COVID-19 New Corona: 2021-04-04

Saturday, April 10, 2021

'Shocking Imbalance': WHO Chief Raises Worry Over Vaccine Distribution, Criticises Divide

New Delhi: World Health Organization criticized the vaccine divide among the poor and rich countries calling it a "shocking imbalance". On Friday, BBC report Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as saying "There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines". The WHO has long called for fairer distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. ALSO READ: <a style="color: #f80707;" href="https://ift.tt/3g04sO3 Govt Issues New Restrictions Amid Covid-19 Surge; Know What's Allowed, What's Not</a> According to the report, the group's chief said a target of seeing vaccination programmes under way in every country by Saturday would be missed. WHO is leading the Covax scheme which is aimed at getting the vaccines to poorer nations. So far, more than 38 million doses have been delivered to around 100 countries under the scheme. Although, the scheme had been expected to distribute at least 100 million doses worldwide by the end of March. "We hope to be able to catch up during April and May," Tedros said. Covax hopes to deliver more than two billion doses to people in 190 countries in less than a year. In particular, it wants to ensure that 92 poorer countries will receive access to vaccines at the same time as wealthier countries. Critizing countries that made their own vaccine deals outside of the Covax scheme Tedros said, "some countries and companies plan to do their own bilateral vaccine donations, bypassing Covax for their own political or commercial reasons". "These bilateral arrangements run the risk of fanning the flames of vaccine inequity," he added. "Scarcity of supply is driving vaccine nationalism." The WHO said, "on average in high-income countries, almost one in four people have received a Covid-19 vaccine. In low-income countries, it's one in more than 500". The WHO Chief earlier this year warned that the world was facing a "catastrophic moral failure" over vaccine inequality. He said a "me-first" approach would be self-defeating because it would encourage hoarding and prolong the pandemic. According to the latest update, total vaccination done in India so far is 10,15,95,147. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's called for a 'Tika Utsav' or vaccine festival which begins in the country from today with an aim to inoculate the maximum number of eligible people against the coronavirus. The campaign will be carried out till April 14 although reports of vaccine shortage may pose a significant challenge.

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Delhi Govt Issues New Restrictions Amid Covid-19 Surge; Know What's Allowed, What's Not

New Delhi: Hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated that the city will see some more restrictions as the surge in Covid-19 continues, the Delhi government issued new guidelines for the coming days. These guidelines prohibiting all social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural and religious gatherings till further order. According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), 'all cinemas, theatres and multiplexes will be permitted to open with up to 50 per cent of their seating capacity', stated an IANS report. ALSO READ: <a style="color: #f80707;" href="https://ift.tt/3dWs2bC PM Modi's Appeal, 4-Day 'Tika Utsav' For Mass Covid-19 Vaccination Begins Today</a> Public transportation like DTC and cluster buses, Delhi Metro will work at 50 percent capacity.  Though the Delhi government earlier this month announced that all colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed in Delhi in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases. According to the IANS report, the DDMA order stated "Students of Classes IX to XII may be called to school only for academic guidance and support for mid-term exams/pre-board exams/annual exams or board exams, practical exams/project works, internal assessment with the consent of parents." Restaurants, bars and cinemas will work at 50 percent of their capacity. At weddings only 50 guests will be allowed whereas at funerals only 20 people allowed according to media reports.  The guidelines also said that swimming pools in Delhi will remain closed, except for training of sportspersons participating in national/global events. For people travelling from Maharashtra, there is a new set of guidelines, making it mandatory for travelling by air from Maharashtra to Delhi to carry a negative RT-PCR report done 72 hours prior to arrival. Those who do not present a report will face a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Private companies must encourage working from home as much as possible or employees must be called at staggered times to avoid overcrowding. Media reports say that government offices will work at 50 per cent capacity as well except for high-level Grade 1 officers, but those working at the health department, police, home guard civil defence, fire and emergency services and district administrations will be exempt from these restrictions.  The national capital reported 7897 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, according to the Delhi government's health bulletin released on Saturday. However, the number of samples tested was less compared to Friday which 8521 cases. 

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Following PM Modi's Appeal, 4-Day 'Tika Utsav' For Mass Covid-19 Vaccination Begins Today

New Delhi: Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call, 'Tika Utsav' or vaccine festival will begin in the country from today with an aim to inoculate the maximum number of eligible people against the coronavirus. Several states are urging citizens who are eligible for the vaccination driver to get themselves inoculated during the 'Tika Utsav'. The campaign will be carried out till April 14 although reports of vaccine shortage may pose a significant challenge. ALSO READ |<a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/2PHWH4B"> Covid Vaccine Shortage: Punjab Left With Only 3 To 5 Days Of Supply, Says CM Amarinder Singh</a> Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also issued an appeal to people to get vaccinated in large numbers. In his interaction with chief ministers over the persisting Covid-19 situation on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi had urged them to focus on vaccinating all those who are above 45 years of age in high caseload districts. "Sometimes, it helps in changing the atmosphere. The birth anniversary of Jyotiba Phule is on April 11 and on April 14, there is the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb. Can we organise a 'Tika Utsav: or vaccine festival and create an atmosphere of 'Tika Utsav'?" he had said "We should vaccinate as many eligible people through a special campaign and decide on zero wastage. If there is zero wastage in four days during 'Tika Utsav', it will also increase our vaccination capacity," PM Modi added. This should be our endeavour to vaccinate maximum eligible people during the 'Tika Utsav', PM Modi emphasised. Meanwhile the reports of shortage in Coronavirus vaccine supply continue to raise concerns. After states like Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, Punjab also reported a shortage of Covid-19 vaccine doses as Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh informed that the state is left with only 3 to 5 days of vaccine supply. As per news agency ANI, he said that Punjab is left with only 5 days of vaccine supply with 5.7 lakh Covid vaccine doses at the current levels of vaccinating 85,000-90,000 persons a day. If the state is able to meet its target of 2 lakh vaccines a day, then its current supplies will last only 3 days, the CM added. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had earlier called the allegations of vaccine shortage "utterly baseless". "Vaccine supplies are being monitored on a real-time basis, and State governments are being apprised regularly about it," Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday.

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Sports and other large outdoor events are finally returning but experts say they shouldn't be an 'unregulated free-for-all'

GettyImages 1310986145 — A view of the fans and the stands during the first inning of the game between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field on April 5, 2021.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

The Texas Rangers welcomed a nearly full stadium on Monday for their opening day.
But experts told Insider while large events can resume in some places, precautions should be taken.
Some stadiums are requiring fans to be vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19 before attending.
See more stories on Insider's business page.

The Texas Rangers on Monday drew tens of thousands of fans to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas for opening day, with photos of the game looking like relics from the days before the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the largest crowd size at a sporting event in the US since the pandemic began, Insider's Erin Snodgrass reported, and as states continue to open up further, more large events are likely to follow.

However, infectious disease specialists told Insider that's not necessarily dangerous, depending on the state and as long as some precautions are taken.

"Because it's outdoors, I may surprise you here, but I do think they can play baseball in front of fans," Andrew Noymer, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California Irvine, told Insider.

While Noymer said he wouldn't personally go to a Rangers game right now even if he were a fan, he thinks some outdoor events can go on in states where transmission is low and virus variants are not of immediately pressing concern.

In Michigan, for instance, where the surge in coronavirus cases is currently the worst in the nation, he would not recommend such events. The state is reckoning with the more transmissible and more deadly B.1.1.7 variant, which has now been documented in Michigan more than any other state.

And Michigan isn't the only state facing a surge, as about half of US states are seeing a rise in their daily case numbers.

rangers baseball game — The stadium was nearly at capacity during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field on April 5, 2021.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

But for states where the epidemiological situation is relatively good, like Texas or California, allowing large outdoor gatherings with precautions could do more good than harm.

"We may be in a worse spot later in the summer," Noymer said, adding that even in places where the situation looks good now, that could change quickly. "We should save the limited tolerance that's left for stay-at-home type orders for when it's really necessary."

Despite the good situation in Texas, Noymer said precautions should still be taken at large events. He said they should still be at 50% capacity, at most, but noted that when people cannot be spaced apart they should be wearing masks.

The Rangers game Monday was nearly at capacity, with 38,238 fans in attendance in a stadium that seats 40,300. While Gov. Greg Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate last month against the recommendations of experts, Major League Baseball does require fans to wear masks. But photos of the game showed masks worn sparsely.

Noymer also said sporting events are better suited to go on with precautions than others, like a music festival, for instance, adding: "You could do Coachella at 30% capacity and it would still just form a blob of humanity."

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California San Francisco, agreed that for these large events to occur, precautions should be taken.

"What you don't want is an unregulated free-for-all," Chin-Hong told Insider. "You still can't party like it's 2019."

GettyImages 1310966356 — Fans walk to their seats during batting practice before the Texas Rangers take on the Toronto Blue Jays at Globe Life Field on April 5, 2021 in Arlington, Texas.
Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

He said even in places that appear to be doing well, the situation is not yet stable and it's not yet clear when it will be. As for large outdoor gatherings, he said a great way to reduce risk is a combination of vaccinations and testing for attendees.

The San Francisco Giants, for instance, are requiring fans older than 12 years old to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result in order to enter the stadium. And that's in addition to a 22% capacity restriction. Instead of relying on controversial vaccine passports only, the model also mitigates the heightened risk involved with people who choose not to get the vaccine.

Chin-Hong said these precautions are smart even in a state that feels safe right now, like California, because those places are not yet risk-free and that they should be implemented alongside masks and spacing.

Large events could be an even more dangerous situation now than they would have been a year ago due to the variants, especially for young people who are not yet vaccinated but are attending these gatherings,

"It's not like people are just getting COVID. They're getting serious COVID," he said, adding that Michigan has seen a significant increase in the number of coronavirus hospitalizations among people in their 20s and 30s.

Chin-Hong emphasized that the pandemic is dynamic and could change quickly, making it wiser to gradually lift restrictions, rather than all at once.

"I'm always humbled by this virus," he said. "It's better to be safer and then pull back rather than just assume it can be a free-for-all again."

Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.

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Mumbai: Good News For Tipplers As BMC Allows Home Delivery Of Liquor Between 7 AM To 8 PM

Mumbai: In a major relief for tipplers amid the curbs imposed by the Maharashtra Government in Mumbai in view of the rising Covid-19 cases in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allowed the sale and home delivery of liquor in the city throughout the week. The BMC order, however, states that shops with a valid licence are only allowed the home delivery of indigenous alcoholic drink and Indian-made foreign liquor. READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/3t9jtAC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mumbai Vaccine Shortage: BMC Receives 99,000 Doses Of Covishield; Centre Assures Assistance</a> As per the order, they can sell liquor only through home delivery service between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The BMC has asked the delivery executives to strictly follow the Covid-19 protocols in place, including wearing masks and maintaining social distance besides using santisiers. This comes as Maharashtra continues to confront the spiralling Covid-19 cases reporting the highest daily new cases at 58,993. The Maharashtra Government had earlier announced weekend lockdown beginning 8 p.m. on Friday till 7 a.m. on Monday besides other curbs including closure of shops, markets and malls except essential services. READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/3t5EvQR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mumbai's Covid-19 Vaccination Drive Gets Hit By Lack Of Doses, Private Centres To Remain Shut Till Monday</a> The five states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala cumulatively account for over 72 percent of India’s total active cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 51.23 percent of the total active caseload of the country, according to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

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Alia Bhatt Shares Sun-Kissed Selfies As She Spends Her COVID-19 Quarantine, Sports No Make-Up Look

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, shared sun-kissed selfies on her official Instagram handle. The ‘Kalank’ star posted two weekend selfies on social media while observing home quarantine. The tinsel town can be seen resting in bed while striking a pose for the camera. She opted for a no make-up look and flaunted her glowing skin in her selfie. The caption for the post read, “Dreamers never wake up.” Fans have flooded the comments section with their messages. Many users asked Alia about her health. Check out her post! (Swipe to see the photos) [insta]https://www.instagram.com/p/CNeucdVM4qZ/[/insta] Jacqueline Fernandez, Saba Ali Khan and other celebs also dropped comments on the post. Jackky wrote, ‘wow’ while Saif Ali Khan’s sister commented, “Hope the road to recovery...is well on its way. Get well soon.” Alia had earlier shared another selfie along with the caption, "One day at a time." Ranbir Kapoor's mother Neetu Singh, his sister Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Dia Mirza and Bipasha Basu had commented on the post. [insta]https://www.instagram.com/p/CNRrgxZsroW/[/insta] Watch this space for more updates!

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Arizona businesses will be allowed to opt-out and ignore mask orders under law signed by GOP Gov. Doug Ducey

Arizona face mask — Usher Kathy Stock wears a face shield and mask as she waits for fans to enter the MLB spring training game in February in Arizona.
Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Arizona businesses can soon opt out of local orders requiring masks under a new law.
The bill was signed into law by GOP Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday.
Ducey never instituted a statewide mandate and in March signed an executive order that said localities couldn't do so, either.
See more stories on Insider's business page.

Businesses in Arizona can soon elect to opt out of any city, county, or state order requiring face masks in their establishments after Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill into law Friday.

Under the law, businesses can still elect to enforce mask mandates for their customers, but they can no longer be compelled to by any city, county, or even state order to do so.

"I am signing this bill, ensuring that our small businesses will no longer be required to enforce mandates imposed on them by their cities who are choosing not to enforce it themselves," Ducey, a Republican, said Friday, according to a report from Arizona Central.

While Ducey signed the bill Friday, it won't go into effect until 90 days after the Arizona legislature concludes its session. According to AZ Central, that date is different each year, meaning whether businesses will be at present be required to follow local orders isn't clear.

While Ducey's office says a March 26 executive order by the governor made it illegal for localities to enact their own mask mandates, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said later in March counties were still able to enforce mask mandates under a provision of the state's Emergency Management Code.

Brnovich, also a Republican, said the code's provision allowing counties to "investigate all nuisances, source of filth and causes of sickness and make regulations necessary for the public health and safety of the inhabitants" supersedes executive orders by the state governor.

According to KAWC, a spokesperson for Ducey said the attorney general's informal legal opinion on the local public health measures was "inconsequential" because local governments were unable to effectively enforce their mask mandates even when they were "most necessary" earlier during the pandemic.

Ducey never issued a statewide mask order during the pandemic, even though public health experts stressed - and continue to stress - their effectiveness in stemming the spread of COVID-19.

"Our largest cities opted not to enforce their mandates, leaving the responsibility up to local businesses," Ducey said Friday. "I understand the concern and heartache this caused for many of these businesses."

According to AZ Central, Phoenix, Tempe, Tucson, Flagstaff, and Pima County in the state continue to require face masks in public areas.

Ducey signed the bill into law even though he acknowledged the bill's language could inadvertently pose challenges for the enforcement of laws that require the wearing of masks in situations unrelated to COVID-19, like when workers handle harmful materials, according to the report.

"Some rational mask requirements that are not related to the spread of COVID-19 may not be enforceable," the governor said. "The state needs to be able to enforce long-standing workplace safety and infection control standards unrelated to COVID-19."

The state representative who authored the bill said he would amend the legislation's language before the end of the current session to fix that portion, the AZ Central reported.

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Nearly 40% of Marines have so far declined to receive a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus

Marine Corps Marines — Reconnaissance Marines with the Maritime Raid Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit cut through a metal plate during a simulated visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) mission aboard dock landing ship USS Germantown, September 6, 2020.
US Marine Corps/Sgt. Danny Gonzalez

Out of the 123,500 Marines who have been offered a coronavirus vaccine, about 48,000 said no.
About 102,000 US Marines have yet to be offered a vaccine against the coronavirus, CNN reported.
About 19% of the US population has already been fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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A large number of US Marines are choosing not to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, CNN reported.

About 40% of Marines who have been offered a shot, or 48,000, have so far declined a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus. Of the 123,500 Marines who have been offered a vaccine, about 75,500 agreed to get one, according to data obtained by CNN.

Over 100,000 Marines have yet to be offered a vaccine, the network said.

"We fully understand that widespread acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine provides us with the best means to defeat the pandemic. The key to addressing the pandemic is building vaccine confidence," Marine Corps spokesperson Col. Kelly Frushour said in a statement to CNN.

Marines might decline COVID-19 vaccines for several reasons, Frushour said. They might prefer others to receive priority for it or are choosing to wait until it's institutionally mandated. They could also be allergic or have already secured a vaccine through other channels, CNN reported.

"Service members who decline one day can change their mind and become vaccinated when next the opportunity presents itself," Frushour added.

The Marine Corps did not immediately return a request for comment from Insider.

In February, a top Pentagon official said about a third of all US troops had at the time refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

"Acceptance rates are somewhere in the two-thirds territory," Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, the Joint Staff's vice director for operations, told the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on the Defense Department's response to the pandemic.

The vaccine is not compulsory for service members, but Taliaferro told Rep. Mike Rogers, the top Republican lawmaker on the committee, that the military must do better "to help them understand the benefits."

The military's acceptance rate at the time, however, was higher than that of the general population. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, general population vaccination rates hovered around 50% at the time Taliaferro made his remarks earlier this year.

The coronavirus has infected more than 31 million people in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 561,000 Americans have died from it. About 19% of the US population has been fully vaccinated so far, JHU data says.

Insider's Bill Bostock contributed to this report.

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Mumbai Vaccine Shortage: BMC Receives 99,000 Doses Of Covishield; Centre Assures Assistance

Mumbai:  In what comes as good news for the people in India’s fiscal capital amid the unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday informed it received 99,000 doses of Covishield vaccine after it complained of a shortage, adding the vaccines will be distributed to the civic and government-run vaccine centres for vaccination. The civic body had earlier on Friday said that private vaccination centres in Mumbai would be closed until Monday due to inadequate availability of Covid-19 vaccine. READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/3t5EvQR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mumbai's Covid-19 Vaccination Drive Gets Hit By Lack Of Doses, Private Centres To Remain Shut Till Monday</a> The BMC added that vaccination would take place only at government and municipal hospitals on April 10 (12pm- 6pm) and April 11 (9am-5pm). The civic body also said that citizens eligible for vaccination can travel to vaccination centres during curfew on medical grounds. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MyBMCUpdates?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MyBMCUpdates</a> Vaccination to take place only at Govt &amp; Municipal Hospitals on 10 Apr (12pm- 6pm) &amp; 11 Apr (9am-5pm) No vaccination at any pvt centre on 10, 11 &amp; 12 Apr Citizens eligible for vaccination can travel to vaccination centres during curfew on medical grounds <a href="https://t.co/0X9f4ucTIs">pic.twitter.com/0X9f4ucTIs</a>&mdash; माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) <a href="https://twitter.com/mybmc/status/1380560904329158661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> The BMC had earlier on Thursday said that vaccination could not take place at 25 of the 71 approved vaccination centres as the doses had run out of stock at these private facilities. As per the civic body data, there are 49 vaccination centres in government and BMC run hospitals in the metropolis while 71 have been set up in private hospitals. Meanwhile, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar today said Maharashtra has received 1.10 crore doses of anti-COVID 19 vaccines so far, adding over 1,100 ventilators will be made available for the state in the next three days. READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/2PHWH4B" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covid Vaccine Shortage: Punjab Left With Only 3 To 5 Days Of Supply, Says CM Amarinder Singh</a> Javadekar, who was speaking to the media after attending a review meeting with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Pune, further said Gujarat and Rajasthan are the two other states that have received more than one crore doses. The Union Minister’s remarks came amid reports that Maharashtra, which is worst-affected by COVID-19 pandemic, is facing an acute shortage of the doses which is hampering its vaccination drive. Struggling to cope up with the rising Covid-19 cases, the Maharashtra Government has imposed a weekend lockdown in the state beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday till 7 a.m. on Monday besides other restrictions, which will continue till April 30.

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Covid Surge: Kejriwal Rules Out Another Lockdown in Delhi, Says ‘New Restrictions Will Be Imposed Soon’

New Delhi: With Delhi recording over 8,500 fresh Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday ruled out the possibility of imposing another lockdown in the national capital but stated fresh restrictions will be implemented soon to prevent the virus surge. Kejriwal, who was interacting with the media outside the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, said the people can be vaccinated within two to three months in Delhi provided there are “enough vaccine doses” and the “age bar for vaccination is removed” besides “approval to open more vaccination centers on a larger scale”. “Currently, we have vaccines for 7-10 days. There will be no lockdown. New restrictions will be imposed soon,” he added. READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/2PHWH4B" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covid Vaccine Shortage: Punjab Left With Only 3 To 5 Days Of Supply, Says CM Amarinder Singh</a> Expressing grave concern over Delhi witnessing the fourth wave of coronavirus, Kejriwal said there is a need to speed up the vaccination process and improve hospital management to curb the spread of infection and control the rising number of cases in the national capital. Kejriwal, who held a review meeting amid the fourth wave of the virus, said that he would not let Delhiites suffer as his government shall fulfill all the requirements of the hospitals. “Today also I held a review meeting at the LNJP hospital. The Delhi government and all the hospitals are going to replicate the level of preparations we had in November last year when infections were increased during the third wave and the doctors, nurses and health professionals had successfully tackled the situation,” he added. Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Kumar Jain and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Raghav Chaddha during his visit to the hospital, had earlier this week written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the vaccine should be made available to the people across all age groups except those medically barred from getting the shots. READ: <a href="https://ift.tt/3uwcaDw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coronavirus Second Wave: If You Have THESE Symptoms, Get Yourself Tested For Covid 19</a> The AAP chief had in his letter also requested the Prime Minister to expand the ongoing vaccination drive by allowing schools and community centres to be used as vaccination sites apart from the existing healthcare facilities. Meanwhile, the cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 9.80 crore today. According to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, over 34 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been inoculated to the beneficiaries in the last 24 hours.

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As a Korean national studying in the US, I've seen how racism in America affects Asians around the globe

Stop Asian Hate Women — Protesters hold signs saying "Stop Asian Hate" after the Atlanta shooting.
Zhao Gang/Xinhua

The Atlanta shooting showed the world that racism in America is no longer an exclusively American issue.
The term "Asian American" is rooted in the solidarity movements of the 1960s.
That history should propel us towards a sense of transnational Asian solidarity.
Jimin Kang is a writer and student at Princeton University originally from South Korea and Hong Kong.
This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
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Before I came to the United States for college, I had never considered myself a person of color. Nor did I think of myself as generically "Asian." I was a South Korean who'd grown up in Hong Kong - belonging to two places where, as far as skin color went, I had always been part of the racial majority.

Four years after my arrival, there isn't a day where I don't think about the color of my skin. And recent events have made me warier than usual. After six Asian women - four of them of Korean heritage - were murdered in Atlanta by a gunman purported to have a sex addiction, millions of Asian Americans in the United States were furious and aggrieved by how anti-Asian violence has been underplayed for years, despite the longstanding pressure points of colonial history, reductive stereotyping, and most recently the coronavirus pandemic.

It isn't just Asian Americans who are grieving, nor just Americans. The fact of the matter is that racism in America is no longer an exclusively American issue, particularly for those who are not white.

For the global Asian community, the Atlanta shooting has been the wake-up call to a reality that Black and Latino people have known for years: that national identity is irrelevant when it comes to racial trauma. The compartmentalization of identity across national lines no longer serves us, because, as the randomness of identity-based violence shows us time and time again, those who suffer from it could be any of us.

Identifying as Asian American

As an Asian person currently living in America, I've often reflected on the distinctions between Asian Americans and "Asian Asians" in this country - the latter category for Asian people who, despite not being US citizens, feel a strong affinity to the US for reasons ranging from work and education to family and love. The distinction is often subtle, even arbitrary: there are Asians who are American but spend most of their lives living abroad, and Asians who aren't American but spend most of their lives in America. Beyond the legal matter of citizenship, using the "American" suffix can be, in many cases, a matter of self-identification.

Historically, the usage of the term "Asian American" was a way for people of different ethnicities to signal solidarity across national lines. Before the term was first coined in 1968 by two students at the University of California Berkeley - who were inspired by the Black Power Movement to encourage unity in the fight for racial justice - most Americans of Asian descent would refer to themselves by their nationalities.

In other words, to be Asian American has always been more than an identity - to wear the label was initially an attempt to "express an idea," Daryl Maeda, a professor of Asian American Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told NBC News. "And that idea is that as Asian Americans, we have to work together to fight for social justice and equality, not only for ourselves, but for all of the people around us."

In the decades since, the term Asian American has become part of the mainstream American lexicon. But it may be worthwhile to return to thinking about it not as an inherited identity, but rather an idea whose lessons are applicable even to those outside the country.

America's racism affects all of us

In the last four years, I've had to redefine my experience of Asianness as an international student temporarily based in the United States, where the inevitable process of becoming a person of color has been alternately illuminating and difficult. I remember how, during my freshman year, I'd inadvertently begun attributing my racial identity to unexplainable feelings of apprehension or self-doubt.

One day, when I felt small and out of place in a seminar, I realized I was the only non-white person in the room. At parties, I'd wonder if no one was noticing me because I was Asian and thus, according to Hollywood conventions, less attractive. But on other occasions, I'd reflexively wonder if any sign of romantic interest from another person was directly related to my Asianness. Instances like these would occur repeatedly over the three years that followed, even in a college where close to a third of students identify as Asian, in a town where Asians make up the second largest ethnic group.

My parents, who have never spent more than two weeks in the United States, have had to learn these painful lessons from Seoul, South Korea. When the coronavirus pandemic first began, my dad would warn me against walking around alone, afraid I'd be harassed. For months, my mom has implored me to switch up my running routes in case I become an easy target for a stranger's fit of race-based rage. These narratives of violence are very real to them, although neither of them has ever considered themself a person of color; to them these words are unfamiliar lingo, imported by a daughter far from home.

More than ever before, news of America's racial tensions is available in their language, on the websites they visit, and in the news they follow. The constant availability of international news, in tandem with the harsh spotlight shone on America since the Black Lives Matter protests last summer and the rhetoric of Donald Trump's presidency, has meant that America's issues have become personal to them, too.

For the record, South Korea is one of the most racially homogenous places in the world. And yet, I find it astonishing that increasingly, more and more people there know what it means to be a person of color. South Koreans understand that, in the United States, you might be considered Chinese or Japanese in addition to being Korean. It's become unsettlingly common for broad generalizations to replace specific national identities, leading us to understand that the ways in which we self-identify - especially in a foreign country - will not always protect us.

When I learned about the shootings, the first people on my mind were an Atlanta-based Korean couple I'd met in Seoul last summer, who'd told me how much they loved their city and its vibrant Korean American community. Any of the women who'd been shot could've been their parents or in-laws, I thought. It could've been them. And then I realized that, had I gone to school in Atlanta, it could've been me; had my parents migrated to the United States like Koreans have done in large numbers since 1960, it could've been them, too.

The past few weeks have been unimaginably painful for Asian Americans across the world who know the United States as their constant and permanent home. It is a pain that I, as a foreign national, can't claim to know with the same intensity. But the burden of dismantling racial violence does not fall on American shoulders alone.

To learn of the shootings in Atlanta is to remind ourselves that the duty to care is not restricted to our inherited identities. To say the victims' names - Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue; Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng - is to know that grief can be felt in many places, in many languages. This tragedy is personal to all of us, wherever and whoever we are.

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3 founders share the self-care practices that strengthen their mental health and help them stay mindful

woman writing at home — Writing in a journal is one way founders can practice mindfulness.
10'000 Hours/Getty Images

When COVID cost him business, Isaac Rudansky looked back at his career successes to think more positively.
Altering your mindset can give you the confidence to push forward through difficult times.
Founders should also try identifying their emotions, seeking support, and taking time for themselves.
See more stories on Insider's business page.

After only six weeks of working in his company's newly purchased office space, Isaac Rudansky, founder and CEO of AdVenture Media Group, sent his employees home to avoid the spread of COVID-19. He lost 35% of his clients in the first three weeks of the pandemic. "I'm actually an optimistic person, but this was a really dark period," he said. "Oftentimes, when you're dealing with feelings of depression and stress, it's impossible to look at a longer horizon."

So rather than look forward, Rudansky looked back at the past five years. Even through the peaks and valleys, he saw that his life and career had trended in a positive direction. That perspective gave him the confidence to move forward.

As Eve Lewis Prieto, the director of meditation and a mindfulness teacher at Headspace, said, "one of the best things about mindfulness is that it can be applied to every area of your life. Mindfulness is the ability to be fully engaged and present with a soft and open mind, also known as paying attention on purpose."

As we pass the one-year anniversary of the country entering lockdown, founders shared with Inc. some of the practices that strengthen their mental health and help them stay mindful.

1. Identify what you're feeling

When she looked at the options to confront her anxiety and burnout as a software engineer, Meha Agrawal, CEO and founder of Silk and Sonder, felt intimidated by therapy and was bored by meditation. Instead, she found that writing was the outlet she needed.

"There are a ton of benefits of bringing pen to paper," she said. "It alleviates anxiety and stress, and it helps increase IQ and memory. It's proven to heal trauma." Agrawal created a journaling routine back in 2017, and soon after, she began developing her subscription-based journal company to help customers emulate her experience with journaling.

Aaron Sternlicht, a therapist and cofounder of New York City-based Family Addiction Specialist, endorses writing as a way of tracking your emotional mood throughout the day. This practice can help you understand which activities and times of day spark more anxiety, he said. Once you can identify the trigger moments, you can better prepare yourself to respond.

2. Lean on other people

Angela Ficken, a psychotherapist based in Boston, notes that maintaining personal relationships is a constant challenge in a founder's life. The pandemic has only worsened this, she said, spurring more mental health challenges for founders. In recognizing the importance of community, Agrawal created the Sonder club, an online community where Silk and Sonder users can connect on their wellness journey.

Talking with people can be the best outlet for maintaining your mental well-being, Rudansky said: "It allows a person to express sympathy and empathy for what you're going through."

A couple of months ago, he said, one of his executives reached out to him to express that he felt overwhelmed at work. Rather than showing weakness, it showed strength and character, Rudansky said. The two ended up on an hourlong phone call together where they both opened up about their feelings and current struggles.

3. Make time for yourself - and start small

Last month, Tori Farley, cofounder of Better Than Belts, a unisex suspender company, joined a book club and read "The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brené Brown, which teaches readers how to reorient their mindsets and explores the psychology of authentic living. Farley was hesitant about reading a "quasi-self-help book," but "When I read it, it just clicked," she said. "If I want to spend two hours in the morning doing watercolor painting because that is going to make me feel happy for the rest of the day, then that's what I should do, and I don't have to start my day by checking my email."

Even if it's just a short moment in time, doing something for yourself can help you get out of a workday slump, Farley said. And Ficken adds that the all-or-nothing mentality can be extremely harmful to mental health. If you can't get in your full workout that day, she said, don't give up on physical activity. Instead, walk around the perimeter of your house for a little while or even take a few minutes to walk to your kitchen to get some cold water.

Headspace encourages users to start with just three to five minutes a day, Prieto said. "Some days the mind is going to feel really busy and on other days much quieter, so you are not doing anything wrong if you find that it's taking longer for the mind to settle," she said. The goal is not to empty the mind, but to be at ease with where you are.

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The Great GOP Migration: How South Florida became a shadow capital for Trump conservatives

Trump mask Miami — Supporters of then-President Donald Trump in Miami after the 2020 election.
Eva Marie Uzcategui Trinkl/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

As conservatives flee Blue State hostility and lockdowns, South Florida has become a GOP power base.
The GOP social calendar orbits Trump's Mar-a-Lago, while revelers party mask-free at swank house parties and penthouses.
Greater Miami has lured California tech and right-wing news. Florida's politics is meanwhile shifting Red.
See more stories on Insider's business page.

Brittney Reed needed to get in front of Donald Trump and it had to happen fast.

It was the eve of two special elections in Louisiana, and Reed--the head of the Louisiana GOP--knew an endorsement from Trump could make the difference. So, she had secured a last-minute ticket for a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago and flew to Palm Beach to make her case in person.

It was mid-March, and Mar-a-Lago had partially closed a section of the club after several workers tested positive for COVID-19. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who became a national figure for loosening coronavirus restrictions, had booked the club for the evening and his event went on as planned.

When DeSantis and Trump finished their remarks, Reed made a beeline for the former president to discuss the two Republicans she wanted in Congress: Julia Letlow, the widow of congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who had died from COVID complications, and Claston Bernard, a former LSU track star.

Trump turned to DeSantis and others around him.

"Ron, what do you think of this race here?" Trump said, according to sources with knowledge of the event. (Representatives for Trump, DeSantis, and Bernard did not respond to Insider's questions about the encounter.) "Is it possible, what do you think?"

The crowd agreed that Letlow was a good bet, while DeSantis said Bernard's seat "wasn't winnable" because the district was heavily Democratic. Trump had praised Letlow before, but it wasn't widely known his removal from social media platforms had silenced the former president's preferred megaphone. "How am I going to do this endorsement if I do it?" Trump asked.

Mar a Lago better — The Atlantic Ocean is seen adjacent to former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, in 2018
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

"Put a press release out. We'll get it everywhere," Reed said.

The following day, Trump released a statement promoting Letlow's candidacy. She won easily.

Mar-a-La-Go-Go

South Florida has long been a haven for those fleeing frigid winters and high taxes. Once the pandemic began, a jet set of monied Manhattanites, tech entrepreneurs, and untethered influencers restless from Blue State lockdowns flocked to Miami en masse -- helping turn Greater Miami into a conservative power base.

Once Mar-a-Lago went from being Trump's "Winter White House" to full-time residence, the Republican Party's social calendar has increasingly orbited his beachfront Xanadu.

"Republicans used to go to the Upper East Side to raise money but most of those people aren't even in New York anymore. They're in their second home in South Florida," said Adam Weiss, a Miami-based public relations executive. "Now that New York completely shut down, that drove a whole new group of people to come down here."

So far this year, Trump's members-only resort has hosted high-dollar soirees for DeSantis, Utah Senator Mike Lee, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Alabama Senate candidate Lynda Blanchard.

"I have to say, I'm getting calls from senators, they all want our endorsement and I'm being very selective," Trump said at the Noem gathering, which donors paid $4,000 to attend.

Party honchos even relocated their confabs to South Florida to ensure a Trump appearance.

The American Conservative Union switched its annual CPAC event from suburban Maryland to Orlando in February to avoid limits on large indoor gatherings. It was there that Trump made his first public remarks since leaving office.

Trump won — Former President Trump's supporters gather near his Mar-a-Lago home on Feb. 15, 2021.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Republican National Committee picked Palm Beach for its spring donor retreat in April and set a portion of the weekend at Mar-a-Lago to appease Trump after officials angered the former president by using his image in its fundraisers.

When Air Force One touched down in West Palm Beach on Jan. 20, hundreds of MAGA-hatted faithful lined Southern Boulevard gripping blue "Trump 2020" flags and hand painted "Trump Won" signs as the former president's motorcade whizzed by.

It was a far friendlier atmosphere than he had lately experienced in Manhattan, where raucous protesters would pack Fifth Avenue, at the foot of Trump Tower, whenever Trump returned from Washington.

"It's a wealthy place and there's not many places where there are so many heavy hitters who are Republican," Weiss said.

Arrest Trump 2 — A protest in front of Trump Tower on March 8, 2021 along New York's Fifth Ave.
John Smith/VIEWpress

"Isn't it so nice that Miami is open?"

Power lunches in Palm Beach still reign among Trump's inner circle. Rudy Giuliani is known to hold court at The Breakers and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been seen dining at La Bilboquet, a Worth Avenue outpost of a high-end Manhattan eatery that opened in February. The afterparty crowd for Mar-a-Lago events often hits Cucina Palm Beach where Kimberly Guilfoyle, who purchased a $9.7 million mansion with her boyfriend Don Jr. in nearby Jupiter, has been spotted dancing on the tables.

The love for Trump spreads 70 miles south of Mar-a-Lago to Miami, a city that never sleeps thanks to many coronavirus restrictions lifting months ago.

They pack into Carbone, one of the restaurants dotting Collins Avenue in South Beach. Or Socialista, a swanky lounge attached to Cipriani Restaurant, where transplants from San Francisco start-ups rub shoulders with maskless models and the occasional conservative influencer, before moving on to an all-night party at a South Beach penthouse or at the Star Island mansion of plastic surgeon Leonard Hochstein and "Real Housewives of Miami" star Lisa Hochstein.

"Isn't it so nice that Miami is open?" one tech founder, who called himself a COVID refugee, said. "I'm so over COVID."

But the hottest reservation in Biscayne Bay is Joia Beach, a Mykonos-inspired beach club with views of megayachts and the Miami skyline.

There's currently a three-month wait on Open Table but VIPs like Akon, Maluma, Adriana Lima, hedge fund manager Dan Loeb, and Tiffany Trump have snagged tables to nibble on Tasmanian trout crudo ($20), Turkish octopus ($30), and winter fennel and crab salad ($28).

It helps to be on a texting basis with one of the restaurant's partners. Others have tried more unusual measures.

"People have swam in," Marko Gojanovic, a Joia Beach partner and real estate agent, said. "There are people who have tried to pull jet skis in areas we can't see. People have paddled up to us. Thank God we have security."

Ron and Kim — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kimberly Guilfoyle at a Trump campaign rally at Orlando Sanford International Airport in 2020.
Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Coronavirus is still raging in Florida a year after the pandemic began. The state has had more than 2 million cases and 33,000 deaths, with a quarter of the state's total occurring in Miami-Dade County alone. But South Floridians--old timers and new arrivals alike--have largely shed their coronavirus concerns like a chunky sweater at the beach.

No one shames people for forgoing masks at hotels and restaurants or packing house parties. Mar-a-Lago remains a mask-free zone.

Contrast that to what happened in the northeast last winter, when a video of a Queens Republican club's Christmas party, featuring a maskless conga line, gained 3.7 million views online and drew torrents of condemnation. Manhattan Young Republicans were so spooked by the media they held their winter gala at a secret location in New Jersey.

Washington has become less hospitable to Trump-friendly conservatives too. American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp said he's had several hostile encounters with progressives in public. He and his wife, former White House communications aide Mercedes Schlapp, are eyeing a move south.

"I was eating a salad last weekend at a restaurant in Old Town Alexandria and was berated by a woman who called me an 'a--hole,'" Schlapp said. "Usually you have to cut someone off in traffic to earn that kind of title but here you just have to be someone recognized for being a Republican."

The Great Republican Migration

South Florida has been beckoning conservatives for years, but locals say the influx has accelerated since Trump took office in 2017.

Thank U Trump — Supporters of outgoing US President Donald Trump await his return to West Palm Beach, Florida.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Fox News is still headquartered in Manhattan but other right-wing outlets have proliferated along the Gold Coast. Newsmax, the Boca Raton-based cable channel, is adding a news bureau in Miami later this year. Conservative radio host and Palm City resident Dan Bongino is one of several commentators trying out for the slot that Rush Limbaugh anchored from Palm Beach until his death earlier this year. Far-right podcaster Bill Mitchell has been broadcasting his YourVoice America program from Miami since 2019. And MAGA influencer Maggie Vandenberghe fled California for Palm Beach this winter.

The party's donor class soon followed. Billionaires fleeing Blue State progressivism decamped to Miami's most exclusive islands. Palantir co-founder and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel plunked down $18 million in September for a Venetian Islands chateau where MTV's "The Real World: Miami" was filmed. Founders Fund partner Keith Rabois chided San Francisco for being "massively improperly run and managed" before dropping $29 million on an estate near Thiel in December, while Blumberg Capital's David Blumberg blamed "poor governance" in California before making his cross-country journey.

"Miami should be the easiest and cheapest city in the country for somebody to start a business," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. "I want to make sure everyone around the country knows that Miami is here to help you grow, not keep you from growing."

A political shift is underway

Florida's transformation from swingy purple to deeper red would have been unthinkable two decades ago when George W. Bush won the state and the presidency by a minuscule 537 votes. Southeast Florida swelled more than a million people since 2000 but it is far less of a Democratic stronghold than it used to be.

Trump and FL GOP — US President Donald Trump at Florida's Lake Okeechobee in 2019, with Governor Ron DeSantis and Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio.
Nicholas Kamm / AFP

President Barack Obama won Palm Beach County by 24 points and Miami-Dade by 16 points in 2008 en route to statewide victories during both presidential campaigns. But Trump won twice by making up ground in Democratic counties.

Florida Republicans knocked doors for months boosting turnout while the Biden curtailed canvassing during the health crisis. The Trump campaign also accused Democrats of supporting socialist policies -- a message that resonated among Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants who fled brutal left-wing regimes.

"Democrats were flat-footed in dealing with accusations of socialism in commercials where people had lived under the boot of socialism," Dan Gelber, Democratic mayor of South Beach, said. "I don't think we responded aggressively enough."

Latino voters in Miami-Dade also feared economic damage from school and business closures more than getting sick, according to voter data Equis analyzed.

miami volleyball — Beachgoers play volleyball on Dec. 19, 2020 in South Beach.
DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images

"As bad as the coronavirus pandemic was in terms of caseloads and deaths, apparently a lot more Floridians were concerned with the economy and that certainly helped Trump," Aubrey Jewett, University of Central Florida political science professor, said.

Trump's presence in Florida has benefited the state's ambitious officeholders. Ron DeSantis has become a 2024 frontrunner in several polls after being one of the first governors to reopen his state. Marco Rubio has a clear shot at re-election and is again seen as a likely presidential candidate.

While the coronavirus has sped up the conservative influx, it's not clear what will happen once the pandemic recedes. New arrivals could stay in South Florida now that remote work has become more prevalent and there's less of a need for face-to-face meetings.

There's always been a stigma about Miami but people told me in their New York circles that stigma has been lifted," said Reid Heidenry, a Sotheby's agent who sold over $100 million in real estate in the past year, said. "In the business world, it's now socially acceptable to live in a place like Miami Beach."

Whether a COVID refugee or long-time fixture of Miami Beach, there's one thing that's indisputable across party lines.

"Freedom tastes pretty good," Zangrillo said at a house party.

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