<p><strong>New Delhi: </strong>Because of deals, discounts and cheaper home loans being offered, the popularity of real estate as an investment asset class in India seems to have increased as a lot of Indians think it is the right time to buy a house. <strong>ALSO READ | <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/3dyiHYY Surge In Petrol Diesel Prices For 12 Days, Some States Get Relief As Hike In Fuel Rates Stops</a></span></strong></p> <p>According to a survey conducted by ANAROCK Property Consultants and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), out of the people favouring real estate as an asset class, a lot of them are millennials aged 25-35 years.</p> <p>The online survey was conducted in January 2021 and nearly 3,900 people participated in it to give deeper insights into the situation of the Indian property market after Coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>According to the survey, nearly 62 percent of respondents consider it to be an ideal time to buy a home. Around 24 percent of respondents stated that they have already booked properties while 38 percent of people have opted for newly-launched projects.</p> <p>About 57 percent of respondents expressed a preference for property over fixed deposits, the stock market, and gold.</p> <p>Among those favouring real estate as an asset class are 48 percent are millennials aged 25-35 years. This is a significant rise as, before the Covid-19 pandemic, they were just 17 percent. </p> <p> "Homeownership has gained top priority even for the millennials who previously shied away from it," Anuj Puri, chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants said.</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ |<span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/3uhlagr"> Fuel Price Hike: FM Sitharaman Says Centre, States Must Work Together To Resolve 'Vexatious' Issue</a></span><br /></strong></p> <p>The pandemic situation seems to have also made people want to live in peripheral areas as at least 43 percent of respondents stated that they now prefer living in peripheral areas while just 28 percent favour homes in the city limits (in proximity to offices).</p> <p>"There was a decrease in the preference for ready-to-move-in homes – a reduction of at least 17 percent since the lockdowns and 6 percent since the pre-Covid levels. One major factor for this could be that post-Covid, new supply was largely by branded developers," said Anuj Puri, chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants.</p> <p>"61% of respondents in the current survey prefer to buy a property from branded developers (even at an extra cost) as against non-branded ones (39%)," the survey reports.</p> <p>Ready-to-move-in property is still the most preferred (29% respondents) among prospective buyers. "However, in comparison to both pre-Covid and lockdown period surveys, we saw a dip in its preference – at least 17% since the lockdown period and 6% since the preCovid levels," it said.</p> <p>In terms of consumer preferences, demand for bigger homes across all BHK configurations has risen. 2BHKs continue to be the most favourite but buyers are now also on the market for bigger accommodations.</p> <p>Around 69 percent of the survey's property-favouring respondents now prefer bigger 2BHKs (>600 square feet area) as opposed to just 38 percent in the pre-Covid period.</p>
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Saturday, February 20, 2021
COVID-19 hospitalizations reach the lowest they've been since early November
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- COVID-19 hospitalizations are less than half of what they were during their peak last month.
- Cases and deaths have also been on the decline, but experts warn against complacency.
- Public health experts worry that new, more transmissible strains could cause another surge.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
COVID-19 hospitalizations across the country have been in decline over the past several weeks and this weekend dropped lower than they've been since early November.
Data from The COVID-19 Tracking Project shows that as of Saturday, 58,222 people were hospitalized, a more than 50% decrease from a peak of 132,476 hospitalizations on January 6.
It's also the first time that hospitalizations dropped below 60,000 since November 9.
Coronavirus cases overall are on the decline. CNN reported that there was a 29% decrease in cases over the previous week, the largest drop during the course of the pandemic so far.
Data compiled by The Washington Post shows that new daily cases in the US hit a peak of 248,200 on January 12 and have dropped since. On Saturday, the COVID-19 Tracking Project reported 72,000 new cases.
In a briefing, researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said that declining cases could be attributed to vaccinations and declining seasonality, which they said could help keep cases on the decline until August.
Over 42 million Americans have received at least their first shot of a vaccine, with more than 17 million receiving both doses, CDC data shows.
While some experts have said the vaccinations may have played a role in decreasing cases, others, like Tom Frieden, a former Director of the CDC, told CNN that he doesn't "think the vaccine is having much of an impact at all on case rates." Frieden said it's the "staying apart, wearing masks, not traveling, not mixing with others indoors," that's resulting in the decline.
While cases and hospitalization may be on the decline, experts still warn that measures like wearing masks and socially distancing should remain in place to maintain the downward trend and not trigger another rise, especially with new and more transmissible variants.
"It's encouraging to see these trends coming down, but they're coming down from an extraordinarily high place," Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rochelle Walensky said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
A study found that the Coronavirus variant that originated in the United Kingdom is spreading quickly across the US and is likely to become the most dominant variant in many states by next month.
A new assessment found that this variant, called B.1.17, could be 30% to 70% deadlier than the original virus.
"This is why we're telling people to not stop masking, not stop avoiding indoor social gatherings quite yet because we don't really know what's going to happen with this variant," Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency medicine physician with Rhode Island's Brown University, told CNN. "And we saw what happened last winter when we didn't take Covid seriously enough."
Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at salarshani@insider.com
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Manipur Anganwadi Worker Dies A Week After Taking Covid Vaccine, CM Announces Compensation
<p>While Indians await their turn to get vaccinated and be safe from Coronavirus, a recent incident in Manipur has alarmed everyone. A 48-year-old Anganwadi worker in Manipur has died a week after receiving her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, officials said on Saturday. W Sundari Devi of Kumbi Terakha area in Bishunpur district had received her first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine on February 12 at Kumbhi primary health centre (PHC).</p> <p><strong><span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" title="Also Read|Travelling To Karnataka? Restriction On Passengers From These Two States; RT-PCR Report Mandatory" href="https://ift.tt/3pFjAS6 Read|Travelling To Karnataka? Restriction On Passengers From These Two States; RT-PCR Report Mandatory</a></span></strong></p> <p>Sundari Devi suffered breathing problems after she was vaccinated and was rushed to the Moirang community health centre (CHC) on February 18 where she passed away on Friday. The true cause of death is yet to be ascertained and a special Health team has been set up to conduct her post mortem. </p> <p>Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh met the family of the deceased and heard their grievances. He also expressed condolences and promised the family of suitable compensation duly considering the post-mortem report.</p> <p>"Heard the grievances of the family of Anganwadi Worker W Sundari of Kumbi Terakha, Bishnupur District and expressed my deep condolences. Assured suitable compensation duly considering post mortem reports and instructed for taking strong action against defaulting officials," the chief minister tweeted.</p> <p>[tw]https://twitter.com/NBirenSingh/status/1363001783900016641[/tw]</p> <h3><strong>Covid vaccination in India</strong></h3> <p>According to the Union Health Ministry, "A total of 1.08 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered till now with 1.86 lakh doses given on Saturday. Of the 1,08,38,323 doses given, Joint Secretary in the Union Health ministry Mandeep Bhandari said 72,26,653 vaccination doses were administered to healthcare workers and 36,11,670 to frontline workers whose inoculation started on February 2.</p> <p>(With PTI inputs)</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
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Bernie Sanders is 'confident' that the $15 minimum wage will remain in COVID-19 relief package
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- Sanders expressed confidence that the minimum wage hike will remain in the COVID-19 relief package.
- The Senate parliamentarian will determine if the wage increase can be passed through reconciliation.
- Sanders still faces resistance from Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Saturday expressed confidence that the proposed minimum wage hike to $15 per hour will remain in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that congressional Democrats are aiming to pass through the budget reconciliation process.
President Joe Biden supports the minimum wage hike but has expressed doubt that it would be permissible under reconciliation rules. But, Sanders, the independent chairman of the Senate Budget Committee who caucuses with the Democrats, thinks the measure will pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian.
"Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is not 'incidental' to the federal budget and is permissible under the rules of reconciliation," Sanders said in a statement to CNN. "The CBO [Congressional Budget Office] has found that the $15 minimum wage has a much greater impact on the federal budget than opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and repealing the individual mandate penalties - two provisions that the parliamentarian advised did not violate the Byrd Rule when Republicans controlled the Senate."
He added: "I'm confident that the parliamentarian will advise next week that we can raise the minimum wage through the reconciliation process."
The CBO has ruled that the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 would have a substantial impact on the budget, which might meet the threshold of the Byrd Rule and be passed through the reconciliation process.
Sanders has insisted that reconciliation - which would rely on all 50 Democratic senators supporting the legislation - is the way to make the minimum wage increase happen.
"It's gonna be in reconciliation if I have anything to say about it - it's the only way we're gonna get it passed," he told Insider's Joseph Zeballos-Roig earlier this month.
But even if the parliamentarian rules in Sanders' favor, he'll still face resistance from moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
Manchin told The Hill earlier this month that he could support raising the minimum wage to $11 an hour, which he said was "responsible and reasonable."
"The minimum wage provision is not appropriate for the reconciliation process," Sinema told Politico last week. "It is not a budget item. And it shouldn't be in there."
The federal minimum wage, at $7.25 per hour, has been unchanged since July 2009.
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Ron Kim, a New York Democrat who's called out Cuomo's nursing home coverup for months, says it's time for the governor to face the music
- Assemblyman Ron Kim is a New York Democrat who's been all over Cuomo for covering up the state's COVID nursing home catastrophe.
- Kim says Cuomo personally threatened him and is a habitual "abuser" of his power.
- Insider columnist Anthony Fisher spoke with Kim on Friday.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
New York Assemblyman Ron Kim, a Democrat representing part of Queens, has been one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's most vocal critics since the start of the pandemic.
In particular, Kim has criticized the Cuomo administration's Health Department's order to nursing homes to admit COVID-positive patients discharged from hospitals, and the administration's lack of transparency over the data related to nursing home deaths.
Over the past few weeks, New York's attorney general released a report showing the state had undercounted the number of COVID nursing home deaths by about 50%, Cuomo senior aide Melissa DeRosa admitted in a conference call with some New York Democrats that the administration "froze" out of fear of a DOJ investigation when the legislature requested nursing home data, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers called for Cuomo to be stripped of the emergency powers he has held since the start of the pandemic.
Kim said Cuomo called him personally and threatened to "destroy" him if he did not amend his previous comments about what DeRosa had said on last week's conference call. This week, a spokesman for the governor said Kim is "lying" about these allegations, and Cuomo accused Kim of accepting "unethical if not illegal" political donations.
Insider columnist Anthony Fisher spoke with Assemblyman Kim by phone on Friday about feeling "terrified" by the sounds of a screaming Cuomo, why the nursing home catastrophe hits him so personally, and why he thinks the Cuomo administration's investigation of itself was "complete bullshit."
This interview has been edited for length, context, and clarity.
A little more than a month into the pandemic in April 2020, you posted a video talking about the surge in deaths at nursing homes in Queens - which was the US' COVID epicenter at the time.
What made you jump on this issue so early?
It was a very frantic, desperate email from a constituent. I spoke to her on the phone and by the next morning I met her at the nursing home to get to the bottom of what was going on. I emailed and called the nursing home director, but he wasn't responding.
So I took a softer approach and told him we want to drop off some PPE for you. He came out and I started talking to him. He told me over a hundred people died and it hadn't been reported. He didn't know how to handle it, and the Department of Health hadn't done anything to support him.
And that's when I realized, "Holy shit. Something is happening and we need to get ahead of this. More people might die."
That's when I really started investigating what was going on. And during that time, a couple of articles came out that publicized the situation and people kept piling on texts, emails, Facebook [messages and tweets] telling me about other loved ones and citing similar situations.
The Cuomo administration's Department of Health last summer investigated and cleared itself of any wrongdoing with regards to nursing home deaths.
What was your reaction to that report?
Oh, it was complete bullshit. Everybody knew it. How do you do a McKinsey self-audit on yourself? It's ridiculous, it was the beginning of a coverup.
That's when we started to demand an independent commission because these guys were not acting in good faith. I introduced the bipartisan commission with Republicans in the Senate, because we needed a completely independent commission to thoroughly investigate what was going on - with full subpoena power.
The governor said just the other day that if members of the legislature wanted the records so badly they could have just subpoenaed him. Republicans certainly wanted to do it. Why didn't it happen?
The [Democratic] speaker and the majority leader have those powers. And Gov. Cuomo knows he has a lot of influence on the leadership. It's a distraction. And I think at this point, we know those words are empty and we're moving toward an impeachment process, because I think most members have had enough.
After the DOH report came out, Cuomo rarely addressed the nursing home catastrophe at all. But when he did, he'd suggest that even asking questions about nursing home deaths made you the tool of a coordinated right-wing smear campaign.
As a progressive Democrat, how did you feel about being accused of being a tool of a right-wing smear?
Those are just distracting comments. He's very good at reducing any criticism to either right-wing smears, or it's just people being incompetent and not understanding information.
I think we're all catching up to some of those tactics, and he knows that he's quickly running out of time, and we're going to get to the truth very soon.
It's unfortunate it has to be this way. I hope he realizes every second he wastes we're actually jeopardizing more lives in these facilities, because people are still dying every day in nursing homes from his policies.
Cuomo accused you of running a "continuing racket" of raising campaign funds from nail salon owners that opposed his nail salon reform bill. What is your response to that?
It's just another typical Cuomo distraction. We've seen it over and over, it's part of his tactics. But I'm doing my job and people are still impacted [by COVID]. And instead of talking about the truth, he wants to talk about nail salons.
In a tweet Thursday, you wrote that Cuomo had "pushed for blanket COVID legal immunity for unprepared nursing homes in the budget." You asked, "Who got to Gov. Cuomo?"
Are you accusing the governor of a quid pro quo?
There's a saying, "All you have to do is follow the money."
There were a number of articles that showed the link between healthcare lobbyists that donated close to $1.3 million to Cuomo's campaign and [Cuomo's push for added immunity for nursing home executives]. The evidence is there.
The question is who let them into the governor's office, and why did they slip that toxic law into the budget quietly at the last hour without notifying any members? Those are the tough questions that he needs to face.
And instead of confronting that challenge, [the Cuomo administration] chose to continue to work with the business interest and suppress the data for six months. Someone has to pay for that decision. My role is to continue to push, investigate, and do my job as a chair of the Asian committee.
What do you think the governor can do to make this right? Should he resign? Should he face any other sanctions?
I think only Cuomo can answer that question for himself, at this point.
My colleagues are moving toward a number of different ways to protect the integrity of our Senate and Assembly. And I trust that the leadership in the Assembly and Senate will get us to the right place.
People keep forgetting 15,000 died [in New York nursing homes].
I feel like people don't understand that number of deaths. It's almost like we helped dehumanize these lives by constantly putting the number up for like six months. It is a shocking, dramatic number of people who died.
If we truly understood, we wouldn't be able to go ahead and have lunches and dinners without feeling sick to our stomach every day over the fact that we had a state that allowed these many deaths.
You said that Gov. Cuomo called and threatened you. It's got to be unnerving for the governor to be yelling at you while you're standing around with your family, especially after you've put your chin out there as an adversary in his own party.
How did that call end? Did it just trail off? Or did you push back on Cuomo?
No, I was terrified. I didn't push back. I wanted to get off as quickly as possible. I just wanted to acknowledge whatever he was saying and get off as soon as possible. No man has ever in my life spoken to me that way. I just told myself, "Don't say anything stupid. Don't take the bait."
What made you want to go public with it? Because obviously that was going to invite more of Cuomo's wrath.
I think if it had just been regular useless yelling, I think that's fine, and I probably could just yell back and call it a day.
But the moment he instructed me - more or less - to write a statement that sounded different from what I heard [Cuomo advisor Melissa DeRosa] saying [on a conference call with Democrats], I realized he crossed an unethical and perhaps illegal line and I needed to protect myself.
I wasn't sure at the time that I was going to go public, but after hearing Monday's press conference where he continued to double down and tried to implicate the legislature in the coverup basically because we knew about the DOJ investigation, I realized what his pattern is, which is roping as many people into his coverup and his lies, and implicating them.
I sent a memo out Monday night, with my colleagues, pushing for repeal of Cuomo's emergency powers, and also possible impeachment.
[Editor's note: Cuomo's senior adviser Rich Azzopardi said Kim is "lying" about the details of this call as "part of a years-long pattern of lies by Mr. Kim against this administration." Gov. Cuomo on Monday argued for the need to retain emergency powers, saying they "have nothing to do with nursing homes." On Wednesday the governor flatly-denied Kim's accusations and said the assemblyman engaged in "unethical if not illegal" behavior in accepting nail salon owners' campaign donations.]
We wanted to wake up our colleagues. This is corrupt, potentially illegal obstruction of justice. We need to wake up and we can't be affiliated with this executive. We have to do our jobs. It was a very intense memo. And I got a lot of angry phone calls because of the memo, but I felt like [my colleagues] needed to wake up.
Once that memo went out, I knew that everything had to move forward and we had to deploy everything possible to hold him accountable. And part of that is making sure the public knows that he is an abuser. He tries to abuse people with his powers, for doing their jobs.
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Publix offers $125 gift cards to workers who receive the COVID-19 vaccine
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- Employees have to show proof of vaccination and fill out an internal form to receive the gift cards.
- Publix was among the first to partner with Florida to distribute the Moderna vaccine, a spokesperson told Insider.
- Workers don't have to receive the vaccine from Publix Pharmacy.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Publix Supermarkets will offer $125 gift cards to employees who get the manufacturer-recommended doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the company said.
Employees must show proof of vaccination and fill out an internal form to receive the gift cards, but they don't have to receive the vaccine at a Publix Pharmacy, according to a press release.
"We care about our associates and customers and believe getting vaccinated can help us take one step closer to getting back to normal," said Publix CEO Todd Jones in the press release. "We're encouraging our associates to get vaccinated when they become eligible and doses are available."
The popular Southern grocery chain has more than 1,200 locations, with the bulk of them in Florida. The company has grown into the largest employee-owned company in the US.
Publix was among the first to partner with the state of Florida after the initial request to distribute the Moderna vaccine, a company spokesperson told Insider.
The supermarket joins a growing list of employers who have offered incentives to workers who receive the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine.
Target said earlier this month that it will offer four hours of paid time off and pay for Lyft rides for workers to get vaccinated, while Kroger said that it will pay $100 to workers who receive the full manufacturer-recommended vaccine doses.
Other companies have made similar incentives available to employees who get vaccinated.
The two-dose vaccines, including one from Pfizer-BioNtech and another from Moderna, received FDA approval in December. Around 34 million people have received one or more doses since the vaccine approval.
People who are vulnerable to severe COVID-19, like older people, those with other medical conditions, and "essential" workers, including doctors, nurses and grocery workers, have been prioritized, depending on the state.
The vaccine's initial rollout in the US was laden with delays. The timeline for when COVID-19 vaccines will be available to everyone in the US has slipped into May or possibly June, Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medial advisor, told CNN this week.
Appointments for the vaccine have moved mostly online, but those without internet access or internet savvy are struggling to sign up for their shots, Insider reported Saturday. The people who lack access and time to sign up for the vaccine are the same as those most at risk for contracting and dying from the disease: minorities, homeless, and elderly Americans.
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Uttarakhand: 'Kumbh Mela' To Be Held For 28 Days Amid Covid-19 Scare
<p><strong>Haridwar:</strong> In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 'Kumbh Mela' in 2021 would be held in Haridwar for a span of 28 days which includes four 'Shahi Snans'. The Uttarakhand government has taken this decision after discussions with Hindu sages and sants. 'Kumbh Mela 2021' would be organised from April 1 to 28, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said. The Uttarakhand government would soon issue a notification regarding the dates of the 'Kumbh Mela'.<br /><br />In the past, the 'Kumbh Mela' in Haridwar has been held for a period of four months.<br /><br />At the same time, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also issued the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) regarding the 'Kumbh Mela'. The devotees visiting the Kumbh would have to follow the SOP issued by the Ministry.<br /><br />The Uttarakhand High Court had also asked the state government to limit the duration of the 'Kumbh Mela' in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Significantly, this time in Haridwar, the 'Kumbh Mela' is taking place after 11 years instead of 12 years. Usually, the Kumbh Mela is held after every 12 years.<br /><br />The first 'Shahi Snan' will take place on March 11 which is celebrated as 'Mahashivaratri'. On March 11, seven akharas of the sants would be taking the first 'Shahi Snan' and on April 27 during the occasion of Vaishakh Purnima, three akharas of 'Bairagi Sadhus' would take bath in the Kumbh. All the 13 akharas would take bath in the Kumbh at Haridwar on April 12 which is observed as 'Somvati Amavasya' and on April 14, the main 'Shahi Snan' would be observed on 'Mesha Sankranti'.<br /><br />The 'Kumbh Mela 2021' will be quite different from the past Kumbh Melas. During this year's Kumbh Mela, bhajans and 'bhandaras' (religious feasts) would be prohibited at any place. The Uttarakhand government has issued the new rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus.</p>
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Baseless claims by an anti-lockdown activist that nobody under 19 had died of the coronavirus have been blocked by YouTube
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- The video featured Thomas Renz, an attorney for Ohio Stands Up, setting out a 35 minute legislative testimony.
- It was filmed during a hearing on a bill that would allow legislators to vote against public health orders.
- Renz makes many baseless claims including that nobody under 19 died of COVID-19 in Ohio despite the data.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
YouTube has removed a video of an Ohio committee hearing which it said contained COVID-19 misinformation.
The video featured Thomas Renz, an attorney for Ohio Stands Up, a group that aims to challenge the State of Emergency originally implemented by state Governor Mike DeWine on March 9, 2020.
In it, he set out a 35-minute legislative testimony during a hearing on a bill that would allow legislators to vote against public health orders amid the pandemic, according to the Associated Press.
Renz made several baseless claims, including that nobody from Ohio aged under 19 has died from COVID-19. Data from the Ohio Department of Health shows 10 children in the age group did indeed die of coronavirus, the Cleveland Scene reported.
He also said lockdown orders were "the most drastic curtailment of rights ever taken in American history," the Cleveland Scene added.
YouTube, which Google has owned since 2006, said that it had removed the video which was uploaded to The Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom channel this week, the Associated Press noted.
Google spokesperson Ivy Choi told the Associated Press: "We removed this video in accordance with our COVID-19 misinformation policy, which prohibits content that claims a certain age group cannot transmit the virus."
It came after an Ohio Senate bill, introduced by Republican lawmakers last month, limiting DeWine's ability to issue and maintain executive action during emergencies, AP reported.
Supporters of the new bill argue that the restrictions have unnecessarily harmed small businesses and Ohio's economy.
Opponents say it is unconstitutional and potentially could cost lives.
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At least two lawsuits filed against Texas' energy committee claim it was aware of shortcomings in the state's energy supply from previous winter storms
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- The energy committee at the center of Texas' energy crisis is the subject of at least two lawsuits filed Thursday and Friday.
- The suits, filed in Nueces and Harris Counties, allege ERCOT was aware of the state grid's shortcomings from previous winter outages.
- The Harris County lawsuit seeks up to $10 million in damages.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
At least two lawsuits have been filed alleging that Texas energy committee at the center of its ongoing power crisis knew of the state grid's shortcomings from past winter outages.
A lawsuit filed in Harris County, which includes Houston, on Thursday is seeking up to $10 million in damages from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, for its lack of preparedness leading up to Winter Storm Uri that hit much of the southern US on February 14.
It was filed by Fort Bend County residents Mauricio and Daysi Marin. Mauricio Marin still relies on oxygen after recovering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and alleges the utility provider did not adequately prepare him for an extended outage, according to a report from Law360.
"ERCOT's forecast for the maximum electricity that would be consumed far under-estimated the reality," the lawsuit said. "As a result, millions were plunged into darkness and cold as a result of a loss of electricity."
Another lawsuit filed in Nueces County on Friday goes a step further, alleging ERCOT was aware of its energy supply's weaknesses following similar winter outages in 1989 and 2011 and could have done more to winterize its system prior to the February 14 storm that left roughly 4 million Texans without electricity and heat at its peak. Millions of residents are still without water.
"This cold weather event and its effects on the Texas energy grid were neither unprecedented, nor unexpected, nor unforeseen," the Nueces County suit alleges.
A spokeswoman for ERCOT said the committee hadn't yet reviewed the lawsuits, but will respond accordingly once they do.
"Our thoughts are with all Texans who have and are suffering due to this past week," the spokeswoman told Insider. "However, because approximately 46% of privately-owned generation tripped offline this past Monday morning, we are confident that our grid operators made the right choice to avoid a statewide blackout."
ERCOT investigated past outages and recommended winterizing at-risk generators and production plants, the Nueces County suit says. In the winter of 2011, however, generators that failed in 1989 failed again, indicating that ERCOT's previous mitigation efforts "were not adequate, or were not maintained," according to an investigation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee report in 2011 that is cited in the lawsuit.
"The massive amount of generator failures that were experienced raises the question whether it would have been helpful to increase reserve levels going into the event," the 2011 FERC report said.
The suit alleges many of the same generators, transmitters, and distributors failed again starting February 14 in what could have been an avoidable catastrophe. The suit does not indicate the amount it is seeking from ERCOT and other energy providers.
Roughly 81,000 customers are still experiencing outages as of Saturday morning, according to a company that tracks outages across the state. Temperatures were forecast to rise on Saturday as well, providing some relief to Texans who had gone days without heat in freezing temperatures.
When the unusual winter storm struck the state power plants malfunctioned right when demand for electricity shot up as people tried to stay warm. As a result, ERCOT was forced to cut power to millions of households because there wasn't enough energy to go around.
As of Saturday, at least 37 people had died as a result of the storm and the resulting outages, according to a NBC report Friday. Many died from carbon monoxide poisoning from household generators or in their cars while trying to stay warm, while others died from hypothermia and exposure to brutally cold temperatures. Many areas are still under a boil water notice, meaning drinking water could be contaminated, as much of the state's grid comes back online.
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Vietnam was ranked 2nd for successfully handling the coronavirus pandemic, and its contact tracing was so good it barely had to lock down
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- Vietnam has reported 2,362 coronavirus cases and 35 deaths, despite its population of 97 million.
- From previous experience, Vietnam had a long-term plan in place to cope with outbreaks.
- Contact tracing, strategic testing, clear messaging, and mask-wearing prevented mass lockdowns.
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Throughout the pandemic, each country has implemented its own response to the virus - some better than others.
Countries like New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan have been praised for the way their leaders acted quickly.
Before recording a single coronavirus case, New Zealand imposed travel restrictions on February 3, 2020 for travelers coming from mainland China.
Australia had stricter rules than most other countries - only allowing residents to travel within 3 miles of their homes.
In an op-ed for Time magazine, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said the country's success to handling the coronavirus outbreak was "no coincidence."
"The painful lessons of the 2003 SARS outbreak, which left Taiwan scarred with the loss of dozens of lives, put our government and people on high alert early on," Ing-wen wrote.
Not too far away lies Vietnam - which has recorded fewer 2,500 cases of the novel coronavirus and 35 deaths - with a population of 97 million people, and shared borders with China, Cambodia, and Laos.
Thinktank The Lowy Institute published an index on January 28 ranking 98 countries and their success in handling the coronavirus pandemic. Vietnam ranked No. 2 behind New Zealand. The US ranked 94.
But it hasn't been praised the way other countries have for its success in combating COVID-19.
Vietnam's early proactivity and focus on contact tracing helped
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As early as January 2020, Vietnam conducted its first risk assessment, immediately after a cluster of cases of "severe pneumonia" was discovered in Wuhan, China.
Guy Thwaites, an infectious disease doctor who works in one of the main hospitals designated by the Vietnamese government to treat COVID-19 patients, told Insider the government responded "very quickly and robustly."
"Schools were shut down and there was a limit on international flights coming in," Thwaites said. "The government did all the simple things quickly."
Kamal Malhotra, a United Nations resident coordinator in Vietnam, said the country's success in handling the virus came down to three things: contact tracing, strategic testing, and clear messaging.
Instead of testing everyone, they tested those identified in contact tracing. The borders were shut down and everyone who came into the country was quarantined in government facilities - for free.
Insider's Kate Taylor was in Vietnam last February when there were fewer than 20 cases in the country. Taylor said she saw an emphasis on safety measures like mask-wearing, knowing symptoms of the virus, and temperature checks.
The country never went into nationwide lockdown while trying to contain the virus
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In an article for the United Nations, Malhotra wrote that the country announced a three-week village-wide quarantine last February. Vietnam closed its border and suspended flights from mainland China, the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world shortly thereafter.
When cases pop up, areas with the infections are placed on a local shutdown where no one can come in or out, Malhotra said.
Instead of locking the entire country down, the prime minister implemented social distancing measures throughout the country for two weeks in April.
By early May, people across Vietnam were largely able to return to their regular lives.
"The government adopted a zero-tolerance approach to get rid of the virus," Thwaites said. "Basic measures were implemented, but it wasn't easy. When people trust the government, people do what the government says."
Vietnam's approach to combating the virus deserves more recognition
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Vietnam had the potential to be a hotspot because of its location and population. But by using a low-cost model and implementing basic safety measures (like washing your hands and wearing a mask), it was able to contain the virus within a few months of the pandemic.
No other country with the same size or population has contained the virus the way Vietnam has. With a population of 102 million, Egypt has recorded more than 176,000 coronavirus cases, according to John Hopkins. The Democratic Republic of the Congo - landlocked in the middle of the African continent - has recorded more than 24,000 cases with a population of 89 million.
Despite sharing a border with the country where the outbreak started, Vietnam's success story is one worth telling.
According to Malhotra, Vietnam had a better response to fighting the virus than New Zealand.
"It's absurd to compare countries to New Zealand," he said. "We have much bigger challenges."
Malhotra believes there's a bias against Vietnam's success because of its system of government. Vietnam is a socialist country under the leadership of the Vietnam Communist Party.
"There's a lot of skepticism that the government wasn't sharing data but that is not true," Malhotra said. "The data is recorded in real-time and there is no coercion in measures taken here."
The people of Vietnam are learning to live in their new normal, but are still encouraged to social distance and wear masks.
Countries that have successfully controlled the virus included rigorous strategies in their plans
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Public health experts told Insider countries that have limited the spread of coronavirus have a clear recipe: Create a cohesive federal plan with consistent messaging, get everyone to wear masks, and implement widespread testing and contact tracing. The countries failing to curb their outbreaks are missing at least one of those elements.
The US lacks all of them.
Conflicting messages from the White House and health officials, especially in the first few months of the crisis, delayed safety measures that could have saved lives.
Health officials went back and forth in the early months about who should wear a face mask. First, it was only those in the medical field and those who were sick with the virus, the World Health Organization said last April. Soon after, the WHO and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone wear masks when going out in public.
Former President Donald Trump didn't wear a mask in public until July while visiting the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center - three days after the US hit 3 million coronavirus cases. Two weeks later, cases reached 4 million.
Once the US gets its outbreak under control, contact tracing could be doable again
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The US leads the world with the worst coronavirus toll: more than 27 million cases and 494,000 deaths.
"When you start getting the numbers of cases in the hundreds and potentially thousands, it's almost impossible for contact tracers to be effective," Adrian Esterman, an epidemiologist at the University of South Australia, previously told Insider's Aria Bendix.
Emma Hodcroft, a Swiss scientist who studies the coronavirus' genetic code, told Insider's Aylin Woodward in November that the US's first step must be to get its surge under control; then cases could get back to a level where testing and tracing are once again effective.
While the US's response to COVID-19 has been chaotic and ineffective so far, President Joe Biden has made getting the pandemic under control a top priority.
In his first days as president, Biden rejoined the WHO vaccine distribution program, encouraged mask-wearing, introduced a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that would give needed aid to state and local governments, reopen schools, and send another round of stimulus checks to Americans.
"My first 100 days won't end the COVID-19 virus - I can't promise that," Biden said at a December 11 event in Delaware. "But we did not get in this mess quickly, we're not going to get out of it quickly. It's going to take some time."
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