India began a two-day nationwide drill on Monday to step up emergency plans for a potential fourth wave of Covid-19 after a recent increase in cases.
Health officials on Monday reported more than 5,800 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the number of active cases to more than 35,000.
India has recorded more than 44 million cases and 530,979 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.
New Delhi reported 699 Covid-19 infections and four deaths in the past 24 hours. The city of 22 million recorded zero cases in January.
Maharashtra had 788 new cases of which Mumbai, India's financial capital, accounted for 221 — almost 10 times more than the city was reporting a month ago.
Several states, including Haryana in the north and Kerala in the south, have made face masks mandatory for students, pregnant women and people with lifestyle diseases.
While experts have said the spurt in cases is moderate and a possible result of emerging variants, easing of precautions and slow delivery of booster doses, the government is not taking any chances.
The Health Ministry has asked that all private and government-run hospitals across the country conduct mock drills and check oxygen beds, ventilators, PPE kits and other critical care equipment and services.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will oversee the drill at the All India Institute of Medical Science in Jhajjar, Haryana.
Mr Mandaviya conducted a situation review last week and said the government would continue with its strategies of “Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate” and “Covid-Appropriate Behaviour”.
“We are witnessing a spurt in infection cases although they are mild. We received 35 cases yesterday, but no one required ventilator or oxygen support,” Dr Nagnath Yemapalle, civil surgeon at the District Hospital in Pune city, told The National.
“We are conducting the mock drill of a 100-bed Covid ward. An inspection is continuing to check the equipment, oxygen cylinders, ventilators … preparedness and checking all logistics to be ready for any situation.”
The country of 1.4 billion witnessed one of the worst waves of the pandemic in April-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 wave.
Hospitals across the country ran out of space and lacked adequate staff, medication and equipment to deal with the number of cases. Desperate families ran from pillar to post to find oxygen cylinders as hospitals grappled with a shortages of supplies.
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At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
HAJJAN
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
