A woman covers her face on a crowded street in Chennai, India, on Tuesday, amid a spike in Covid-19 cases. EPA
A woman covers her face on a crowded street in Chennai, India, on Tuesday, amid a spike in Covid-19 cases. EPA
A woman covers her face on a crowded street in Chennai, India, on Tuesday, amid a spike in Covid-19 cases. EPA
A woman covers her face on a crowded street in Chennai, India, on Tuesday, amid a spike in Covid-19 cases. EPA

India records 10,000 new Covid-19 cases in a day


Taniya Dutta
  • English
  • Arabic

India has reported more than 10,000 new cases of Covid-19 in a day, prompting its Health Ministry to issue safety guidelines.

The 10,158 new infections in the last 24 hours took the total active cases to nearly 45,000, a more than threefold jump in the last week.

India has recorded more than 44 million cases and nearly 531,000 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.

Southern Kerala recorded 1,613 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Western Maharashtra state recorded more than 1,100 new cases — its highest daily surge in the last seven months. Mumbai, India’s financial capital, reported 320 cases.

At least 15 deaths were recorded, according to the Health Ministry.

In a tweet on Thursday, India’s Health Ministry asked citizens to “follow Covid-appropriate behaviour to defeat” the infection. The country lifted all Covid-19 restrictions in March last year.

In northern Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged officials to make dedicated Covid hospitals functional and reactivate the Integrated Covid Control and Command Centre.

The state has nearly 1,800 positive cases.

Vaccine production restarted

Amid the rising number of infections, the Serum Institute of India — the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer — has restarted the manufacture of the Covishield vaccine.

The institute was the first vaccine manufacturer in the country to produce Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield.

It stopped production of the vaccines in December 2021 due to adequate stock, a drop in demand and slow take-up of booster shots.

The institute's chief executive Adar Poonawalla told the Times of India that the company has six million booster doses of the Covovax vaccine available.

India witnessed one of the worst waves of the pandemic in April and May 2021, with millions of people contracting the Delta variant. At least 240,000 people are estimated to have died from Covid-19 during that period.

Medical staff perform a drill at a government hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday amid rising Covid-19 cases. EPA
Medical staff perform a drill at a government hospital in Kolkata on Tuesday amid rising Covid-19 cases. EPA

Hospitals across the country ran out of space and lacked the staff, medication and equipment to deal with the number of cases. Desperate families searched for oxygen cylinders as hospitals grappled with a shortage of supplies.

Amid fears of a potential fourth wave, the Health Ministry has conducted a nationwide drill to step up emergency plans, and asked private and government-run hospitals to check the availability of oxygen beds, ventilators, PPE kits and other critical care equipment and services.

The biog

Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology

Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels

Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs

Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

Draw:

Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi

Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania

Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia

Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola

Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

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Score

New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs 

New Zealand win by 47 runs

New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0

Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday

The biog

Marital status: Separated with two young daughters

Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo

Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian

Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness

Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon

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Disability on screen

Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues

24: Legacy — PTSD;

Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound

Taken and This Is Us — cancer

Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)

Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg

Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety

Switched at Birth — deafness

One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy

Dragons — double amputee

All or Nothing

Amazon Prime

Four stars

The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

TEAMS

US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*

International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day 
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*

denotes captain's picks

 

 

Our House, Louise Candlish,
Simon & Schuster

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Pushkin Press

10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
  • Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
  • Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.

Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

Updated: April 13, 2023, 7:27 AM