Countries which best handled covid

(Image: AP) India saw a single day rise of 93 coronavirus infections, while the active cases have declined to 1,842, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday. The total tally of Covid cases is 4.46 crore (4,46,82,530) and the death toll stands at 5,30,739, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity has been recorded at 0.07 per cent while the weekly positivity is 0.08 per cent, it stated. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry's website. There has been a decrease of 54 cases in the active Covid caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data stated. Read More COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also … [Read more...] about Coronavirus Update | Active Covid cases in country decline to 1,842

(Image: Congress) Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday hit out at the Congress over its Bharat Jodo Yatra, accusing the party of abdicating its responsibility by flouting Covid protocols when the pandemic was rearing its head once again. Thakur also sought to know whether Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, had undergone his Covid test as Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who had walked alongside him last week, was infected with coronavirus. ''Covid cases are rising in China and Japan. There are long queues outside hospitals, dead bodies are piling up. But you are not bothered about the interests of the country. You are bothered about only one family. Congress has displayed this attitude time and again,'' the senior BJP leader said. He also claimed that members of the ''tukde-tukde'' gang were walking alongside Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered Delhi on Saturday. ''If any one is walking with the Yatra, they are the … [Read more...] about Congress flouting Covid protocols: Union Minister Anurag Thakur as Bharat Jodo Yatra reaches Delhi

Najing East Road shopping area in Shanghai on Jan. 24. Tourist spots were swamped, movie theaters were packed and fireworks displays lit up the night sky as China celebrated the Lunar New Year with an abandon that marked the end of its three-year Covid Zero experiment. The sudden dismantling of China’s Covid restrictions in December allowed everyone to travel and freely mingle for the country’s most important festival for the first time since 2019. More than 300 million trips were made during the holiday, nearly 90% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The upbeat mood is good news for the Chinese economy and President Xi Jinping after widespread public anger over the zero tolerance policy erupted late last year, which raised uncomfortable questions and created the potential for backlash. While the revelry is a relief after recurring lockdowns, it also carries the risk of reigniting the omicron wave that scorched the country in recent … [Read more...] about China celebrated Lunar New Year like Covid no longer exists

PHOTO: Straits Times With the nation rattled by news of 2 new Covid-19 infections among “VIPs” who were exempted from testing when they arrived in the country – one an Egyptian soldier, the other the 9 year old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat – PM Prayut Chan-o-cha asked reporters today to make their reports on the new cases “less scary”. He said the latest case, in Rayong province, is the government’s fault and anybody affected by it will be provided with help. When the PM was asked “what scares people into not leaving home”, his reply was “the press”. “You should ease off on spreading news about recent cases. Tell people to shop as usual as the situation is not severe.” “What’s more, Thailand has suffered through the Covid-19 crisis and effectively brought it to an end.” “We can deal with these new cases as well. We don’t know if there will be more new infections or whether they’ll come from local people.” Related news Public defibrillator … [Read more...] about PM asks reporters to “ease off” on new Covid-19 stories

Supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro storm Brazilian government buildings. (Image: AFP/File) Adages don’t come more prosaic than “football is a game of two halves”. But there is profoundness in the anodyne. Just ask Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, our two stalwarts at the FIFA World Cup final in 2022 in Lusail, Qatar. Argentina and France squared off, each with the divine right to add a third star to their sacred crest. La Albiceleste and Messi on the scoresheet in the first half, a rampant 2-0 and all set to take the Jules Rimet trophy to the Americas. And then, Kylian Mbappe, widely touted to be the greatest since Pele, having already won the last World Cup in his teens, had something to say. Another two goals were scored in this half, except by Les Bleu, and 2-2 it was. Extra Time followed the same script, a goal on each side, 3-3, and then penalties. For a while, it looked like Kylian Mbappe, would have two World Cup titles at the age of 23, a feat achieved by the … [Read more...] about December 2022: In South America, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times

China doctors battle covid surge (Image: AFP) A furious, wide-ranging argument is unfolding on the internet in China over the reversal of the government’s strict pandemic policies and the massive COVID surge that followed. The divisions are challenging the Communist Party’s efforts to control the narrative around its pandemic pivot. Since the party abandoned “zero-COVID” last month, many online commenters have staked out opposing positions over seemingly all manner of questions. Who should be blamed for the explosion of cases and deaths? Is a top government-appointed health expert trustworthy? Is omicron really less severe, as Chinese officials now say, when hospitals seem to be filling up with sick patients? They are even arguing over whether people should be allowed to set off fireworks during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, after many did so during the New Year. The digital finger-pointing reveals a country that is deeply polarized, with each side distrustful and … [Read more...] about As China reopens, online finger-pointing shows a widening gulf

In 2021, privacy consultants working for two Dutch universities issued a critical report card on Google’s education apps, a set of classroom tools like Google Docs that are used by more than 170 million students and educators worldwide. The audit warned that Google’s tools for schools lacked a number of privacy protections — like narrow limits on how the company could use students’ and teachers’ personal data — that were required by European law. Although the company addressed some of the concerns, the report said, Google declined to comply with Dutch requests to reduce a number of “high risks” cited in the audit. It took a threat from the Dutch Data Protection Authority, the nation’s privacy regulator, to help break the deadlock: Dutch schools would soon have to stop using Google’s education tools, the government agency said, if the products continued to pose those risks. Two years later, Google has developed new privacy measures and transparency tools to address the Dutch … [Read more...] about How the Netherlands is taming Big Tech

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This week’s Current Climate , which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week. O ne of the most well-known impacts of climate change is rising sea levels, and already coastal areas have started making plans to handle the flooding that will come with rising ocean waters. But new research published this week finds that those plans might need to accelerate, as the scientists behind it found that the flooding impacts of increased sea levels are likely to happen faster than previously thought. Not because of any change in carbon emissions, but because of better technologies. In decades past, researchers used radar to determine coastal elevations, which were then plugged into flooding models. But the problem, these researchers found, is that radar can’t always tell the difference between plants and the ground. Advances in lidar, … [Read more...] about Current Climate: Sea Level Rise Will Lead To Faster-Than-Expected Flooding On The Coasts

PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times An estimated 10,000 foreign tourists are stranded on three islands in the Gulf of Thailand, more than half of them, around 5,700 on Koh Samui, after passenger flights were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Surat Thani province’s tourism and sports chief Tikamporn Sutti-udomrat, said yesterday that apart from the 5,700 visitors on Koh Samui, there are another 3,300 foreign tourists on Koh Phangan and about 1,000 on Koh Tao. “They have accommodation, travel and growing expense problems. I have sought help from the Tourism and Sports Ministry.” There is currently a visa amnesty running for foreigners on Tourist Visas running up to July 30. Tikamporn asked local officials and hoteliers to allow the foreigners stay until they are able to leave Surat Thani. His office arranged for accommodation for the foreigners who had urgent problems but they must pass health screenings. Related news The ‘bastards’ fight back – … [Read more...] about Thousands of tourists stranded on a trio of Gulf islands

PHOTO: Bao Menglong on Unsplash The former director general of the World Trade Organisation has issued a caution against Thailand throwing open its borders too early. Supachai Panitchpakdi says Covid-19 is still very much a threat, pointing to other countries that appear trapped in a cycle of easing restrictions, followed by renewed lockdowns. His comments come as England emerges from a national lockdown, only for many areas to find themselves subject to even tougher measures, at least until Christmas. According to a Nation Thailand report, Supachai says the cycle of lockdown/open up/lockdown that’s being seen in many Western countries is not just damaging their economies, it’s also leading to more infections and deaths. He warns that re-opening Thailand’s borders too quickly could have long-term negative impacts for the Kingdom. “Thailand should gradually open the country, because human resources are the most important factor. It takes about 20 to 30 years for human … [Read more...] about Former WTO director cautions against re-opening Thailand too quickly