Heena Sharma Blog

  The global count of coronavirus cases has crossed 38.75 million, of which over 8.4 million are currently active. The global death toll is now over 1 million, with the US having the greatest number of deaths. In India, the confirmed case count has crossed 7.3 million, of which less than 12 per cent or 812,390 cases are currently active. Recovery rate is over 87 per cent, with over 6.38 million people having beaten the infection. The death toll has crossed 100,000. 1.India recorded a drop of over 128,000 active cases in the last 15 days India’s current active case count stands at 812,390, recording a drop of over 128,000 active cases in the last 15 days. The country has been recording more recoveries than adding new cases for 12 days in a row. Read More

  Amid concerns over lack of hygiene and social distancing in public transport, more Indians have now begun to prefer used cars and bikes. Shared cabs have also lost popularity. Buying new vehicles seems off the table for now because of rising financial insecurity. Sellers for used cars and marketplaces for used goods like Olx and Quikr have seen a hike in the demand for second-hand vehicles. Maruti Suzuki True Value Chain, which deals in used cars, has seen enquiry levels shoot up by 24 per cent in August and September as compared to the year-ago period. Other companies, like Mahindra First Choice, are also seeing a similar trend. Executives say that cheap options that also provide an alternative to public transport are set to be popular amid the pandemic. Read More

  After the government imposed the world’s harshest lockdown at short notice, migrant workers from around the country were forced to make a journey back home. It was only a matter of time before the pandemic would take off in the rural stretches of the country. On Juy 26, cases from rural India first topped the ones from urban areas. Since May, the government has not released district-wise data. However, an analysis of records throws up concerning statistics. In August alone, rural districts reported almost 1.1 million Covid-19 cases ; this was 56 per cent of all new cases recorded. For the first 27 days of September, 53 per cent of the nation’s Covid tally came from rural areas. By 27 Sept 49.7 per cent of the all cases came from these regions. UP saw a big jump in rural cases — from 40 per cent in April to 65 per cent in September. In MP, the numbers went from 20 per cent in April to 65 per cent in September. The pandemic has also killed more people in rural districts than in urb...

  Cineworld, the world’s second biggest cinema operator, is preparing to close all its screens in the US and UK after further delays to the new James Bond film pushed its struggling business to the brink. The indefinite closure of 90 per cent of Cineworld’s screens, which is expected as soon as this week, raises fundamental questions over the viability of the company and a cinema sector devastated by the Corona Virus pandemic . The closures include Cineworld’s 543 Regal theatres in the US and 128 cinemas in the UK, How remdesivir moved from back shelf to best which were banking on November’s release of the latest James Bond to boost ticket sales. Read More

  China honours citizen volunteers who helped during Covid-19 : In a pomp-filled ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi personally conferred medals on citizens deemed to have played instrumental roles in China’s fight against the virus identified in December in Wuhan. While other nations from India to the US grapple with ever-expanding outbreaks, China hasn’t reported a domestic infection in 22 days and Xi has increasingly turned his attention to bolstering the battered economy. Let’s look at the global statistics: Total Confirmed Cases: 27,339,132 Change Over Yesterday: 224,561 Total Deaths: 892,648 Total Recovered: 18,337,243 Nations hit with most cases: US (6,300,671), India (4,280,422), Brazil (4,147,794), Russia (1,027,334) and Peru (689,977). Read More

The total number of coronavirus cases across the world has now crossed the 8-million mark. Acharya Balkrishna, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Patanjali has claimed that an Ayurvedic medicine developed by the company has been able to cure Covid-19 patients within 5-14 days. Meanwhile, major pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead Sciences, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna are rushing to find a successful vaccine and some of them have succeeded in many ways. 1. Patanjali's Ayurvedic coronavirus treatment "We are not talking about an immunity booster. We are talking about a cure," said Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali. According to the firm, an Ayurvedic medicine developed by the company has been able to cure Covid-19 patients within 5-14 days. The clinical trials were conducted in Indore and in Jaipur after Patanjali secured permission last week. Read More

The global count of confirmed coronavirus cases is now at 6.6 million, deaths at 388,573, and recoveries over 3 million. Brazil and Russia now have half as many confirmed cases as in the United States. In a positive trend, June 3 saw daily new recoveries surpassing daily new cases by a wide margin, in a first in this pandemic. At over 200,000, India has the seventh-highest number of confirmed cases of coronavirus. When it comes to active cases, the country has the fourth-highest count globally. So far, 104,106 patients have been cured of the infection, and 6,075 have succumbed to the infection. India saw more than 9,000 new cases in a single day on June 4. Read More

To ensure affordable air ticket fares for passengers and at the same time maintain financial viability for airlines in the times of the coronavirus pandemic , the government has capped air fares for three months. This is the first time since fares were deregulated in 1994 that a government has decided to interfere with pricing of air tickets. While announcing the resumption of air transport from March 25, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there would be fare caps and floor prices based on flight duration. How are the flight fares going to be fixed? The flight routes have been divided into seven bands based on the flight duration. The first band, which would have its specific lower and upper limits of air fare, will consist of flights that are of less than 40 minutes. Second, third, fourth and fifth bands of upper limits would be of flights with durations of 40-60 minutes, 60-90 minutes, 90-120 minutes and 120-150 minutes, respectively. Read More

In a major relief for flyers, India is set to resume domestic flights from May 25 onwards, after almost three months. However, the civil aviation ministry has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs), which will make travel experience very different passengers. From fare hike and slower processes at airports, to the use of authorised taxis, here is what is going to change for passengers as they fly in the time of coronavirus. Departure guidelines for passengers 1. Aarogya Setu app will be mandatory for all passengers (children below 14 years of age are exempt from this) 2. Passengers not showing 'Green' on Aarogya Setu won't be allowed to enter 3. Newspapers and magazines will not be provided in the terminal building/lounges. Read More

With Covid-19 cases continuing to soar in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has issued new guidelines to increase testing and sampling at the district level. The MoHFW has issued new guidelines to increase testing and sampling at the district level. The new sampling procedure will act as a method of trend-checking and will be used to test healthcare workers, non-respiratory disease patients and pregnant women. "There is a need to establish systematic surveillance for Covid-19 infections in all districts of the country. This surveillance will be in addition to the routine testing under the current testing guidelines," the MoHFW note read. Read More