pandemic
UK reports zero Covid deaths for the first time since start of pandemic
The UK has announced zero daily Covid deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the first time since March 2020.
The latest figures also reported another 3,165 new cases, compared with 3,383 on Monday and 2,493 one week ago.
It comes amid concern over a recent small rise in cases linked to the variant first identified in India, reports the BBC.
Reports of daily deaths are often lower at weekends and at the start of the week.
This is because less counting takes place while statisticians are off - and adding in the bank holiday weekend will make this figure less certain still.
READ: Covid: WHO renames UK and other variants with Greek letters
Any deaths that happen on Tuesday will be reported in days to come.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the whole country would be "so glad" to hear the news.
He added: "The vaccines are clearly working - protecting you, those around you and your loved ones. But despite this undoubtedly good news we know we haven't beaten this virus yet, and with cases continuing to rise please remember hands, face, space and let in fresh air when indoors, and of course, make sure when you can you get both jabs."
The BBC reported it would be a "blessed relief" for the UK government to announce no deaths in their daily figures for the first time since the pandemic got going.
Today's figures indicate what was happening with infections a month ago and, right now, it looks like the virus is on the rise again from its current low base.
And the daily count isn't a perfect picture: some people who died over the bank holiday may have their passing reported on Wednesday.
In fact, according to the UK's current definition, deaths within four weeks of a positive test, there was a day with no reportable deaths last summer - on 30 July. But Boris Johnson's government did announce some deaths on that day as they were using a different definition at the time.
The pandemic is far from over, but this is a unique day in its history to date.
The UK's daily death rate, the number of people being admitted to hospital and those catching the virus have fallen from a peak reached in January.
This comes against the backdrop of the increasing numbers of people receiving the first or second dose of a vaccine. More than a third of the adult population have now received both doses.
The latest figures show 25,734,719 people in the UK have had two jabs, while 39,477,158 - some 74.9% of the adult population - have received a first dose.
READ: Vietnam finds new virus variant, hybrid of India, UK strains
However, the success of the UK's vaccination programme does not mean that the battle with Covid is over, a scientist advising the government told the BBC. Prof Adam Finn said the country remained 'vulnerable' as there were still large numbers of unvaccinated people.
Virus fails to deter hundreds of climbers on Mount Everest
A year after Mount Everest was closed to climbers as the pandemic swept across the globe, hundreds are making the final push to the summit with only a few more days left in the season, saying they are undeterred by a coronavirus outbreak in base camp.
Three expedition teams to Everest canceled their climb this month following reports of people getting sick. But the remaining 41 teams decided to continue with hundreds of climbers and their guides scaling the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) top in the season that ends in May, before bad weather sets in.
“Even though the coronavirus has reached the Everest base camp, it has not made any huge effect like what is being believed outside of the mountain,” said Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, the biggest expedition operator on Everest. “No one has really fallen seriously sick because of COVID or died like the rumors that have been spreading.”
With 122 clients from 10 teams on Everest, the company led the biggest group but there were no serious illnesses among them, he said.
Nepalese officials have downplayed reports of coronavirus cases on Mount Everest, apparently out of concern of creating chaos and confusion in the base camp. After a gap year of no income from climbers, Nepal has been eager to cash in on this year’s season.
“Many people made it to the base camp and it is possible that the people who went there from here could have been infected,” Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli said. “But that does not mean that it (coronavirus) has reached the entire mountain, maybe a part of the base camp or the area below that.”
In April, a Norwegian climber became the first to test positive at the Everest base camp. He was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was treated and later returned home.
Prominent guide Lukas Furtenbach of Austria decided to halt his expedition this month and pull out his clients because of an outbreak among team members.
After returning from the mountain, Furtenbach estimated more than 100 climbers and support staff have been infected. He said in an interview last week that it was obvious there were many cases at the base camp because he could see people were sick and could hear them coughing in their tents.
“I think with all the confirmed cases we know now — confirmed from (rescue) pilots, from insurance, from doctors, from expedition leaders — I have the positive tests so we can prove this,” Furtenbach told The Associated Press.
China last week canceled climbing from its side of Everest due to fears the virus could spread from Nepal.
READ: China cancels Everest climbs over fears of virus from Nepal
The climbing season was accompanied by a devastating surge in coronavirus cases in Nepal, with record numbers of daily infections and deaths. On Friday, Nepal reported 6,951 new confirmed cases and 96 deaths, bringing the nation’s totals since the pandemic began to more than 549,111 infections and 7,047 deaths.
Another expedition, by the Telluride, Colorado-based company Mountain Trip, also announced it was pulling out of Everest.
“While it’s a difficult decision to make when considering all of the work, years of preparation, sacrifice and resources that have went into the expedition, it’s the only sensible outcome from a risk management standpoint,” a statement by the company said.
Six Sherpa guides working for the company have been evacuated to Kathmandu with COVID-19 symptoms, it said.
A total of 408 foreign climbers were issued permits to climb Everest this season, aided by several hundred Sherpas and support staff who have been stationed at base camp since April.
Since Everest was first conquered on May 29, 1953, thousands of people have scaled the peak and many Nepalese Sherpas have done it multiple times. Veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita scaled the summit a record 25th time this month.
Harassment in name of raids at hotel, restaurants unacceptable: FBCCI President
FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin has said that raids on hotels, restaurants and guest houses during the covid situation are unacceptable, calling it out as harassment.
“The owners of hotels, motels and restaurants are trying very hard to turn the wheel of their fortune despite being hit very hard by the pandemic. But harassment in the name of raids at these institutions are only increasing their miseries,” he said.
“These raids are absolutely unacceptable during the covid situation,” he said.
Read FBCCI donates Tk 8cr to Prime Minister’s two funds
He came up with these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at an eventful opening ceremony of The Rio Lounge, an upscale buffet restaurant on the eighth floor of Pink City in Gulshan on Friday evening.
The FBCCI president also praised the incentive packages provided to the entrepreneurs by the government during the pandemic.
“Many entrepreneurs are coming forward to invest in new businesses during this challenging time because of the incentive packages provided by the Prime Minister,” he said.
Read Bengal Group’s Jashim Uddin elected FBCCI president
Genetically modified salmon head to US dinner plates
The inaugural harvest of genetically modified salmon began this week after the pandemic delayed the sale of the first such altered animal to be cleared for human consumption in the United States, company officials said.
Several tons of salmon, engineered by biotech company AquaBounty Technologies Inc., will now head to restaurants and away-from-home dining services — where labeling as genetically engineered is not required — in the Midwest and along the East Coast, company CEO Sylvia Wulf said.
Thus far, the only customer to announce it is selling the salmon is Samuels and Son Seafood, a Philadelphia-based seafood distributor.
AquaBounty has raised its faster-growing salmon at an indoor aquaculture farm in Albany, Indiana. The fish are genetically modified to grow twice as fast as wild salmon, reaching market size — 8 to 12 pounds (3.6 to 5.4 kilograms) — in 18 months rather than 36.
The Massachusetts-based company originally planned to harvest the fish in late 2020. Wulf attributed delays to reduced demand and market price for Atlantic salmon spurred by the pandemic.
“The impact of COVID caused us to rethink our initial timeline ... no one was looking for more salmon then,” she said. “We’re very excited about it now. We’ve timed the harvest with the recovery of the economy, and we know that demand is going to continue to increase.”
Although finally making its way to dinner plates, the genetically modified fish has been met by pushback from environmental advocates for years.
The international food service company Aramark in January announced its commitment to not sell such salmon, citing environmental concerns and potential impacts on Indigenous communities that harvest wild salmon.
The announcement followed similar ones by other major food service companies — Compass Group and Sodexo — and many large U.S. grocery retailers, seafood companies and restaurants. Costco, Kroger, Walmart and Whole Foods maintain that they don’t sell genetically modified or cloned salmon and would need to label them as such.
The boycott against AquaBounty salmon has largely come from activists with the Block Corporate Salmon campaign, which aims to protect wild salmon and preserve Indigenous rights to practice sustainable fishing.
“Genetically engineered salmon is a huge threat to any vision of a healthy food system. People need ways to connect with the food they’re eating, so they know where it’s coming from,” said Jon Russell, a member of the campaign and a food justice organizer with Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance. “These fish are so new — and there’s such a loud group of people who oppose it. That’s a huge red flag to consumers.”
Wulf said she’s confident there’s an appetite for the fish.
“Most of the salmon in this country is imported, and during the pandemic, we couldn’t get products into the market,” Wulf said. “So, having a domestic source of supply that isn’t seasonal like wild salmon and that is produced in a highly-controlled, bio-secure environment is increasingly important to consumers.”
AquaBounty markets the salmon as disease- and antibiotic-free, saying its product comes with a reduced carbon footprint and none of the risk of polluting marine ecosystems like traditional sea-cage farming carries.
Despite their rapid growth, the genetically modified salmon require less food than most farmed Atlantic salmon, the company says. Biofiltration units keep water in the Indiana facility’s many 70,000-gallon (264,979-liter) tanks clean, making fish less likely to get sick or require antibiotics.
The FDA approved the AquAdvantage Salmon as “safe and effective” in 2015. It was the only genetically modified animal approved for human consumption until federal regulators approved a genetically modified pig for food and medical products in December.
In 2018, the federal agency greenlit AquaBounty’s sprawling Indiana facility, which is currently raising roughly 450 tons (408 metric tons) of salmon from eggs imported from Canada but is capable of raising more than twice that amount.
But in a shifting domestic market that increasingly values origin, health and sustainability, and wild over farmed seafood, others have a different view of the salmon, which some critics have nicknamed “Frankenfish.”
Part of the domestic pushback revolves around how the engineered fish is to be labeled under FDA guidelines. Salmon fishermen, fish farmers, wholesalers and other stakeholders want clear labeling practices to ensure that customers know they’re purchasing an engineered product.
USDA labeling law directs companies to disclose genetically-modified ingredients in food through use of a QR code, an on-package display of text or a designated symbol. Mandatory compliance with that regulation takes full effect in January, but the rules don’t apply to restaurants or food services.
Wulf said the company is committed to using “genetically engineered” labeling when its fish are sold in grocery stores in coming months.
In November, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco affirmed that the FDA had the authority to oversee genetically engineered animals and fish. But he ruled that the agency hadn’t adequately assessed the environmental consequences of AquaBounty salmon escaping into the wild.
The company argued that escape is unlikely, saying the fish are monitored 24 hours a day and contained in tanks with screens, grates, netting, pumps and chemical disinfection to prevent escape. The company’s salmon are also female and sterile, preventing them from mating.
“Our fish are actually designed to thrive in the land-based environment. That’s part of what makes them unique,” Wulf said. “And we’re proud of the fact that genetically engineered allows us to bring more of a healthy nutritious product to market in a safe, secure and sustainable way.”
Vaccine inequality in India sends many falling through gaps
As the coronavirus tears through India, night watchman Sagar Kumar thinks constantly about getting vaccines for himself and his family of five amid critical shortages of shots in the country. But even if he knew how to get one, it wouldn’t be easy.
The main way is to register through a government website. But it is in English — a language the 25-year-old Kumar and nearly 90% of Indians can’t speak, read or write — and his family has a single smartphone, with spotty internet service.
And even though his state of Uttar Pradesh gives free shots to those under 45, there is no vaccination site in his village, with the nearest hospital an hour away.
“All I can do now is hope for the best,” Kumar said.
Read:Bharat Biotech submits ‘90% of documents’ for WHO nod
The pandemic’s disparities already were stark in India, where access to health care is as stratified and unequal as many other parts of society. Now wealth and technology is further widening those chasms, and millions are falling through the gaps.
That worries health experts, who say vaccine inequality could hamper India’s already difficult fight against a virus that has been killing more than 4,000 people a day in recent weeks.
“Inequitable vaccination risks prolonging the pandemic in India,” said Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center at Duke University in North Carolina. “Reducing barriers for the most vulnerable populations should be a priority.”
India’s vaccination campaign began in January with a goal of inoculating 300 million of its nearly 1.4 billion people by August. So far, however, it has fully vaccinated a little over 42 million people, or barely 3% of its population.
The government didn’t reserve enough shots for the campaign and it was slow to scale up vaccine production. Then, with the country recording hundreds of thousands of new infections daily, the government on May 1 opened up vaccination to all adults.
That made an already bad shortage even worse.
Amid those challenges, the federal government also changed its policy on who can get vaccines and who must pay for them. It allotted itself half of the shots in the country and said it would give free shots to front-line workers and those 45 and older.
Individual states and private hospitals could then negotiate deals with the country’s vaccine-makers for the other half of the shots, the government said. That effectively put the burden for inoculating everyone under 45 on states and the private sector, who often ask members of the public to pay as much as $20 for a shot.
The disparities already are showing in rich states where private hospitals tend to be concentrated.
The capital of New Delhi has given first shots to 20% of its residents, while Bihar state, one of the poorest, has only given shots to about 7.6% of its population. And even states that are providing free shots often can’t keep them in stock — both because of the shortage and competition with the private sector.
Read:Japan opens mass vaccination centers 2 months before Games
Many experts say the federal policy is a mistake, and it will hit the poorest the hardest.
“Vaccinating people is the national duty of the government and they need to vaccinate everyone for free,” said K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India. “Nobody should be denied a vaccine because they are unable to afford it or register for it.”
Vaccine disparity is “not just a question of inequality but also inefficiency,” said developmental economist Jean Dreze.
If people get sick, Dreze said, they will not be able to work. That in turn could push many more into poverty.
Already, the poor have to miss work, forgo the day’s wages and travel long distances to get vaccinated.
“We should not just make vaccines free but also give people incentives to get vaccinated,” Dreze said.
The national government is seeking to address some of the concerns. It has said the website to register for shots will soon be available in Hindi and other regional languages. Still, experts point out half the population lacks internet access, so the better solution would be easier, walk-in registrations for all.
The government also has said it will alleviate the vaccine shortages, insisting there will be about 2 billion doses available between June and December. Experts, however, say the government will likely miss that goal.
India’s health ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Read:India virus death toll passes 300,000, 3rd highest in world
Kavita Singh, 29, was making the equivalent of $250 a month working as a domestic helper in a wealthy part of the capital. But as cases began to surge in April, she lost her job.
“They were scared I would spread the virus and told me to come back only after I am vaccinated,” Singh said.
She could not afford paying for a shot, so Singh and her three daughters returned to her village in Bihar state. There’s no vaccination center nearby, and Singh said she doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to return to New Delhi.
“We barely manage to earn enough for our daily means,” Singh said. “If we use that money for vaccines, then what will we eat?”
Black Fungus Infection: Panic Rising Among Covid Patients
In continuation of the Covid-19 epidemic, the black fungus infection has given rise to new panic among Corona patients. At the inception of the infection, it has reached the level of a terrible epidemic across India. Those who have already recovered from the corona or are moving towards recovery are also affected. Even those who do not have covid are not out of risk yet. With 50 death rete, scientists are worried about its severity in the future. The final stages of the disease are unlikely to be cured, so it is important to be aware along with the correct knowledge in advance.
What is this black fungus?
Black fungus is a fungus called mucor, which grows in a dark wet environment, humid and temperate climate. They can easily grow in any organics, such as perishable fruits and vegetables. It can be found in soil, plants, fertilizers, and even in the noses and coughs of healthy people. 30 to 50 percent humidity is favorable for them. However, their growth is less below 4 degrees Celsius.
The fungi look a lot like tree stalks that are scattered all around. They have a kind of black spores or fine cocoon-like germs that cannot be seen with the naked eye. But if many are born in a certain place then it can be seen with the naked eye. These spores are basically their reproductive organs. These swell and float in the air like pollen. They are not damaged even by the sun's ultraviolet rays.
Read India battles fatal fungal threat as virus deaths near 300K
How does a black fungus infection occur?
The harmful condition caused by the mucor fungus in the human body is called black fungus infection. In medical terms, it is called 'Mucormycosis'.
According to an internationally renowned scientist Dr. Bijan Kumar Sheel, the black fungus enters the human body through the nose while breathing. The spores of the black fungus cannot harm a healthy person by entering into it while floating in the air. But when the immune system is low, they begin to reproduce in the human lungs. It can then spread to different parts of the body and cause death.
It is only natural that the body's immune system, damaged by coronavirus, needs at least some time to recover. During this time, the body is completely exposed to any viruses or bacteria. In that sense, the coronavirus can cause many new complications even after recovery. From mental illness to the heart or brain - anything can happen. And black fungus infection is one of them.
Read Fungus: Health Benefits, Nutritional Values and Precautions
The reason behind this infection
Needless to say, the reason behind this infection is the creation of a damp environment in which black fungus can grow. Millions of germs are being born in such favorable conditions, whereas the human body's resistance to disease is gradually declining in adverse conditions. In continuation of this, the human body is completely vulnerable to these germs due to coronavirus infection.
Steroids used to treat coronavirus are responsible for black fungus infections. Doctors prescribe steroids to covid patients before or after referral to the ICU. These giving extra steroids can lead to subsequent fungal infection in the patient’s body. Mushtaq Hossain, a public health expert in Bangladesh, said that doctors should be careful in giving necessary medicines considering the patient’s condition.
The steroid relieves pneumonia in the corona-affected person. When the body's normal immune system becomes active in preventing the coronavirus, the body suffers some complications. Steroids help repair these complications. Meanwhile, it increases the amount of sugar in the blood. Then it reduces the body's resistance to disease. Everyone, who has or does not have diabetes, has these troubles. As a result, patients develop Mucormycosis.
Read Can I take COVID vaccines from two different brands?
Can I take COVID vaccines from two different brands?
After a year of research and experiment, COVID vaccines turn out to be the savior. Several organizations already get approval from the proper authority. So far, all the approved vaccines are effective. To get full protection, two doses of vaccine are needed in four weeks of interval. There is a common question that may arise, whether the vaccine is effective if you take from two different brands. However, it is still debatable as no effective research has been published on that, but experts have given their opinion on that.
Currently, experts suggest that everyone should get the vaccine from the same brands. To create a more flexible COVID-19 vaccination environment, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) initiated a research named Com-COV to determine the effectiveness of mix and match the two different brands.
Read: Indian COVID variant: Why is it more deadly? How is it affecting the neighboring countries?
But, initially, it is assumed that getting vaccination from two different brands will not get you the greater protection against the diseases. In this context, Dr. Nikhil Bhayani, infectious disease specialist with Texas Health Resources, conveyed, “By using two different vaccines, there is not going to be a greater magnitude of protection against the disease.” Besides, he also recommends not to get the vaccines from two different brands yet. Hence, we should wait until the Com-COV publishes its findings.
Com-COV’s first stage experiment will come out by June or July 2021, though the study will continue for at least a year. The researcher will mix match the vaccines from all the available brands. Hence, we may need to wait a long time to get details on all brands.
Read: Russian Vaccine Sputnik V: Things we should know to fight COVID-19
Vaccines can be mix-matched in exceptional situation
While some experts suggest taking both doses from the same brand, some healthcare professionals suggest that the vaccine can be mix-matched rare cases. For instance, one can take one dose from Moderna and another dose from Pfizer. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this should be considered only in rare cases.
What can be the rare cases?
The exceptional or rare case might occur if a person does not remember the vaccine brand of the first dose, or the documentation does not have the name of the brand. Further, another case can be if the first dose brand is not available anymore or at a certain point in time. However, for now, the vaccine mic match can only be done for Moderna and Pfizer as both of them are similar.
However, a question might arise if a person should wait to get the second dose from the same brand if that brand’s second dose is not available. There is no actual answer to this concern. Therefore we may take the second dose from another brand, or we may wait. But it is evident that only taking the first dose will not protect us from getting COVID. Therefore, we will need to wait for the research result to come out. Besides, it will not be wise to take decisions on our own, but we cannot make the decisions either as the health care experts and government agencies are there to guide us.
Read Covid: How this Indian firm is vaccinating the world
‘City in transition’: New York vies to turn page on pandemic
More than a year after coronavirus shutdowns sent “the city that never sleeps” into a fitful slumber, New York could be wide awake again this summer.
Starting Wednesday, vaccinated New Yorkers can shed their masks in most situations, and restaurants, stores, gyms and many other businesses can go back to full capacity if they check vaccination cards or apps for proof that all patrons have been inoculated.
Subways resumed running round-the-clock this week. Midnight curfews for bars and restaurants will be gone by month’s end. Broadway tickets are on sale again, though the curtain won’t rise on any shows until September.
Officials say now is New York’s moment to shake off the image of a city brought to its knees by the virus last spring — a recovery poignantly rendered on the latest cover of The New Yorker magazine. It shows a giant door part-open to the city skyline, letting in a ray of light.
Read:Biden boosting world vaccine sharing commitment to 80M doses
Is the Big Apple back to its old, brash self?
“Maybe 75%. ... It’s definitely coming back to life,” said Mark Kumar, 24, a personal trainer.
But Ameen Deen, 63, said: “A full sense of normalcy is not going to come any time soon. There’s far too many deaths. There’s too much suffering. There’s too much inequality.”
Last spring, the biggest city in America was also the nation’s deadliest coronavirus hotspot, the site of over 21,000 deaths in just two months. Black and Hispanic patients have died at markedly higher rates than whites and Asian Americans.
Hospitals overflowed with patients and corpses. Refrigerated trailers served as temporary morgues, and tents were set up in Central Park as a COVID-19 ward. New York’s hectic streets fell quiet, save for ambulance sirens and nightly bursts of cheering from apartment windows for health care workers.
After a year of ebbs, surges, reopenings and closings, the city hopes vaccinations are turning the tide for good. About 47% of residents have had at least one dose so far. Deaths have amounted to about two dozen a day in recent weeks, and new cases and hospitalizations have plummeted from a wintertime wave.
Large swaths of the country and world are also starting to get back to normal after a crisis blamed for 3.4 million deaths globally, including more than 587,000 in the U.S.
Las Vegas casinos are returning to 100% capacity and no social distancing requirements. Disneyland in California opened up late last month after being shuttered for more than 400 days. Massachusetts this week announced that all virus restrictions will expire Memorial Day weekend.
Summer music festivals like Lollapalooza are back on, the Indy 500 is bracing for more than 100,000 fans, and the federal government says fully vaccinated adults no longer need to wear masks.
France is opening back up on Wednesday as well, with the Eiffel Tower, Parisian cafes and cinemas and the Louvre bringing back visitors for the first time in months.
Read:Pfizer COVID-19 shot expanded to US children as young as 12
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio has declared it the “summer of New York City.”
There are other signs New York is regaining its bustle. Some 80,000 city employees returned to their offices at least part time this month, joining the many municipal workers whose jobs never were done remotely.
Subway and commuter rail ridership is averaging about 40% of normal after plunging to 10% last spring, when the subway system began closing for several hours overnight for the first time in its more than 115-year history.
Shakeem Brown, an artist and delivery person who works late in Manhattan, spent up to three hours a night commuting back to his Queens apartment before 24/7 service resumed Monday. Brown, 26, said it’s “refreshing” to see things opening up.
At e’s Bar on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, “we feel the energy” of social life ramping up, co-owner Erin Bellard said. “People are so excited to be out.”
Still, receipts at the bar and grill have been down about 35% because of pandemic restrictions on hours and capacity, she said. The impending end of the midnight curfew will give the bar two more crucial hours, and the owners are planning to survey patrons to determine whether to regain full capacity by requiring vaccinations.
From other vantage points, “normal” looks farther off.
The sidewalks and skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan, for instance, are still noticeably empty. Big corporate employers largely aren’t looking to bring more workers back until fall, and only if they feel it’s safe, said Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a major employers group.
“Shutting down was easy. Reopening is hard,” Wylde said after a meeting last week with a group of CEOs. “All the employers say that there still is fear and some resistance to coming back.”
Besides virus fears, companies and workers are wondering about safety, she said.
Crime in the city has become a growing source of concern, but it’s a complicated picture. Murders, shootings, felony assaults and auto thefts rose in the first four months of this year compared with the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, but robberies and grand larcenies fell. So did crime in the transit system, probably because of the drop in ridership.
Read:COVID’s US toll projected to drop sharply by the end of July
Brandon Goldgrub has been back at his midtown office since July, but it’s just in the last few weeks that he has noticed the sidewalks seem a bit crowded again.
“Now I feel it’s a lot more normal,” said Goldgrub, 30, a property manager.
Visiting from Tallahassee, Florida, Jessica Souva looked around midtown and felt hopeful about the city where she used to live.
“All we heard, elsewhere in the country, was that New York was a ghost town, and this doesn’t feel like that,” said Souva, 47. “It feels like a city in transition.”
'Sadaqa can be Islamic response to pandemic'
Helping others is recommended and rewarded in Islam and even more so during times of need, Standard Chartered Saadiq's Shariah Supervisory Committee member Dr. Aznan Hasan said while explaining how aspects of faith such as Sadaqa can be an Islamic answer to the pandemic.
Dr Aznan, from Malaysia, was addressing the webinar "Understanding how Sadaqa can be an Islamic response to the pandemic," recently hosted by Standard Chartered Bangladesh.
Read 7 lakh bKash customers donate Tk20 crore to 50 organisations
Naser Ezaz Bijoy, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said: "It is our privilege to introduce a new product in the Saadiq line: the 'Saadiq Sadaqa Account' which is a first in the market."
"Sadaqa aims to support various local charitable causes such as female well-being, education for underprivileged children, climate change and health care."
Read Trump lawyer blurs lines between charity and profit
"Clients will be able to select the charity of their choice at the time of opening a deposit account with Standard Chartered. The profit earned from that account will go to the pre-assigned charity organisation in compliance with Shariah principles," Naser said.
Another Eid celebrated with prayers in masks
Muslims across Bangladesh celebrated another muted Eid-ul-Fitr Friday without shaking hands and hugging each other thrice after the special prayers amid a host of health protocols put in place during the holiday.
Eid means unbound joy, but once again the Muslims had to hold back the feeling before and after Eid prayers as health restrictions did not allow for the traditional exchange of hugs (kolakoli) among fellow devotees.
Celebration robbed of by pandemic
This is the second consecutive year that Muslims celebrated their largest religious festival under coronavirus restrictions that cast shadows over the festival's mass gatherings and family reunions.
From Indonesia to Bangladesh, governments have imposed restrictions to contain the spread of the virus during Eid, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Many Covid-hit countries, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, imposed curbs, shut shops and even some mosques.
Muted festival
Like the previous year, this year's Eid in Bangladesh was celebrated without any outdoor programme as the government imposed restrictions on all social gatherings and urged the devotees to celebrate the festival with only family members indoors instead of visiting relatives' houses and outings in the wake of the pandemic.
The religious affairs ministry called for the devotees to pray at their nearest mosques instead of the Eidgah and open spaces.
Following the directives, no Eid congregation was held at open spaces, including at the National Eidgah on the High Court premises in the capital this year as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic still prevails.
Also, the historic Eid congregation in Kishoreganj's Sholakia Maidan was called off like the previous year.
Most devotees offered Eid prayers at local mosques throughout the country as advised by the ministry, maintaining health guidelines.
In the capital, people performed Eid prayers in phases. Five Eid congregations were held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka – the first one at 7am while the next four at 8am, 9am, 10am, and 10:45am.
Long queues of Muslims were seen since Friday morning in front of the capital's many mosques including Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.
Earlier, the ministry requested devotees to avoid shaking hands and the customary hugging after the prayers.
In line with that, people were seen attending the congregations wearing masks and leaving Eid prayer venues without a traditional shake of hands with one another or exchange of embraces.
Meanwhile, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina greeted the nation in separate messages on the occasion of holy Eid-ul-Fitr. Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged everyone to remain alert so that the celebrations of the festival do not cause coronavirus cases to spike.
No Eid greetings exchange at Bangabhaban
Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid Friday morning offered Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at Bangabhaban Darbar Hall instead of National Eidgah. Members of the president's family and senior officials of Bangabhaban also offered Eid prayers along with him, following all Covid safety protocols. Eid greetings exchange was not allowed this year due to the pandemic.
Sharing joy
Television channels and radio stations are telecasting special programmes marking the occasion.
Special diets were served in hospitals, jails, government children's homes, centres for persons with disabilities, shelter homes, orphanages, vagrant welfare and destitute welfare centres.
The prime minister sent flowers, fruits and sweetmeats to the war-wounded freedom fighters and members of the martyred families at Martyred and War-wounded Freedom Fighters' Rehabilitation Centre in the capital's Mohammadpur as a mark of her good wishes for them.
'No eid joy for BNP over a decade'
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Friday said their party leaders and activists have not been able to feel the joy of Eid for a decade as they have been subjected to killing, enforced disappearance and other repressive acts.
"Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated today (Friday) through lots of hardship and hard times. On one hand, there's a dangerous outbreak of Covid and there're serious repressive acts by the fascist government," he said.
The BNP leader said, "To be honest, we don’t have the joy of eid. Because our leaders and activists have been killed and implicated in false cases. At least our 35 lakh leaders and workers have been made accused (in different cases). Eid never comes to the families of those who are accused of false charges."
Covid death toll hits 12,102
Bangladesh lost 26 more lives to Covid-19, including nine in Dhaka and seven in Chattogram divisions, in the past 24 hours until Friday morning as Eid celebrations were underway with a dampened spirit due to the pandemic.
The latest number – lowest in 51 days – took the country's Covid-related death count to 12,102 as it celebrated another Eid-ul-Fitr with masks and prayers.
Bangladesh also confirmed 779,535 Covid-19 cases with 848 people coming out positive in 7,835 tests over the same period.
Another lockdown extension looms
The nationwide lockdown, imposed on April 5 to break the chain of Covid-19 infections and fatalities, has been extended several times to limit public movement or contain the surge in daily infections.
The ongoing lockdown, set to end on May 16, is likely to be extended by yet another week to keep close tabs on the situation as a mass exodus from the cities before Eid-ul-Fitr has stoked fears of a third wave of infections.
The lockdown measures fell flat as tens of thousands of people left Dhaka and other cities to join their families in home villages to celebrate Eid, despite stark warnings that the exodus could worsen the country's coronavirus outbreak.
The country's health authorities expressed concerns that the mass travel will spread the coronavirus and reverse a recent hard-won decline in cases following weeks of nationwide lockdown.
At least five people died and 50 others injured Wednesday in a stampede as thousands of people returned to their native villages from Dhaka and other cities for Eid-ul-Fitr, defying Covid-19 restrictions.
Also read: Don’t let Covid to spike with unguarded Eid celebrations: PM Hasina