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COVID-19 in the news this week

By
Afternoon Voice
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covid-19, coronavirus, covid, madhya pradesh, maharashtra, weekly covid, covid-19 cases
COVID-19 in the news this week 2

More than a year after India’s fight against COVID-19 began, the virus is spreading faster than ever before and appalling stories of distress are being reported from across the country. The pandemic has disturbed the lives of everyone, especially the most vulnerable section of our society. Teachers have had to undergo salary cuts, many parents have not been able to pay the school fees due to job losses. For low-income households, the challenge is accentuated further. With classes going online, thousands of children have had to scramble for gadgets to get online. The digital divide has never been more obvious, resulting in several kids dropping out of school.

In Madhya Pradesh, which is battling the second COVID wave like many other states, several shocking incidents have come to the fore in the last few days. In the latest incident, CCTV footage recovered from a government hospital in Shivpuri, about 300 km from state capital Bhopal, has led to a probe into a coronavirus patient’s death as his family alleged the oxygen supply was stopped by the hospital staff. The hospital administration had earlier denied any lapses. The COVID patient’s son said he was with his father till 11:30 PM on Tuesday. Hours after he left for home, he received a call from the hospital mentioning his death.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP for the resurgence of COVID-19 in parts of the state and said had the government vaccinated everyone in time, there wouldn’t have been this second outbreak of the pandemic. Speaking at an election campaign rally at Jalpaiguri in north Bengal on Wednesday, she attacked the BJP, without naming the party, for importing the virus into Bengal through the hundreds of “outsiders” it was bringing into the state for election campaigns.

Mumbai hospitals will use luxury hotels to treat COVID-19 patients with milder infection, the city’s administration said today as it tried to ramp up facilities for patients needing critical care with cases shooting up. Two hotels will start functioning as extensions of private hospitals from Thursday. Private hospitals will tie up with four-star or five-star hotels to accommodate more patients and those not needing critical care are likely to be moved from hospitals to hotels. Doctors have to approve such transfers.

A retired soldier suffering from COVID died without any treatment at a hospital in Bihar, as the hospital authorities were busy preparing for the visit of the state health minister Mangal Pandey. Vinod Singh died in the vehicle he was brought to the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital. The authorities did not admit him despite his family’s repeated requests.

Hundreds of thousands of people continued to throng to the Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar as officials said the religious gathering will not be cut short due to the rising COVID cases and that it will continue till April 30.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, the district administration has appealed to both domestic and foreign tourists not to come to the city till the end of April due to the rise in COVID cases. Varanasi logged 1,585 cases on Wednesday and has over 10,000 active cases, the third-highest in Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow and Prayagraj. Uttar Pradesh’s CM, Yogi Adityanath suffered from COVID soon after taking the first vaccination.

Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Gujarat, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are among the states where doubt mutant strains were found, sources said, adding that these mutants are playing a role in the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases. However, it cannot be said that double mutants are 100 per cent responsible for the rise in cases, sources in the ministry said. A “double mutation” is when two mutated strains of a virus come together to form a third strain. The one reported in India is the result of the E484Q and L452R strains combining. The L452R strain is found in California in the United States and the E484Q strain is indigenous.

Madhya’s Pradesh’s Tikamgarh municipality has converted a garbage truck into a hearse to ferry unclaimed bodies to the crematorium, sparking outrage. The municipality’s action drew widespread condemnation after a video of a body being carried in the “modified” vehicle on Thursday evening went viral. Tikamgarh’s chief municipal officer (CMO) Vijay Shankar Trivedi, however, defended the civic body’s ingenuity saying since the vehicle was not being used for collecting trash, it was utilised for carrying bodies as the civic body did not have a ‘Shav Vahan.’

The central government on Thursday ranked states/union territories in India based on confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases that have been reported. As per the central government, the 20 states and union territories with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, as of 8 am on Thursday, are as follows:

  1. Maharashtra
  2. Kerala
  3. Karnataka
  4. Tamil Nadu
  5. Andhra Pradesh
  6. Delhi
  7. Uttar Pradesh
  8. West Bengal
  9. Chhattisgarh
  10. Rajasthan
  11. Gujarat
  12. Madhya Pradesh
  13. Odisha
  14. Telangana
  15. Haryana
  16. Bihar
  17. Punjab
  18. Assam
  19. Jharkhand
  20. Jammu and Kashmir

Madhya Pradesh Minister Prem Singh Patel on Thursday delivered a shocker on deaths from coronavirus in the country and said that while nobody can stop the virus deaths from occurring, “people get old and have to die”.

As India is witnessing a massive surge of COVID-19 cases, many migrants, fearing a complete lockdown like last year, are returning to their home states. Uttar Pradesh’s additional chief health secretary on Thursday issued directives for the migrant workers coming to the state.

The state government has asked district administrators to prepare a list of all migrant workers which will have their addresses and mobile numbers. The district authorities have been asked to take every worker’s signature against the details.

Shortages of coronavirus vaccine promote Black market

By
Vaidehi Taman
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covid-19, covid, vaccine, covid vaccines, coronavirus, remdisivir, vaccine injections
Image Courtesy: EPA

As the daily COVID-19 cases are perceiving a massive outpouring in the state, people are lining up at all places where Remdesivir injections are provided. Expert doctors and the state government have warned against the unnecessary use of this injection stating that it can damage vital organs. But people panic and there is no counselling from government agencies. Above all when Modi announced Vaccine celebration week people are more impatient.

People are in search of Remdesivir injections, they are contacting medical centres, pharma companies, online searches and finally the private clinics. This comes amidst reports of shortage of vials and the government scrambling to meet the demand at public as well as private hospitals.

In some states especially Gujarat BJP leaders are stocking the vaccines illegally in their party office, and some places like Surat BJP started distributing free Remdesivir injections at the party’s office. The vaccine drive has become a political war. In Surat to people lined up with doctor’s prescriptions. The party plans to distribute 5,000 such injections in the city and neighbouring towns in south Gujarat, represented by state BJP president C R Patil.

What we see is a deviation — stolen, a falsified and substandard product that undermines the health of the people who take it. State authorities have no planning and politicians are misusing their authoritative capacities. On Monday Rajasthan – among those states reporting high vaccine uptake – vaccinated only around 1.5 lakh people, whereas last week it averaged around five lakh per day.

The centre has played down the warnings; Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said there was enough stock, and that states were to blame for inefficient management. 320 doses of Covaxin – Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine – have been reported missing from a cold-storage facility at a government hospital in Rajasthan’s Jaipur.

The HB Kanwatia Hospital, which caters primarily to the nearby working-class neighbourhood of Shastri Nagar, said its stock of 200 doses was checked and accounted for on Sunday. The following day – Monday – a shipment of 489 doses was received. However, when stocks were re-checked the hospital found 320 doses were missing. Security guards were posted outside the cold storage unit in which the vaccines were stored.

The hospital has filed an FIR (first information report) with local police and an investigation is underway. Apart from figuring out how the vaccines went missing despite the presence of guards, the police will also examine CCTV footage from the hospital. The ‘case of the missing vaccines’ is particularly distressing because it comes as the country faces a continuing massive surge in fresh infections – over 1.84 lakh in the previous 24 hours, and over a lakh per day since April 7 – and an alleged shortfall in the supply of the life-saving drugs.

The first doses of coronavirus vaccines have been shipped and administered around the world. This development is a welcome sign of relief at the end of a long and difficult year. But almost simultaneously as vaccine distribution began, a warning was put out — not by health agencies or policymakers, but by The International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL. They told the world to be on the lookout for counterfeit vaccines and medical supplies.

 People wait in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at every designated Riverside vaccination centre in each state, many of them spend two long days in line and return due to the short supply of doses. Scarcity of vaccines amid a fatal worldwide pandemic is fueling fears of a black market that could inflict great harm on public health and confidence, where potentially stolen, spoiled or fake vaccine is sold to those who can afford to pay while the real thing is in short supply in communities most heavily impacted by COVID.

Stolen, Missing and falsified vaccines are sold in the black market by the authorities, somewhere around 2000 to 20000, as per the capacity of buyers these vaccines are sold. Many government authorities are stealing the supply and supplying it to private vendors to earn money through the black market. The health of the community damages the brand of companies and torpedoes efforts of the government to get the economy up and going. Vaccine tourism, fake medicines, fake products, with multiple victimizations are on the rise.

Above all these stolen and managed doses are also reaching Political party offices, one such example is BJP that was discovered when a private car carrying Remdesivir injections entered the BJP office, members of the BJP youth-wing workers along with former corporator Manu Patel, distributed orange-paper tokens with the lotus symbol — BJP’s election symbol — and numbers on them. People are fed up they have no courage to battle, black-market and political vendettas both adding stress to common man’s lives.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us at feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Renowned RTI Activist Vijay Kumbhar joins the Aam Aadmi Party

By
Web Team
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vijay kumbhar, kumbhar, aap, aam aadmi party
Renowned RTI Activist Vijay Kumbhar joins the Aam Aadmi Party 5

A well-known RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar, renowned for 30 years of experience in the arena of social work, has joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday.

On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, and with due cognizance of the city-wide lockdown, the Party conducted the induction ceremony via an online platform, in the presence of the AAP State Committee.

Aam Aadmi Party’s Maharashtra Prabhari and AAP National Executive Committee member, Durgesh Pathak, welcomed Vijay Kumbhar to the AAP.

“AAP has already entered Maharashtra State politics through the Gram-panchayat Elections. Now, the contributions of senior RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar will help create a strong base for the party’s presence in the state,” said Durgesh Pathak.

Vijay Kumbhar has been appointed as a State Executive Member and ‘Pradesh Sanghatak’, as announced by Durgesh Pathak.

“He is recognized for his work, which exposed several cases of lobbying between builders and politicians. People like Vijay Kumbhar will serve an indispensable role in the fight against anarchy and corruption in Maharashtra’s Politics,” said Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP National Executive Member and Spokesperson.

“AAP is the only solution for Maharashtra’s feudalistic and ‘Saam-Daam-Dand-Bhed’ politics.  The AAP is held to a high standard of expectations by the common people, and Vijay Kumbhar’s entry in a Party will bolster the Party’s energy, enthusiasm and political will” said Ranga Rachure, AAP’s State Convener.

Co-Convener Kishor Mandhyan remarked that Vijay Kumbhar’s experience in political activism shall go a long way in helping us serve the common people’s needs.

Vijay Kumbhar is known for the Supreme Court legal clash against the Former Maharashtra CM Manohar Joshi’s son in the ‘Girish Vyas’ illegal constructions case. He also played a vital role in the expose of Builder D.S. Kulkarni, and the Temple Roj Real Estate Scam. He was a leading force in the establishment of the RTI Act 2005 and has also actively participated, alongside Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, in India Against Corruption Movement. Vijay Kumbhar was the first citizen of our country to use RTI for the examination of documents in government offices.

He is known for the conception of the Information Rights Library in the Pune Municipal Corporation. This library was named by late senior journalist Prakash Kudale and was inaugurated by Arvind Kejriwal.

With this, he became the first person in our country to demand the public perusal and scrutiny of government documents. In 2014, He started the ‘RTI Katta’, to address the problems faced by common people in the use of RTI. 

Every Sunday, this Katta is curated and managed by him, and solutions are presented for pertinent issues faced by civilians in filing RTI applications. He was awarded by Time of India – Pune Mirror’s ‘Pune Hero’ Award, for which online voting was conducted. He has also been felicitated with many other prestigious awards, like the Sajag Nagrik Manch Sanman 2008, and the Navlinkumar Sanmaan.

Through the RTI, he has served relentlessly in many fights against corruption and lawlessness. He has stopped the misuse of public places, the illegal use of home gas cylinders in Pune, and has forced government bodies to improve financial provisions for public toilets in their jurisdiction. Moreover, He has exposed various scams in the provision of school uniforms and educational materials.

Vijay Kumbhar said, “I will not just work towards making the party stronger, but also towards the fight to preserve the due dignity to the citizens of the state. Currently, all the government offices are threatening citizens, by displaying posters of laws that can punish them, along with the duration and conditions for these charges. These posters are illegal and are threatening the owners of this country – the citizens. This is totally unacceptable in a democracy. We, through the Aam Aadmi Party, will remove these posters, and replace them with posters which declare the citizens as the rightful owners of this country, wherein our primary duty is to serve them.”

Section 144 in Maharashtra: Tough restrictions for the next 15 days that include a ban on assemblies

By
Afternoon Voice
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section 144, maharashtra, mumbai, covid-19, covid, coronavirus, curfew, lockdown, maharashtra lockdown, maharashtra curfew, 144, section
Section 144 in Maharashtra: Tough restrictions for the next 15 days that include a ban on assemblies 7

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a partial lockdown with strict boundaries for the next 15 days that include a ban on gatherings and only essential activities to tackle Covid infections that he said were “exploding dangerously” in the state.

He said that the “The war has begun again,” addressing people of the state on the extraordinary surge in Covid infections. From today, Section 144, a rule that bans the get-together of more than four people, will be in place across Maharashtra in the mornings and only essential travel and services will be allowed.

CM Thackeray advised people to move to Work from Home. From 7 am to 8 pm, only essential services will function; these are medical services, banks, media, E-Commerce and fuel. Explaining that his government was being tested by the crisis, Thackeray said while the state had postponed the Class 10 and 12 state board exams, “we can’t postpone the exam we are facing currently and it is one we have to pass with flying colours.”

Home deliveries from restaurants will be allowed. Also, home deliveries of essential items will be allowed. food takeaway will be allowed at roadside stalls, including fruit vendors. However, one cannot stand and eat there.

During the partial lockdown, maids, cooks, drivers, house help, nurses, and medical attendee who are taking care of old patients will be allowed between 7 am to 10 pm on all days.

All clinics including dentists, eye hospitals and general physicians, optical shops will be allowed to function within the given time frame.

Thackeray, in an address on Tuesday evening, also announced a package of Rs 5,476 crore to help the marginalised, including daily wagers, rickshaw drivers, domestic help, and construction workers.

The impact of that lockdown — a 24.4% contraction in the economy in the first quarter which bore the brunt, and untold suffering for migrant workers left without food, shelter, and a safe way to return home — may have prevented Thackeray from announcing even a partial lockdown in the face of a second wave that has overwhelmed Maharashtra’s health infrastructure, even though experts have been calling for stronger restrictions for weeks.

Anyone can deactivate your personal WhatsApp account

By
Afternoon Voice
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whatsapp, whatsapp vulnerability, whatsapp app, signal app, telegram, cyber security, cybercrime
Anyone can deactivate your personal WhatsApp account 9

A new WhatsApp vulnerability revealed, that might permit attackers to deactivate your account remotely. WhatsApp has recommended that users should provide their email address with the two-step verification to avoid such a hack.

Security researchers Luis Márquez Carpintero and Ernesto Canales Pereña have discovered the error that can allow attackers to remotely suspend your WhatsApp account. As first reported by Forbes, the researchers found that the flaw exists in the instant messaging app due to two fundamental weaknesses.

A large number of WhatsApp users are said to be at risk as a remote attacker can deactivate WhatsApp on your phone and then restrict you from activating it back. The vulnerability can be exploited even if you’ve enabled two-factor authentication (2FA) for your WhatsApp account.

WhatsApp has discovered a vulnerability that allows an invader to suspend your account remotely using your phone number. The flaw that has now been found by security researchers appears to have existed on the instant messaging app for quite some time now — due to fundamental weaknesses.

The first weakness allows the attacker to enter your phone number on WhatsApp installed on their phones. This will, of course, not give access to your WhatsApp account unless the attacker obtains the six-digit registration code you’ll get on your phone. Multiple failed attempts to sign in using your phone number will also block code entries on WhatsApp installed on the attacker’s phone for 12 hours.

However, while the attacker won’t be able to repeat the sign-in process with your phone number, they will be able to contact WhatsApp support to deactivate your phone number from the app. What they need is a new email address and a simple email stating that the phone has been stolen or lost. In response to that email, WhatsApp will ask for a confirmation that the attacker will quickly provide from their end.

Android Malware Discovered on Google Play That Spreads Via WhatsApp

This will deactivate your WhatsApp account, meaning that you’ll no longer be able to access the instant messaging app on your phone. You won’t be able to avoid that deactivation by using 2FA on your WhatsApp account as the account has been deactivated through the email sent by the attacker.

In a regular deactivation case, you can activate your WhatsApp account back by verifying your phone number. This is, however, not possible if the attacker has already locked the verification process for 12 hours by making multiple failed attempts to sign in to your WhatsApp account. This means that you’ll also be restricted from getting a new registration code on your phone number for 12 hours. The attacker can also repeat the process of failed sign-in attempts to restrict your account for another 12 hours when the first one expires. WhatsApp Could Soon Allow Moving Chats Between Android and iOS

This highlights that WhatsApp will treat your phone the same way it is treating the attacker’s one and will block sign-in access. You’ll only have the option to get your WhatsApp account back by contacting the messaging app over email.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told Gadgets 360 that users could avoid the problem of getting their accounts deactivated by attackers using the newly discovered flaw by registering their email address to their account via two-step verification. WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Faces Antitrust Probe From CCI

However, WhatsApp has not provided any details on whether it is fixing the vulnerability to avoid its adverse effect on the masses. It is currently unclear whether an attacker has exploited the vulnerability in the wild. However, considering the fact that the details about the flaw are now in the public, it could easily be leveraged to restrict anyone from using their WhatsApp — at least for a few hours.

WhatsApp has a massive user base of more than two billion users worldwide, with over 400 million users in India alone. Most of the users aren’t likely to have their email addresses registered with their accounts at this moment. Therefore, the scope of the reported vulnerability is quite wide.

WhatsApp users’ needs to be careful but no app is immune to vulnerabilities

By
Vaidehi Taman
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whatsapp, whatsapp app, cyber security, cybercrimes, signal aap, telegram, facebook
Image Courtesy: Picture Alliance/Getty Images

The maximum population of India uses smartphones and WhatsApp. This app has become their life. WhatsApp has become an inevitable communication mode. When Facebook took over WhatsApp, there were many rumours that WhatsApp was sharing some data with Facebook, including phone numbers and profile name, but this has been happening for years.

WhatsApp the messaging app doesn’t gather the content of your chats, but it does collect the metadata attached to them – such as the sender, the time a message was sent and who it was sent to. This can be shared with “Facebook companies”. Facebook’s highly disparaged data collection tenet has worn trust in the social network.

 When Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, it vowed to keep the two services separate. Yet only a few years later, Facebook announced aims to integrate the messaging systems of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. This appears to have stalled owing to technical and regulatory difficulties about encoding, but it’s still the long-term plan.

All of sudden people not only felt cheated but they were scared of a data breach and switched to Signal, a secure messaging app, which has been the main beneficiary of the WhatsApp evacuation. Another messaging app, Telegram, has also qualified for an uptick in downloads, but Signal has been topping the charts on the Apple and Android app stores.

Signal aids from being the most similar to WhatsApp in terms of features, while Telegram has had problems as a secure and private messaging app, with its live location feature recently coming under fire for privacy breaches. Significantly, Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default, instead of storing your data in the cloud. The Signal is end-to-end encrypted, collects less data than Telegram and stores messages on your device rather than in the cloud.

Still, WhatsApp is used by millions of people, it is truly a dynamo when it comes to apps in general, let alone messenger ones specifically. With this level of success comes increased exposure to those who would do WhatsApp user’s harm. Those using WhatsApp on the iPhone were warned about a one-click attack risk earlier this year, for example. A reported “sharp rise” in WhatsApp security flaws across 2019 has even led to some reports of political staffers being advised to switch to contending secure messenger, Signal.

The fact is that no app is immune to security vulnerabilities; they are a fact of technological life. It’s the way those susceptibilities are dealt with that is vital. CVE-2020-1886 was a buffer-overflow problem in the WhatsApp for Android app, versions before v2.20.11 that could be caused by receiving and answering a malevolent video call.

CVE-2020-1889 affected the WhatsApp desktop client before v0.3.4932 and was an appreciation of privilege threat when combined with a remote code execution vulnerability to escape the system security sandbox. CVE-2020-1890 was another Android app problem, this time triggered by receipt of a malicious sticker message that could lead to privilege escalation once more.

CVE-2020-1891 was in both Android and iOS apps and involved the video call handler. All that’s publicly known is that it could impact confidentiality, integrity and availability. CVE-2020-1894 was a stack-overflow issue in Android and iOS apps that could allow for arbitrary code implementation triggered by a malicious push-to-talk message. Severity rating of vulnerability marked high

India’s cyber security agency, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) recently issued an alert against multiple vulnerabilities in older versions of WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for iOS. The severity rating of the vulnerability has been marked high. According to the alert issued by CERT-In, there were two critical vulnerabilities in WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business of iOS — an Improper Access Control vulnerability (CVE-2020-1908) and a User-After-Free vulnerability (CVE-2020-1909). These vulnerabilities have been disclosed by WhatsApp as part of its November update to its security advisories. The improper Access Control vulnerability can allow hackers to access WhatsApp even after a phone is locked. The vulnerability affects WhatsApp iOS versions prior to the v2.20.100.

The use-after-free in a logging library in WhatsApp can be exploited by a remote attacker “by sending a specially crafter animated sticker to the target while placing a WhatsApp video call on hold, resulting in several events occurring together. The CERT-In advisory suggests users install and update to the latest version of WhatsApp with security patches from the App Store. A high-severity vulnerability could allow cybercriminals to push malware or remotely execute code, using seemingly innocuous messages.

Security researchers have identified a JavaScript vulnerability in the WhatsApp desktop platform that could allow cybercriminals to spread malware, phishing or ransomware campaigns through notification messages that appear completely normal to unsuspecting users. And, further investigation shows this could be parlayed into remote code execution. More specifically, “The flaws leave users vulnerable to attacks by allowing both the text content and links in website previews to be tampered with to display false content and modified links that point to malicious destinations.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us at feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Interview | “COVID will stay for a longer time”: Dr Thadhani

By
Hema Singh
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dr amit thadhani, thadhani, amit thadhani, amit, covid-19, covid, corona, coronavirus, covid-19 maharashtra, maharashtra
Interview | "COVID will stay for a longer time": Dr Thadhani 13
Maharashtra reports a significant rise in fresh Covid-19 cases. Amid talk of an extended lockdown and guidelines to curb the coronavirus spread. People’s litharge and administrative incapability, reasons are many. Afternoon Voice has taken the expert opinion of Doctor Amit Thadhani, a consulting general surgeon and Director at Niramaya Hospital in Navi Mumbai.
Over a telephonic interview with Hema Singh, Dr Thadhani has shared his insight on the second wave of COVID-19 and its consequences.

India has surged in new Covid cases, there is a tremendous rise in coronavirus cases in the country. What could be the reason behind this?

There are various reasons for the huge spread of Coronavirus. The situation is more complex than one could imagine. It is a combination of people becoming careless and the government becoming lenient.

Look at the way the social gatherings, weddings, election rallies are happening, as if everything is normal. People have no deterrence to the pandemic.  

People have already resumed their normal lives and they are conveniently flouting the norms by not wearing masks or following social distance rules. They need to understand that the pandemic is here to stay and everyone should take responsibility for preventing the spread. 

India’s foremost epidemiologists had warned that if the government and the citizens do not act immediately the second wave could be worse than the first, what’s your take on this?

It is already worse! We are running out of beds, we are running out of oxygen supply, what could be worse than this? The condition is getting worse as compared to the first wave. The only thing better here is that we know what to do, what measure can be taken and how to deal with it.

Why do you feel that the cases would rise from the end of April in Maharashtra?

It is going to arise sooner or later in all states. And if you see the pattern in some states, they have cases fallen now though could rise later. It is following the pattern where it goes lull for a few months and then booms again, so it’s just a matter of time. Most of the big states are showing an increase in the number of cases.

Why have people relaxed amid the pandemic and gone carefree without any safety measures?

There is a constant bombardment of misinformation that COVID is gone or “Corona jaisa kuch nahi hain” (there is nothing like corona) or we have already defeated Corona. There is a lot of misinformation that is going around the virus and because of this people are becoming carefree. Also, people are somewhere willing to get back to their normal life. 

dr amit thadhani, thadhani, amit thadhani, amit, covid-19, covid, corona, coronavirus, covid-19 maharashtra, maharashtra, cases, covid cases, vaccine, vaccination
A health worker interacts with a resident of Dharavi slum during door-to-door screening for COVID-19 testing, in Mumbai | Image Courtesy: PTI

What are your suggestions to the government?

Only two things I want to suggest to the government – build capacity to manage more patients and mass access of masks on a war footing in all the states. Because these are the only two things, we can do to control the spread of the virus; as there’s no escape from this.

How long do we have to deal with COVID?

It will stay for a longer time. Right now, it is in a pandemic form after the pandemic we will have a post-pandemic, where the disease goes into a long-time mode. But if the entire population is vaccinated then the level of threat from the virus will be nothing more than a common cold; only the occasional serious patient coming up. 

Does one need to change his/her diet to stay protected from the virus?

People should eat healthy food that they are normally eating. Just consume a good amount of food and a normal healthy diet. There is nothing specific diet that one can follow to avoid being ill.

What is your understanding of the scale and speed of spread of Covid in Maharashtra and Mumbai?

In Mumbai, the population density is high compared to various other cities where the wave started before Mumbai. Like the cities for example Amravati and Akola are showing a huge spike in cases before Mumbai started spiking. And in all these areas the local panchayat elections were going on and the wedding and other social gatherings were happening. So, the combination of these two factors has mostly led to huge explosions in cases. 

Some experts and doctors are claiming that vaccination is the only long-term remedy for Covid and if we follow it meticulously then the third wave, (if at all it comes) won’t be too severe, do you also feel the same?

Yes… of course! Vaccination is the only remedy for COVID-19. Otherwise, we will have the third, fourth and fifth waves also coming in.

Will there be a permanent solution ever? 

If we have a mass vaccination drive for the virus then we will be able to reduce the status of cold, cough; later we can deal with it. 

Lastly, apart from maintaining hand hygiene and social distancing, what else can people do to protect themselves?

Mask and vaccination! People have to wear the mask properly once they are stepping out. A mask is the most important thing than social distancing and hand washing. Also, the moment you are eligible for the vaccine, go and get it done. 

First ever human space flight signalled ‘new era for humanity’

By
Web Team
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human space flight, human space, delhi, flight, nasa, indian, satellite
Image for Representative Purpose

Observed annually on 12 April, the International Day commemorates the date in 1961 when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin carried out the first-ever human space flight, opening the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.

In a message, Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), said that 60 years ago, “a new era for humanity began – with sky no longer the limit”.

“Astronauts are envoys of humankind in outer space, embodying talent, skills, and bravery; and stretching the boundaries of what we can achieve as a civilization.”

“Human space flight has changed our perspectives about the Earth, the universe and ourselves”, Di Pippo added.

Advancing sustainable development

In 2011, the UN General Assembly declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight to celebrate “the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.”

Directly or indirectly, space applications contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For instance, space technologies can help optimize crop production and make the use of land, water, seeds, fertilizers and other resources more efficient, advancing Goal 2 on ending hunger.

Such innovations are all the more crucial given estimates that the coronavirus pandemic could push a further 132 million into hunger, adding to the 690 million globally who already do not have enough to eat.

FAO envoy to bring ‘unique perspective’

To highlight the importance of the world’s agri-food systems, and help make them more resilient, inclusive, efficient and sustainable, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) designated European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet as its Goodwill Ambassador on Monday.

An advocate for climate action, Pesquet highlighted the effects of climate change and called for more respect for the environment during his 196 consecutive days onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2016 and 2017.

The ESA astronaut brings “a unique perspective, from the vantage point of space”, Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General said.

“Over the years, Thomas has helped raise awareness of the impact of climate change on agriculture, of the importance of access to nutritious foods, and of how critical it is for us to manage our natural resources wisely and reduce food loss and waste”, Qu added.

‘Earth is also a spaceship’

Accepting the nomination, the French ESA astronaut said his first space flight drastically changed his perception about the challenges the world is facing, drawing parallels between planet Earth and a spaceship.

“After all, Earth is also a spaceship, flying through space with limited resources. The problems are the same – a hostile environment that you have to deal with, limited resources that you have to share and there is a need to get along with crew members and work together to achieve your goals”, he said.

Pesquet is preparing for his second mission to ISS, which is scheduled to be launched on 22 April and to last for six months.

Government should assure financial stability to self-employed people

By
Vaidehi Taman
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Traders protest lockdown
Image Courtesy: PTI

Maharashtra government may impose lockdown by defining areas as red, green and orange based on the level of infection in that particular area. Total lockdown means no work, shops, beauty parlours; salons, gym and many more establishments would remain closed. Some IT companies and private firms yet to recover from backlash are paying half salaries to their employees now would be shut permanently. Private sectors have another challenge.

The Common public feel that the Lockdown is not a good measure, maybe for a few days it is fine but frequent lockdown has its repercussions. More difficult it would be to cope up with the general public. All commercial and economic activity should be resumed with rules and regulations. Mask wearing; maintaining social distancing and isolation far as possible should be followed.

Only sitting at home with no earnings is not fair. People even require money to fight coronavirus as well as their lives ahead. For example, one small cobbler or a beautician, they are fetching their livings and also paying GST to all other taxes to the government, without making any financial obligations.

These people are huge in numbers, they earn and save in banks and in the end banks are emptied by governments. Also, these are the people who have suffered huge losses during the corona lockdown. They can’t take another pinch to their pocket. Government has no planning for rendering hands to such sectors.

No plans for regulating small self-sustaining, business groups and self-employed people. Just by saying the Indian economy is fine, how can anyone assure financial stability to these people? It’s more than individual states, the centre should tell people of India how they are going to give hands to all after lockdown.

We should lock down the Corona, not ourselves. Are the doctors and nurses locking themselves down? What about the vegetable vendor? What about the police? There are many such entities working 24/7 knowing the threat, but they are taking precautions too. The central government’s job is to take care of people who are suffering from day one ever since BJP won elections.

In the month of May 2019, it was demonetization and sudden closures of banks, thereafter GST and other slabs followed by ten long month’s lockdown. Middle-class families are suffering from all sides. The government is passing the economic burden heavily on the salaried class people to fight the Corona pandemic by freezing the DA and deducting one day of salary per month till March 2021.

No country in the world has done this so far. Many small businesses are shut due to lockdown. They are unable to afford to pay salaries. They are randomly firing all employees. This is what is happening and if lockdown is imposed again people will die of starvation.

Almost all small businesses are at risk of collapsing, if businesses collapse, they won’t be able to ensure our economy can get better. These small businesses will be lost forever. Permitted non-essential goods to be transported but due to lack of truck drivers and manpower the entire market is still. A good chunk of the economy is still locked out.

Mining is mostly closed. Construction is totally stopped. Most factories that produce automobiles, machinery, consumer durables and so on are shuttered. Millions of small factories and enterprises are non-functional. Almost all of the retail trade, transport, travel and hospitality businesses are down and out.

Their workers are suddenly out of job. More than 2/3rd of the production system has either stopped production totally or scaled down substantially. On average, about 8-9 per cent of GDP is produced in a month.

The measures to save human lives from the COVID-19 epidemic can result in making the economy a casualty – making both the nation and her people poor. If the COVID-19 risk to the economy is not managed properly, India might see crores of people becoming jobless and fall back into poverty.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us at feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Haridwar Kumbh Mela: Government does not have guts to implement its own policies

By
Afternoon Voice
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haridwar, kumbh mela, kumb, uttarakhand, haridwar kumbh mela, covid-19, coronavirus, uttrakhand police, uttrakhand cm, haridwar 2021, kumbh mela 2021
Image Courtesy: AFP

Maharashtra state board exams for classes 10, 12 postponed amid COVID surge, the government says “Your health is our priority”. On the other hand, hundreds of Mumbaikar left for Haridwar to take a holy dip in the Ganges.

Most of the devotees were seen without masks or safety precautions while approaching the river Ganges. Uttarakhand’s Haridwar is densely packed with crowds for prayers during the Kumbh Mela – one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.

Many devotees have been claiming that COVID-19 is not a major concern anymore since the state government has made a negative RT-PCR result mandatory for those visiting Haridwar.

A day ahead of the Shahi Snan – considered being an auspicious day to take a holy dip in the river – more than one lakh devotees were seen on the banks of the river, in clear violation of the COVID-19 rules issued by the Health Ministry.

Along with devotees, scores of seers representing 13 Akhadas were also seen taking a dip in the Ganges. Held every 12 years; this year’s Kumbh Mela is taking place in extraordinary circumstances, at a time when the second wave of the pandemic has gripped the country with over 1.5 lakh COVID-19 cases being reported in the last 24 hours.

Even as warnings against violation of COVID-19 rules have been installed at almost all the ghats and experts have urged the general public to avoid large gatherings and maintain social distancing to avoid further spread of the coronavirus, several devotees say it is practically impossible to adhere to these guidelines during the pilgrimage.

386 people have tested positive in the last 24 hours in Haridwar. There are 2056 active COVID-19 cases in the city. It has witnessed a 100 per cent jump in both the daily and active cases in just a week. On April 4, the city recorded 173 cases while the active cases stood at 837.

Meanwhile, several traffic diversions have been made across the city and separate timings have been allotted to all 13 Sadhu Akhadas, during which No devotees will be allowed access to the bathing ghats. The biggest challenge is to allow these people back home without the COVID test.

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