Tag: Lockdown

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COVID-19 India News

K’taka starts 14-day lockdown from tonight

The decision to impose the lockdown with exemptions for essential services, transport of goods, and scheduled travel by train or plane was taken at a state cabinet meeting earlier in the day…reports Asian Lite News.

Reeling under the pandemic’s second wave, the Karnataka government on Monday issued stringent guidelines for the 14-day lockdown from Tuesday night to May 12 morning.

“The guidelines, which are meant to break the chain of Covid transmission across the state, will come into effect from 9 p.m. on April 27 and will be in force till 6 a.m. on May 12,” Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar said in an order.

The decision to impose the lockdown with exemptions for essential services, transport of goods and scheduled travel by train or plane was taken at a state cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

As announced by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, movement of people, and public transportation in buses, taxis, autos and metro rail will be banned daily except from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. when markets and shops selling essential needs like milk, groceries, eggs, fish, meat, vegetables and fruits are allowed to function.

Liquor shops or outlets will also remain open from 6-10 a.m.

Home delivery of liquor or food parcels will be allowed to minimise the movement of individuals outside their homes.

“Schools, colleges, cinema theatres, malls, gyms, hotels, restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs and non-essential shops will remain shut during the lockdown,” said the order.

Students appearing for scheduled exams are, however, allowed to travel in their own or private vehicles with their hall ticket as pass to commute.

“Citizens taking Covid test or vaccination will also be allowed to travel to the nearest designated centres in their city or town. Emergency travel for health reasons or out of station by train or plane can hire a cab or auto to and from railway station or airport with ticket as pass,” said the order.

Banks, ATMs, insurance offices, e-commerce firms, facilities in supply chain of essential goods, cold storage, and warehousing are allowed to operate during the fortnight shutdown.

Hotels, restaurants, and eateries are permitted to operate only kitchens for take-away or home delivery of food items. Service will be allowed in their premises.

Stadia and playground are allowed for organising sports events and practice without spectators.

All social, political, entertainment, cultural, religious functions, gatherings or congregations are banned. Religious places or places of worship will remain closed for public.

Offices of the state government, its autonomous bodies, corporations can function outside containment zones.

Courts and offices related to judicial work shall operate as per the guidelines issued by the Karnataka High Court.

All other offices shall encourage their staff to work from home.

Agriculture and related activities are allowed outside containment zone.

Facilities in the supply chain of essential goods will be allowed to operate as per Covid norms.

Only essential staff of IT and IT-enabled services companies will be allowed to work from the office while the remaining employees will work from home.

All industries and production units, except those related to garments manufacturing, are permitted to operate as per Covid’s appropriate behavior.

Construction activities will be allowed to operate outside containment zones.

Marriages are permitted with only 50 people. Cremations or funerals are also allowed to have five people.

Also Read-Greece Extends Lock Down Restrictions

Read More-Nepal extends lock down till May 18

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-Top News Asia News

Lockdown in Turkey to Curb Covid surge

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The lockdown will last from April 29 to May 17, with an aim to lower the daily cases below 5,000,said Erdogan…reports Asian Lite News

Turkey announced on Monday that it will impose a full lockdown in a bid to curb the rise in Covid-19 cases.

The lockdown will last from April 29 to May 17, with an aim to lower the daily cases below 5,000, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.

Intercity travels will be restricted to permission only, intercity public transport will operate at 50 per cent capacity, while schools in all levels will suspend face-to-face education, he said.

But the manufacturing and food sectors will be exempt from the restrictions, Erdogan added.

Turkey on Monday reported 37,312 new Covid-19 cases, including 2,716 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 4,667,281, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 353 to 38,711, while the total recoveries climbed to 4,121,671 after 48,027 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients stands at 2.4 per cent and the number of seriously ill patients was 3,563 in the country, said the ministry.

A total of 268,893 tests were conducted over the past day, with the overall number of tests in Turkey reaching 46,153,151.

Turkey started mass vaccination against the Covid-19 on January 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine. More than 13,334,000 people have been vaccinated so far.

Turkey reported its first Covid-19 case on March 11, 2020.

Also read:Turkey’s Erdogan sacks Trade Minister

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-Top News COVID-19 India News

Capital lockdown till May 3

CM Kejriwal says extension of lockdown is the last weapon against coronavirus. The positivity rate rose to 36-37% (the highest in the country)…reports Asia Lite News

Capital Delhi on Sunday extended the lockdown by another week in light of spiral caused by the second wave of the pandemic. Delhi’s health apparatus is creaking under pressure unable to cope with the number of cases and lack of oxygen supply to hospitals.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “We enforced a six-day lockdown that is ending tomorrow. This was our last weapon against coronavirus. The positivity rate rose to 36-37% (the highest in the country) at the start of the lockdown, and is now showing signs of improvement over the past two days. It’s has come down to below 30% today. Will have to monitor this situation closely and see if it comes down further.”

Many top hospitals in Delhi, in the last 48 hours, have sent out SOS messages over medical oxygen shortage. 25 people died at Jaipur Golden Hospital due to low oxygen pressure on Friday. Kejriwal on Saturday wrote to all chief ministers “requesting them to provide oxygen to Delhi, if they have spare”.

A view of LNJP Hospital after lockdown in National Capital in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases, in New Delhi On Friday, 23 April, 2021.(Photo:Qamar Sibtain/IANS)

Kejriwal pointed out on that during last week’s lockdown, the Covid-19 positivity rate climbed to almost 36 to 37 per cent. However, he added the rate went down in the last 1-2 days and today it went down below 30 per cent. “I’m not saying that Covid-19 is ending. We will have to observe for a few more days. The positivity rate might go up or come down.” the Delhi chief minister said.

Meanwhile, on a day when India’s daily cases of Covid-19 crossed 3,00,000 for the fourth straight day, PM Narendra Modi addressed the nation through ‘Mann Ki Baat’ warning citizens against falling prey to rumours around the coronavirus vaccine. The Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) said on Sunday that 349,691 fresh infections were detected across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the infection tally to 16,960,172. More than 2,000 people succumbed to the viral disease yet again, as the related death toll rose by a record 2,767 fatalities and now stands at 192,311 or 1.13% of the infection tally.

Health worker collect swab sample testing for Covid-19 at CP in new Delhi on Monday March 22, 2021.(Photo:Wasim Sarvar/IANS)
Rahul urges party workers to help the needy

Reacting to Modi’s statement, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the “system has failed” and it is the duty of the party to provide help to fellow citizens suffering due to sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases in the country.

“System’ failed, so it’s important to do Jan ki baat. In this crisis, the country needs responsible citizens. I request my Congress colleagues to leave all political work — just provide all help and ease the pain of our countrymen,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

US in talks to send aid to India

Washington is under increasing pressure to do more to help India, the world’s largest democracy and a strategic ally in President Joe Biden’s efforts to counter China, as it grapples with a record-setting surge in coronavirus infections

Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, warned in an op-ed published Saturday in the Washington Post that India’s 1.3 billion people are facing a humanitarian catastrophe. He said some 2,000 people were dying daily, but most experts estimated that the true number was five to 10 times that level.

“Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak. We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet.

Oxygen cylinders are stored at Kolkata Medical College Hospital during the increasing numbers of COVID 19 patients in Kolkata on April 23, 2021.(Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)
Maharashtra Covid tally zooms past 42 Lakhs

After three consecutive days of high fatalities, Maharashtra’s Covid-19 death toll fell as the state’s case tally zoomed past the 42 lakh-mark, with an increase in the number of active cases, health officials said.

A day after reporting a record 773 deaths, the state’s fatalities fell to its second highest peak of 676 on Sunday, taking its overall toll to 63,928, the worst in the country.

Dropping a little from the record high of 68,631 new cases recorded on April 18, the state on Saturday reported a single-day tally of 67,160 fresh infections, taking its overall figures past the 42 lakh-mark to 42,28,836.

The situation in Mumbai improved considerably with a drop in new infections from 7,199 on Friday to 5,867 on Saturday, taking its Covid tally to 6,22,146 till date, 20 days after touching the highest daily spike of 11,206 cases on April 4.

The city also reported 71 fatalities on Saturday, which took its overall death toll to 12,726, the highest for a single city in the country.

The state’s death rate dropped marginally from 1.52 per cent a day earlier to 1.51 per cent now, while the number of active cases increased again from 691,851 on Friday to 694,480 on Saturday.

Also read:Delhi gasps for oxygen

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-Top News EU News Europe

Italy sets out roadmap for reopening

The move on Wednesday came as the pandemic appears moderately under control in the country, with active coronavirus cases falling,…reports Asian Lite News

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s cabinet has unveiled a roadmap for easing Covid-19 restrictions starting from April 26.

The move on Wednesday came as the pandemic appears moderately under control in the country, with active coronavirus cases falling, reports Xinhua news agency.

The new measures will remain in force until July 31, the date to which the government has extended the state of emergency declared last year at the outbreak of the crisis.

The yellow areas in the government’s three-tiered system would be re-introduced starting from April 26, adding to the orange and red ones, so that Italian regions will again shift periodically from one to another according to local contagion levels.

In the low-risk yellow regions, restaurants and all other food shops will be allowed to serve lunch and dinner outdoors until June 1.

From June 1, indoor services will be allowed, but only until 6 p.m.

Outdoor team sports will resume from April 26, while swimming pools from May 15, and fitness centres from June 1, according to the plan.

All competition sports will resume from June 1, with spectators allowed up to 25 per cent of the full capacity of the facility, but not exceeding 500 people indoors or 1,000 outdoors.

Theatres, cinemas, and other leisure venues will reopen on April 26, with the same cap for capacity.

Under the decree, exhibitions and fairs would restart from June 15, while thermal baths and amusement parks from July 1.

Also read:Johnson in quest for new Covid medicines

Regions in orange or red will remain subject to the current level of restrictions consistent with medium- or high-risk contagion.

Currently, only three regions — southern Apulia, northern Aosta Valley, and Sardinia Island — were red zones.

From April 26 to June 15, people in the yellow regions will be allowed one visit a day to relatives or friends, four adults maximum plus children.

Starting April 26, the current ban on inter-regional travels would not apply to yellow regions. Moving to and from orange and red zones will be possible for those with a “green Covid-19 card” indicating a swab test valid over 48 hours, full vaccination or recovery from the disease in the last six months.

After a robust discussion among the various parties, the cabinet also confirmed the current 10 p.m.-5 p.m. curfew to stay in force at least till June 1.

In May, the reopening roadmap might be adjusted according to the pandemic situation, local media reported.

Italy has so far registered 3,904,899 cases and 117,997 deaths, according to the Health Ministry.

Some 16.1 million vaccine doses have been administered and 4.7 million people fully inoculated, according to latest government statistics.

Also read:Italy PM receives AstraZeneca jab

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-Top News India News

Modi rules out lockdown

Modi has ruled out full lockdown and called for solidarity to fight against Covid-19 to avoid lockdown…reports Asian Lite News

Prime minister Narendra Modi has hailed health workers during his address to the nation.

Modi urged private sector to step up oxygen production across the nation.

He admitted that second wave has hit India like a storm.

He has ruled out full lockdown and called for solidarity to fight against Covid-19 to avoid lockdown.

Also read:Ramp up vax program: Manmohan writes to Modi

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-Top News COVID-19 UK News

‘Unlocking may cause 3rd Covid wave in UK’

The scientists made their remarks as Britain is poised to partly ease the current lockdown restrictions, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country…reports Asian Lite News

British scientists have warned that the British government is risking a third wave of Covid-19 by easing the lockdown too soon, local media reported.

“There are areas in West Yorkshire, the Black Country and other regions that still have high infection rates. However, many people there cannot afford to self-isolate. We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again,” Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer on Sunday.

“It’s worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them,” said Griffin, Xinhua news agency reported.

Professor Lawrence Young of Warwick medical school said: “The test, trace and isolate system that is supposed to contain outbreaks has not worked well, and even when people test positive, they are not isolating. We need a properly funded system for quarantining infected people. We don’t have that and that raises the risk we could head back into trouble again quite quickly.”

The scientists made their remarks as Britain is poised to partly ease the current lockdown restrictions, the third of its kind since the start of the pandemic in the country, on Monday.

From Monday, non-essential shops will reopen and pubs and restaurants will reopen outdoors at a time when Britain moves to step two of the roadmap out of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Meanwhile, hairdressers and barbers as well as gyms can reopen, along with zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres.

Also read:UK Reports 3K New COVID Cases

Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is “still not out of the woods” amid concerns over new variants and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.

More than 32 million people have been given the first coronavirus vaccine jab, according to the official figures.

UK

The estimated coronavirus reproduction number, also known as the R number, in England is unchanged at between 0.8 and one, according to the latest official data.

It means that, on average, every 10 people who have coronavirus will infect between eight and 10 others.

Government advisory scientists said the situation is too variable in some regions to produce a Britain-wide R rate, but the number is believed to be above one in some parts of the country, which means the outbreak could grow exponentially.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

Also read:Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Dies at 99

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Bollywood Films

Taapsee Pannu spotted with ‘lockdown Sunday gaze’

She shared a black and white picture of her dressed in a formal shirt, pants and a long coat. “My lockdown Sunday gaze”, she captioned the picture…reports Asian Lite News

Maharashtra is in a state of partial lockdown and actress Taapsee Pannu took to Instagram on Sunday morning, to post her lockdown “gaze”.

She shared a black and white picture of her dressed in a formal shirt, pants and a long coat. She completed the look with a loose bun. “My lockdown Sunday gaze”, she captioned the picture.

Meanwhile, the actress has multiple projects lined up. She is currently shooting for her film “Shabaash Mithu”. Taapsee has been keeping her fans updated with pictures from the shoot as well as the preparations. The film is based on the life of Indian women’s ODI cricket team captain Mithali Dorai Raj. It has been written by Priya Aven and directed by Rahul Dholakia.

She is also part of the film “Haseen Dilruba”, directed by Vinil Mathew. She will be seen alongside actor Vikrant Massey in the film.

Her other upcoming films are “Rashmi Rocket” and “Looop Lapeta”.

Also read:Big B gets nostalgic over 46 years of ‘Chupke Chupke’

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-Top News UK News

UK to ease lockdown next week

Boris Johnson(IANS)

The statement came as the Prime Minister was speaking at a virtual Downing Street press conference to give an update on his government’s anti-coronavirus plan…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that from April 12, non-essential shops will reopen and pubs and restaurants will resume outdoor dining as the country moves to step two of the roadmap out of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Meanwhile, hairdressers, barbers as well as gyms can reopen, along with zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres, Xinhua news agency quoted Johnson as saying on Monday.

“The net result of your efforts and of course the vaccine rollout is that I can today confirm that from Monday, April 12, we will move to step two of our road map,” said the Prime Minister.

The statement came as the Prime Minister was speaking at a virtual Downing Street press conference to give an update on his government’s anti-coronavirus plan.

“But we can’t be complacent… We still don’t know how strong the vaccine shield will be,” he said.

UK
Also read:UK confirms 7 blood clot deaths linked to AstraZeneca

Johnson said England has managed to meet the “tests” set by the government sufficiently to go ahead with further easing restrictions on Monday.

The government previously set out four “tests” for easing lockdown: the vaccine program continues successfully; vaccines are effective in reducing hospital admissions and deaths; infection rates do not risk overwhelming the British National Health Service (NHS); the variants of concern do not pose a large risk.

Nearly 31.6 million people have been given the first jab of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the official figures.

The US has reported a total of 4,376,629 confirmed coronavirus cases so far, with 127,106 deaths.

Also read:UK to try out ‘Covid status certification’

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Australia COVID-19

Brisbane to go into lockdown

Under the new lockdown which will come into force at 5 p.m., residents in Greater Brisbane since March 20 must stay at home except for four reasons…reports Asian Lite News

Australia’s third largest city of Brisbane will enter a three-day lockdown on Monday as locally-acquired Covid-19 cases continued to grow with some infections’ origin unknown.

On Monday, the state of Queensland, with Brisbane as its capital city, recorded four local cases and six detected in travellers in hotel quarantine out of 11,626 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, which put the active cases to 73, reports Xinhua news agency.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told a press conference that among the four community transmission, two were linked to previous cases and two were under investigation.

One of the two cases with unknown origin is believed to be a nurse from the Princess Alexandra Hospital where a doctor was tested positive earlier this month.

“What this said to us is the fact that there are now more community transmissions and these people have been out about in the community and that is of concern to Queensland Health and me,” she said.

“What this means for Greater Brisbane is that we will have to go into a three-day lockdown. This is the mutant strain detected in Britain. It is highly infectious.”

Under the new lockdown which will come into force at 5 p.m., residents in Greater Brisbane and anyone who has been in Brisbane, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich or Redlands since March 20 must stay at home except for four reasons including buying essentials, working or studying if they cannot do either from home, exercising in local areas, and healthcare or to providing help, care or support.

Also read:Australian nod for domestic AstraZeneca

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-Top News EU News

Germany set to return to lockdown

Passengers wearing face masks are seen at Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany

Officials confirmed that an “emergency brake” is the need of the hour amid steep hike in Covid-19 cases…reports Asian Lite News

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will join state leaders on Monday to discuss whether a return to a harder lockdown is needed after the country surpassed a key threshold in coronavirus infection numbers.

Despite hopes for more lockdown relaxations in time for the Easter holiday weekend, which falls at the start of April this year, Germany is likely to halt its plans for reopenings after the seven-day incidence of new infections passed the critical benchmark on Sunday, reports dpa news agency.

Officials previously agreed to use an “emergency brake” and renew restrictions if the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants during the course of a week exceeded the threshold of 100 for three consecutive days.

On Sunday, this seven-day incidence figure rose to 103.9.

Government officials and state leaders, speaking online, are also set to debate the possibility of at least allowing citizens to travel to holiday homes in their own state during the Easter holidays.

As of Monday morning, Germany has reported 2,670,001 coronavirus cases and 74,715 deaths.

Also read:Klopp Backs Down for Germany Coaching Job