India

Chandigarh, Apr 15 (PTI) The UK variant of COVID-19 was found in 70 percent of 60 samples sent to the National Centre for Diseases Control, the PGIMER said on Thursday.

Seventy percent of the samples had UK variant of Covid-19 and 20 percent of the samples had 681 H mutant, said Jagat Ram, the director of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, in a statement here.

The majority of the samples were from Chandigarh, he added.

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Migrant workers are piling into rail stations in India’s financial capital Mumbai to head back to their home villages now that virus-control measures have dried up work in the hard-hit region.

“What do I do now?” asked Ramzan Ali, who’d been earning up to 500 rupees ($7) per day as a laborer but has been out of work for two weeks.

New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) Taking a dig at the government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said its strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic consisted of imposing a 'Tughlaqi lockdown, ringing bells and singing praises to the Lord.

The Congress-led opposition has been criticising the government over its handling of the pandemic and the vaccination drive, while the Centre has maintained that its timely steps have been instrumental in fighting COVID-19.

Kollam (Ker), Apr 16 (PTI): A 42-year-old Catholic nun was found dead inside the well of the St Joseph convent at Kureepuzha in this south Kerala district on Friday, police said.

The other inmates noticed the body of Mable Joseph, a native of Karunagappally here, inside the well of the sprawling convent campus in the morning.

They carried out a search after she failed to turn up for the usual morning prayers.

Police said prima facie it was a suspected case of suicide and other details could be known only after the post-mortem and investigation.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Apr 14 (PTI) Throwing caution to the wind amid rising cases of coronavirus, thousands of seers congregated on Wednesday at Har ki Pairi in Haridwar to take a dip in the Ganga during the third shahi snan of the Kumbh mela.

The royal bath' marked Mesh Sankranti and Baisakhi, and fell two days after a similar convergence of sadhus' and other devotees for the second shahi snan -- events where following social distancing norms appears almost impossible.

New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal welcomed the decision to cancel CBSE class 10 board exams and postpone class 12 exams in view of surge in COVID-19 cases, saying it will provide a great relief to students and their parents.

"I am glad that the exams have been cancelled/postponed. This is a great relief for lakhs of students and their parents, Kejriwal tweeted.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday cancelled class 10 exams and postponed class 12 exams in view of surge in COVID-19 cases.

Bhopal, Apr 14 (PTI) The apparent spike in deaths caused due to COVID-19 has resulted in crematoriums and burial grounds in Bhopal struggling to dispose of bodies as these facilities have started facing several issues, including that of space crunch.

The number of bodies being brought to the crematoriums or burial grounds has been witnessing a surge over the last few days, say the operators of these establishments.

Mathura, Apr 14 (PTI) Mathura districts courts were on Wednesday closed for the next two days following the discovery of seven Covid patients in its premises, including five judicial officers, in the last few days.

District Government Counsel (Crime) Shiv Ram Singh said the district judge ordered the closure of court was ordered after two court staffers tested positive for the coronavirus infection on Wednesday.

The district subordinate judiciary chief ordered the closure of the court premises for its sanitisation during the next two days, he added.

Jaipur, Apr 14 (PTI) Amid a surge in coronavirus infection cases, the Rajasthan government on Wednesday decided to impose a night-long curfew from 6 pm to 5 am in the entire state from April 16.

The night curfew was declared earlier in 10 urban areas of the state but with the spread of infection showing no sign of abating, the state government decided to enforce the regulatory measure in the entire state.

The order imposing the night curfew in the entire state was issued on late Wednesday evening.

Lucknow, Apr 15 (PTI) Most of the main markets here, including Hazratganj and Aminabad, were voluntarily closed by traders for a few days on Thursday, to check the spread of COVID-19 and break its chain.

"In the wake of increase in the number of coronavirus cases, we have decided to voluntarily close the market for sales from April 15 to April 18. We will review this on Sunday evening. Essential services may, however, continue as per government directions," said Vinod Punjabi, Secretary, Hazratganj Traders Association.