News

Delhi to start unlocking from May 31; factory, construction activity to resume

The unlocking process in Delhi will begin from May 31 as Covid cases have continued to dip, announced Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday. The unlocking in Delhi will be done in phases. Beginning Monday, factories in the national capital will be allowed to resume work. Construction activities have also been allowed to start in Delhi. Delhi has been under a lockdown since April 19 in view of the national capital logging over 25,000 Covid cases back in April. Last week, the lockdown in Delhi was extended till May 31. "This lockdown will last till Monday, 5 am. We will begin the unlocking process. Construction activities and factories will be reopened from Monday keeping the daily wage workers in mind," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced, adding, "Positivity rate has come down to 1.5 per cent." Delhi on Friday registered around 1,100 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours. While Covid cases in Delhi have come down, Arvind Kejriwal urged people to not go out of their houses unless absolutely necessary. "Covid-19 positivity rate in Delhi has come down to 1.5 per cent but the fight is not over yet," Arvind Kejriwal said. The decision to unlock Delhi in a phased manner was taken at a DDMA meeting on Friday. The Delhi chief minister said the national capital will be unlocked gradually. But if Covid cases begin to rise, "the unlocking process will have to be stopped," Kejriwal said. On Wednesday, the CM said the lockdown cannot be extended indefinitely as economic activity is going down and people are losing their work. "In the coming days, we will see how and to what extent we can ease the restrictions. But if we see this in the context of vaccination, we don't know how many days it will take," the CM had said.Live TV

Read more

Saudi Arabia will start issuing tourist visas again soon, official says

Saudi Arabia plans to resume tourist visas very soon after suspending them months ago because of the coronavirus, a Saudi official said Wednesday. The kingdom is also working with other Middle Eastern and European nations on a unified protocol to facilitate travel, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been made public. Encouraging foreign tourism is a key factor in the kingdom’s efforts to reduce its reliance on oil. In September 2019, it threw open its borders after having long been one of the hardest countries in the world to visit unless coming on a pilgrimage. It wants the sector to contribute 10% of gross domestic product by 2030, but the virus has crimped those plans. After limiting incoming tourism in February 2020, authorities suspended all incoming and outgoing travel to try to contain the virus’s spread.

Read more

Mamata extends 'lockdown-like' restrictions in West Bengal till June 15

The West Bengal Government has decided to extend the lockdown-like restrictions in the state till June 15. Announcing this decision at a press conference, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, "Please don't call this a lockdown. Covid numbers have come down. For economy's sake there will be no total lockdown." West Bengal is currently under 'strict restrictions' till May 30. Banerjee said that all emergency services will be allowed, and online services will be encouraged. Grocery shops and markets will continue to stay open between 7am and 10 am and sweet shops will be open from 10am to 5pm. Following the previous order by WB Govt, cultural, political, academic, administrative or religious events and functions continue to be banned. Banks will be functional from 10am to 2pm and wedding ceremonies should have only 50 people. Offices and educational institutions will remain shut, said CM. Banerjee also imposed an indefinite restriction on operation of shopping malls, markets, restaurants and bars, and swimming pools. Metro and other transport services will continue to remain suspended. Intra-state goods trucks movement has been restricted, too, with only exemption for essential supplies. Movement of private cars and taxis will be allowed for medical reasons and emergency services, said Banerjee. Also all outdoor activities between 9pm to 5am including movement of public is prohibited.

Read more

Turkey gears for tourism in summer with heightened safety measures

Turkey is ready for 2021 summer season with heightened safety measures. The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) hosted the ambassadors of foreign missions, in the Safe Tourism event held in Antalya, Turkey from May 21 to 23. The Indian Ambassador to Turkey also graced the event with his presence and experienced the measures on-site. The Ministry aims to ensure that all safe tourism measures are experienced directly by the representatives of foreign missions to Turkey. Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Turkey spoke about the preparations for the 2021 summer season and stated in his speech that, "As a leading country in Safe Tourism, Turkey welcomed more than 16 million guests in 2020, and we are looking forward to 2021 to be a year of heightened safety in tourism season. We are ready for the Summer 2021 season with more than 10,000 certified tourism facilities across Turkey.” While addressing the ambassadors during the event, Minster Ersoy also mentioned that, “Tourism safety has been our top priority over the last year and we had a successful season of certification programme that has become one of the best practices worldwide. In our national vaccination programme, more than 27 million doses of vaccine have been applied to Turkish citizens to date. The vaccination programme, in which we prioritise tourism workers, will continue to accelerate in June,” added Minister Ersoy. Launched by Turkey in June 2020, the Safe Tourism Certificate certifies compliance with global safety standards for tourist spots, accommodation facilities and airports. The Certificate has been awarded to more than 9,800 businesses as it enters its second year and includes various restaurants, cultural venues, congress facilities, marine tourism facilitates, theme parks and ski lift facilities. Starting in 2021, Turkey made this certificate compulsory for all accommodation facilities with a bed capacity of 30 and above. Turkey has also given priority to tourism personnel within the scope of the national vaccination programme and is ready for 2021 summer with high safety standards.

Read more

COVID-19: Punjab govt extends curbs till June 10

The Punjab government on Thursday extended the coronavirus restrictions till June 10 but removed the limit on the number of passengers in personal vehicles and allowed the resumption of elective surgeries and OPD operations in hospitals. The state government had imposed extensive curbs, in addition to measures like a weekend lockdown and a night curfew to check the spread of the infection. The decision to extend the curbs was taken at a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here, according to a government statement. Earlier, the state government had extended the Covid curbs till May 31. The CM directed the resumption of elective surgeries in both government and private hospitals besides the restoration of outpatient department (OPD) operations in view of the improvement in the coronavirus situation, the statement said. The state government had stopped elective surgeries on April 12 to ensure adequate availability of beds and medicine oxygen for serious infection cases. The CM has now allowed these to be resumed, subject to the condition that there shall, for the present, be no reduction in beds for Level-3 coronavirus patients in hospitals. The CM also said while the limit on the number of passengers in personal vehicles is being removed, the limit on commercial passenger vehicles and taxis will continue to be in place. Earlier, the government had announced that not more than two persons could travel in a car. Pillion riders on a two-wheeler were also not allowed, except for those belonging to the same family and living in the same house. The deputy commissioners may make any adjustment for the opening of shops dealing in non-essential items as are merited by local conditions, the CM said. According to the statement, given the comfortable oxygen situation currently, the CM directed that it now be allowed to be used for essential non-medical purposes, with a three-day buffer stock of it, however, to be maintained at all times. He said oxygen concentrator banks have been created in every district for post-covid care patients who have a doctor’s prescription. The control room had ensured that there was no shortage of oxygen in any hospital, he said, adding that the demand in the state had come down from 304 metric tonnes to 236 MT in the past 10 days. The CM directed the Health and Medical Education Departments to continue strengthening the Covid care infrastructure to deal with a possible third wave of the pandemic. He asked them to invest in augmenting paediatric care and to seek 500 ventilators for it from the Centre. It was told at the meeting that all 809 ventilators received earlier under the PM Cares Fund have been distributed and 136 of them were not working. The CM also ordered the creation of more technical and specialist posts to meet the demand of the possible third wave. All mid-level IAS/PCS transfers in all departments should be put on hold till the Covid crisis continues, directed the CM. The CM also warned that profiteering and fleecing of patients by private hospitals amid such a crisis will not be allowed at any cost.

Read more

Kerala hopes to reopen tourist spots in monsoon season

Travelling is one of the most preferred ways of people to unwind themselves after a hectic schedule. But the tourism sector would be the first sector which would feel the heat in the event of a disaster or pandemic. In the present situation, it is not possible to estimate the extent of the impact of Covid on the economy of the state which heavily depends on tourism because the course and duration of the pandemic are still unknown. New Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas speaks about the challenges and opportunities of tourism industry. Excerpts. In Kerala, over 15 lakh people are engaged directly and 20 lakh indirectly in the tourism sector which had netted a total turnover of around Rs 45,000 crore in the 2019-20 fiscal, contributing around 12 per cent of the GDP of the state.But the pandemic has pushed tourism in God’s own country to its knees. What are your immediate priorities to salvage the sector? We cannot wait any longer to bring the sector back to its feet. Once the peak of the second wave of Covid is over, the tourist destinations in the state would be opened for tourists. We are in the process of making a plan of action to this effect and we are hopeful of opening the tourism sector during the monsoon season itself. Before opening the sector, what measures will be taken by the state government to ensure the safety of people? The first priority is the vaccination of frontline workers of tourism industry. We had a discussion on this with various stakeholders regarding the vaccination of frontline workers in the hospitality sector. And soon, this would be announced. Once the second outbreak of Covid is brought under control and frontline workers are vaccinated, the tourism destinations in the state would be opened in a phased manner. Will you open all destinations for all tourists in the beginning? In the beginning, domestic tourists would be allowed to visit the destinations. Once the international borders are opened, we would consider giving access to foreign tourists as well. So, the department is going to undertake a campaign to this effect -- first targeting the domestic tourists and later international tourists. The tourism department had undertaken promotional activities that cost Rs 20 crore targeting monsoon tourists soon after the first wave. But things turned upside down when the second wave hit the country. So, is it wise to spend more money for campaigning even as the country is waiting for a third wave? Our next step would be more cautious. We are moving ahead with the idea of vaccinating the frontline workers even before opening the destinations. There would be strict guidelines for tourists even after the reopening of destinations to ensure their safety. Along with this, we would also be giving focus on clearing the apprehensions of tourists and will instill a sense of confidence among them to visit places adhering to Covid protocol. Though the state government has announced a financial package for the affected people in the tourism sector, they are yet to get the benefit of the scheme. We are exploring ways to implement the financial package soon.

Read more