Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala record alarming spike in covid cases |

A sudden spike in covid cases is occurring in Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab and some other States. 4,618 Mumbai train passengers have been fined for violation of covid restrictions. |
NEW DELHI, Feb 20: There has been a surge in coronavirus infection cases in
several States after a steady fall in the number since mid-September last. The
sudden spike has been noticed in Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu in the past few days. The trend will be confirmed
in the next few days. Pandemic monitors have warned that if the increase is
accelerating then the consequences in terms of public health as well as national
economy is go*ing to be more devastating than last year's as the healthcare
infra cannot be stretched any further and the economy has already touched the
bottom.
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 6,112 new covid cases, the biggest single-day
spike in the last three months. The Government is mulling to slap another lockdown
as the situation threatens to go alarming. Pune, Nasik, Nagpur, Wardha, Yavatmal,
Amravati, Akola and Buldhana districts have registered a rise of 8% over the
week. Mumbai, Amravati and Nagpur have announced partial lockdown.
Akola, Amravati, Yavatmal, Buldana, Wardha and Nagpur are the districts in
Vidarbha region that had a steady rise in coronavirus figures, alongwith Mumbai
and Pune.
While on Wednesday the new cases in the State were 4,787, on Thursday the figure
went up to 5,427 and there were 44 new deaths on Friday against 38 the previous
day. Thursday's figures were the highest in 75 days: Total Deaths: 51,669; Active
Cases: 40,858
According to health officials a sudden drop in temperature last week in some
parts of Maharashtra may have caused the spike in covid cases. The public turning
complacent in the wake of the fall in the cases till last week and dropping
their guard also must have played a role in the sudden spurt of cases in the
State.
In Mumbai, the minicipal corporation, issuing new guidelines, said 300 marshals
will be recruited to enforce the covid restrictions like mask wearing. Buildings
where there are five or more cases will be sealed. Apart from fines, the violators
will face police cases. The wrists of corona infected people in quarantine will
be stamped. There will be institutional quarantine for those arriving in Mumbai.
The cases have gone up in the city with the full resumption of local train
services. 4618 Mumbai train passengerds fined mask.
Mumbai on Friday recorded 823 new cases while it was 736 the previous day,
a 78-day high. On Thursday the total had gone up to 3,16,482 and new deaths
stood at 4, the total deaths going up to 11,430.
Pune recorded 1005 new cases on friday, Nagpur 752 and Amravati 755 cases.
The cases in Thane have gone up. There a doctor and a health worker tested positive
after the first dose of vaccination.
In other developments, NCP leader Eknath Khadse and Maharashtra Minister Bacchu
Kadu on Friday contracted coronavirus infection for a second time.
Maharashtra Water Resources Minister and State NCP chief Jayant Patil on Thursday
said he has tested positive for coronavirus. Earlier this month, State Ministers
Anil Deshmukh, Satej Patil and Rajendra Shingne also had tested positive for
coronavirus.
NCP leader Eknath Khadse, Maharashtra Ministers Bacchu Kadu and Jayant Patil,
State NCP chief, on Friday contracted coronavirus.
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SELECTIONS FROM OUR ARCHIVES |
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Top Govt officer thrashed, kicked inside Bhubaneswar office: Incident sparks a debate
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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.
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Work done, Elon Musk steps down from DOGE, leaves White House | |
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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 )
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Ailing Asiatic lion Pataudi too dies of bird flu at Kanpur zoo
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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.
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48 tourist destinations closed in Kashmir following Pahalgam terror attack
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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 )
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Sunita, Wilmore's Dragon splashes down in Gulf: What delayed their return? |
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All 80k health workers in US offered $25,000 voluntary buyout: Administering wrong prescriptions!
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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.
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