Report from India concerning developments as of 2nd April

An Islamic organization was holding its international convention in Delhi on 23/24th March while nation wide lockdown was declared on 24th March. So many of the attendees who came from other Indian states and from around the world were housed in its own premises until they could leave, until 31st March when it came to public notice that there was such a large gathering of people still staying there and many had corona symptoms. Its been evacuated and the residents have been quarantined but many of the attendees already returned to their home states and currently state govts have been ordered to find them and test / quarantine them. Controversy as usual : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/coronavirus-nizamuddin-centre-covid-19-cases-spark-a-controversy/article31219346.ece?

I went out to buy milk this morning and there were provisions / vegetable shops open which are necessary enough but many people were still out on the streets. You still have to look both ways before crossing the road due to vehicles on the road and many older men are idling around shops and bus stops without observing distancing or wearing masks. Seems the police force is too outstretched to cover my little area.

There have been reports of alcohol addicted men committing suicide due to withdrawal symptoms / inability to get a drink in my state. Only essential services operate during lockdown and alcohol shops aren't included, so they've been closed for 8 days now. State govt doesn't know how to deal with this(who would?) and has temporarily allowed doctors to prescribe alcohol and such prescriptions to be a valid form of acquiring booze from medical shops. Also deaths from people drinking hand sanitizer.


US buying medical supplies from Russia : https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-agrees-to-buy-ventilators-medical-supplies-from-russia/article31233009.ece?homepage=true

Chinese Ambassador seems to be giving some kind of positive message to India : https://www.thehindu.com/brandhub/70-years-of-diplomatic-relations-between-china-and-india-1950-2020/article31219737.ece This is from The Hindu paper but I saw a similar editorial in today's Times of India print edition. Seems hell is freezing over in diplomatic relations.

This is a good post, so i'm going to link it in the op post(post 1)......that said, some replies/questions if I may:
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I have heard some good news similar to this topic.....the Muslim religious leaders have(afaik-iirc) locked down the holy cities(including mecca) and advised all muslims to not attempt their pilgrimage this year.

That sucks to hear.....over here it's nearly the complete opposite....everyone is mainly hiding in their homes for the most part(though we also have stretched nearly thin services like police and such atm).

:(

Over here they allowed such to stay open(alcohol stores), but even without them people would still have grocery stores for weaker alcoholic beverages at least.

Also if I may ask, how does that doctor's note thing work? Do they then go and buy the alcohol from such stores or somewhere else once they have such notes?

:(

If this keeps up I hope it lasts once this crisis is over.....environmental improvements here and there, some people helping others, some countries trying to be nice to others a bit more......I, for one, hope it becomes a permanent thing after all this.
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Also thanks for this post/adding some new info from your part of the world.....stay safe and well. :)

Yes, I think Saudi Arabia has closed down all Hajj pilgrimage sites for the year. Good call since such pilgrimages always draw a lot of people from everywhere. There was huge religious festival conducted in my city on March 9th, and although no cases seem to have immediately resulted from it, more caution could've been taken. There are many pilgrimage and festival sites in my state and across India, and at the moment all religious leaders have been told to avoid all ceremonies involving gatherings. If this covid thing doesn't die down by November, Sabarimala season, which draws millions of people, will have to be closed as well.

Most people are inside. Its just that there are enough people out to spread it that concerns me. If someone like a shopkeeper or bank worker gets infected, they can easily spread it to the people who are abiding lockdown through their contact.

I just asked my bros and indeed, liquor shops were actually open for the first few days of lockdown but are currently closed. The system was that the people with prescription would go to a closed liquor shop (but still one that had staff in it) and get their booze that way. I've attached a photo from today's paper on the topic.

You too, stay safe :D

If they wear gloves or practice proper precautions people should be somewhat safe(washing surfaces and hands, staying far apart, etc) as long as they limit their time doing such things.

Where is the photo?

I will try my best(I have enough food/medicine/toiletries to keep me going for a few weeks, so my family is good for now).
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Also an update to all checking in this thread: A funny and informative PSA by the Three Stooges has been added to Op Post(Post 1) along with other links.

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Please also erase quote of my posts.

In Romania we had a telethon that was very successful. They collected 2.5kk (million) euro in a glimpse.
I can't recall their exact focus, but it's definitely going to hospitals and towards buying lots of masks and gear for the people and institutions in need.

Stay safe, everyone! These days, the best air is the one from inside your home. Or bunker, whatever floats your boat :)
One must learn to keep himself entertained. :D

Thank for posting this....gonna add it to the op post.

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Nice...it's always good to hear things like this. :)

(BTW if you ever find out who it was or find an article about it, list it here and i'll put it in the op post)

Well we aren't much lacking in that in our generation, what with a wealth of media to choose from, after all. :)
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This makes me think.....will the life insurance companies be able to handle all the payouts? Makes me think a bit.

You too, and your family as well.

Ouch!
That may be a second hit on the markets if the life insurance companies have to sell en masse.

I don't know if life insurances companies have to keep a % of cash and what %.

Insurance companies always play safe. This is what they do, and they do it well. When you get an insurance, you are protecting yourself against exceptionally bad luck. Since that bad luck is exceptional, on the average they win. This is truer the more insurances they sell. In order to maximice this, they re-insure with another companies, spreading the risk horizontally.

In the case of covid19, deaths follow the general distribution of deaths among the population due to other causes, so insurance companies are not at any particular risk.

That's good to hear....at least those who lost loved ones who had insurance should be able to cash it in and arrange for services if need be.
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Also to all: Added some new user submitted clips/links and a quicktopics(for anything not allowed on the forums due to the politics/other rules) to the op post(Post 1)

I'll try posting it again, the attachment didn't work last time.
EDIT: Didn't upload because it was too large, should be visible now.

Thanks for that.

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To the thread: (Site is townhall dot com......also adding same link to OP post)

Statement about this from SCMP
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3078120/china-rejects-claims-inaccurate-coronavirus-death-tally-wuhan