EXPERTS SAY WATCH DEATH TOLL, NOT CASES

As Covid cases surge in India, epidemiologists, both within the govt and

outside, say the key metric to watch now may be the death toll - a crucial

marker both of the course of the epidemic and the success of state govts in

tackling it.

The death toll has been rising over the last few weeks.

The prescription by Dr Jayaprakash Muliyil, epidemiologist and former

principal of CMC Vellore, is to concentrate resources on preventing deaths

by preparing oxygen beds etc, instead of the old formula of testing as many

as possible and isolating them.

"In Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, there is no point finding positive cases and

testing everybody where there is obvious community transmission. By the time

the whole thing is over, 60 crore will be infected. Counting that doesn't

help us much, it only scares people. If you want to change the picture, you

need to concentrate on beds and prevent worsening of cases and things will

get better," says Dr Mulyil.

Said an epidemiologist involved in tracking infectious diseases, "In Delhi

and Mumbai, why are you still talking about contact tracing and testing?

That stage is long gone. There will be people who get the disease and

recover without knowing. What is the point of testing them? On the other

hand, it is people who have breathing difficulty that need to be addressed

quickly so that they do not deteriorate. Spread the word that anybody with

symptoms should quarantine, tell them when to come to the hospital and

prepare the hospitals. Preventing deaths is the priority now."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said in a statement, "Recovery rate of

Covid positive cases continues to increase and is currently at 49.47%. The

doubling rate/time continues to improve and has increased from 3.4 days at

the beginning of lockdown to 17.4 days currently."

DEPLORABLE, PATHETIC: SC SLAMS DELHI, SAYS STATE DUTY-BOUND TO PROVIDE CARE

The Supreme Court on Friday strongly criticised the govts of Delhi and four

other states for their handling of the Covid crisis, and directed them to

take "immediate remedial action".

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul, and M R Shah described the

situation in the national capital as "deplorable & pathetic", and expressed

concern over the "grim situation" in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat, and

Tamil Nadu.

The bench issued notices to the Centre and the state govts, and directed the

chief secretaries to "immediately take appropriate notice of the status of

patients' management in the Govt hospital in their respective States and

take remedial action".

The states have been asked to submit a "status report with regard to govt

hospitals, patient care and the details of the staff, infrastructure, etc.

so that appropriate directions be issued by the Court as found necessary on

the next date of hearing".

The matter will come up again on June 17.

Chief Justice of India S A Bobde had on Thursday taken suo motu cognizance

of media reports on "horrific scenes" at the hospital, apathy in treatment,

and the handling of dead bodies, and had assigned it to the bench headed by

Justice Bhushan.

On Friday, the bench deplored the "very sorry state of affairs" in the

disposal of bodies. After Solicitor General Mehta submitted a copy of the

Centre's guidelines on dead body management, Justice Kaul said: "We are

concerned with the living too. Please see the deplorable conditions of

people in hospitals. Dead bodies are lying in the ward."

Mehta submitted that in Delhi, bodies had been found lying with patients,

and that there had been instances of bodies being dragged with rope.

"If dead bodies are being treated like this, dead bodies are found in tbe

garbage. Media has highlited these deplorable conditions. Worse than animals

people are being treated," Justice Shah said.

RAHUL GANDHI, NICHOLAS BURNS DISCUSS 'DISAPPEARING' TOLERANCE IN INDIA, US

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Friday, in an interaction with US professor

Nicholas Burns, said he was saddened to see India's tolerance and acceptance

of new ideas "disappearing". Gandhi added the "division of people was

weakening the structure of the country".

"We are a very tolerant nation. Our DNA is supposed to be tolerant. We're

supposed to accept new ideas. We're supposed to be open, but the surprising

thing is that that DNA, that open DNA, is sort of disappearing. I say this

with sadness that I don't see that level of tolerance that I used to see. I

don't see it in the United States and I don't see it in India," Gandhi said.

"When you divide African Americans, Mexicans and other people in the United

States, so you divide Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs in India, you're

weakening the structure of the country. But, the same people who weaken the

structure of the country say they are nationalists," Gandhi added.

During the conversation, Burns, Professor of Diplomacy and International

Relations at Harvard, said the US and India had the advantage to correct

themselves unlike "an authoritarian country" like China. "I do see strengths

that democracies go through trials. We play out our differences, in

political campaigns or in street protests, but at least we can do that. You

can authoritarianism coming back in China and Russia. We democracies, we

sometimes go through painful episodes because of our freedoms, but we're so

much stronger because of them."

Gandhi noted that people were becoming "insular", a behaviour that was

accelerated by the Covid crisis. However, he later added: "I do see new

ideas and new ways emerging after Covid. I can already see people

cooperating much more than they were before. Now, they realise that there

are advantages to being unified."

COVID-19 DASHBOARD - (Nos. IN INDIA / Nos. WORLDWIDE)

(Indian data from covid19india / and World Data from

worldometers.info/coronavirus/ )

Total Cases 3,09,584 (+11,316) / 77,32,948 (+1,36,845)

Total Deaths 8,890 (+389) / 4,28,248 (+4,425)

Total Recovered 1,54,231 (+7259) / 39,56,279 (+1,14,897)

Active Cases 1,46,463 (+3668) / 33,48,421 (+17,523)

Serious / Critical Cases - N.A. / 53,887 (-15)

Top impacted nations so far: (And some of India's Neighbours)

Country, Total Cases / Total Deaths / Recovered Cases / Active

Cases

1 USA 21,16,922 / 1,16,825 /

8,41,934 / 11,58,163

2 Brazil 8,29,902 / 41,901 /

4,27,610 / 3,60,391

3 Russia 5,11,423 / 6,715 /

2,69,370 / 2,35,338

4 India 3,09,603 / 8,890 /

1,54,231 / 1,46,482

5 UK 2,92,950 / 41,481 / N/A

/ N/A

6 Spain 2,90,289 / 27,136 / N/A

/ N/A

7 Italy 2,36,305 / 34,223 /

1,73,085 / 28,997

8 Peru 2,20,749 / 6,308 /

1,07,133 / 1,07,308

9 Germany 1,87,251 / 8,863 /

1,71,600 / 6,788

10 Iran 1,82,525 / 8,659 /

1,44,649 / 29,217

11 Turkey 1,75,218 / 4,778 /

1,49,102 / 21,338

15 Pakistan 1,25,933 / 2,463 /

40,247 / 83,223

19 Bangladesh 81,523 / 1,095 / 17,249 /

63,179

100 Sri Lanka 1,880 / 11 /

1,196 / 673

Top 18 impacted Indian States so far: (Total No. of Confirmed case / No. Of

Deaths)

State / Confirmed Cases / Active Case / Recovered /

Deceased

Maharashtra 101141 / 49628 / 47796 /

3717

Tamil Nadu 40698 / 18284 / 22047 /

367

Delhi 36824 / 22212 / 13398 / 1214

Gujarat 22562 / 5645 / 15501 / 1416

Uttar Pradesh 12616 / 4642 / 7609 /

365

Rajasthan 12068 / 2785 / 9011 /

272

Madhya Pradesh 10443 / 2802 / 7201 /

440

West Bengal 10244 / 5587 / 4206 /

451

Karnataka 6516 / 2995 / 3440 /

79

Haryana 6334 / 3789 / 2475 /

70

Bihar 6096 / 2745 / 3316 / 35

Andhra Pradesh 5636 / 2465 / 3091

/ 80

Jammu and Kashmir 4730 / 2591 / 2086 /

53

Telangana 4484 / 2032 / 2278 /

174

Assam 3694 / 2098 / 1585 / 8

Odisha 3498 / 1011 / 2474 / 13

Punjab 2986 / 641 / 2282 / 63

Kerala 2323 / 1304 / 999 / 20

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

======================

PRITI PATEL HITS BACK AT OPPOSITION MPs ACCUSING HER OF "GASLIGHTING" RACISM

UK Home Secretary Priti Patel, who had recently shared her experience about

facing racial abuse while growing up in Britan, has said that she will not

be "silenced" by the Labour Party MPs. The opposition has accused Ms Patel

of using her Indian heritage to "gaslight" the "very real racism" faced by

communities in Britain.

Gaslighting refers to a form of psychological manipulation where seeds of

doubt are planted against a particular idea.

In a statement in the House of Commons earlier this week, the Indian-origin

cabinet minister had spoken about her personal experience of racial abuse

while growing up as an ethnic minority in the UK.

A group of 12 ethnic minority Labour Party parliamentarians, including

Indian-origin Virendra Sharma, Tan Dhesi, Preet Kaur Gill, Valerie Vaz,

Seema Malhotra and Nadia Whittome, wrote to Priti Patel on Thursday saying,

"Being a person of colour does not automatically make you an authority on

all forms of racism". "We write to you as Black Asian and Ethnic Minority

Labour MPs to highlight our dismay at the way you used your heritage and

experiences of racism to gaslight the very real racism faced by Black people

and communities across the UK," the MPs wrote.

In response to the letter, Priti Patel on Twitter said, "I will not be

silenced by @UKLabour MPs who continue to dismiss the contributions of those

who don't conform to their view of how ethnic minorities should behave."

A day after clashes broke out between Black Lives Matter protesters and

police officers, Patel had condemned the violence perpetrated by a minority

of protesters in an address in the House of Commons.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said the wave of anti-racism protests

across Britain had been "hijacked by extremists".

In London, authorities boarded up several statues, including one of Second

World War leader Winston Churchill, after previous damage and with further

demonstrations planned.

TWITTER REMOVES ACCOUNTS LINKED TO CHINA'S CAMPAIGN

Twitter on Thursday said it removed more than 170,000 accounts tied to a

Beijing-backed influence operation that deceptively spread messages

favourable to the Chinese govt, including about the coronavirus.

The company suspended a core network of 23,750 highly active accounts, as

well as a larger network of about 150,000 "amplifier" accounts used to boost

the core accounts' content.

Twitter, along with researchers who analysed the accounts, said the network

was largely an echo chamber of fake accounts without much further traction.

Twitter, along with other American social media companies such as Facebook

and Instagram, is blocked in China.

THE REST

========

NEPAL BORDER GUARDS OPEN FIRE AT BIHAR CROSSING, AN INDIAN KILLED

An Indian national was killed and two others were injured when the Nepal

Armed Police Force, responsible for border security, opened fire on a group

during a clash at a border point near Sitamarhi in Bihar Friday morning.

Senior police officers of Nepal and Bihar and the Sashastra Seema Bal called

it a local incident and said it had nothing to do with the border row

between Delhi and Kathmandu over territorial claims to Kalapani, Lipulekh

and Limpiyadhura in Uttarakhand - Nepal's House of Representatives will vote

Saturday on a Bill seeking to include the areas in the country's new map.

According to Sitamarhi police, the Nepal Armed Police Force personnel asked

a group of local women to move away from the border point. A crowd gathered

and one Ramlagan Rai of Shanti Nagar in Sonbarsa was detained by the Nepal

APF personnel. This led to a clash and the APF personnel opened fire.

OCIs, FOREIGNERS WITH INDIAN TIES ALLOWED ENTRY INTO COUNTRY

The govt on Friday further liberalised the visa restrictions imposed during

the lockdown by allowing the entry of certain categories of foreigners and

Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) into the country.

The order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs has allowed the entry of

foreign minor children with at least one parent who is an Indian citizen or

an OCI card holder. The order also allows the entry of foreigners married to

Indian citizens and single foreign parents whose children hold an Indian

passport or an OCI card.

Even foreign students with at least one parent who is an Indian citizen or

an OCI card holder are allowed entry into India.

Apart from this, the govt has also allowed the entry of dependent family

members of foreign diplomats and service staff who are accredited to foreign

diplomatic missions, consular offices or accredited international

organizations in India.

On May 22, the govt had first announced relaxations for OCI cardholders.

Following this, the govt had also allowed chartered flights carrying

foreigners for specific business purposes to come to India.

NIGHT CURFEW NOT TO STOP TRUCKS, BUSES ON HIGHWAYS, SAYS MHA

The Ministry of Home Affairs has written to all states to not stop highway

traffic post 9 pm.

In a letter sent to chief secretaries of all states, Home Secretary Ajay

Bhalla has drawn their attention to MHA's orders of night curfew issued on

May 30 where night curfew was stipulated to be observed between 9 pm and 5

am.

"It has come to notice that some States/UTs are also restricting movement of

persons and vehicles plying on highways between 9 pm and 5 am, which is

hindering their smooth passage," the letter said.

MHA sources said this was disrupting supply lines and causing difficulty for

smooth operation of trade. Sources said there were reports of even

inter-state buses being stopped and people not being allowed to go home

after disembarking from flights and trains.

Bhalla in his letter has even hinted that the states have misinterpreted the

night curfew orders and that it was meant to only prevent gathering of

people during night time.

SLOW PICK UP IN RETAIL SALES, ONLY THOSE 'WITH PURPOSE' STEPPING OUT

With restrictions on public spaces being lifted, retail outlets in the

organised sector are witnessing a discernible shift in the way business is

done.

Retailers point to an interesting trend over the last couple of weeks. They

say only a quarter of pre-lockdown customers are contributing to more than

half the revenues they earned earlier. Stores are not really offering

discounts to boost demand or clear inventories given the fear of crowding,

and the need to maintain social distance. This suggests only purposeful

shoppers are visiting stores.

"Only 25-30 per cent customers (compared to pre-lockdown) are visiting us.

Now these customers account for almost 60 per cent of the sales compared to

last year. They are coming with a clear purpose; to buy. Window shopping is

not a term to be used anymore," says Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers

Association of India (RAI), a trade body representing more than 1,800

retailers across the country.

While malls are opening up across the country, companies expect demand to be

low given that multiplexes, the primary drivers of footfalls at malls, are

still barred from operations.

NO COERCIVE ACTION AGAINST PVT COMPANIES FOR NON-PAYMENT OF WAGES DURING

LOCKDOWN: SC

In a huge relief to private companies and industries, the Supreme Court on

Friday restrained the Govt from taking any coercive action against them for

failing to pay wages to workers during COVID-19 lockdown.

A three-judge Bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, said the issue of

non-payment of wages during the lockdown has to be settled through

negotiations between employees and employers. The negotiations have to be

facilitated by the state govts' labour departments, it added.

The Bench had passed a similar order with regard to some companies earlier.

Now it has become a general order.

SEMICONDUCTOR ASSEMBLY MAJORS PLAN TO SET UP MANUFACTURING UNITS IN INDIA

Four top global companies in the assembly, testing, marking, and packaging

(ATMP) business have had discussions with the govt to set up their

manufacturing units and develop export hubs to undertake outsourced

semiconductor packaging and test services. The companies -Taiwanese majors

ASE Technology Holding (with revenues of $11.87 billion), Powertech

Technology Inc ($2.17 billion), and SPIL ($2.79 billion), and US-based Amkor

Technology ($4.31 billion) - plan to take advantage of the incentive schemes

recently announced by the govt.

India does not have any notable players in the ATMP space. If the current

talks with the ATMP big boys fructify, it will be a major step for the

country.

DARREN SAMMY SOFTENS HIS STANCE AFTER CONVERSATION WITH ONE OF 'THE GUYS'

Former West Indies' skipper Darren Sammy, who had claimed that he was

subjected to racism during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the

Indian Premier League (IPL), on Friday, revealed that he recently had an

interesting conversation with one of the guys.

"I'm please to say that I've had a really interesting conversation with one

of the guys and we are looking at ways to educate rather than focusing on

the negatives. My brother reassured me that he operated from a place of love

and I believe him," Sammy tweeted.

The all-rounder's comments not only won hearts of cricket lovers on Twitter

but his statement also caught the attention of Bollywood actress Swara

Bhaskar.She came up with a tweet demanding an apology from Sammy's former

IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Dear @darensammy88 if someone used the N word at a black person & said they

"operated from a place of love" what would u say? Same with word 'Kaalu' &

it's variations. And team members of @SunRisers. Show some decency & spine

#SaySorryToDaren officially ! #thatsnotcricket @IPL

Sammy was quick to respond to Swara's tweet and stated he just wants to

educate one and all so that racism doesn't happen again.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The emancipation of our physical nature is in attaining health, of our

social being in attaining goodness, and of our self in attaining love. -

Rabindranath Tagore

OFF TRACK

A woman goes to the Doctor, worried about her man's temper and threatening

manner. "Doctor, I don't know what to do. Every time my man comes home

drunk, he threatens to slap me around," she says.

The Doctor says: "I have a real good cure for that. When he comes home

drunk, just take a glass of water and start swishing it in your mouth. Just

swish and swish but don't swallow it until he goes to bed and is asleep.

Two weeks later the woman comes back to the doctor looking fresh and reborn.

The woman says: "Doctor, your cure worked. But how does the water do that?

The Doctor says: "The water does nothing - it's keeping your mouth shut that

does the trick."