The great Indian pandemic: lockdowns return

Our numbers continue to hit record daily highs. Number of cases: 878,254. Number of deaths: 23,174. Number of recoveries: 553,470.

• Karnataka will go into a week-long lockdown. The state marked its highest single-day spike of 2,798 cases in 24 hours over the weekend. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh is putting in a weekend lockdown in place. Sunday lockdowns return to Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Large parts of Srinagar are shutting down as well. 
• Covid patients in Kolkata have to pay cash deposits—ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 7 lakh—in order to be admitted to several of the city’s hospitals. And they are turned away if they can’t pay. The reason: Since private hospital bills can be staggeringly high, the hospitals are worried their patients will not be able to make full payment.
• Cities are witnessing another kind of exodus: thousands of WFH employees are moving back to their hometowns to save on rent—so much so that rental storage facilities in Bangalore are running out of space.

• Even though our Covid numbers are rising, the government-approved tracing app Aarogya Setu is losing popularity. While it has 130 million downloads, there are only 15.3 million active users on Android. Likely reason: the app’s many performance issues. Example: the app running on different phones at the same location gives different results.
• Want to go to Maldives? The ritzy holiday destination of choice is in talks to create a special ‘air bubble’ with India after July 15. Also: visas to the Maldives will be free and there will be no compulsory quarantine. Only the symptomatic will be tested on arrival—and have the option of quarantining themselves at their resort. Sounds like a coronavirus dream come true. 

Covid spreads to Bollywood

• The entire Big B family—barring wife Jaya Bachchan—have tested positive. Amitabh and Abhishek are in hospital, Aishwarya and her eight-year-old daughter are self-quarantining at home.
• Anupam Kher’s mother and brother have also been infected—but he tested negative. Watch his message here.
• Rekha's bungalow has been sealed after her security guards tested positive. 
• False Covid alert: Soon after Big B’s announcement, Twitter was awash with allegations that the culprit was a superspreader event—in this case, Neetu Kapoor’s birthday party, whose guests included Bachhan’s grandson Agastya Nanda. It was quickly and vehemently denied.
• Meanwhile, staying super safe: Hrithik Roshan.

New research on airborne transmission

Until now, scientists assumed that airborne transmission only occured when people spoke, sang or shouted out loud. But a new study shows that an infected person could exhale millions of virus particles per hour just by breathing. Also this: “We found that the SARS-CoV-2 breath emission rate into the air was the highest, up to 1,00,000 viruses per minute, during the earlier stages of Covid-19.”

Point to note: This study has not been peer reviewed. Also: the same study found that the rate of transmission via surfaces—handles, door handles etc—is fairly low. If it is proven accurate, it means that we need to focus more on better ventilation and face masks as forms of protection. The Hindu has more details.

In related news: Dr Randeep Guleria—who heads the national Covid research group—says they have found long-term damage to the lungs and brain in patients. The good news: there is evidence of immunity though not in the form of antibodies:

“…Data is emerging, we are also learning about the body’s immune response; we have realised that cell-mediated immunity is also activated and giving protection through the T-cells in the blood. We may be protected to some extent, more than what we are thinking right now. The big question is how long does the protection last. That is difficult to predict.”

The conversion of Hagia Sophia

The 1,500 year old Hagia Sophia was once a cathedral, which was converted into a mosque in 1453 under the Ottoman Empire. In 1934, Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk turned it into a museum. Now President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is turning it back into a mosque. And everyone across the world is very upset—though it’s unlikely to move Erdogan who is using the religion card to shore up his support. Author Orhan Pamuk says: "There are millions of secular Turks like me who are crying against this but their voices are not heard… To convert it back to a mosque is to say to the rest of the world unfortunately we are not secular anymore.” (BBC News)

Trouble on the borders

China: Army sources say that Beijing is showing no signs of stepping back at Lake Pangong—where it has moved 8 km inside Indian-controlled territory: “They continue to remain at the Finger 4 ridgeline and control the heights where they have deployed both men and machines. They have fortified bunkers on the shore of the lake and built several posts and observation towers.” Also: according to Business Standard, the newly created buffer zone “will lie entirely in Indian territory and the LAC would effectively shift by 1-3 km into India.” 

The upside: A Harvard study suggests that—despite popular perception of China’s military might—Indian troops hold the advantage in high-altitude mountainous territory. CNN has more.

Bangladesh: A highly unusual meeting between the Pakistani High Commissioner and the Bangladesh foreign minister has tongues wagging in Dhaka. Many say it marks a significant thaw in relations between traditional foes. Guess who’s playing matchmaker:

“Over the past few months, Delhi has been watching Dhaka and Beijing warm up to each other. China has allowed duty-free market access to Bangladeshi products, promised funds for infrastructure projects and stepped up medical supplies to Dhaka to fight the Covid-19 outbreak. ‘And now, Pakistan is trying to be diplomatically more active in Bangladesh…. Things seem to be changing very fast in Dhaka,’ said a source in Delhi.”

Nepal: The country has banned all Indian TV channels except Doordarshan—and sent a diplomatic note objecting to our media airing “fake, baseless and insensitive as well as abusive to Nepal and Nepali leadership." Not to defend Indian TV channels, but the Nepali media has not exactly covered itself in glory. For example: highly sexist articles alleging that the attractive Chinese ambassador in Kathmandu is controlling Nepal PM Oli—and is responsible for Nepal’s recent move to claim territory on the India border.

The death of Vikas Dubey: The follow up

• Eyewitnesses say that the police set up barricades to stop traffic on the highway where the gangster was killed—and just 15-20 minutes before he was shot. Also: his clothes were absolutely clean even though he was shot while running on muddy ground. 
• The Hindu pieces together the best-known facts about the first attempted arrest—which ended in the death of eight policemen. Also read: this Indian Express profile on the life and times of the gangster known as ‘Panditji’. 

The punishment for comedy in India

A year ago, standup comedian Agrima Joshua made a couple of jokes about the planned Shivaji statue in Mumbai. Over the past three days, she has suddenly received open and graphic rape threats for her alleged sin. The worst of the lot: Shubham Mishra who threatened her with gangrape on Instagram (watch it here). He has since been charged by the Gujarat police with criminal intimidation and obscenity and other crimes. And the Maharashtra Home Minister has also promised an investigation.