep doors and windows closed. But during the lockdown that began on Mar 22, the concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particles in a cubic metre of air averaged at 44.18, according to a Reuters analysis of government data, indicating a rare "good" rating, the safest level on the scale.
The Union home ministry on Tuesday allowed opening of shops selling school books and electric fans, services of bedside attendants of senior citizens and public utilities including recharge facilities for prepaid mobile phones during the ongoing lockdown.
A few local public transport unions have also suspended their services fearing the spread in the interiors of the state.
'We are notifying ticket holders, players and staff that there will be no fans onsite at the AO for five days'.
The nationwide lockdown has robbed several daily wage labourers and households of their incomes. Vrushali Vilas Kadam tells Divya Nair/Rediff.com how her family is struggling to make ends meet.
These mega projects, worth about Rs 1 trillion, would boost the economy, ensure smooth supply of petroleum products across the nation and also provide the much-needed relief to people looking to get back to work after the lockdown.
In his complaint lodged with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Congress MLA Surendra Singh Jadavat alleged that Chittorgarh SDM Tejasvi Rana also snatched currency notes from vendors in the mandi and tore them up. A sitting ruling party MLA, going to Circuit House in a vehicle, too was stopped by her and his driver was fined by police on her directions for not carrying licence.
'What criteria is GoI (government of India) using to judge how long the lockdown is to continue...'
The Sinkovic brothers, who won the men's double sculls event at the Rio Olympics in 2016, have spent the lockdown training at home, but carried their boat out to Lake Jarun in Zagreb for a light session on Monday.
After solemnising their relationship via a registered marriage in Mumbai on January 3, Aamir Khan's daughter Ira Khan tied the knot with long-time beau Nupur Shikhare in a Christian ceremony in Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Based on the report of the expert committee set up to formulate the state's lockdown exit strategy and the inputs received from various sections of the society, the chief minister said it was necessary to continue with the lockdown restrictions for some more time.
'The sleeping hours and the eating frequency have increased. But it's a phase of life, so it has to be taken in one's stride.'
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