headlines that matter
Unlock kiya jaye!
The government announced its plans to let us loose—just as our Covid count is soaring through the roof.
- India recorded its highest ever jump in Covid-19 infections, recording 8,237 cases in a single day. Death toll: 5,404—of which over 2,000 were recorded in the past 12 days.
- Our tally of 1,85,061 cases, we have zoomed past Germany and are #8 on the global list of worst-hit nations.
- India added 247 cases per hour during Lockdown 4.0—which was the deadliest. Nearly seven people died every hour.
- But, hey, starting tomorrow, we will move into ‘Unlock 1.0’—when all parts of the country outside containment zones will be thrown open in successive phases.
- Here’s the best list that tells you—in a single glance—what is open and what is not.
- State governments, however, have the freedom to place more restrictions if needed. And Maharashtra plans to do just that. Here’s a state-by-state breakdown for the rest.
- The Telegraph has a detailed report on how malls will reopen with ‘mandatory isolation rooms’.
- Also open: trains. Mint has the full schedule.
- There was no 8 pm address to the nation to mark this happy occasion, but the PM wrote a letter instead—and his ministers penned op-eds. The one by Amit Shah was accompanied by an unintentionally funny headline, and a very odd graphic in Times of India.
So Wuhan was never Ground Zero?!
Experts at the Wuhan Institute of Virology now say that the pandemic did not originate in that infamous seafood market in Wuhan. Instead, the market may have been a super-spreader event—where one infected person gave it to many others. According to scientists, “tissue samples from the market's animals have revealed no trace of the virus. For the virus to jump from animals to humans, the animals have to actually be carrying it.” Wall Street Journal views this “confession” as an attempt by China to duck responsibility.
Adding to the confusion: French scientists now say that the virus may have first entered Europe in November 2019—two months before the first cases were officially confirmed on the continent.
The India-China jhagda that never happened
An undated and unverified image and a video clip of clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers is going viral. But the Army staunchly insists the following:
“The contents of the video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the northern borders is malafide...
Currently no violence is taking place. Differences are being addressed through interaction between military commanders, guided by established protocols on management of borders between the two countries. We strongly condemn attempts to sensationalise issues impacting national security.”
You can watch the clip here, and India Today has the story.
ICMR has a credibility problem
Antibody testing: The decisions of the Indian Council of Medical Research are raising eyebrows. First, the council asked the states to stop conducting ‘rapid tests’—which check for antibodies rather than the virus to determine if you have Covid. The reason: faulty testing kits from China. Now it has changed its mind for unstated reasons.
Community transmission: The ICMR also staunchly insists that there is no community transmission—the stage of the pandemic when the virus is freely circulating within the population. A joint statement issued by leading medical associations called the council out on its bs: “It is unrealistic to expect that Covid-19 pandemic can be eliminated at this stage given that community transmission is already well-established across large sections or sub-populations in the country.”
Spurious HCQ testing: Last but not least, the ICMR has an inordinate affection for the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine—which it claims can protect against Covid-19 even though all medical research shows exactly the opposite. The council’s solution: conduct shady trials with spurious results and declare victory. The Telegraph has that story.
Kylie Jenner is not a billionaire!
Back in March, Forbes magazine made waves when it trumpeted Kylie in its cover story with the headline: “At 21, Kylie Jenner Becomes The Youngest Self-Made Billionaire Ever.” Now, it has changed its mind after an extensive investigation that shows Jenner is a dirty, cheating liar: “Taking all this new information into account and factoring in the pandemic, Forbes has recalculated Kylie’s net worth and concluded that she is not a billionaire. A more realistic accounting of her personal fortune puts it at just under $900 million…” We are 😱 😱 😱 (Forbes)
The mystery of PM Cares
A student filed an RTI asking for details of the Covid-19 relief fund, but the government is refusing to tell. The reason: “The PM CARES Fund is not a public authority under the ambit of section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005.” So what is a public authority? As per Scroll:
“Under the RTI Act, a public authority is an organisation established (a) under or by the Constitution (b) by any other law made by the parliament or (c) by a notification or order issued by the government. The definition also covers organisations financed substantially by the government and non-governmental organisations.”
Guess a fund created by the government, chaired by the PM—and with cabinet ministers as its trustees—doesn’t quite fit the bill 🤷♀️ . But oddly enough, all donations to the fund now count as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spend. Huh!
The stealthy art of media layoffs
HT Media—which publishes Hindustan Times, Mint and Hindustan—has laid off over 100 employees. "Those affected were offered a choice: either resign with the offered terms, or be terminated without them.” This follows the bloodletting at Times of India and The Telegraph. But none have issued a public statement acknowledging the layoffs or offering a reason—unlike every other company in every other industry. Newslaundry asks why.
WeTransfer is now anti-national
The world’s most popular file transferring platform has been banned by the Ministry of Telecommunications in “the interest of national security or public interest.” Translation: no one knows why. (Mumbai Mirror)