-The Hindu It is not data, but lack of transparency and awareness that causes panic during a pandemic China’s initial cover-up of the novel coronavirus outbreak for nearly a month invited worldwide condemnation. Similarly, there were concerns when the U.S. was reported to be barring leading scientist, Anthony Fauci, from speaking publicly about the COVID-19 outbreak without approval. Dr. Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious...

-The Indian Express Govt has issued guidelines on home quarantine for people who have been exposed to novel coronavirus. What are these guidelines, and how is this regime different from being quarantined in an Army facility? In India’s fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID 2019), the Union Health Ministry has issued elaborate guidelines on how to enforce “home quarantine” for a fortnight. While less stringent than being quarantined in an Army...

-The Indian Express Threat from coronavirus is real, demands vigilance. But responses to it are bordering on paranoia. In The Plague, Albert Camus describes the French town of Oran, which is swept by a plague leading to the death of thousands of inhabitants. Camus’s novel is the story of a community struck by a destructive force, to which it refuses to surrender. The outbreak of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus epidemic and the...

-The Hindu There was a contradiction in Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s speech in Lok Sabha on Wednesday where he said that the communal riots in Delhi was a “pre-planned conspiracy”. On February 25, a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau said: “Shri Shah noted that the professional assessment is that the violence in the capital has been spontaneous. Please click here to read more. ...

-The Hindu Chennai: The State government has sought clarifications from the Centre over three specific questions pertaining to the mother tongue, details of the parents and spouse of the resident during enumeration. The Tamil Nadu government has “put on hold” works towards updating the National Population Register (NPR) in the State, pending certain clarifications from the Centre. “So far, the notification for updating of the NPR has not been issued. We will take...