[Miyata]

Some cheer, even if momentary -

Robots are patrolling parks in Singapore reminding people to practice social distancing

A screen grab -

Until a vaccine is achieved to combat the threat of coronavirus, the most effective way to stay safe during lock down is to follow social distancing guidelines.

That of course, has to be in addition to masking up and santizing / soap-washing.

While the police and authorities can only do so much to encourage people to keep a two-metre difference from others sometimes a little extra help is needed.

That's why in Singapore the municipal authorities have deployed Boston Dynamics' Spot robot (the one that looks like a dog) in the city’s Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, as well as the Pandan and MacRitchie reservoirs, to remind people to social distance.

this is part of a two-week trial where the robot will play prerecorded messages about social distancing. The robot is also fitted with cameras which will monitor how many people are in the parks.

[ninjatalli]

This is a very good read - please form your own opinions!

Surge in Covid cases proves center wrong - pandemic response marked by theatrics not science

[humyum]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

The perfect game to play in these difficult times.

http://covid.xrlabs.cloud/que

Do have a gander. It will be well worth your time.

Played this like a game at the start, but by the end of it with every question it dawned upon me that these are the harsh realities which even if I tried, I cannot put myself to image what it could be like.

It reminded me of the story of Article 15 where in 2 kid girls were murdered because of a 3 rupee increase in per day work wage asked. Whatever we read in the news paper is like reading a true story which how much ever we tried to imagine through our urban laptop lives, we cannot.

Just last month, I spent Rs 1000 on a family take away because we were so bored of eating the house food for weeks, this could have been a poor families monthly ration, feel a little guilty

Saw reports of migrants walking on railway tracks in Mumbai today on the news channel, felt pathetic, we have betrayed the poor.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by humyum

Played this like a game at the start, but by the end of it with every question it dawned upon me that these are the harsh realities which even if I tried, I cannot put myself to image what it could be like....

Yes it hits hard. Just like Article 15, one of my favourite movies of recent times, and eye-opening. Should be mandatory viewing.

All the people who plan (and blindly support) the lockdown have no idea of the ground reality that most of India faces. It is a 'let them eat cake' mentality. If you want an example, watch closely the next time you are standing in a long queue for groceries and a govt official with his PS/PSO/PA waltzes past the queue. 'Why do migrants need money', 'no need for them to go home', 'they are being taken care of'.

[ABHI_1512]

I thought this thread is done and dusted with but then some still didn’t get it. Friends, this COVID is going to stay here and almost everyone is going to be infected at some point or the other. The sooner we realise this, the sooner it will be to accept the fact that we will have to go through this pandemic at some point of time. The lockdown was never a solution but a delaying tactics to compensate the inadequacies. Let’s move on and make peace with fact.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by kiku007

So India gets its first positive case of COVID-19 in late January.
Initiates nationwide lockdown in late March.
Extends the lockdown twice.
The total positive cases have crossed 37,000.
But India hasn't entered Stage-3 or doesn't have community spread? Really?

The decision-makers deserve the Guinness World Record for the longest-running COVID-19 bluff.

Can someone please explain how this is possible?

+ 1 week.

Net positive cases cross 60,000.
Active cases are over 40,000.
Death cross 2000.

But India hasn't entered Stage-3 or doesn't have community spread according to the Government and there are only "Clusters"?

And we wonder why there's a trust deficit.

I sincerely hope the Government stopped living in denial. An optical victory over the western world in terms of case numbers isn't all the country needs. Developed countries have the money power to sprint ahead after they control the spread.

Take the sound advice of experts across the fields and works closely with the state governments to chart a new trajectory that caters to the unique challenges of India.

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by Miyata

That of course

This is straight out of the Metalhead episode from Black Mirror.

Otherwise too as the world looks like it, I am being reminded of episodes like Nosedive and Entire History of You as we live through these crazy times.

[Vipin Kumar]

Though I voted for the extension of lockdown, it needs to be qualified. The option that I wanted was not there in the "EVM" up there: that is, both yes and no. And my voting is valid only with reference to the date of my voting, 10 May 2020, since we are debating about the extension or lifting of lockdown.

Since nearly 60% of the cases are in just around 6 cities in India, and around 5 to 6 states, my feeling is that we need to have a stricter lockdown for these places while opening up the remaining areas, at least half way to begin with. Or else, one can select a few less-affected places and try opening them up and see over a period of two weeks or so what happens.

Despite being in lockdown for about 45 days and despite holding the high rank in strictness of lockdown, India should have been in a much better situation today. Remember that South Korea had 10000 cases before India had that number, and see that South Korea has only 10800 cases at present where India has 60000.

At one point, we found peace in saying that India had the least death rate per million population (without saying that another two countries in company were Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). We did not really think, analyze and say, alongside, what it meant about India's condition and its internal socio-economic configuration. For other times, we found relief in claiming that the number of days taken for the doubling of cases is increasing from 10 to 12, without talking about the number of cases that increased and without mentioning the days that we take for attaining this marginal increase (100 becoming 200 in 10 days will be better than 40000 becoming 80000 in 12 days, a duration achieved after several days. And the first is much easier a point to contain the epidemic). Now there is almost the admission of the raw fact that the number is increasing. I am yet to see the latest R0.

In India, the celebrated mega cities, all from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and Delhi and Chennai, are in bad shape, exposing their limits in moments of a health emergency, exposing the way they were all (non)planned and (un)developed. Recently Ratan Tata sounded very critical of the kind of urban development in India. Pubs and beauty parlours are plenty, but for the purpose of quarantine, we need railway coaches.

Somewhere some serious mismanagement of the whole situation which was under control and could be kept so. I heard that in lockdown too, some markets in Mumbai remained open, the Koyambedu market in Chennai was allowed to function after protests came from there... And these are two major hotspots today. Where were those forces which handle every other emergency?

And what is more worrying is the response heard now, with its tone that we can do only this much, and you people may learn to live with it. As per the new ICMR guidelines, from now onwards, even people with mild symptoms will not be given test. No finance package, no plans of rehabilitation of migrants and nri returnees (other than just a two states-specific labour-law ordinance which also is done in favour of employers/entrepreneurs), nothing seems to be on page.

[OrangeCar]

Hello BHPians, have any of you faced this?

Many of you stay in apartment complexes / societies.

The one in which I live has started thermal temperature scanners. Not just for visitors, but for residents too.

So if a resident is coming in, she/he will be checked. If temperature is high, the association notice says 'go to the hospital'.

Which hospital, why the hospital even for fever, etc is unknown. Association members do not respond to mere mortals' queries. Although Bengaluru is in red zone, our apartments are in a ward identified as green.

The lockdown, scare mongering over Corona has crossed the limits of rationality and well entered the domain of irrationality.

Don't know how to deal with this.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by humyum

Saw reports of migrants walking on railway tracks in Mumbai today on the news channel, felt pathetic, we have betrayed the poor.

Video shows both the reporter and the policeman doing their jobs. But some of the statements of the policeman didn't sit well with me.

https://youtu.be/YV2kz78M2Wo

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by OrangeCar

So if a resident is coming in, she/he will be checked. If temperature is high, the association notice says 'go to the hospital'.

We have made it simpler. We check everyone entering the apartment complex : Security to housekeeping staff to residents.

Now if anyone is having above normal body temperature, we have asked Security to notify the MC that's all. Further, they need to make a note of this and record this in their register. MC would then advise the said resident to avoid getting into common area till fully recovered. After all, we can't ask residents to visit a hospital for something as simple as mild fever. Furthermore, who knows there can be residents who are totally asymptomatic and may have perfectly normal body temperature and roaming around within your apartment.

It is always good to act sensible during these times and take the right calls rather than go with the herd mentality and block their entry to the apartment altogether. At the same time, there were divided opinions on Temperature checking itself but we had to finally get one and are using it since a week now.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by JithinR

... But some of the statements of the policeman didn't sit well...

I think the cop was remarkably well behaved! Yeah, not perfect, but I did not like the badgering by the reporter either. You cannot blame the policeman for letting a little of his bias show, but considering how cops are treated by the media in general, very civilized. I'm impressed.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by mvadg

I think the cop was remarkably well behaved! Yeah, not perfect, but I did not like the badgering by the reporter either. You cannot blame the policeman for letting a little of his bias show, but considering how cops are treated by the media in general, very civilized. I'm impressed.

Absolutely agree with you.

The cop was patient, answered to the point and was very well behaved. He was also clear on the primary objective of his presence that he was there to ensure no one is on the tracks, especially after what happened 2 days before.

Just at one point the cop wrongly used a word and corrected it immediately, and our "responsible reporter" still wants to literally scream that again and again.

The cop was also right in saying how the media can work together to even spread awareness and ask those walking in tracks to refrain from doing so. What is wrong if the reporter did that. The channel can still steal the TRP (which they die for).

I am sure the cop would not be having his best days but still he exhibited a gentlemanly behavior.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by mvadg

I think the cop was remarkably well behaved! Yeah, not perfect, but I did not like the badgering by the reporter either. You cannot blame the policeman for letting a little of his bias show, but considering how cops are treated by the media in general, very civilized. I'm impressed.

You seem to have misunderstood. I agree that the policeman was well behaved (at least on camera). The reporter after all was doing his job too. Also, please note that all his statements were responses to the policeman.

I don't really care about the bias of the policeman. It's expected from him. At around 1:29 you can hear the policeman asking not to discuss lack of food, shelter with the migrants but rather asks the reporter to tell migrants to move from the tracks.

I am not sure how it's better for the migrants if lack of food and employment is not highlighted. The reporter doesn't have the authority to move them off the tracks anyway. But their plight being highlighted in media will tell the nation of the economic cost of the lockdown.

[GeneralJazz]

Bodies of the migrants who were run over, are taken home on special trains.

The bodies of sixteen migrant labourers who were mown down by a goods train in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district were brought to Jabalpur by two bogies attached to a special train.

Rendered jobless due to the lockdown and desperate to go to their native places, they were walking along the rail tracks apparently to escape police attention, officials said.

Irony was crushed to death along with those poor souls.