All Rise!
OMG, we can’t think of a better way to kick off a Monday than this awesome, awesome ad for the Thank you, founding member Ruchika Chanana, for making our day!
THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A LONG-ISH ROUNDUP First, the numbers: We added and a whopping 2,809 deaths yesterday—and reporting on a weekend typically tends to be low. We added 2.25 million cases in one week—and our official death count surged . As of Saturday, India recorded over five times the average daily cases of the US. We now account for half of all the new Covid cases in the world. A great Covid loss: classical singing legend, . A : numbers in Maharashtra appear to be plateauing. A very good watch: Nirmala Sitharaman’s husband eviscerating the government’s mismanagement of the pandemic (h/t founding member Shalini Dayanidhi): A very good read: spoke to BJP leaders—including two ministers—about the political impact of the current crisis on the party’s political fortunes. The TLDR quote: “People will forget all this once the situation normalises. More importantly, there is no opposition to take advantage of this. Social media is entirely with us. There is no cause for worry.” Point to note: suggests that people are becoming reinfected due to declining antibody levels in their body after 5-6 months. A woeful undercount: In the , a leading epidemiologist calls the misreporting of deaths “a complete massacre of data.” One reason: crematoriums increasingly put ‘beemari’ as the cause on death certificates—due to pressure from authorities and families who feel Covid shame. Another problem, as points out, is people who die before they can get tested, especially in villages. Watch Dr Shahid Jameel as he claims the data is “completely false.” Adding to the horror: It is becoming a nightmare to cremate the dead. Mortuaries and hospitals pressure families to take bodies in the middle of the night—but state crematoriums shut shop at 6/7 pm. () Oxygen shortage: The scarcity crisis continues due to skyrocketing demand. As of now, of those admitted to hospital need some form of oxygen support—which is a 13.4% increase from last year’s peak. Punjab has its iron and steel industries to meet the demand for medical oxygen. Mumbai is facing a severe . In denial: of the enormity of the tragedy, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who—while representing the union government in the Delhi High Court—: “Let's try and not be a cry baby." Also in denial: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath who ,“There is no shortage of oxygen in any COVID hospital, be it private or government.” He asked officials to use the National Security Act to arrest those who spread “rumours” on social media and try to “spoil the atmosphere.” Meanwhile, and report on the desperate situation in UP, where people can’t get medicines, oxygen or a hospital bed. Doctors/hospitals in crisis: remained on the edge of disaster—while others tipped over the edge. Example: Jaipur Golden Hospital where died due to fluctuating oxygen levels. The Delhi High Court has police protection for hospitals to protect their employees from the rage of patients’ families. Meanwhile, doctors in Gujarat are , borrowing and transporting oxygen to save their patients. Also, the director of Moolchand Hospital started to cry as she described the situation (clip ). The head of Batra Hospital simply said, “It’s over” (clip ). BBC News has a must-see from the frontlines at the hospitals—watch to appreciate the level of commitment of our healthcare workers: Point to note: Most states shut down their special Covid centres just before the second wave. has that story. And this 900-bed military medical centre—inaugurated with great fanfare by Amit Shah on Friday—is . World to the rescue: Here are the countries that have rushed assistance: * will immediately make available raw materials needed to make vaccines—whose export was previously restricted. Supplies of “therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment” will immediately be made available. The US will also pursue “options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis.” Point to note: Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla he doesn’t really need the raw materials to make Covishield. * is planning to fly special planes carrying oxygen generators and concentrators as well as Covid medicines. * has provided four cryogenic oxygen tanks, while Saudi Arabia is sending 80 metric tonnes of oxygen. * Meanwhile, a number of have expressed solidarity and promised to help. * is sending 600 medical devices which will include oxygen concentrators and ventilators. the British high commissioner make the announcement in Hindi. PS: The UK by the presence of the Indian variant on its shores—which may reverse the gains of the recent lockdown. About vaccines: Four states—Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Punjab—say they simply to start inoculating everyone above the age of 18, starting May 1. All of them claim that they’ve been told by Serum that fresh supplies will not be rolled out before May 15. And the union government clarified that everyone between the ages of 18 and 44 will have to on the private market—and will not be inoculated as part of the government’s campaign. Point to note: points out that it isn’t easy to ramp up vaccinations in the midst of a raging second wave because it is “the same nurses or technicians deployed to vaccinate people are often the same personnel who need to attend to Covid-19 patients or conduct testing and contract tracing.” Vaccine prices: Everyone—especially the state governments—are outraged at the prices announced for Bharat Biotech’s—which will be even pricier than Covishield. It has been Rs 600 for the state government, and Rs 1200 for private hospitals. The export price: between $15-20. Why this is astonishing: This is a vaccine developed in partnership with the government. So this is our own government price-gouging its citizens. FYI, our private purchase price for Covishield aka the Oxford vaccine is the —$8 compared to say Bangladesh’s $4. See comparison . Social media cleansing: The government has sent 150-plus requests to Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms to take down content that includes “unrelated, old and out of the context images or visuals, communally sensitive posts and misinformation about COVID19 protocols.” All the posts are also highly critical of the government. Twitter has blocked viewing of in India—including those of Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, Member of Parliament Revanth Reddy, ABP News editor Pankaj Jha, filmmaker Avinash Das and former journalist Vinod Kapri. The government has since targeted across platforms. Check out screenshots of the blocked tweets . Good samaritans: . Also: Indian Youth Congress leader . Be a good samaritan: Mutual Aid India has put out a useful database of ongoing fundraisers for good people and groups that are doing brilliant work right now. Please help support these extremely important causes! Check out of the groups and their fundraising goals. And email if you want to help volunteer with them. A HUGE VACCINE BREAKTHROUGH! Here’s great vaccine news. A team of Oxford University scientists have tested a vaccine that offers 77% protection against malaria. Why this matters: There were 229 million cases of malaria across the world in 2019—and they resulted in 409,000 deaths! has more on this bit of very good news. ZOOM IS A LOT HARDER FOR WOMEN A new study shows that far more women (14%) suffer from Zoom fatigue than men (5.5%). And that’s for three reasons. Women are more likely to suffer from ‘mirror anxiety’—where the sight of yourself triggers negative feelings. Women also are more likely to feel “stared at”, and they feel “physically trapped” when they have to stay on camera for hours. () CLIMATE CHANGE IS CHANGING EARTH’S AXIS Contrary to popular knowledge, Earth’s gravity is constantly changing. These changes in turn affect what happens on the poles—and our axis naturally shifts in a phenomenon described as ‘polar drift’. But this movement has picked up due to climate change: > “The poles are now moving at nearly 17 times the rate they were in 1981, a fairly remarkable speed-up. What’s even more > remarkable, though, is that poles actually began moving in a new direction quite suddenly in 2000, at a rapid clip.” In terms of effect, this isn’t quite as worrying as, say, rising sea levels or depleting groundwater. But it is powerful evidence of how humans are reshaping our planet. () THREE VERY COOL (AND FUN) THINGS Big boat, teeny canal: A was maneuvered through the narrow canals of the Netherlands—to get it out to sea. The good news: unlike Ever Given, it did not get stuck. Better news: Photographer captured amazing images of the event. has the story: A brilliant feminist gesture: German gymnast Sarah Voss said no to revealing unitards, and instead competed in a full body suit—in a stand against the sexualisation of women’s bodies in the sport. Voss was later joined by two of her team-mates. She said: > "We women all want to feel good in our skin. In the sport of gymnastics it gets harder and harder as you grow out of your > child's body. As a little girl I didn't see the tight gym outfits as such a big deal. But when puberty began, when my period > came, I began feeling increasingly uncomfortable." has the story. See below: An Earth Day beauty: Buddhist monks at a monastery near Bangkok marked the occasion by —in an attempt to enter the Guinness book of world records. We aren’t sure if they managed to do so, but the sight truly is glorious —though maybe not quite environmentally friendly.
To mark Earth Day, i-D curated a unique collection of photographs that pay tribute to our and how we often lose sight of it. The above two are our favourites. This is a very different take on ‘green’ photography.
A LIST OF GOOD READS * profiles Loretta Harmes, a chef who has not been able to eat for six years because of a genetic illness called the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. * Supriya Roychoudhury in uncovers the astonishing story of Hathi, the Indian elephant in Kabul who lived through the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. * In , six screenwriters speak of the hardest movie ending they’ve ever written. * has an excellent and critical take on the French bulldog—the new ‘It’ dog beloved by celebrities. * Also in : A fun read on how men’s thighs became the new abs. * offers a good read on the exhausting cult of productivity, and getting things done. * has a deep dive into smell therapy and its actual value in restoring a sense of taste and smell to long haul Covid patients. * Melanie McGrath in writes about the consolatory pleasures offered by jigsaw puzzles in a heart-warming piece centred on her relationship with her mother. * Sandip Roy looks at the Bhima ad in , and argues advertisers and advertising cannot be conflated with social change. * has a fascinating piece on the science of motherhood—how foetuses literally reshape the brain and heart of their mothers. * The advice on how much water you need to drink every day keeps changing. breaks it down to tell you exactly what that amount needs to be. * Ecologist Kulbhushan Suryawanshi in has a great piece on how biodiversity in cities is not about large parks and lakes, but preserving small patches of green which serve as a home for an amazing number of species. * Beauty is pain. Beauty can also be poison. takes an entertaining romp through history to identify the most dangerous beauty rituals and products. Arsenic, anyone? * breaks down the 15 most controversial songs by The Rolling Stones—and how Mick Jagger justified them. * has a very entertaining read on cats that have had real jobs! Also: photos!
Why French is the easiest language to learn in the world. Just hitchin’ a ride… The best American football game ever—played by 6th grade students at Detroit Lakes Middle School.
A lively look back at our pehla election of 1951. We’ve come a long way.
Read More
Scientists are trying to alter the evolutionary course of animals—so they can survive it.
Read More
The BJP is expending astonishing amounts of energy on Tamil Nadu this election season—and it’s all about 2029.
Read More
Early-onset cancer has been steadily rising but scientists have no clue why this is happening.
Read More