The face-covering can be a piece of cloth or even a towel or
handkerchief, but fold it into two-three layers so that most of
the minute particles that carry the corona pathogens are kept
out. We learnt it very late! Or we were misguided? We paid the price with one lakh lives! Let us now on wear at least a homemade face-covering and make sure
you don't touch your face or mask with your hand and avoid close contact, till you
are back home and wash your hands well with soap and water
for 20 seconds. You are safe. Read how it works.
NEW DELHI, Apr 9: Wearing face mask has now been made compulsory when
you go out of your house in several States in India. Earlier, last month, when
masks were in short supply at the shops the world over and there was hoarding,
the public was told mask will not help the commonman in preventing coronavirus
infection and leave them for use by medical staff! (What they actually meant
was a shortage of N95 mask). Those who propounded this included heads of government, international organisations and top medical advisers.
And here comes the volte-face. With the discovery that a mask can also be
just a covering, medicated or not medicated, a piece of cloth or even a towel.
The realisation that it can be cut out at home. Therefore now it is made compulsory
by the very same people! Shamelessly modifying their own statements.
Homemade masks for personal protection against coronavirus infection can simply
be a functional piece of clean, pre-owned cloth sewed and styled to cover your
nose and mouth. It could even be a towel or a handkerchief, but in multiple
layers so that even minute particles carrying the germs (covid is not an airborne
disease) are effectively sifted out. It can be simply washed with soap and water
or in the washing machine and used next day.
It should be clearly understood that this mysterious coronavirus pathogen's
target is your lungs and there it reaches through your nostrils/mouth-throat
route, travelling on droplets of an infected person's cough or sneeze or by
you touching your face after coming into contact with a surface infected with
the droplets directly or indirectly, like water tap, lift switch, door knob, POS, ATM keys etc. And that it is not an airborne disease. Even so the whole world is shut
down. Had it been airborne, coupled with its capability of asymptomatic transmission,
the devastation would have been unimaginable.
So far there is no evidence it infects through blood or any other means. Look,
there have been reports of infected women delivering of healthy babies!
Although coronavirus is new and little was known about its epidemiological
markers in the beginning when it swept through Wuhan killing thousands and crippling
a flourishing Chinese economy in no time, the Chinese scientists soon after
identified its deadly capability of asymptomatic transmission.
That is, a carrier can remain healthy but infect others during the 14-day incubation
period of the virus. So we never know who is a host. And not necessary that
the carrier should fall sick after or during the incubation period. His immune
system could be so strong that he does not fall sick but he passes it on to
you by close contact. Just one gentleman who got it from the supermarket or
a flight can unwittingly pass it on to any number of people. Look! Even the
British Prime Minister is in the ICU!
The spreader can be your healthy-looking friend, colleague, a co-traveller
or a serviceman like electrician coming home, or even yourself!.
The symptoms are of flu like sore throat, cough, fever but thereafter more
serious breathing problem will develop necessitating hospitalisation, in some
people. Casualty has been around 1 to 5 % of hospital admissions. So, take care,
you don't catch it!
How to use the mask/face-covering
The CDC recommends wearing cloth face-coverings in public settings where other
social distancing measures are difficult to maintain like grocery stores and
pharmacies.
A face mask refers to a more specific shape that usually involves material
that's more fitted to the nose, mouth and skull, as through the use of ear straps,
it says.
Do's & Don'ts:
Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap
and water
Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your
face and the mask
Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with
alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water
Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use
single-use masks.
Place the mask carefully, ensuring it covers the mouth and nose, and tie
it securely to minimize any gaps between the face and the mask.
Avoid touching the mask while wearing it.
Remove the mask using the appropriate technique: do not touch the front
of the mask but untie it from behind.
After removal or whenever a used mask is inadvertently touched, clean hands
using an alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
Replace masks as soon as they become damp with a new clean, dry mask.
Do not re-use single-use masks.
Discard single-use masks after each use and dispose of them immediately
upon removal.
The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.
A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924)
(Today's headlines )
Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...
Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.
Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.
ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See:
New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)
) 
