Month: June 2020

I can’t breathe…

a protester, holding words” I can’t Breathe”.

Today, the whole world is facing huge crisis of global pandemic Covid-19 due to spreading of novel Corona virus.This virus is said to be evolve in China and China constantly denied it.

All the big economies of the world like USA, Japan, China, India and Russia have been victim of this pandemic.

In such situation USA is meeting an another problem that is Racial discrimination ( Black vs White ).The problem is not new but The extrajudicial killing of George Floyd has sparked days of unrest and protest around the United States. What is less well known but no less important is how this event has sparked massive anti-racism protests around the world, including in Nairobi, Lagos, London, Berlin, Toronto and most recently, Paris.

George Floyd, an african american,46, who was pinned under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis,was killed by that white officer.Floyd was constantly saying under his knee” I can’t breathe”.This sentence has prompted more than a week of street protests throughout the states,

The sentence”I can’t breathe” is not new for the African Americans .An another matter was introduced earlier in which a black man was killed by police personnels in USA with words ” I can’t breathe ” and this sentence also hold the meanings of all discrimination taking place there in USA.In jobs ,In schools in society everywhere a racial discriminative surrounding is established there where these poor black african americans are living miserably.

In USA, where the data of covid patients releases failure of USA against the well established health system, this racial dispute is showing it’s weakness in administrative fields too.

USA is burning with the fires of discrimination as well as highest cases of covid-19. USA should be more careful nowadays and should not play any political games .USA is failing to pretend to be the World Power whereas China is also being the victim of not spreading awareness of the virus in the world.

In such situation India can emerge like a Vishwa Guru again but we just need to be self relient to hold our country back to the ancient path of being Golden Bird.We Indians are proud to be resident of such a country, where all the posibilities of human lookings are present but besides of these India is United.

Many people want to break our union on behalf of Hindu and Muslim religion but I’m damn sure that they would never succeed.

thanks for reading.

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BIPOLAR DISORDER!

Extreme highs to extreme lows.

Mental health is being understood as one of the primary areas in health protocols around the world and has also been included in the Sustainable Development Goals. Mental Disorders are among the leading causes of nonfatal disease burden in India, but the States lack a systematic understanding like the risk factors, disease burden. In 2017, 197·3 million (95% UI 178·4–216·4) people had mental disorders in India, including 45·7 million (42·4–49·8) with depressive disorders and 44·9 million (41·2–48·9) with anxiety disorders. One in seven Indians were affected by mental disorders of varying severity in 2017. In the same year, India launched the Mental Health Care Act which focused on delivering
proper, inexpensive, and widespread permits to mental health care. The proportional contribution of mental disorders to the total disease burden in India has almost doubled since 1990. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2001 that about 450 million people worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder or brain condition and that one in four people meet criteria at some point in their life. More than 2 million adults in the U.S. are coping
with bipolar disorder right now. https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/understanding-bipolar-disorder

Depression and bipolar disorder!
Depression and BPD have similarities but they aren’t the same. Depression deals with deep thoughts, emptiness, feeling low, not loving things that you probably used to cherish, extreme sleep problems. Bipolar disorder deals with both ups and downs in moods. One may feel irresistible, energetic in extreme highs, and depressed, awful in extreme lows.
What is bipolar disorder?
Earlier people used to consider bipolar as mood swing but research showed that a disorder named as ‘Bipolar Disorder’ causes tremendous shifts in moods from extreme low to extreme high. Bi means two and polar refers to the two polarities in the mood. Bipolar disorder is basically a serious mental illness of the brain. An individual can go for periods of depression and boosted moods(extreme low and extreme high). If severely boosted moods then it is known as mania, whereas if not so severe then these are called hypomania.
Causes.
The exact cause is unknown but there are unavoidable facets that contribute to this epic disorder. The causes can be genetic as well as due to surrounding. Environmental causes include long term stress, childhood abuse, psychological trauma. Genetic facets constitute about 70–90% of the risk of developing bipolar disorder.
Symptoms.
In this disorder, the individual may go through highs and lows in mood and personality. When they are extremely high they feel on top of the world, can’t sleep, unbeatable, easily distracted with low focus, a lot of energy, showing risky and impulsive behavior. In their major lows, they feel depressed, hopeless, guilty, do not sleep or sometimes may sleep a lot, loss of appetite, loss or gain in weight. While these symptoms go on, they also come up with suicidal thoughts. In severe conditions, they can outdo committing suicide too.

Treatment.
Psychotherapy, antidepressant, Antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, talk therapies.

What if not treated?
If not treated in due course of time, an individual may indulge in alcohol and drugs. In less serious cases, they may end up losing a job, dissatisfaction with themselves. If a student suffers from BPD, he may face grades declining or may even fail. If the treatment not delivered in proper time, they end up giving on life and commit suicide.

https://www.verywellmind.com/treating-bipolar-disorder-3576129


If you are suffering from one such, then go visit a doctor and take proper medication. Do not ignore such conditions, talk to your beloved one!

SKILLED EDUCATION VS CERTIFICATES/DEGREE

Education can be defined as the process which facilitates learning, gaining of knowledge, values, habits, etc. This process can take place in formal or informal settings. The main aim of education is to give out the skilled students. But nowadays certificates and degrees are given equal importance corresponding to skilled education. Hence the present generation students are marching towards certificates and degrees than education which provides skills.
Skilled education is always powerful because it provides the best knowledge to students. Skilled education can also be named as vocational training, carrer education and technical training. It always prepare the students to get job that are based on manual or practical activities, in which the students participate. This education can be at the secondary position. Skilled education is recognised in terms of recognition of prior learning and partial academic credit towards the next step of education. However the labor market becomes more specialized and economics demand higher levels of skill, the level of education should be increased.
Degrees or certificates are the documentation of the skill within an individual. This certificate/degree will never judge an individual that whether he/she is skilled or not. Similarly, the skilled students may not manage to attain the degree. Degree can be defined as the authenticate certificate that the person applying for the post is having the knowledge of the work requirement and has the ability to manage the functioning and justify the post. The degree always makes a person more confident in their approach and outlook. It always makes the person more polite, humble and wiser.
The certificates which are earned by the students is the recognition for their participation in the particular event. The certificates earned by the individual increases the chance of being reputed/hired. But those certificates will never assure that the individual is skilled in several domains which the certification courses have taught. They can be considered as the record of the learner that he/she have attended a particular course.
While comparing the skilled education and degree/certificates, the company which recruits always gives equal importance for both. They always notices the skills which are present inside them and also evaluate them based on their degree and certificates gained. Hence it is important for an individual to gain skill and also the degree, certificates. But the main concept which lies between this comparison is the primary part which is required by an individual is skill. By using those skills, the learner can gain the degree and certificates in several domains.
By the above discussion, we can conclude that, the good skills gained by the learner can take them to great position in several companies. Hence the main requirement for being reputed is growing the skills and learn more and more. Inorder to become a good learner, everyone should follow themselves and their teachers. While learning, they should always keep in mind about 2 main things. They are:

1. Ego

2. Trust

Ego can be defined as the mentality of students of selecting the concept which they already know. Trust is the one which provides knowledge to the individual about certain unknown concepts.

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We can conclude that gaining skills or certificates always lies in the hand of the students. When they are much more interested in gaining skills then they can easily get certificates by their knowledge.

Confidence build-up pathway!

One way to make a big difference to your life is to gain confidence. From negotiating your salary, to standing up for yourself, to believing you can make your dreams a reality, confidence is often the most important ingredient. But confidence doesn’t come naturally to most of us. For the majority of people, those big moments where you have to believe in yourself usually result in self-doubt and a little anxiety. This is normal.

The good news is that confidence isn’t just a magic quality that some people have and some people don’t. Confidence can be developed, it just takes a few tricks and some practice. It might seem impossible at the start, but if you keep a few things in mind then you really can gain confidence with time. Here’s a few simple tips to get you started.

1. Take care of yourself

One of the best ways you can begin to value yourself and see your own importance more is to start taking care of yourself a little more. Take some time to make sure you are eating a little better or giving your body the exercise it needs. Over time, you will begin to see the improvements you have made to your health and the importance of valuing yourself.

2. Give someone some help

It could be something small, with a neighbour, a friend, a colleague, or a complete stranger. Most of us have a family member who could do with a little assistance in their lives, especially the elderly who need caregiving sometimes. By making a difference in someone else’s life you will see just how impactful you can be, which can be a great way to gain confidence.

3. That voice is not right

We all have voices in our head that tell us things we shouldn’t listen to. Those voices can trick us into doing silly things, but did you know there are some great psychological techniques for ignoring or controlling those voices? The next time you hear the voice that tells you that you can’t do something, or don’t deserve something, just remember “It’s just a voice, that doesn’t make it accurate.”

4. It’s not about what you can do right now

If someone asks you to do something that you can’t do, don’t lose confidence. The only important thing that is that you can find the motivation to learn how to do this thing, or that you can tell the person this is just not possible. Having confidence is not just about who you are right now. It’s definitely not about who you used to be. It’s about who you are going to become.

So, keep these few tips in mind, gain confidence little by little each day, and keep moving forward. This can make a real difference to your life and work, so give it a go. A more confident you starts today.

Mental Health: Children, Young People, and Families

Mental health is a widely overlooked aspect of a person’s health. People don’t consider it as important as their physical health, mostly because the injuries are not visible. However, they often forget that the signs are always there. Mental health problems are often directly proportional to the day-to-day happenings in our lives. Most mental health problems start developing at a very young age, but parents often ignore the warning signs. At such an impressionable age, children need to be taught about their mental well being too. It is imperative that we address the issue of mental health among children, young people, and families.

Children and Young People

It is seen many-a-times that the physical needs of a child are obvious, but his or her mental needs may be neglected. Even when the red flags are identified, there is a stigma associated with mental illness.

Some problems that children suffer from are ADHD, autism, anxiety, anorexia (eating disorder), depression, and bipolar disorder. Warning signs include intense mood swings, self-harm, substance abuse, sudden appetite loss, fidgeting, and continuous nightmares.

health

A few suggestions to nurture a child or adolescent’s mental health could include talking to them about their day; asking them if they are facing any problems at school. This strengthens your bond with them and they start trusting you more. As a parent, make sure that your ward eats a healthy and balanced diet, is physically fit, and takes part in outdoor activities.

Provide children with a healthy environment at home; a child should feel secure in his surroundings. Help them build their self-esteem and confidence while talking to them. Encourage their first steps towards new interests. This would enable them to open up more and express their feelings and doubts. And most importantly, don’t condemn them when they do something wrong. Instead, let them know their mistake and work together to improve it.

Families

It is obvious that an individual’s mental health problems will have consequences for others within his social networks and most importantly his family. When it comes to mental illness, the emotional and behavioral consequences for family members go largely ignored along with having a huge impact on their financial component.

menheal

Family life often becomes unsettled and unpredictable as the needs of the ill become paramount day by day. The afflicted often feels that he’s isolating those close to him. Children may find it difficult to understand why their parent is not his/her usual self. Therefore, many tend to blame themselves and grow up feeling abandoned, lonely, and isolated.

In case a family member suffers from a mental health problem, you should not let him feel dismissed and disregarded. Instead, you could try to understand what he is going through, his inner turmoil, and try to help him cope with that. Children need special care at this time as they are perplexed by the happenings in their lives.

You should try to mend the broken relations, leave the toxic people in your lives behind, and create a positive impact on others’ lives.

Image Courtesy: Google

A messy circumstance: A deadly Drive-Thru

Yet another Monday went by, yet another black man in America dies from a police shooting. As the world saw their eyes open from the sadistic killing of George Floyd, people mobilized and hit the streets to protest. That too during a pandemic unlike any the world had ever seen. One could do well to understand the gravitas of the situation, the frustration of the people down on the streets, the fact that they choose to contract a deadly disease than to continue to suffer under a systemic abuse of their rights not just as a citizen but as a human being.

Photo by kat wilcox on Pexels.com

As the story has been seen, Rayshard Brooks, a black man from Atlanta, was shot dead near a drive thru at a local Wendy’s. The man was probably inebriated when he came by to the drive-thru and subsequently fell asleep. The other customers simply drove past him to place their orders as they weren’t really bothered by a man sleeping in his car. Soon a Wendy’s employee calls the police on Brooks. The police came, took him out of the car and talked to him. In the video, Rayshard can clearly be seen drunk, but still being respectful to the cops, and for a change the cops to were respectful of him and talking courteously. This went on for about 30 mins or so and it seemed it would have a normal ending and not result in the death of another black man. However, what happened next ensured that this was going to be yet another story with an abnormal ending that has become too common place when we see a black man interacting with the police. The police suddenly move to arrest him, and tase him. Rayshard slips from their grip, takes their taser and tries to run away. One of the officers shoots him not once, not twice but thrice and Brooks dies. At this point I guess everyone moves to their battle stations, the right portraying this as a black man being a criminal, and the left showing an innocent man dying at the hands of the police. But that is not the case, the story is messy. The fact that they talked to him for so long and things seemed so calm – he seemed respectful and cooperative, doing everything he could to be reasonable – he probably felt safe and that things would ride out okay.  Then suddenly they’re breaking this rapport they’ve built with him, doing a 180 and putting him under arrest.  He was drunk, and it upended how he thought things were going – fight or flight kicked in and he panicked.  It wasn’t the right thing to do, but I do think it was understandable.  The officer was unable to retain control of his Taser, but the ability of Rayshard to hurt anyone at that point was pretty minimal.  He was running away.  Lethal force ultimately didn’t belong anywhere in that equation. It was much more complicated than just a cop killing another black man; however, it was also more than just a case of a man breaking the law, threatening a cop, and dying for it. A situation like this requires close attention to detail and logical deduction to figure out if the actions were justified. In my opinion, this situation was not a hate crime, but a failure of our system to properly train cops to handle scenarios like this one. I ask that people on either side of this argument challenge what I am about to say. Rayshard Brooks broke the law by driving drunk. He resisted arrest, stole a cop’s taser and pointed it at them as he tried to escape. We can all agree that he should not have done this and should have been arrested. But was shooting him really the proper way to handle the situation? To answer this, the details need to be analysed and certain questions need to be addressed: Should the cop have really feared for his life when Brooks pointed a taser at him? How does a drunk man not only escape from the custody of two cops, but also take one of their tasers? What is the worst-case scenario if Brooks escapes? And does tasing a cop warrant a death sentence? I would answer these by saying that shooting Rayshard Brooks was not the proper way to handle the situation. The officer was not in a life-threatening situation and if you are going to shoot and kill somebody, it should only be as a last resort because of a real threat. In regards to his escape, I wonder how two trained officers failed to properly detain a drunk man and allow him to take one of their weapons. And in situations like this, why is the first option to shoot someone? Worst case scenario is he gets away with a taser. Shouldn’t they chase him down, call for backup, or at the very worst shoot him once and not three times? Seriously think about that, why do cops have to instantly shoot someone who is breaking the law? Doesn’t there have to be a trial with a judge and jury to determine if someone’s actions warrant a death sentence? Why do cops get to make this decision on impulse? And why do they need qualified immunity for when they do kill someone? If you are in real danger and need your gun, you don’t worry about the trouble you get in for using your weapon because it is either your life or theirs. If you have to question whether using your weapon is justified, then you probably don’t need to use your weapon.

Now this may have been swept under the rug under normal circumstances, but due to the current scenario it seems vital that this be thought about.

What happens next is for all of us to see.

Coronavirus: Natures Way to Teach Human Beings A Lesson….

Humans, since forever, have been exploiting the environment in variety of ways. The growing human hunger has led to an increase in environmental destruction. Man, being the smartest of all creatures, has turned almost every resource of the panet, into a so called more usable product, in order to fulfill his never ending needs and desires. We humans have taken over the earth, we’ve encroached on the territory of other living beings. We’ve destroyed habitats, killed other animals, overused resources, deforested areas, polluted water bodies, and the list is never ending. Talking about the prevalent environment issues, there is an endless list of problems caused due to human activities, causing an ecological imbalance, affecting every variety of biotic and abiotic components of the environment.

The intervention of man has caused a major disruption and unevenness in the whole environmental system. Everything comes with a price, and so does are extreme and reckless use of environment. Nature shows its wild face in many ways at different times. From earthquakes to forest fires to greenhouse effect to floods and the extinction of species, environment depicts it’s anger in a variety of ways. This, in turn, harms the survival of living population. The ultimate problem is caused to all the living creatures of the planet. Hence, saving it and protecting it from destruction is necessary for our own existence and growth.

On scrutiny, we realise that there are times when nature wants to tell us something, which we often tend to ignore. In this article, the focus is on how the ongoing pandemic Covid-19, though brought a lot of problems worldwide, but actually proved to be beneficial in a lot of other ways, which no one would have thought about.

Coronavirus that has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization has disrupted all human activities globally. It continues to sweep across the world, bringing pretty much everything to a halt in many countries, as residents are quarantined or decide to self-isolate to stop spreading of virus, and most large-scale events and programs have been postponed or cancelled altogether. Institutions and entertainment centres have stopped, factories have shut down, travel through air is at an all time low, work from home has been implemented at most , lesser vechicles are seen on roads and public places and tourist spots are not overcrowded anymore. It is impacting our lives in every possible manner. Digging a little deeper into the crises, we need to ask ourselves: How all this has affected the environment? Is the universe trying to say something to us? Is there a lesson that nature is trying to teach human beings?

Well, yes! The Covid-19 pandemic has, in a way, given an indirect message to the human species, about slowing down a bit. Since, human beings began retreating themselves from public places in fear of Covid-19, nature has began reclaiming it’s space. It seems like the lockdown had an unintended benefit: Blue Skies. Nature is seen thriving in the times of quarantine. As humans retreat, nature returns!

For instance, dolphins have returned to the Italy coasts, we can now hear birds chirping early in the morning, there are swans in Italy canals, in Singapore otters are roaming freely due to empty public places. There has been a lot of improvements in the environment. These are just few examples which shows what Covid-19 had did to the environment. This has a deeper message to it, environment is precious and is greater than any economic or materialistic benefit and we ought to preserve it. Hence, we don’t own the planet; we share the world with a lot of other living beings. Our lives are as much about co-habitation as about survival of the fittest. Let the coronavirus crisis leave us with this lesson- learn to co-exist or nature will find extreme ways to reclaim it’s place.

Refrences:-

yourstory.com

Former India footballer Hamza Koya died of COVID-19 in Kerala

Former Indian footballer Hamza Koya has died of COVID-19 in Kerala, taking the death toll due to COVID-19 in the State to 15. The 61 year old Hamza Koya succumbed to COVID-19 today morning. He was a  former football player who had represented Maharashtra at the Santhosh Trophy and also  an India team member in Nehru trophy. The deceased is a native of Parapanagadi, who had returned from Mumbai recently and passed away in Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram today.
 
As the Covid cases are on a rise in kerala, the State to conduct extensive antibody testing for COVID-19 surveillance across the State and to detect if community transmission of the disease is happening in Kerala. Presently, the total active Covid cases reached 973.Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also clarified that the complete lockdown on all sundays will be continued as the situation is getting serious. Meanwhile as monsoon intensifies in Kerala, Met dept predict heavy rain and storm to continue till coming tuesday. Fishermen are warned from venturing into the sea.

China reported new cluster of COVID-19 cases in Beijing: WHO

The head of the World Health Organization, WHO, has said that more than one lakh confirmed cases of Corona virus have been reported worldwide each day over the past two weeks while it took more than two months for the first one lakh cases to be reported. He said that almost 75 per cent of recent cases have been reported from 10 countries, mostly in America and South Asia. WHO added that there have been increases in the numbers of cases in Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East as well.

The global public health body said that even the countries that have demonstrated the ability to suppress COVID-19 transmission, must stay vigilant to the possibility of a resurgence.

Briefing the media yesterday, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that China reported a new cluster of COVID-19 cases in Beijing, after more than 50 days without a case in the city. More than 100 cases have now been confirmed in Beijing and the origin and extent of the outbreak are being investigated.

COVID-19 recovery rate improves to 52.46 pct in country

The Union Government today said that the COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 52.46 per cent in the country and a total of one lakh 80 thousand 13 people affected with Coronavirus have been cured in the country. During the last 24 hours, 10 thousand 215 people have recovered from this infection. Presently, the total number of active Corona cases in the country is one lakh 53 thousand 178.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry said that 10 thousand 667 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to three lakh 43 thousand 91 in the country. During the last 24 hours, 380 deaths were registered taking the nationwide toll to nine thousand 900. With this, the case fatality rate reached at 2.88 per cent in the country.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR said that a total of one lakh 54 thousand 935 tests of Corona virus were conducted by the various laboratories in the country within the last 24 hours. So far, 59 lakh 21 thousand 69 tests have been conducted. ICMR is continuously scaling up its testing facilities for COVID-19 by giving approval to government and private laboratories. As of now, total 907 laboratories across India have been given approval to conduct the test for COVID-19 including 659 government laboratories and 248 private laboratory chains.

Fit India to launch special films promoting 10 indigenous sports of India under Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat

Sports Ministry’s flagship programme Fit India is joining hands with the Department of School Education and Literacy, to launch a series of special films promoting 10 indigenous sports of India under the Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat initiative.

The series is aimed at creating awareness about not just the indigenous games but also the culture and heritage of the states to which they belong. Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat aims to create awareness among youngsters about the culture and heritage of states across India.  This initiative aims to further that effort.

These special films have been customized for school-going children to make them aware of the history and heritage of the state from which a game emanates, the particular sport as well as how it is played. The 10 episodes can be watched from Monday to Friday — June 8 to June 19 — at 11am, on the Fit India YouTube page and Ministry of Human Resource Development digital platforms.

The short films have been curated in a manner to highlight and bring forth the origin, progress and other key aspects of each sport. The 10 sports to be covered in the series are Kho-kho, Gatka, Kalaripayttu, Mallakhamb, Thang-Ta, Sqay, Kabaddi, Roll Ball, Tug of War and Shooting Ball. The indigenous sports of India cover a mix of very old sports, for example, Kalaripayattu, and some as recent as Roll Ball which has gained a lot of popularity and is now played in at least 50 countries spread over 5 continents.

US: FDA revokes emergency use of Hydroxychloroquine, Chloroquine for treating COVID-19 patients

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revoked its emergency use authorization for the drugs Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 patients after concluding that they may not be effective to cure the virus infections.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said its decision is based on new information, including clinical trial data results, that have led it to conclude that the drugs may not be effective to treat COVID-19 and that its potential benefits for such use do not outweigh its known and potential risks.

FDA Chief Scientist Denise Hinton, in a letter dated 15th of June to Gary Disbrow of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), said as of the date, the oral formulations of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Chloroquine (CQ) are no longer authorized by the FDA to treat COVID-19. She said that the FDA now believes that the suggested dosing regimens for CQ and HCQ are unlikely to produce an antiviral effect.

International Yoga Day to celebrated on digital media platforms

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s International Yoga Day on 21st of June, will be celebrated on digital media platforms and there would be no mass gatherings.

This year’s theme is  ‘Yoga at Home and Yoga with Family’.

Ministry of Ayush has also appealed to the people to join the world for the Yoga performance on the occasion of 6th International Day of Yoga on 21st June at 7:00 AM  from their homes.

It said, people should prepare for the Yoga performance according to Common Yoga Protocol (CYP).

Ministry of AYUSH in association with Prasar Bharati is also organizing a daily telecast of the Common Yoga Protocol on DD Bharati.

The Protocol sessions are being telecast daily in the morning from 8 AM  to 8:30 AM. The half an hour session will cover all the major aspects of the Common Yoga Protocol.

ICC approves replacements in test cricket, bans use of saliva to shine ball

International Cricket Council, ICC on Tuesday has approved substitution in case a player shows symptoms of COVID-19 during a Test match besides ratifying the interim ban on using saliva to shine the ball. ICC has also re-introduced non-neutral umpires for bilateral series as part of its interim playing regulations to tackle the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
 In the five new regulations, recommended by the Anil Kumble-chaired Cricket Committee, and ratified by the Chief Executives Committee (CEC), the teams will also be allowed an additional DRS call as home umpires will now be officiating in bilateral Test series. The ICC in a press release said that a 32-inch additional logo would also be permitted on the players’ jerseys, for Boards to make up for financial losses due to pandemic. However, the regulation for COVID-19 replacements will not be applicable in ODIs and T20Is, it added.
 
The ICC said, ban on use of saliva was taken as it is considered to be a transmitter of novel coronavirus unlike sweat which will still be allowed to shine the ball. Repeated violation of the ban would at first invite a warning before a five-run penalty is imposed. It added, A team can be issued up to two warnings per innings but repeated use of saliva on the ball will result in a 5-run penalty to the batting side. Whenever saliva is applied to the ball, the umpires will be instructed to clean the ball before play recommences.
 
The introduction of two home team umpires for bilateral after nearly two decades is purely due to the logistical challenges of travelling given the flight restrictions in place globally. The requirement to appoint neutral match officials will be temporarily removed from the playing conditions for all international formats owing to the current logistical challenges with international travel.

Over 8 million Coronavirus cases confirmed across world

More than eight million cases of the Novel Coronavirus have been confirmed worldwide including 4,35,662 fatalities. According to Johns Hopkins University, a total of 80,05,294 COVID-19 cases have been reported from across 188 countries.

With over 21 lakh cases and over one lakh 18 thousand deaths, the US continues with the world’s highest number of COVID-19 infections and fatalities.

In terms of cases, Brazil comes in the second place with around nine lakh infections. Regarding fatalities, Brazil has overtaken the United Kingdom in the second position with over 43 thousand COVID-19 deaths.

This was followed by Russia, India, the UK and Spain.