DH Evening Brief: May 12, 2021

Here are the top headlines this evening.

ICMR chief bats for a 6-8 week lockdown to rein in Covid-19

The head of the main Indian health agency responding to the coronavirus has said districts reporting a high number of infections should remain locked down for another six to eight weeks to control the spread of the rampaging disease. Dr. Balram Bhargava, head of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said in an interview that lockdown restrictions should remain in place in all districts where the rate of infection is above 10% of those tested. Read more

India’s new Covid-19 cases have peaked, Cambridge tracker shows

The number of new coronavirus infections in India has peaked, according to a new tracker developed by researchers at Cambridge Judge Business School and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. “But there is substantial variation among states and union territories in their trajectories, with cases continuing to increase over the next two weeks in areas such as Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Tripura,” the researchers wrote. Read more

Could have saved many lives with door-to-door vaccination: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said if the Union government had started door-to-door vaccination programme for senior citizens a few months back, then lives of many of them, including prominent persons, could have been saved. Read more

Covid-19 crisis: Growing clamour to stop calling B.1.167 variant the 'Indian variant'

There is a growing chorus to refrain from referring to the so-called “double mutant” strain of Covid-19, officially known as the B.1.167 variant, as the “Indian variant”, highlighting the potential of social stigmatisation as a result of the usage. Read more

Coronavirus vaccine supply could take months: Karnataka Chief Secretary

"Not days, but it could take months". This was Karnataka Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar’s candid answer on when Karnataka will receive the three crore Covid-19 vaccine doses for which it has placed orders. “We’re also waiting. I can’t say in how many days (we will receive the doses). It can take months also,” Kumar told reporters. Read more

Fears of 'full-scale war' as Israel-Palestinian violence kills 50

Relentless rocket fire and rioting in mixed Jewish-Arab towns fuelled growing fears Wednesday that violence between Israel and Palestinians that has claimed 50 lives could spiral into "full-scale war". Palestinian militants have launched more than 1,000 rockets since Monday, said Israel's army, which has launched hundreds of air strikes on Hamas and other Islamist groups in the crowded costal enclave of Gaza. Read more

Rich Indians can no longer escape to Maldives

Rich Indians can no longer escape their country's raging pandemic by holidaying in the Maldives, after the island paradise said Wednesday it would ban travel from South Asia as it battles a surge in Covid-19 infections. The Indian Ocean holiday destination reopened its tourist resorts in July last year after halting international flights for more than three months at the start of the pandemic. Read more

Retail inflation eases to 4.29% in April from 5.52% in March

Retailinflationslowed to 4.29 per cent in April from 5.52 per cent in March, mainly due to easing food prices, government data showed on Wednesday. Read more