Tag: COVID

Contacless entry to terminal, glass shields at check-in stations: Hyderabad Airport’s post-COVID lockdown plan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has put in place a post-COVID lockdown exit plan to ensure effective social distancing for when flight operations resume and flyers start coming in.

The operative word in RGIA’s new post-lockdown manual, much like Delhi and Mumbai International airports, is contactless – ensuring arrivals, departures and common passenger areas including retail and F&B outlets optimise processes to minimise contact between staff and passengers, and also between co-flyers.

To begin with, the airport has put in place contactless terminal entry systems, in which passengers’ tickets and IDs can be screened without contact with security personnel. Thermal cameras and social distancing markers will also be installed at terminal entry gates.

Once inside the check-in hall, passengers are encouraged to use web-check in, or use contactless self-service units to check-in. The CUSS (Common Use Self Service) stations at the airport have also been relocated to ensure social distance.

Check-in counters have also been installed with acrylic glass shields to create a separation between the airport personnel and passengers. The entire check-in hall has been equipped with ‘sanitisation stations’.

Security checks will now look different too. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel involved in screening passengers will be dressed in HAZMAT suits, that is, a hazardous materials suit made of impermeable materials for their safety. Crowding of passengers in the security holding area will also be prevented.

At the boarding gates, the number of people boarding feeder buses will be restricted and seats in the buses which are not to be used clearly marked.

For passengers landing at the airport, contactless thermal screening will be done, and dedicated areas are created for them to fill up self-declaration forms.

RGIA will frequently disinfect baggage conveyor belts, and has designated baggage belts separately for passengers coming in from countries with active transmission of COVID-19.

GMR-operated Hyderabad Airport has also introduced new tech facilities to eliminate physical contact between surfaces and with persons. Think foot pedals to service elevators without needing to press buttons, dedicated apps to order food from outlets, payments via digital wallets, and a QR- code linked web browser based interface for CUSS control via a smartphone, where the smartphone acts as a  mouse to control the CUSS.

GMR will also deploy disinfection tunnels to enable an automatic sanitisation mechanism for equipment such as trolleys, tubs and trays.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

In Maharashtra, 60,000 booked, 13,381 arrested for lockdown violations

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Police have registered more than 60,000 cases in Maharashtra for various violations during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown in the last 31 days and arrested 13,381 people, an official said on Tuesday.

While 121 cases were registered for assault on police, a total of 411 people were arrested for this particular crime.

Other offences included illegal transport and violation of coronavirus quarantine measures, he said.

Police have collected the total fine of Rs 2.30 crore during the last 31 days. Police have invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 188 (Disobedience to the order duly promulgated by a public servant), the official said.

“Police have registered a total of 60,005 offences during the lockdown period (from March 22 to April 21), and arrested 13,381 people,” the official said.

Meanwhile, at least 49 police personnel, including 11 officers, across the state have been found to have contracted the coronavirus infection, he said.

While some of them are placed under quarantine, others are undergoing treatment, the official added.

Meanwhile, giving break-up of the cases, the official said while 589 people were booked for violating the quarantine measures, 1062 cases were registered for illegal transport, he said.

Police have seized 41,769 vehicles for plying on road during the lockdown period.

At least 74,115 phone calls were handled by the police regarding COVID-19 situation across the state, he said.

While a Janata curfew was observed on March 22 in the country, the Maharashtra government had extended it till March 23 morning and subsequently clamped section 144 across the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 night announced a three-week-long nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus. The period of restrictions was later extended till May 3.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

As COVID lockdown period ends on April 14; here’s how states prepare to deal with the virus

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

As India continues to report a rise in new Covid cases despite a nationwide lockdown, some states and cities have stepped up enforcement of the curfew.

Uttar Pradesh has cordoned off hotspots in 15 districts including in Agra and Lucknow. In Mumbai, anyone without masks in public places will attract punishment.

CNBC-TV18’s Archana Shukla is here with a roundup of all the actions that states are taking to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Mumbai, in particular, has made wearing mask in public compulsory. The municipal corporation has come up with a directive that anyone found on the streets, offices, travelling in vehicles or even in public gatherings, official meetings without a mask would be penalised.

Chandigarh has become the first Union Territory to make wearing mask compulsory in public places. The violators would be fined. However, what would be the quantum of the fine they have not yet decided. They have deferred payments on water, electricity and house rent during this lockdown period.

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of the country, has seen high numbers of Covid-19 cases and increasing by the day. The state has announced 15 districts, where cases are more than 10, will be sealed and a complete lockdown would enforced.

(Watch this video for more details)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

After WhatsApp rescue act, SC sends out SOS to government; says video conferencing is here to stay

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

“Technology is here to stay,” observed the Chief Justice of India as the Supreme Court conducted a hearing on a videoconference with the Attorney General and Solicitor General, among others, on teething issues with the COVID-19 inspired, newly launched video-conferencing facility of online hearings.

The Supreme Court on Monday took suo-moto cognizance of the issue after glitches in MTNL’s  Multi-Protocol Switching System lead to SC’s video-conferencing facility going offline on April 3. What followed was an unconventional move. On April 3, judges and lawyers from the highest court of the land had conducted hearings on a WhatsApp video call!

In today’s hearing, CJI Justice Bobde observed that in these times of lockdown, technology had facilitated connectivity and accessibility. He went on to note that courts have been proactive in embracing technology in these times and that tools such as video-conferencing cannot be a temporary feature of the lockdown.

Similar sentiments were shared by the Attorney General KK Venugopal, who had also joined the suo-moto hearing through videoconference. He submitted before the bench, “We should not stop video conferencing once COVID threat passes. We need to continue even after lockdown. National Informatics Centre (NIC) should be able to tell which is the most optimum software to use.”

The SC also noted, “Department of Justice and Director General of NIC to take note of the serious problems with the sitting of the court on Friday (April 3).” Though no formal directions were passed, the SC did urge, “Glitches must be eliminated otherwise court work cannot succeed. We request DG NIC to take note and do all that is necessary to ensure connectivity.”

Meanwhile, the NIC, which was also a part of the hearing submitted, “Three things needed for videoconferencing– good broadband connection, good devices, conduct of people — if one person is speaking others must put a device on mute.” The NIC undertook to formulate guidelines and to share them with courts and lawyers on how to conduct the video conference calls.

The apex court will now consider this case after the lifting of the lockdown.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Early lockdown, social distancing helped India report less COVID-19 cases per million population, says Dr. D Nageshwar Reddy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

It’s the seventh day of the 21-day nation-wide lockdown, and the number of coronavirus cases in India have risen to over 1,250. Total active cases stand at above 1,100 and the number of recoveries have gone up by just two, to 101 over the last 24 hours.

Amongst the states, Kerala and Maharashtra continue to report the highest number of confirmed cases. The combined tally for these two states now stand above 400.

As the number of cases rise in India, Hyderabad-based gastro-enterologists and Chairman of Asian Institute of Gastroenterology Doctor D Nageshwar Reddy said eleven different mutations of the virus have been identified in the studies conducted in India thus far. However, the two-time Padma Award winner adds that it is difficult — and too early — to determine whether these mutations are leading to differences in mortality and immunity rates.

Now there is an MIT study which points to the possibility that the virus’ spread is slower, and mortality rate lower in regions with hot climates. We must add here that this paper has not yet been subjected to a peer review, and has been written by researchers who do not have a medical degree.

Doctor Reddy said it is too early to jump to this conclusion and that the medical community still needs to study various other factors before a definitive verdict can be pronounced.

He said, “I am actually more of an optimistic, and I see this in a different way. If we actually look at per million population cases, it is about 562 for US, 1,000 for Italy, for India it is 0.09 per million, so we are in the lower part of the scale if we look at per million population rates. I am optimistic that by next week we will have a definite indication of how the things are going.”

“If you look at what is happening in the western world versus what is happening in India, the death rate is approximately between 3-4 percent. One of the criticism is that we are not testing enough and therefore we are not seeing enough cases. Even if you test a lot of people, even if you increase your incidence by 10 times even 100 times we will still be only about 9 per million which is way down what is happening in the western country, that way we are lucky,” he said, adding that there are several factors which are responsible for this including the early lockdown that government initiated, plus the fact that we are been following this physical distancing quite actively now.

He also added, “All these viruses, especially, the RNA virus they undergo mutations frequently and when they are going from one place to another mutations. Some of these mutations are favourable, some are more dangerous for us. There are mutations in different viruses in different parts of the world and we have to see how these mutations actively affect different geographical areas.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow