太陽系は約46億年前、銀河系（天の川銀河）の中心から約26,000光年離れた、オリオン腕の中に位置
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Sanchita Sharma
letters@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi : In a finding that has huge significance for India, where summer is just breaking, a prestigious scientific panel in the US said that high temperature is unlikely to significantly stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) without major public health interventions such as personal protection and social distancing.
The report is from the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS), which, on April 4, said Covid-19 can be spread just by talking or breathing, resulting in many countries, including India, to revise guidelines on masks.
While countries such as Australia and Iran are currently experiencing warmer temperatures than China and Europe, and yet witnessing rapid spread of the virus, a decrease in cases with an increase in humidity and temperature should not be assumed, the report said.
While noting that “experimental studies show a relationship between higher temperatures and humidity levels, and reduced survival of Sars-CoV-2 in the laboratory, there are many other factors besides environmental temperature, humidity, and survival of the virus outside the host, that influence and determine transmission,” the report added.
“We cannot rely on summer to rescue us as temperature is just one of the many factors. I’m hopeful it [heat] may do so [destroy the virus] to some extent in Dharavi, but since hot spots are typically in hospitals, malls and offices, which are often air-conditioned even in India, transmission is unlikely to end in summer without strong public health interventions,” said Dr Anurag Agrawal, director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi. p7
In the line of duty, till the last patient is cured
A doctor wearing protective gear prepares to take a swab from a girl to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a residential area in Ahmedabad, India, April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Amit DaveREUTERSAnonna Dutt
letters@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi : At 8am on Monday, March 16, a group of 47 health care workers reported for duty at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital in Delhi’s Tahirpur, aware that they would not see their families for at least the foreseeable future.
In the second week of March, the hospital’s administrators knew that it was only a matter of time before the hospital was asked to handle Covid-19 cases. They started discussing work plans with the doctors and other health care workers.
On March 16, just around the time everyone was waking up to the crisis, they implemented this plan, which involved everyone in the hospital working 14 days at a stretch, and then spending the next 14 days at government allotted accommodation — on campus, or at the nearby Hotel Leela — in a sort of quarantine to ensure they did not carry the infections back to their families and neighbourhoods.
Two 14-day cycles are almost over; the second cycle will end over the weekend. And the first batch of workers — nurses, doctors, technicians, housekeeping and security staff — that worked between March 16 and 30 will be back again.
“We came here mentally prepared. We knew that we would not be able to see our families for months. Now we will go home only when we have no Covid-19 patients left in our ward,” said Dr Ajeet Jain, who has been coordinating with authorities from across agencies – officials from the integrated disease surveillance programme, the testing centres, the district magistrates, and ambulance operators who bring in patients.
He has also been on call with agencies providing food, arranging transport for those who are discharged, and with the anxious families of the patients admitted to the hospital. “My phone does not stop ringing. I get at least two or three calls every minute,” said Dr Jain, a cardiac surgeon by training and the nodal officer for Covid-19 efforts at the hospital. Between all the calls, he manages a two-hour nap, usually between 3 and 5 am. His wife is a doctor in a mohalla (neighbourhood) clinic in the city, and he has been sharing tips with her on staying safe after reports of mohalla clinic doctors being infected started coming in. “I learnt about all infection control measures and told her everything over video call. At least at her clinic, the staff uses N-95 masks, and all the patients follow social distancing to ensure that no one gets the infection,” said Dr Jain.
With at least 172 suspected and confirmed cases of Covid-19, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital houses the second highest number of patients after the Lok Nayak Hospital near Delhi Gate. It is located right in the middle of one of the 23 hot spots for the infection that have emerged in the city. All patients coming to the hospital are referred by state health department or district officials who call in ahead. An ambulance is sent to get them. “A separate corridor and lift have been kept for patients coming in. The hospital staff come in from a separate entry,” said Dr BL Sherwal, director, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, which also serves as a screening and sample collection centre.
A sample collection kiosk has been created away from the main building, where people can walk in, get screened and, if needed, give swab samples for the test. The hospital is also in the process of upgrading its microbiology laboratory to start doing the RT-PCR {Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction} test for Covid-19. Currently, it sends the samples to four testing centres in the city.
The hospital has 200 operational beds, with 45 in the intensive care unit. On Wednesday, there were five patients in the ICU. In the unit, doctors and nurses work in a 6-hour shift without a break. “They all hydrate and visit the washroom before donning Personal Protective Equipment, and usually stay inside for the entire duration of the shift. It can be very taxing,” said Dr Jain. Here’s what is involved: In the donning area, doctors change into hospital scrubs and slippers. They remove all accessories and wash their hands thoroughly. They then put on the shoe covers, the first set of gloves and the full body suit. Then, the N-95 masks are put on, followed by the goggles or face shield. Then comes the head cover and a second pair of gloves. To keep lines of communication open, the doctors and nurses are allowed to carry their cell-phones but it has to be without any case and in a plastic bag.“The nurses or junior residents on duty can communicate with senior doctors outside, so they are allowed to carry the phones inside. However, when they step out they have to sanitise the plastic bag, and then the cell phone before taking off their PPE” Dr Jain said.
For those working in the general wards, the shift lasts for 12 hours with only two breaks – one for lunch or dinner and another for tea. At the end of the day, all health care workers at the hospital have to change out of their duty clothes and take a bath before heading home. Which is actually not home. Even at the accommodation, they are asked to stay inside their rooms.
“They cannot go out. The food is delivered outside their door. All they have are their phones to communicate with their families and may be watch something. The next morning, they again wake up by 6 and after breakfast report to duty at 8am,” Dr Jain said. Like Dr Jain, Dr Sherwal is on his phone constantly.
“There is always some or the other problem that comes up. Yesterday, we received the test report for a patient at midnight; (it was negative) she was with her two children (their tests too were negative). I decided to discharge her immediately. So, I had to coordinate with my team on arranging a vehicle for her,” he said. After she left for home with her children, he complimented his team on the WhatsApp before going to bed at 1am. He is one of the few who gets to go home in Dwarka, 20km from the hospital. “When I reach home, I ask my wife to open the door and head straight to the shower,” he said.
Delhi launches ‘Op SHIELD’ across its containment zonesCOVID: Sealing, home-quarantine, isolation, essentials, local sanitisation, door-to-door checks priorities
A policeman stands guard outside a street in L1 Sangam Vihar, one of Delhi’s Covid-19 hot spots. Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTOHT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi : Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced ‘Operation SHIELD’, a strategy involving sealing, isolation and tracing, to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease in 23 containment zones, which had been locked down after cases were reported from there. Kejriwal, appealing for public cooperation, also warned those misbehaving with healthcare personnel of strict action.
Addressing the media via video conference, Kejriwal said, “We have begun Operation SHIELD in the containment zones. The S in SHIELD stands for sealing the immediate area or surroundings after geographical marking, H for home-quarantine for those living in the area, I for isolation and tracing of people who have been first and second contacts, E for essential supplies, which involves doorstep delivery to the people in those areas, L for local sanitisation and disinfection of those areas, and D for door-to-door checking of these areas, so that people having symptoms of coronavirus are isolated, and testing done,” he said.
Till Thursday, Delhi had 720 coronavirus positive cases, which included 12 deaths and 25 recoveries. For the first time since the cases linked to Tablighi Jamaat were revealed, the number of fresh contact history-related cases (35) was more than those linked to the Nizamuddin Markaz (4) on Thursday. The total foreign travel and local transmission cases are now 249, and the Markaz cases are 430.
The declared containment zones comprise individual buildings — the Markaz in Nizamuddin, and three apartment complexes in east Delhi and one in Dwarka, neighbourhoods of Bengali Market, two blocks in Nizamuddin and one in Malviya Nagar, and congested alleys in Sadar and Laxmi Nagar.
Earlier in the day, Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal chaired a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Kejriwal, other ministers and top bureaucrats, and directed officials to strictly implement containment strategy in high-risk zones.
“Strict geographical quarantine with preventive control, rigorous contact tracing and enhanced surveillance should be the priority at the moment,” a statement quoting Baijal said.
Photos released by the L-G’s office later showed that all participants, including Baijal, Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, health minister Satyendar Jain and others, wore masks during the meeting. This came a day after the government made it mandatory for people to wear masks in public places. Not wearing one could land a person in jail for a period between 1 to 6 months, a fine or both under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, as per an order issued by chief secretary Vijay Dev on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the health department officials said the government has secured supply of 3,500 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits per day and 28,000 N95 masks, per week, for health workers and professionals. The L-G’s office stated that 5,995 ASHAs and 1278 ANMs have been trained as the second line of support.
Referring to the assault on two women doctors in Gautam Nagar, Kejriwal said the government will not tolerate such incidents.
“These days, doctors and nurses have been putting their lives in danger by treating Covid-19 patients. We will take strictest possible action against those misbehaving with healthcare personnel,” he said. The warning comes a day after two women were allegedly assaulted by a 42-year-old man, who accused them of “spreading” the disease in their neighbourhood.
Kejriwal said that the government has cut its expenses as tax collection “has almost come to nil”. “Everyone will also have to cut their expenses at their level in view of the current situation. Besides, we are giving free ration to 71 lakh people in the city. We are facing some teething problems in disbursal of free ration to non-card holders. It will be resolved soon,” he said.
13 cured, last member of Italian tourist group dies
Thirteen of the 14 Italian tourists recovered from the disease and were discharged last month. PARVEEN KUMAR/HT FILEArchana Mishra
archana.mishra@hindustantimes.com
Gurugram : A 78-year-old Italian woman, who tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on March 3 in Delhi and was on a ventilator for almost a month, died on Thursday, state health department officials said.
The woman, part of a group of 14 tourists from Italy who 14 tested positive for the virus in one of the first set of cases reported in India last month, was being treated at Medanta - The Medicity. The other 13 members of the group recovered from the disease and were released between March 21 and March 30.
Doctors at Medanta said the woman was the worst affected in her group. The 14 Italian tourists were moved to Medanta from an Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s (ITBP) Chhawla camp in Delhi on March 4.
Dr Yatin Mehta, an intensive care expert at Medanta, who handled the treatment of the group, said the woman was struggling with illness despite showing some signs of improvement. “She was on the ventilator for almost a month. Her health condition improved in between while undergoing treatment, but her lungs did not show any major improvement. She struggled with her health condition as she had chronic kidney diseases,” he said.
The woman died around noon on Thursday. Mehta said her family has been informed. “It is up to them to decide what is to be done next. We will get more clarity on Friday,” he said.
Another Covid-19 patient, a 65-year-old man from Fazilpur village in Jharsa, near Sector 39, died on Tuesday. He was undergoing treatment at Artemis Hospital and died of a heart attack due to co-morbidity issues, officials said.
District health department officials said the Jharsa resident had tested positive on April 4.
Dr Jaswant Singh Punia, Gurugram’s chief medical officer, said: “he patient was coronavirus positive but he had comorbidity issues that led to death. He was highly diabetic and had leg wounds, for which he was already undergoing treatment in a private hospital.”
It was not clear how the man was infected.
VS Kundu, the monitoring incharge for all Covid-19 cases in the district, confirmed the two deaths.
“There are two deaths in the district. The 65-year-old man died on Tuesday. He was a Covid-19 positive patient but the exact reason for his death is a heart attack. He had other complications and was under observation. The post-mortem examination report clearly shows that his Covid-19 symptoms were not so intense that they could have led to death. In another case, an Italian tourist who was undergoing treatment in a private hospital for Covid-19 has also been declared dead.”
A statement issued by the district administration said that the Fazilpur patient admitted to Artemis hospital died due to uncontrolled diabetes and heart attack, and that his death should not be linked to Covid-19.
So far, 32 cases of coronavirus have been diagnosed in the city, with two new cases reported on Thursday. The total number of deaths due to Covid-19 is two, according to health officials
9 hard lockdown clusters in Ggm after spike in cases
Visitors at the Civil Hospital in Sector 10 are put through a disinfection tunnel at the entrance. Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTOHT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
Gurugram : The Gurugram administration has declared nine containment zones in the city after two men from Pataudi tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the district’s total count of cases to 32.
The containment zones will come up at Sectors 9, , 83, 39, Nirvana Country, Palam Vihar, Laburnum society Sushant Lok Phase 1, village Fazilpur Jharsa, ward no 11 Pataudi and Village Raipur, Sohna .
In a statement released by the district administration, deputy commissioner Amit Khatri said that areas falling within a 3-kilometre radius of the epicentre, from where a positive case is reported, will come under a containment zone. “In sector 9, 83, 39, Nirvana Country, and Palam Vihar, where the first 10 cases were reported, screening has already been done. In other areas, like Pataudi and Sohna, intensive screening is taking place. Even in Fazilpur, where a death has been reported, at least 57 samples have been taken from houses near where the deceased lived ,” he said.
On Thursday, two men — in the age group of 30-35 — tested Covid19 positive. Officials said both the men were in contact with a Tabhlighi Jamaat-linked Covid-19 patient from Pataudi, who is undergoing treatment in sector 10 civil hospital.
Health officials said both the men were initially kept in the quarantine centre in sector 9 and have now been shifted to the isolation ward in the civil hospital. On Wednesday, the city had reported its highest spike with at least 10 Covid-19 cases being reported from Raipur village Sohna. All those who tested positive were residents of Himachal Pradesh and were tracked by the police after they attended Nizamuddin congregation in Delhi last month.
The administration has issued orders of intensive screening and testing in all containment zones. Khatri said the teams conducting screening will comprise of ASHA, ANM and medical officers. The suspected cases from these areas will be taken to ESIC Hospital and to a quarantine facility in sector 9, both declared as nodal Covid hospitals.
As per the order, the health department officials will be conducting screening and thermal screening, while Municipal Corporation of Gurugram staff will sanitise the containment zones. The police department will restrict the movement of residents to or from these areas, with barricades manned by police personnel being set up. The public works department will assist the Gurugram police in the barricading.
The Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board along with the food supplies department will work out a plan for supply of essential goods — ration, grocery, milk, medicine and vegetables. As per the order, separate packets of vegetables, grocery items, milk, etc will be delivered in these zones at doorstep of residents. The delivery personnel, in personal protective equipment (PPE), would drop the packets at the doors.
Police commissioner Muhammad Akil said teams have been formed, who will collaborate with medical staff and officials of district administration. “The teams will visit door to door and screen each individual from Friday morning. We will release a plan of action on Friday and deploy teams accordingly. The movement in the nine zones will be restricted and anyone found loitering will be booked under various sections of Indian Penal Code,” he said
Locked down and out: Residents learn their fate on news bulletinsCONTAINMENT ZONES: While people in some areas had been under surveillance for days, others got to know of new steps through media
Police personnel stand guard in Dinpur village, one of the 23 containment zones in Delhi. VIPIN KUMAR/HTRisha Chitlangia, Sweta Goswami and Karn Pratap Singh
letters@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi : It was around 9pm on Wednesday when Rana Majeed (62) saw a news-flash` on television channels about the Delhi government declaring 23 areas “containment zones”. Soon, she learnt that her gated community, Shahjahanabad cooperative group housing society Dwarka’s Sector 11, was one of them.
This is how most residents in Delhi’s 23 containment zones got to know about the government’s decision. The zones include buildings (such as the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in Nizamuddin), neighbourhoods (such as Bengali Market, two blocks in Nizamuddin and one in Malviya Nagar), apartment complexes (three in east Delhi, one in Dwarka), and congested alleys in other parts of the city like Sadar and Laxmi Nagar.
Areas like those in Nizamuddin and east Delhi’s Khichdipur and Kalyanpuri, where containment activities have been on since March 31, saw tighter security arrangements on Thursday.
From midnight on Wednesday, the police and city district administration started sealing some of the newly listed zones to prevent the spread of Covid-19, even as it was business as usual in a few others till Thursday morning, despite the orders issued a day earlier.
As news about locking down identified areas spread across the city, residents said they were worried about essential supplies and the duration of the complete lockdown. On the other hand, the police beefed up security, health officials conducted door-to-door checks, and the area sub-divisional magistrates coordinated with area representatives to streamline the process of home delivery of essential items.
Hindustan Times spoke to residents of containment zones over the phone, since the areas have been sealed completely.
In Shahjahanabad housing society, resident welfare association (RWA) members said they had not received any written communication about the containment plan from the administration till Thursday afternoon.
“We don’t have a written order for the lockdown of our society till now. Even doctors are not allowed to leave their apartments. The rules state that health care workers are exempted,” Majeed, secretary of the housing society that has 236 flats, told HT.
The local administration, however, said the orders mean no one can step outside the society, including doctors. “We will reach out to them and explain the dos and don’ts,” said an official.
A week ago, two people who had visited the Nizamuddin Markaz tested positive for Covid-19 in Majeed’s housing society and eight others were shifted to a quarantine facility. All 10 were living in the same house.
The scenes were much calmer in the three housing societies of east Delhi that have been put under lockdown.East Delhi has the highest number of containment zones — nine.
Police officers deployed in the area said the residents in these societies have taken the lead to keep everyone in home quarantine. While area SDMs have pasted copies of the containment order at the gates of these societies, station house officers (SHO) have put up letters urging residents to follow the lockdown orders, failing which penal action could be initiated. Barricades were put in front of gates to ensure none are allowed to enter or leave the premises.
Despite Thursday being Shab-e-Baraat, residents of Nizamuddin, which has become one of the biggest Covid-19 hotspots in the country, complied with the order in the most strict terms.
“Usually, on Shab-e-Baraat, Nizamuddin area sees a massive crowd every year because of the dargah. Thankfully, today we can see no one around. All clerics and other religious leaders sent out messages, urging people to pray in their homes. Safety of our families and that of others is our priority now,” said Altamash Nizami, member of the management committee of Nizamuddin Dargah.
CONFUSION OVER ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES
The government has asked residents across the 23 containment zones not to step outside their homes “at any cost”. It also assured that all essential goods would be delivered to their homes.
“A contact number, decided by the local administration and the area RWA, is given to every household. A common collection point has been identified in these areas. The items are to be sent by the store till that point. From there, either civil defence volunteers or police personnel will deliver the goods to the respective house. The process will also be followed for the delivery of medicines,” a district magistrate said on the condition of anonymity.
But in Dilshad Garden’s J&K block, one of two hot spots in Delhi that has been under strict surveillance since March 27, little changed on Thursday morning save for extra police deployment.
Instead, grocery and general stores saw large crowds as people resorted to panic buying.
“Doorstep delivery is not happening as of now. There were such large crowds in stores that RWAs took matters into their hands to ensure social distancing. There is no helpline number for us to inform somebody about the items we need delivered,” said Anil Kumar Sharma, vice-president of the RWA.
The scene was similar in Pratap Khand in north-east Delhi’s Jhilmil Colony, but only in the morning. By afternoon, the entire colony was completely sealed, with all its 13 gates locked and barricaded.
It was only in the afternoon that the logistics of how essentials will be supplied to the 348 households in the colony was deliberated. Vinod Kumar, the general secretary of the colony’s RWA attended a meeting held by the area SDM, SHO and ACP at the colony’s main road.
“At first, it was decided that the RWA would issue a common number for every household to give their list of daily needs. But later, the SDM asked the SHO to identify one or two local stores which could be opened once or twice a day for people to buy all the items they want. A final call is still to be taken. Most families said they have enough stocks to last them 10 days,” Kumar said.
In Nizamuddin, government officials visited the Basti, which primarily houses those from economically weaker sections, on Thursday and announced that rations would be delivered through government vehicles, so that residents did not have to step out for food or essentials.
But, the poor residents of south Delhi’s Moti Bagh were not as lucky as those in Nizamuddin.
At around 1pm on Thursday, 50-odd residents of the slum in central Delhi’s Moti Bagh, where a sanitation work had earlier tested positive for Covid-19, were stopped by police while they were on their way to the nearby government-run food shelter.
The police presence around the slum, which was cordoned off a few days back, was beefed on Thursday and no resident was allowed to leave.
“People started gathering at one of the main exits to go to the food shelter for lunch. But they were not allowed. We had to call the police for help. Most of them are migrants who work on daily wages. They didn’t get food till 3pm. The police have assured that they will get food delivered at home in the evening,” said Suraj Singh Pradhan, a community leader in the area.
When contacted, area MLA Pramila Tokas said, “When the matter came to my notice, I immediately sent dry rations for 100 families in the area. I had a meeting with district authorities, and we are trying to streamline essential supplies to the slum.”
From tracking mobile phones to monitoring CCTV camera footage, local police in these containment zones are ensuring strict compliance to the lockdown order. Even enforcement officials or health teams who enter or leave these zones are allowed to do so only after screening and registration of their names
816 cases jolt India amid harder curbsNEW INFECTIONS : Stringency scaled up, affected areas cut off; ~15,000cr booster shot arrives
Rhythma Kaul, Anisha Dutta, Chetan Chauhan and Sweta Goswami
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI : The Centre on Thursday approved an emergency response package worth ~15,000 crore to control the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and was considering dividing the Indian Railways into three zones for a staggered exit from the nationwide lockdown, even as it opened a new front in the battle to halt the outbreak by creating over 1,100 containment zones.
On Thursday, India reported a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, adding 816 infections to take the total case count up to 6,701, according to a compilation of the official data released by states. Fifty-three fresh deaths were also reported on a day the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revised its testing strategy. All people with symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose in Covid-19 hot spots or cluster areas will now be tested.
Over the past three days, the focus has shifted to the containment zones that are being put under hard lockdown – people can’t step out, shops and banks have to remain closed, and entry and exit from the clusters are sealed. Ranging in size from apartment blocks to entire neighbourhoods, even parts of an entire district, these are the front lines of the Covid-19 war. Teams of sanitary workers make hourly passes, spraying disinfectants, and health care and local officials conduct door-to-door surveys.
In Delhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal termed his government’s containment efforts “Operation SHIELD” – sealing, home quarantine, isolation, essentials, local sanitisation and door-to-door health checks. “I appeal to all living in the containment areas to cooperate with the Delhi government’s Operation SHIELD. These are strict measures but are necessary to protect you and others,” he said.
Kejriwal said the operation was running in 21 localities of Delhi to contain the disease.
On Thursday, the government detailed the approval of ~15,000 crore for what it called the Covid-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package. Of the total amount, ₹7,774 crore will be utilised immediately and the remaining will be used for medium-term support (one to four years).
“The key objectives of the package include mounting emergency response to slow and limit Covid-19 in India through the development of diagnostics and Covid-19 dedicated treatment facilities, centralised procurement of essential medical equipment and drugs required for treatment of infected patients, strengthen and build resilient national and state health systems to support prevention and preparedness for future disease outbreaks…,” the Union health ministry said.
The project will be implemented in three phases during the period from January 2020 to March 2024. Phase 1 from January to June 2020, phase 2 from July to March 2021 and phase 3 from April 2021 to March 2024. The scheme, previously announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be centrally funded.Modi is scheduled to hold a video conference with chief ministers on Saturday, his third such meeting with the heads of state governments since India declared the 21-day national lockdown starting on March 25.
Several chief ministers have called for at least a partial extension of the lockdown; and the group of ministers headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh that is leading India’s response to the pandemic has also recommended that even if the lockdown is eased, the ban on interstate travel and public transport must remain.
Officials said on Thursday that once the lockdown ends, the government may only resume Indian Railways passenger services by dividing the country into three zones according to the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases – a red zone, where no transport will be resumed, a yellow zone with restricted services and a green zone, where transportation will be allowed.
“All probable scenarios are being discussed for resumption of services when the lockdown is lifted. We will have to ensure strict social distancing in trains, there has been discussion on no allotment of middle berth in sleeper coaches. No linen or food should be served on trains till situation gets better. Thermal screening should be done at all stations. For the initial days, only special trains should be run in areas with low risk as has been recommended by the empowered groups as well,” a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.
Under its containment strategy against Covid-19, a highly infectious disease that has killed at least 90,000 across the world, the authorities have identified more than 1,100 zones, mostly in states that have reported more than 100 Covid-19 cases. States such as Odisha, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu released maps on social media notifying the boundary and the buffer of the containment zones.
Containment zones are more localised (up to a kilometre in radius) than the hot spots (spreading to several kilometres) and are aimed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from a locality or a village to nearby areas. In Delhi, no one is being allowed within two kilometres of containment zones. The police have put up barricades and special local control rooms have been set up to monitor the movement of people in these areas through CCTV cameras.
Mumbai, which has the highest number of Covid-19 patients for a city, has 381 containment zones – they have more than doubled in the past two days.
Over the past few days, on directions of the Union health ministry, state governments have declared a large number of containment zones. Maharashtra alone has 401 containment zones, with Mumbai having 381 and Pune 20. Uttar Pradesh has 105 containment zones, Rajasthan 38, Madhya Pradesh 180, Tamil Nadu 220, Delhi 23, Telangana 125, including 36 in Hyderabad, and 121 in Andhra Pradesh‘Balancing health concerns and economic activity a challenge for us’
Conrad SangmaPrime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to have a video conference with chief ministers on Saturday to discuss the next course of action with the three-week lockdown to halt the coronavirus pandemic scheduled to end on April 14. Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma spoke to Sunetra Choudhury about the meeting, what the way forward should be at the national level and in his state. Edited excerpts:
Your Odisha counterpart, Naveen Patnaik, has announced an extension of the lockdown till April end. Are you likely to follow suit?
I think the lockdown definition is the crucial part. What does one really mean by that? One thing is for sure, the inter-state and the movement at a national level is something that states want not to happen at this point. Does that mean that a state as a whole also locks down? That is a call that we have to take in every state.
In Meghalaya, we want a lockdown in terms of the inter-state movement. But [the curbs on] small activities like farming or MGNREGS , which involve local people or even small constructions , daily wage people, could be relaxed.
Are you saying this because your state has not reported any coronavirus cases yet?
I am speaking from both perspectives. From the national perspective, it is advisable that we continue with the lockdown in terms of movement.
When it comes to my state, the challenge that we are facing is the balance between health concerns and the livelihood and economic activity of the poor. As a government, we are looking at striking a balance, which is not always the easiest thing to do.
Is the Centre open to this?
If you remember even in the beginning, the Centre allowed certain concessions . The general consensus is that there should not be inter-district movement of people and there should not be any kind of gatherings. At the end of the day, essential commodities need to move. So there has been flexibility for that from the beginning. I think farming should be considered now because it is also the time for sowing.
What has been the impact of the lockdown on mental health given two labourers in Meghalaya have committed suicide?
It is unfortunate that those incidents took place but these are testing times.
In situations like this, it is not as easy for us to always go to the micro level although we would like to. But we are forced to look at the overall picture. This [lockdown] was a tough decision and I understand people are facing a lot of problems. I can only urge people to see that this is being done to guard everybody’s interest and health. We will do all we can to help the poor and needy.
Did Modi’s announcement for the national lockdown take you by surprise or you knew about it?
Of course, there was a hint in our different discussions... but not on the extent [of the lockdown]. Even now, we do have an idea about where we are heading to but we will have to wait and see what is going to be there. The PM has been proactive in consulting chief ministers...
What kind of economic impact do you see for your state?
I think there is no doubt about the huge impact... The smaller and weaker sections, the daily wage labourers are the people we need to look at. Overall, we are going to see a lot of impact on service sectors like tourism
India gears up to begin plasma therapy trialsTREATMENT : ICMR to send draft guidelines to apex drug controller
A doctor takes a swab sample from a woman to test for coronavirus disease in Dharavi, Mumbai, on Thursday. REUTERSRhythma Kaul
letters@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi : India is preparing to start clinical trials to treat coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients with convalescent plasma therapy that involves drawing antibody-rich blood of Covid1-9 survivors to treat the sick.
The therapy has shown promise in treating Covid-19 patients, the American journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reported on Tuesday.
The country’s apex biomedical research organisation, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is working on the guidelines to conduct the trial, and, once ready, the draft will be taken to the apex drugs regulator, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), for approvals to conduct the trials.
“The draft should be ready in the next couple of days. Since it is a new drug, it has to be given on a clinical trial mode, for which the approval of the drugs controller is a must. Once the draft is ready, then ICMR, as per protocol, will approach the DCGI, for approval to conduct a clinical trial in the country,” said Dr Manoj V Murhekar, director, National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai.
The therapy, the most distinct among the handful of options doctors around the world have for Covid-19 at present, had consistent and safe effects on a small group of 10 patients in China who were critically ill but began to show significant improvements after a single dose, PNAS reported.
“In other countries, it has been found to be useful in limited patients who were on ventilator support. It is not meant for everyone but to begin with we will be selecting patients who would be given this medicine on a study mode. The process will be expedited as during pandemics you don’t have to recruit a large number of patients for such trials. A small number is good enough, and the DCGI is quick to give approvals for anything Covid-19 related these days, so we are expecting to start soon,” said Dr Murhekar.
“Unless the DCGI approves, the clinical trial cannot begin anywhere in the country,” he added.
The basis for convalescent plasma therapy is simple: plasma – a component of the blood – from a recovered patient carries the specific antibodies that can neutralise the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. This is transfused in a patient fighting the infection, acting as reinforcement for the immune system.
The ICMR’s technical committee that reviews testing criteria also revised the guidelines on Thursday, and directed states to focus on hot spots and clusters to conduct rRT-PCR (Real-Time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction)
testing of all influenza like illnesses if the symptom (fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose) has developed within seven days.
Those who came down with symptoms more than a week ago should be made to undergo antibody based rapid blood test. “If negative then has to be confirmed by performing an RT-PCR,” says the revised guideline.
Also, to understand the evolution of the virus better, the Centre has involved two Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, and the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) in New Delhi that have started working together on the whole genome sequencing of Sars-Cov-2.
“These two labs have already started work on the virus, and hopefully we should be able to know the virus better,” said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, health ministry
Ujjain, Bhopal, Indore sealed as MP sees spike
A restricted road near the Bhopal railway station on Thursday. ANIRanjan
letters@hindustantimes.com
Bhopal : Madhya Pradesh recorded the biggest spike in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in a day as 70 people tested positive for the disease on Thursday and prompted chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to order the closure of the borders of three major cities--Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain-- and to make it mandatory for people to wear masks.
The number of fatalities in the state increased to 33 from 24 on Wednesday while the total cases mounted to 411, an official statement said.
The state has around 200 containment zones, where people will need to mandatorily keep indoors. No movement is allowed in these zones, of which there are 74 in Indore, 70 in Bhopal and six in Ujjain.
All businesses, including grocery stores and banks that have been exempted from curbs imposed to check the spread of the disease as essential services, will be shut. Food and medicines are home-delivered.
Indore, the state’s commercial capital, was the worst-hit with 221 cases and 23 deaths, followed by Bhopal with 98 cases.
The statement said 18 out of the state’s 52 districts are hit by the virus. A doctor died in Indore on Thursday of the disease even as officials said he was not involved in treating Covid-19 patients. This is the first Covid-19 related fatality of a doctor in Madhya Pradesh.
Indore’s chief medical and health officer, Dr Pravin Jadia, said the doctor had tested positive. He added the administration was checking the register at his clinic to see how many patients had he come in contact with over the last one week or so since he developed symptoms.
Chouhan said he has asked the authorities to take all possible measures to reduce the death rate and to provide the best treatment to the patients.
According to officials aware developments, sealing of the borders was necessary but more measures needed to be undertaken to control the situation. In a review meeting with senior officials, Chauhan was told that the death rate in the state ranged from 7% to 7.30%, they added. With more deaths being reported, a health official said on Thursday, the death rate went up to 7.50% which was more than double the national average of 3% on Thursday.
The government made it mandatory for people to wear masks under the Epidemic Diseases Act and warned of punitive action in case of any violations.
“The department has made it mandatory to wear face masks while stepping out. Action will be taken against the violators...,” the state public health department said in an order. It added in the absence of masks, people can use towels or dupattas to cover their faces.
Unusual scenes at funeral homes as Covid takes tollFAREWELL : Less people, quicker rituals, relatives recording proceedings for others
At the Nigam Bodh Ghat, a major cremation ground in north Delhi, where there were earlier 60 bodies being cremated a day, the number has almost halved. sonu mehta/HT PhotoShiv Sunny
shiv.sunny@hindustantimes.com
New Delhi : Five masked men stood a few feet from each other around a pyre while a weeping teenager walked around it as part of a funeral ritual. Every now and then, he pulled down his mask to wipe his nose. A short distance away, a girl recorded the rituals on her phone while two other women held her and wept even as the priest repeatedly asked them to stand apart.
“I have been cremating bodies for a decade. Never before did we have to interrupt relatives grieving over a dead body,” said another priest Arun Sharma, while he watched the proceedings at the Shiv Shamshan Ghat in east Delhi’s Geeta Colony.
Several kilometres away, at the Shaheen Bagh cemetery in south Delhi, Habib Ahmed is resting after three hours of digging a grave. “Often, the relatives of the dead choose to dig the pits. But we have disallowed that for now,” he said Ahmed.
Amidst the spread of the Covid-19, the nationwide lockdown has led to unusual scenes at the crematoriums and burial grounds in Delhi.
Funeral rites are done quickly, the mourning is subdued, the attendance is unusually thin, close relatives are deprived of a chance to say their final goodbyes and last rites have been changed.
“My uncle Amrit Lal wanted his ashes submerged at Haridwar (in the Ganga). But we beg his forgiveness. We will submerge it in the Yamuna here,” said Amir Chand, a resident of Karawal Nagar at north Delhi’s Nigam Bodh Ghat.
A dozen relatives and friends of Lal -- who died of old age -- turned up at the Ghat. Only four of them were allowed to board the hearse, while others followed on motorcycles.
Lal’s daughter was in Mau in Uttar Pradesh. She couldn’t get beyond a couple of police checkpoints when she tried to reach for the funeral. “We will share a live video of the funeral with her,” said Chand.
Behind them, another family walked in with a body on a bier. “My grandfather was loved by all and every relative wants to shoulder his bier. It has been painful for me to deny them the chance,” said Gautam Singh.
Four pyres burnt without anyone in attendance. “We are requesting the kin of the dead to leave immediately after hitting the pyres with sticks (as part of the rituals),” said Vishal Mishra, the supervisor. The supply of wood has been hampered and the staffers are asking people to opt for CNG cremation. “But we don’t want to add to the pains of a grieving family, so we don’t insist.”
He said that there are many who have put off or even cancelled their immediate plans to submerge the ashes. “They sometimes leave them in earthen pots in our lockers,” said Mishra.
The 228 lockers at the crematorium here are fast filling up.
Suman Kumar Gupta, the chief manager of the Ghat, said that while he expects the kin of the dead to collect the ashes after the lockdown ends, his staff who will take the remaining ashes to Haridwar.
At the Shaheen Bagh cemetery, caretaker Abdur Raziq, said that when the kin of the dead alert them about a burial, they are told to ensure not more than 20 people visit the cemetery.
“During the burial, they are required to stand around the grave and not in a huddle. We keep a watch on them when they take turns to throw mud into the grave,” said Raziq, adding that having the police have helped with enforcing social distancing.
‘Fewer unnatural deaths’
Delhi has about 50 crematoriums and 10 cemeteries which are run by the civic agencies, apart from a few which are privately managed. At the major crematoriums, the number of bodies being cremated have reduced.
“There are fewer unnatural deaths, almost no accidental deaths in the city. Earlier, we would cremate 60 bodies a day on an average. During winters, when the homeless died, I remember two bodies being cremated on one pyre on multiple occasions. After the lockdown, the number has dipped to 30-40,” said Gupta.
The dip is also because hardly any bodies are brought from the neighbouring cities. “Many from Noida, Ghaziabad and other parts of Delhi preferred crematoriums like Shiv Shamshan Ghat and Nigam Bodh Ghat due to their proximity to the Yamuna. But now they are cremating them at the nearest crematorium,” said priest Sharma.
The people venturing out of their homes for cremations do not require special permission, said the police. “They are not stopped at the checkpoints. Our only focus is to ensure social distancing everywhere. Our PCR teams are also helping move bodies and arrange for hearse vans if needed,” said Anil Mittal, Delhi Police’s additional spokesperson.
The last rites, which as per the Hindu customs are performed after death, too have changed.
Ram Singh, whose mother Chameli succumbed to tuberculosis a day after the lockdown was announced, said that he not only regrets not being able to throw a feast in memory of his mother, even the prayers and rituals 13 days later were curtailed. Upon much insistence, a priest visited his home to perform the hour-long prayers in just 10 minutes. “We’ll ask other priests if we can hold another prayer and feast maybe a year later,” said Singh.
‘Covid-19 graveyard’
The Delhi Waqf Board Thursday allocated its graveyard ‘Jadeed Qarustaan’ at Ring Road near Millennium Park solely for the burial of Covid-19 victims. In order issued by the CEO of the Board, SM Ali, said that the decision was taken because people were facing “major problems” in paying last rites to victim
After scare, residents more vigilant in Kalkaji
Residents have been worried since a traffic policeman tested positive for Covid-19 in the area. Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO
Vatsala Shrangi
vatsala.shrangi@htlive.com
New Delhi : The news of a traffic police personnel testing positive for Covid-19 in their locality had spread like wildfire in south-east Delhi’s Kalkaji Police Colony on Wednesday morning.
Some residents dialled the police station and the civic authorities. Others rang up the local resident welfare association to find out about the case.
The queries ranged from how safe was the colony to if the patient’s family needed any help. Some made requests for spraying disinfectant in the area.
Deepak Dhingra, a social activist and resident of Kalkaji’s K-block, said, “As the news got circulated, I got frantic calls from some residents. There were many who suggested that the whole neighbourhood must be sanitised more frequently. We have already requested the civic body to carry out a disinfection drive in all the blocks.”
Although the panic eased, some anxiety remained. After all, the police colony is located just 250 metres from K block and its surroundings — which include residential blocks A to J, Kalkaji Extension and Giri Nagar, among others.
The blocks are a mixed settlement, including both plotted colonies and apartment buildings. Since it is only a partially gated colony, the residents with the help of local police had put up barricades in all areas to restrict entry of outsiders after the lockdown was announced.
“We felt the need to be more vigilant. We decided to shut one gate — to restrict the entry of vendors — that we kept open throughout the day. Now, we open this gate only briefly in the morning for people to go out to buy essentials ,” said Ritu Arora, president, K-block RWA.
There were also concerns over a hospital run by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) located in the area. Though the hospital was turned into a quarantine facility for Covid-19 patients, it has not received any occupants so far.
“Initially there were some concerns raised by the people, as it was supposed to be a major facility. However, we told them that the area is sanitised regularly. So far there are no patients or any other occupants there,” said Manpreet Kaur Kalka, local councilor.The ward has at least 20 houses under quarantine, mostly those with travel history. “We have been receiving a lot of requests for spraying disinfectant, which we are routinely doing at houses under quarantine, marketplaces and police station. We have now extended the disinfection drive.”
Medical experts have been urging people not to panic if they have a positive case in their neighbourhood.
Dr. Jugal Kishore, director, professor and head of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital said, “People need not panic, but must exercise caution as to not come in contact with the infected person... Panicking or worrying weakens a person’s immunity and hence must be avoided.”
In nearby Giri Nagar, Rajeev Sharma, a member of its RWA Federation, said that the association has issued passes to vendors to enter the colony. “The passes are issued only for a fixed duration of three hours between 8 am and 11am. This is to maintain as much distance as possible,” said Sharma.
He said that though government has made it compulsory for residents to wear masks, when stepping out of their homes, many people were not following the diktat. “There are many who just cover their faces with scarves, which is not enough. We have distributed masks and sanitisers in the area,” said Sharma.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer said they have issued advisories. “The colony has been sanitised. We did get a few calls enquiring about the situation. We have requested them to follow all the norms of the lockdown,” the officer said.
Covid-19: What you need to know today
R Sukumar
n Wednesday and Thursday, more states adopted the containment zones approach, enforcing hard lockdowns selectively — the size of the zone ranges from a single apartment block to an entire city — highlighting the strategy that India will use over the next few weeks to fight the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) (see page 12).
The HT newsroom has written extensively on such zones, and what the approach involves — door-to-door screening, aggressive testing, and enforced containment and social distancing. Given that Covid-19 tends to manifest itself in clusters (even on a larger scale as evident from what’s happening in New York City), and that India will never be able to test as aggressively as, say, Germany or South Korea, this is a sound approach. It identifies and sequesters the hot spots — and then tests anyone with even the mildest symptoms.
With 6,701 infections (and 231 dead) on Thursday, India, this writer would like to think, has been ahead of the curve when it comes to defining containment zones — just as it has been behind the curve on testing proactively. It was also ahead of the curve on enforcing a lockdown at a time when the number of cases in India were still low. Indeed, a study by the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, says India was quicker than almost every other country in imposing a lockdown on March 25 (see page 1).
Did the lockdown work? Did it flatten the curve? Or is the virus raging undiscovered through India? The last seems unlikely. If that were the case, there would have been be a spike in unexplained fatalities across the country — the kind of thing that is almost impossible to hide in a country with as high a number of mobile phones as India (nothing seems to happen without at least a few people capturing it on their phones).
That could mean one of two things: the curve is flattening; or the strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus infecting people in India has mutated into a milder version (which means it may be infecting lots of people without really affecting their health significantly). After all, only around 50 of the 3,375 active cases in India on April 6 were on ventilator support. Still, all these are questions and theories that require more scientific study.
As is the question of whether the Sars-CoV-2 virus is affected by temperature and humidity. Not enough to cause a sharp reduction in infections, the US National Academy of Sciences said in a report that summarised existing research, although it said more research was warranted (see page 7).
The number of infections, fatalities, and cured recoveries (581 according to the latest data) in India have now reached a level where researchers in the country can start doing primary research to answer such questions and, indeed, others — such as the immune response in India; the strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus in later infections; and the treatment that seems to be the most effective. Social distancing can help prevent the spread of the infection, but ultimately, only research can find a cure for it.
Meanwhile, health care workers at the frontlines continue to fight it with all they have. Theirs are the stories that need to be told and celebrated, of real heroes going above and beyond the call of duty (but still behaving as if it’s just business as usual). At Delhi’s Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, for instance, doctors, nurses, technicians, even security staff have been doing 14-day shifts, and then 14-day furloughs at a hotel or a hostel (without going home so as to not infect anyone) since March 16 (see page 1). When it really matters, India’s health care workers have stepped up to be counteIndia needs a common minimum relief plan. Here is a road mapProtecting workers in the unorganised sector, farmers, the middle class, and MSMEs, is key to securing India’s future
Those at the bottom — daily-wage earners, labourers and migrant workers — must be at the top in the order of priority PTI
The coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), and the challenges that it has presented, have made it clear that any comprehensive and effective response must be based on the three pillars of prevention, testing and economic fortification. While the first two can be contained through uniform international practices, the third requires a solution that addresses India’s unique and diverse economic terrain. It is for this reason that the Congress has been pushing the Centre to come out with a roadmap that reassures the most vulnerable that their concerns are paramount.
In this piece, we provide the government with a ready catalogue for those at risk. These are the key stakeholders in the development, publication and execution of, what we call, a “Common Minimum Relief Programme”.
Those at the bottom must be at the top in the order of priority. This includes daily-wage earners, labourers and migrant workers. The last few weeks have attested to the fact that they are the most affected in terms of economic and social insecurity. We have witnessed the scale of economic upheaval and displacement, with millions of migrants trudging across states to get home. There is no longer any alternative, but to prepare a targeted social security programme for these individuals and their families.
These concerns were brought out by eight major national trade unions in a letter to the central government last week. Their suggestions provide an insight into the real cost paid by these workers who face evictions, food shortages and lack of access to basic facilities. The government must use these recommendations as a template to identify key areas to tackle. This must be done on a war-footing, given that the overwhelming majority of our population is currently employed and engaged in the unorganised sector.
This brings us to India’s “annadatas” (food providers). Sixty per cent of India is engaged and occupied, in some form or the other, with the agricultural sector. For farmers, this year has had a greater-than-normal set of challenges. First, they were impeded by unseasonal rains and inclement weather. Now, given the absence of agricultural labour and transportation facilities, how can they harvest the standing crop? Make no mistake, a shortage of wheat and other rabi crops will have adverse consequences for every citizen. Clarity, information and guarantees must be provided by the Centre on procurement and prices.
The next in this sequence, and right in the eye of the storm, is the middle class. The longer economic activity remains dormant, the greater the erosion of the middle class. Employers in the private sector have begun slashing salaries, and will continue to do so. Large numbers of mid-level and blue-collar jobs have been lost. Every single index suggests that this trend will intensify in the near future.
The government’s response has been to offer delayed payment of EMIs, disingenuously enough, without interest subvention. This, in turn, leads to a greater cost in the long-run. At the same time, it has lowered the rate of interest on all small savings schemes. This has directly hit senior citizens, pensioners, farmers and women especially hard. This is a catch-22 situation in which the cost of the obligations go up in the long-term, while the value of the savings goes down sharply. How is this in the interest of the middle class, which is already seeing its savings ravaged by the high cost of petrol, diesel and gas? These are the same people who gave up their subsidies when Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked, without a second thought or hesitation. It is now time for the government to reciprocate and secure their interest.
Not so long ago, medium and small-scale enterprises (MSMEs) were recognised by the government as the “backbone of the economy”. This is a fact, given that MSMEs contribute close to 30% (~61 lakh crore) to the GDP. The same government is yet to provide a plan that bails out these 42.5 million entities that employ several times as many citizens. Unless there is a plan for protection, followed by a strategy for revival and growth, this sector will be irreparably diminished. This will devastate the spirit of entrepreneurs, who, in the words of the prime minister, are the growth ambassadors of the economy. Governments and the people that elect them are judged by their response to crises and catastrophes. Indians have demonstrated unshakeable resolve, patience, optimism and fortitude in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. For the Modi government, the litmus test starts now.
Randeep Surjewala is the AICC communications incharge and an advocate
The views expressed are persAny help will make a difference: Rakul
Shreya Mukherjee
The Covid-19 crisis has united people in many ways. Actor Rakul Preet Singh is doing her bit by providing food to over 200 people in a slum in Gurugram.
“Every day, in the morning and evening, my father takes the food prepared in our society along with some staff to the slum and distributes it with the help of an NGO,” says the actor, who has also donated to the Telugu film industry fund besides extending financial help to a friend’s NGO.
Singh is also paying salaries to those employed in the gyms she owns and is supporting her house helps, too.
“I feel, whether the sum is large or small, it doesn’t matter. Any help will make a difference. I’ve always believed in giving back to the society. I’ve been brought up like that. I stared working at the age of 18 and my father made me donate my first salary to a Gurudwara,” recounts Singh, adding, “I’ve gratitude for the comforts I have and when I have the capacity to do something for others, I’ll do it.”
The 29-year-old has been frequently sharing the photos and videos of her routine activities. “The world is going through a lot, and there are many battling depression. Everyone is facing their own challenges. My being happy or sad won’t help anyone, but if I can send positive energy through my social media posts, why not?” she says.
Singh has also started learning French and is doing an Art of Living course in her free time.
shreya
SIXSHOTSOFLIFEThere’s negativity all around, but we will focus on the positivity. Our editor picks shots of life that bring a smile
Clowns with compassion
These spirited clowns performed for elderly people in courtyards outside their retirement home rooms in Berlin, Germany. A part of a group called Laughing Helps, that entertains people under medical care, they made sure that senior citizens isolated during the coronavirus outbreak get their share of joy.
Rambo Circus finds saviour in Kunal Kapoor
The troupe of Mumbai’s famous Rambo Circus was in distress, stranded without food and money amid the lockdown.Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor raised money for them via Ketto, a crowd funding platform co-founded by him. “There are women, children and even animals deprived of essentials. We have already raised ₹3 lakh for them but our target is ₹8 lakh,” says Kapoor.
A little kid with a big heart
This child from Sahiwal, Pakistan went viral on social media. He sells home-made masks on the road. When a buyer joked that he didn’t have money, the child gave him the mask for free. With a toothless grin, he said that mom had told him to give the mask free to those who can’t pay!
Baking up some love
Fun food never fails to spread cheer. British model and photographer Brooklyn Beckham and his girlfriend Nicola Peltz are baking treats for their local hospital amid the pandemic. Singer Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend Cody Simpson also gave out tacos to healthcare workers with handwritten thank you notes.
All hail the tails!
Cats won’t give up, even in the time of Covid-19! Cats Mookie, Kappi and Kunnikappi won a unique court case! Narayanan Prakash, their owner, was denied a pass to purchase biscuits for them. The Kerala High Court gave him permission to go out to buy their food! Meanwhile, animals rights activist-politician Maneka Gandhi said in a video message that cats are ‘a great asset’, and urged us not to fall for rumours that they spread the virus.
A smile can heal
What a thoughtful way to show that he cares! Doctor Robertino from California, US put his picture on his hazmat suit to comfort his patients. Now, they can see who is looking after them. “A reassuring smile makes a big difference to a scared patient,” wrote the doctor on Instagram, sharing the picture
IT'S BAS KARO V/S AUR KAROWith an overdose of celebrity photos and videos on social media, is the fatigue factor setting in? We find out...
(clockwise;from top Farah Khan, Rohit Shetty, Diljit Dosanjh and Sania Mirza
Radhika Bhirani
Are you with Farah Khan, Rohit Shetty, Diiljit Dosanjh when they say “Bas karo yeh workout, cooking videos” or you’re like, ‘yeh dil maange more’? Cooking, exercising, cleaning, reading, sleeping — by now we’ve seen celebs doing all that and more.
Recently, tennis star Sania Mirza asked, “Aren’t we done with posting cooking videos and food pictures yet? Just spare a thought — there are hundreds of thousands of people... starving to death.” Earlier, Khan posted a video ruing that “there are bigger problems to focus on” while Shetty took a jibe at those showing their “cooking skills”.
While that’s one way to look at it, there are also those for whom social media is a creative outlet to feed into the demands of their fans.
Fitness enthusiast Mandira Bedi said, “Some people are peeved about workouts from home being posted, but I’m going to keep posting mine.”
Even Kishwer Merchantt, wrote, “...I made this only coz I have been getting DMs asking me to make one. (sic)”
Meanwhile, Dia Mirza has a balanced approach. She says, “Some days, I feel like we’re witnessing The Truman Show. But I guess everyone has their way of managing this time.”
Yami Gautam adds in agreement, “Everyone has their way of being themselves, and have their own coping mechanisms.”
Digital teams of actors seem to be working overtime to ensure the content keeps trickling in. There are live chat sessions, recipe sharing, masterclasses, musical snippets etc being shared.
Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, confirms, “There’s been a rise in the number of IG (Instagram) Lives, with views increasing by more than 60 per cent from the past week.”
Digital media and marketing entrepreneur Sagar Madhani says, “This phase is the most insightful as celebs are actually enjoying a real connection with fans”, while digital and experiential marketing expert Udit Bhatia opines, “Celebs are taking this time to focus on spreading positivity, which in the long run helps build their credibility.”
radhik
Which challenge do you fancy?
Anand Ahuja and Sonam K Ahuja PHOTO:INSTAGRAM
Raveena Tandon Thadani with her daughter RashaApart from posts about cooking and workout videos, there’s an entire roster of online challenges such as The 30 Day Song Challenge, The No Nana Challenge and The Gesture/Emoji Challenge, which are becoming popular options to keep one entertained during this lockdown.
Recently, actor Raveena Tandon Thadani, and her daughter Rasha took the Oh Nana Challenge, which became trendy again thanks to footballers Luis Suarez, and his former Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta.
Speaking of football, Indian football initiated their own version of the toilet paper challenge. With the hashtag of Keep Fit with Indian Football, former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia and Sports Minister Kiren Rijuju, have posted videos of having a kick about.
Another musical challenge making waves online is the He’s Got The World, in which celebrities sing the popular nursery rhyme, He’s Got The World, in their own style.
And nothing probably speaks volumes about one’s style than the emoji or gesture challenge in which actor Sonam K Ahuja, and the Jonas Brothers, are busting out gestures via hand or face, as they try to copy the emojis that appear on their screen.
HTC
ELLEN LANDS IN A SOUP
Ellen DeGeneres outraged social media after she compared self-quarantining during the Covid-19 crisis to being in jail.
The popular host who has made her show virtual amid stay-at-home orders, made the comment on Monday while broadcasting her show from home. “One thing that I’ve learned from being in quarantine is that people — this is like being in jail, is what it is,” CNN quoted DeGeneres. “It’s mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay,” she said.
ANI
A long walk to workA glimpse into the altered life of two women
The late morning is still cool as if this were February, not April. The air is swelling with bird sounds. A koyal (cuckoo) is crying out without a moment’s break. The street is carpeted with dry crinkly leaves that probably fell from the trees the day before.
The two women, each carrying a long broom, are quietly sweeping these leaves into small piles.
Even as a substantial chunk of Delhi is feeling restless in their house-bound isolation following the lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, Santosh and Lajwanti are carrying on with their working life. As if nothing has changed.
This is true only up to a point.
“These days we are coming to work on foot,” says Santosh, pointing out the most significant change in her daily life.
The masked women are employees of South Delhi Municipal Council, and have been working as sweepers for many years. Both are dressed in a blue uniform of salwar and kurta.
Lajwanti explains that they are unable to find buses early in the morning and so have to walk all the way from home “to duty” in this quiet south Delhi residential enclave.
“I come from Badarpur Khadar,” she says. Santosh walks all the way from Mehrauli.
It takes each of them about two hours in this unusual commute from home.
Santosh wakes up at 5.30am. “I get ready, make myself parathas, butter toast and chai” and, after fortifying herself with the breakfast, she begins her long walk.
Lajwanti’s morning ritual is no different. She remarks that “one has to sacrifice a lot of comfort to make a living.”
The other woman nods.
Meanwhile, the street is empty. The windows in the surrounding multi-storey houses are closed.
“Sometimes people offer us water from their houses,” Lajwanti says, adding, “Mostly, nobody bothers about us.”
Santosh believes that “people think we might be carrying the infection, and so are scared of approaching us.”
They now turn their attention to the fallen leaves on the street.
Suddenly, a window in an adjacent house creaks opens, and an elderly man in white kurta pajama peeks out. Next minute, he shuts it.
Lajwanti and Santosh hope to finish their work by late afternoon. They will then walk back to their home. “We usually reach by 3pm or 3.30pm,” says Santosh.
And, at home, they will enjoy a long deserving rest.
Rise to the occasion, bake some bread
It’s not just Instagram. Lots of Indians are making bread, having discovered that our experience with rotis makes it easier. ISTOCKPoulomi Banerjee
Kabir Chowdhry, a filmmaker from Mumbai, was in Chandigarh for a family event when the lockdown was enforced. “I guess I panicked that supplies would be hit, so I started baking bread, among other things,” he says.
As stocks dip, shelves empty and time drags during the lockdown, more people are doing the same. #HomemadeBread has been trending on social media, with people sharing pictures, recipes and anecdotes.
“My father posted my first loaf and the comments were very encouraging,’ says Upasana Mishra, 28, from Noida. “Even though it was the first, it turned out quite well. We really enjoyed it with hummus, and it made for some variety in our family of foodies.”
It can be hard, baking bread from scratch, but also addictive. Chowdhry says he now spends about an hour every day baking, not just for family, but for friends and neighbours too. “I’ve been getting requests,” he says. “People tried to insist on paying, but when I refused, they started bringing me things in exchange. I have received pudding, sandwiches… it’s lovely,” he says.
SWEET TO SAVOURY
If you already bake cakes, you’re part-way there. Mishra and Chowdhry were both cake bakers before they turned to bread, as was Kolkata resident Kaniska Chakraborty. “My mother is big on breads. Every morning she needs her two slices of toast for breakfast. Ditto for my wife. When supplies were hit, I decided to finally start baking bread myself — something I’d actually been wanting to do for a long time,” he says.
The process can be long and laborious, but Indians are a step ahead in experience. “We’re used to making rotis, so kneading the flour for the dough feels easier,” says Shalini Adams, a home baker and food blogger based in Delhi.
Griselda Monte da Silva, a chef from Goa, has been baking bread for her family during the lockdown. “Bread was never my specialty. But with local bakeries closed, I thought it was time I brushed up on this skill. I’ve been making a lot of Goan pao,” she says.
FOLLOW THE RECIPE
That’s what Mishra says she did. But be careful to pick one that suits you, depending not only on what ingredients and leavening agents — yeast, baking soda or baking powder — you’re using, have but also how you intend to bake — in a pressure cooker, microwave or oven.
Ideally, choose a recipe suited to your weather, says Monte da Silva. “A recipe by someone in the West may suggest leaving the dough out to prove for a period far longer than is required in our hot climate,” she says.
BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Your bread is going to taste different, feel different, look different, and that’s okay. It will also be healthier, with none of the preservatives and chemicals used in most commercially produced bread.
Allow for mistakes. Chakraborty’s first attempt didn’t turn out so well because he put too much soda in it. The second was better but still too dense. “You have to keep trying, because that’s the only way to get it right. Start with something easy – like a focaccia – which is good for confidence boosting”, says food writer Rhea Mitra Dalal.
Rural women bear the brunt of the lockdownON THE FRONT LINES : Nearly 40 million women are supposed to be recipients of relief measures, but many of them remain so on paper
People, mostly women, queue up outside a bank branch in Pachperwa, Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh. BY ARRANGEMENTSaurabh Chauhan, Sanjoy Dey and Debabrata Mohanty
letters@hindustantimes.com
Ranchi/ Hyderabad/Lucknow/Pune/ Bhopal/Bhubaneswar : On Wednesday, 62-year-old Vandini Devi walked five kilometres from her village in Bokaro, Jharkhand to the bank in order to check if money had been credited to her Jan Dhan account. She was disappointed to learn that it hadn’t. A resident of Chargi village, Devi said she had not received her widow pension since February, either. “We were promised two months’ free food grain, but I was given 5 kilograms of ration for only one month. My younger son works as a daily wager and has had no work due to lockdown. I am in big distress,” Devi said.
India’s rural population has been central to most relief measures announced since the 21-day lockdown began. On March 26, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced ~ 500 will be credited into Jan Dhan accounts held by women for three months, starting April. There are more than 203.9 million such accounts. Separately, many states have also allocated funds to keep the Public Distribution System (PDS) flush with supplies, even as daily wage, manual and agricultural work dries up. At the other end of this are the nearly 40 million rural women who are the purported recipients of these benefits.
With no money in the bank account, and government assistance awaited, 55-year-old Shahjahan in Lucknow’s Asti village has only 15kg wheat and 10kg rice left for her family of five. On March 30, UP chief minister Adityanath announced relief worth ~611 crore to all Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme beneficiaries, following which Shahjahan visited her bank. She said she waited for over an hour but found no cash in her account.
In many parts of the country, work under MNREGS has come to a halt. Crop harvesting too has been affected leading to a break in supply chains, as farmers are unable to send their produce to ‘mandis’.
In Maharashtra, for instance, the lockdown is being implemented rigorously, with police patrol cars preventing farmers from farming activities.
Sulekha Naba, a 40-year-old tribal woman in Badipalli village of western Odisha district of Bargarh queued up like other villagers to get the ~1,000 assistance that chief minister Naveen Patnaik had announced for cardholders under the national food security act. Naba, a landless daily labourer, has been without work since the lockdown. While she did receive three months ration, she worried that the cash assistance would hardly be enough to sustain her family. Odisha has 7.4 million households under Jan Dhan yojana — that’s 99.85% of the total number of households in the state.
Long queues of women to withdraw ~500 from their Jan Dhan bank accounts have been witnessed in almost all rural areas in Maharashtra. Yogesh Warkhede, a ‘bank friend’ appointed by Bank of Baroda at Nampur village in Nashik district of Maharashtra said almost 200 people have visited his home to enquire about the deposits.
To an extent, the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu have been able to manage such crowds through an innovative token system: Each family is given a token with a specific date and time to pick up their rations at the Fair Price shops. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh completed the first phase of distribution of rice and other essential commodities, as well as cash assistance in the first week of April itself.
In Kerala, ration holders are classified on the basis of their economic vulnerability. The state did away with biometric identification on April 1 to aid the process of distribution. It has now started supplying the ration based on SMSes in order to control the rush.
Not all states have been able to use technology seamlessly, however. In Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, Guddi Bai Lodhi, 58, went to the branch of Gramin Bank to collect her ~500. “When my turn came, the bank clerk said the ‘link’ was not working.”
She managed to get cash and purchase a few grocery items.
British tourists refuse to leave Goa
A church in Old Goa shuts down during a nationwide lockdown. ANIGerard de Souza
gerard.desouza@htlive.com
PANAJI : For Andrew Taylor, it was an easy choice. Retired from the oil rigs and travelling alone, he made a quick decision that he would be staying put in Goa despite the option to go back home to London in the repatriation flights that the UK government is organising for British citizens stranded across the globe.
“I look back at the situation in London where there are thousands of cases a day and I think it is safer here,” Taylor, who is staying at Agonda in south Goa, said.
There are around 20,000 British nationals across the country who are stranded in India, of which a few thousand are in Goa. The British government has arranged three flights from Goa from this week and four others from Mumbai and Delhi but the repatriation is expected to be a long-drawn process. Some tourists have chosen to stay put and wait it out in Goa.
“I’ve got a place to stay here with food and water. I would have to stay with my parents in the UK. I don’t want to put them at risk in case I pick up the virus on the journey,” Josh Baxter, another traveller to Goa staying at Calangute, said.
“My only worry is if things get worse in India and if we did contract the virus, the healthcare would not be as good as the UK,” he added.
Travellers to India usually visit other locations as well. Yet, Goa is yet to report its first case of a foreigner contracting the coronavirus (Covid-19). “My friends and I think we want to stay here but due to it being so unpredictable, we are unsure what to do. Plus flights are expensive right now,” Charlotte Collins said.
A factor on the minds of Britishers in Goa is the price of the repatriation flights which are upward of 600 GBP and the situation in the UK once they land, especially since they will be quarantined upon landing.
While initially with the lockdown being near total and a lot of tourists afraid of police brutality as well as hostility from locals, the Goa government has moved to reassure tourists that they will be taken care of and asking hotels and guesthouses to charge tourists only half the rack rates while also providing provisions to some who were caught unawares.
“The tourists who are staying in Goa have come much before and are not carriers of the virus so no one should target them,” Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.
The Goa airport has handled 19 relief flights taking around 3,300 tourists back to their respective countries, including Russia, France, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Kazak
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