Open letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi by former civil servants on covid crisis in India

Dear Prime Minister,

We, a group of former civil servants from the All India and Central Services, with a deep commitment to the Constitution of India and with no political affiliations, have written to you as well as other constitutional authorities on a number of occasions in the past, whenever we felt that executive actions violated the provisions of the Constitution.

Today, in the midst of the Covid pandemic and the suffering that has engulfed the people of our country, we write to you in anguish as well as in anger. We are aware that this pandemic threatens the entire world and is not going to leave the citizens of India untouched. And yet, what numbs our senses daily is not just the cries of the citizenry for medical assistance and the death toll in its thousands but the manifestly casual attitude of your government to the magnitude of the crisis and its implications for the mental and physical health of the community of Indians.

The steady erosion of the Cabinet system of governance, the worsening of federal relationships with the states, especially those governed by parties opposed to the party ruling at the centre, the lack of informed consultation with experts and Parliamentary committees, the failure to take the timely advice of expert committees and the absence of effective coordination with state governments have had disastrous consequences for the poor and disadvantaged and now for the better off sections of society as well.

Despite warnings from the international community and our own scientists, the breathing space between the first and the second waves was not used to augment critical resources such as medical staff, hospital beds, oxygen supplies, ventilators and drugs and other medical supplies. Even more inexcusably, no advance planning was done to secure adequate stocks of vaccines, despite India being one of the major vaccine suppliers to the world.

The complacency displayed by you and your ministerial colleagues at various forums not only diverted attention from the looming threat but probably also contributed to both state governments and citizens letting down their guard at a crucial juncture. As a result, your Atmanirbhar Bharat is today compelled to seek the help of the outside world to lessen the agony inflicted on its own people by your government.

Right from the outset of the pandemic in March 2020, your government has never systematically assessed the funds that state governments would need to tackle the pandemic. The PM-CARES fund was set up when there was already a Prime Minister National Relief Fund in place. No disclosures have been made regarding the funds collected and the expenditures on various items. This fund attracted to itself moneys which would otherwise have gone from corporates and the public to the various CM Relief Funds and to NGOs.

Your government has not been prompt in paying outstanding GST dues to the states, which could have helped them defray Covid care expenses. At the same time, your government has incurred unnecessary expenditure on the Central Vista redevelopment project; these funds could well have been more gainfully used to tackle the crisis. On top of this, the harsh restrictions imposed on NGOs, especially those obtaining foreign contributions, have hampered their efforts in providing relief during the pandemic.

While the holding of elections to the legislative assemblies of four states and one union territory may have been unavoidable, you, Mr. Prime Minister, and your party functionaries threw all caution to the winds by conducting huge public rallies in different states, when a restrained campaign by your party would have served as a salutary example to other political parties.

The Kumbh Mela at Haridwar was conducted with scant regard for Covid safety regulations. With two such “super spreader” events taking place just when the second surge of the virus was becoming a major threat, we are now witnessing the horrifying spectacle of the rampant spread of the Covid virus across the rural hinterland of the country.

Your government seems to be more concerned with managing the narrative of “efficient” management of the Covid crisis rather than addressing the crucial issues at stake. Even authentic data on the testing carried out in different states, the number of positive cases, the number of persons hospitalised and mortality figures have not been publicly disseminated. This has had serious implications for the adequate provision of necessary medical facilities in different states as well as for devising appropriate measures in different states to control the spread of the pandemic.

We urge the Government of India to take the following actions immediately:

● Provide for free, universal vaccination to all citizens of India. Government of India must centralize the procurement of vaccines from all available sources and supply them to state governments and all other implementing agencies.

● Coordinate effectively with state governments to ensure the adequacy of oxygen facilities, essential lifesaving drugs and equipment and hospital beds in all States of the country.

● Greatly ramp up RT-PCR testing in both rural and urban areas.

● Make adequate funds available to the States for provision of medical facilities and stop expenditures on non-essential items like the Central Vista redevelopment project.

● Draw on the existing surplus foodgrain stocks to provide free rations to the families of the marginalised and deprived sections of society as well as unorganised labour who have lost their employment opportunities until the ferocity of the pandemic and the hunger and livelihood crisis abates.

● Fully provide, in consultation with state governments, for existing nutrition schemes for school going children and supplementary nutrition for mothers and children in the pre-school age groups.

● Provide a monthly income support for the current financial year to the needy sections of society to enable them to meet contingent expenses and unforeseen emergencies. Economists have recommended Rs 7000 per month per household, equivalent to minimum wages.

● Immediately remove the FCRA restrictions imposed on NGOs so that they can avail of funds provided by foreign governments and charities for Covid management and other related activities.

● Place all data in the public domain and ensure that evidence-based policy measures are implemented.

● Constitute an all-party committee at the central level to advise on and review all government decisions and monitor the control of the pandemic in different areas of the country.

While the above constitute actions to be taken at the politico-administrative level, the most important action relates to building up the confidence and morale of a population hard hit by the loss of their near and dear ones. Compassion and caring have to be the cornerstones of government policy. History will judge our society, your government and, above all, you personally, on how effectively we handle this crisis.

Corona crisis and increasing work pressure are putting journalist's lives in danger

Indore, Madhya Pradesh: In the tension of work in the 70-year-old newspaper of the state, a senior journalist was killed yesterday. Employees are being exploited in newspapers due to the corona period. 

Many employees have been chased away in the old newspaper Naidunia due to this. This has increased the work pressure on survivors. Management and editor are pressuring to work from remaining colleagues. In such a case, a senior journalist was killed.

When output head Ujjwal Shukla asked Piyush Dixit to watch two editions together, Piyush Dixit said it is not possible to get so much work done at once. There was a debate between Piyush and Ujjwal Shukla regarding this. After some time, Piyush's blood pressure increased to a dangerous level. The colleagues lay Piyush on the sofa of the office and Kapish Dubey and Sameer Deshpande started massage Piyush's hands and feet. 

Meanwhile, all the physical activities of Piyush stopped suddenly and he also put his neck aside. Meanwhile, senior companion Ramnath Mutkule suddenly made pressure on his chest with hands, due to which his breath returned. After this, Piyush was taken to hospital and admitted. Work tension and pressure has now become on the lives of journalists. 

Last days old partner of Naidunia Marketing Mh. Iqbal had suddenly died. They came to office a day ago. It is said that they were being pressured for bringing political advertisements. Friends say they were in great stress over this. However, Piyush Dixit's health is fine. Everyone praised the efforts of fellow Ramnath Mutkule. While going to hospital, Piyush started crying and told his colleagues that he has small children and wife. He was more worried about his family not his life.

The washington post: College newspaper reporters are the journalism heroes for the pandemic era

In New York, it was the Washington Square News that first reported a covid-19 outbreak in a college dorm. In Gainesville, Fla., the Alligator is the newspaper that has been painstakingly updating a map of local cases. And the Daily Gamecock alerted the public to the ways that University of South Carolina officials were withholding information about covid-19 clusters.

While the pandemic economy has devastated the local news business, there remains a cadre of small newspapers that are more energized than ever, producing essential work from the center of the nation’s newest coronavirus hot spots. Those would be college newspapers, whose student journalists have been kept busy breaking news of campus outbreaks, pushing for transparency from administrators and publishing scathing editorials about controversial reopening plans.

“I do feel and I know the staff feels a sense of responsibility,” said Jacob deCastro, editor in chief of the Indiana Daily Student at Indiana University. “We want to make sure people know what’s going on both on-campus and off-campus so they can make informed choices. We also want to hold the university accountable in keeping students safe and making sure they’re using our tuition dollars to keep us safe, to keep the community safe.”

Working for a college newspaper is a rite of passage for many budding journalists, who get hands-on experience in the kind of reporting and editing they learn about in classrooms. But the pandemic has also demonstrated how valuable this brand of journalism is for the broader public. 

Student-run newspapers have been reporting about the prevalence of covid-19 at fraternity and sorority houses, in campus residences halls and among student athletes. Professional media outlets have been crediting them for scoops, like the one at NYU. And student newspaper editorials taking school administrators to task for reopening plans — like Notre Dame’s the Observer’s front-page editorial titled “Don’t make us write obituaries" and the University of North Carolina’s Daily Tar Heel’s f-bomb headline — have made national news.

“If we weren’t covering these efforts and if we weren’t diving deeper into these issues — I shudder to think about it,” said Elizabeth Lawrence, editor in chief of the Michigan Daily, which has extensively covered covid-19 strikes by graduate students and resident advisers at the University of Michigan, where testing is limited. “The fact that we’re able to keep the conversation on this and really bring it to so many people, is part of the reason the university just feels it needs to respond to it.”

UNC-Chapel Hill’s student newspaper sums up school’s coronavirus policy with an f-bomb The Michigan Daily had been the only daily newspaper in Ann Arbor for the past decade, but this semester they’ve cut back to printing a physical newspaper just once a week. It’s a move other college newspapers have made because of pandemic-related declines in ad revenue.

But that doesn’t mean they are cutting back on coverage, as they keep up with issues including anti-racism protests and campus preparations for Election Day. The Alligator at the University of Florida has even added new beats to cover the Gainesville area. While the city has a professional daily newspaper, its staff is relatively small, while the Alligator has nearly 60 people on staff, and “we can fill in a bunch of gaps,” said editor in chief Kyle Wood.

“We’re doing our best to hold the university accountable if and when that’s necessary" he added, as well as disseminating campus covid-19 information. "But one of our focuses this semester is not to sacrifice any coverage of the university and also expand out into the community. We’re trying to become the community newspaper.”

The contracting media industry has left few local outlets with dedicated higher-education reporters, leaving student journalists as “really the best watchdogs” in this moment, said Frank LoMonte, director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida."They’re the ones who are going to get the invites to parties, and they’re the ones whose friends are going to be reporting symptoms, and they’re following all the right people on social media, so they know first when there’s an outbreak or when there are unsafe conditions."

The coronavirus crisis is devastating the news industry. Many newspapers won’t survive it. Readers are responding. College newspaper websites are breaking online readership records with stories for students, faculty — and, increasingly, parents who are "sending their students off and they’re really not getting that many answers from the university,” said the Daily Gamecock editor in chief Erin Slowey.

Her reporters’ biggest challenge is “not being able to get people on the record” for stories about the pandemic. “People are very fearful over their jobs, whether they work in housing or had an experience in the quarantine dorm.”

Indeed, one of the main setbacks facing student journalists is accessing public information about covid-19. Universities have often cited the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law protecting student education records, “as an excuse to not release data that should be released,” said Hadar Harris, executive director of the Student Press Law Association. Her organization is also hearing from student journalists who are “seeing a slowing down, if not complete cessation, to open records requests.” Universities can’t use privacy laws to withhold data on coronavirus outbreaks, experts say

College newspapers have long been filled with journalists who sometimes think of the school newspaper as their actual major. The pandemic has pushed these students to work even harder, as they juggle reporting duties with the same concerns facing the rest of the student body, from navigating the complex maze of in-person and virtual classwork to financial troubles. And then there’s mental and emotional toll of covering a pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people in the United States. “I’ve been doing a lot of our updates on testing data, and seeing those numbers at times can be overwhelming,” said Matt Cohen, enterprise reporter for the Indiana Daily Student.

Still, Cohen and his peers, like their professional journalism colleagues, talk about their sense of duty and drive in covering the biggest news story of their lifetimes. “IU is one of the larger campuses in the United States, and having this many students back in person for classes is a big deal,” Cohen said. “Telling the stories of what’s going on so people can have a sense of this is something that impacts everyone’s lives.”

India: Journalist Dies While Waiting for Ambulance at COVID-19 Facility in Pune, state government Orders Probe

Pune, Maharashtra, India: A 42-year-old reporter of a Marathi news channel died of COVID-19 infection on Wednesday at a newly-created jumbo care facility at COEP here in Maharashtra, a top civic official said. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner Vikram Kumar said an inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

District collector Rajesh Deshmukh said deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had given instructions to probe the issue of non-availability of a cardiac ambulance. "I have received information that the journalist was brought from Ahmednagar district in an oxygen-equipped ambulance and was admitted to the jumbo facility here, where he was undergoing treatment," he said.

Sister of the deceased said her brother would have been alive had the cardiac ambulance been made available in time. "My brother died just because he could not get an ambulance in time," she said.


She also alleged a gross mismanagement at the 800-bed facility, saying it was managed by trainee doctors. "We had sent food and medicine to my brother, but both the things did not reach him," she alleged.

Live tv- टीव्ही 9 चे पुणे प्रतिनिधी पांडुरंग रायकर यांचं निधन, एक चांगला मित्र गेला, व्यवस्थेमधील त्रुटी, दोष कुणी कोणावर न ढकलता ती स्वीकारायला हवी - पुण्याचे महापौर मुरलीधर मोहोळ https://t.co/ImprYhMJl7 pic.twitter.com/JUz2opark2

— TV9 Marathi (@TV9Marathi) September 2, 2020

One of colleagues of the deceased reporter said that his condition started deteriorating on Tuesday night, a day after he was admitted at the facility. "He was to be shifted to a private hospital, as his condition started deteriorating, where we somehow managed to get an ICU bed for him. However, we could not get a cardiac ambulance in time," he alleged.

The ambulance was supposed to arrive early Wednesday at the facility, but it was too late as he succumbed to the infection by 5.30 am, he claimed. "Had the cardiac ambulance been made available earlier, his life could have been saved," the colleague said.



Meanwhile, BJP state president Chandrakant Patilblamed "insensitive and lackadaisical" approach of the administration for the incident. "It is the state government which has been instrumental in setting up jumbo facilities, so responsibility(of their upkeep) lies with the government and local administration," he said.

The Kothrud MLA claimed that 8 to 9 deaths have taken place at the said jumbo centre. BJP MLA Siddharth Shirole said the jumbo facility lacked necessary medical facilities.


"The state government has failed to provide medical facilities in the last five months in Pune," he said, alleging that the upkeep of the COEP facility had been ignored by the government.

Sixteen Voice of America journalists forced to leave US soon as visas expire

Washington, US: More than a dozen journalists with the US government’s premier international broadcaster may soon be forced to leave the United States as their visas expire with no action from the agency’s new leadership.

Some 16 Voice of America journalists will have to return to their native countries in the coming weeks unless the government agrees to either renew their visas or extend grace periods for them to depart, according to congressional aides. Several of the journalists, from China and Indonesia notably, could face difficulties at home because of their work for VOA, the aides said.

Rep. Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, complained Friday that the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA and its sister outlets, had ignored congressional requests for an explanation as to why the usually routine visa renewals had not been processed.

In addition, he said not even the affected journalists had been given details of their status. There are roughly 80 foreign VOA employees in the United States, but the documents of the 16 are among the first to come up for renewal, according to congressional aides who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.


Engel, D-N.Y., also appealed to the departments of State and Homeland Security to extend grace periods for those journalists whose visas have already expired so they are not forced to leave without having the time to make adequate arrangements.

“It’s unconscionable that a US government agency would create such fear and uncertainty for people whom we asked to do a job,” Engel said in a statement. “Congress’s attempts to seek answers from USAGM on this matter have been met with silence. It’s clear that the agency is just trying to run out the clock until these journalists are forced to leave.”

Engel blamed USAGM’s new chief, conservative filmmaker Michael Pack, for the situation. Pack, an associate of President Donald Trump’s former political strategist Steve Bannon, has come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans for major changes he has made to the agency since he took over in June following a contentious confirmation process in the Senate.

“Michael Pack’s failure to seek visa extensions for these journalists means that they must leave the country, some of them going home to nations where governments regularly silence and harass journalists,” Engel said. “Mr. Pack still has time to act to resolve this situation, but make no mistake, he is accountable for what comes next. Any harm that comes to these brave individuals will be a direct result of Michael Pack’s inaction.”


Among Pack’s other changes have been purges of various AGM outlets’ management, including officials supported by Republicans, the wholesale replacement of their boards and the suspension of funding for some projects. The firings have prompted at least one lawsuit, which remains in litigation.

The moves have increased fears, particularly among Democrats, that Pack intends to turn the agency into a Trump propaganda machine at odds with its congressionally mandated mission to broadcast impartial news around the world.

Pack has defended his moves as necessary to overhaul the agency, which critics have long said is beset by bureaucratic and journalistic issues. That criticism exploded earlier this year when the White House attacked VOA for its coverage of Covid-19.

USAGM did not immediately respond to a query about the visa situation but has previously said it is reviewing the use of so-called J-1 visas for journalists with critical foreign language skills needed to communicate with foreign audiences. 

Fight against Corona: Russia to begin COVID-19 vaccine trials on 40,000 people next week

Moscow, Russia: Mass testing of Russia's first potential COVID-19 vaccine to get domestic regulatory approval will involve more than 40,000 people and will be overseen by a foreign research body when it starts next week, backers of the project said on Thursday.

These were the first details on the shape and size of the upcoming late-stage trial of the vaccine given by its developers, who are aiming to allay concerns among some scientists about the lack of data provided by Russia so far. The vaccine, called "Sputnik V" in homage to the world's first satellite launched by the Soviet Union, has been hailed as safe and effective by Russian authorities and scientists following two months of small-scale human trials, the results of which have not been made public yet.

But Western experts have been more sceptical, warning against its use until all internationally approved testing and regulatory steps have been seen to be taken and proved a success. "A range of countries is running an information war against the Russian vaccine," Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) that is backing the vaccine, told a briefing. The vaccine data will be published in an academic journal later this month, he said.

Russia has received requests for up to a billion doses of the vaccine from around the world and has capacity to produce 500 million doses per year via manufacturing partnerships, he said.

A director at Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, which developed the vaccine, said 40,000 people would be involved in the mass testing at more than 45 medical centres around Russia.

The data is being provided to the World Health Organization (WHO), Dmitriev said, and to several countries that are considering participating in the late-stage trial, including the United Arab Emirates, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. Sputnik V has already received approval from domestic regulators, leading President Vladimir Putin and other officials to name Russia the first country to license a COVID-19 vaccine.

The registration took place, however, ahead of the start of the large-scale trial, commonly known as a Phase III trial, considered by many as a necessary precursor to registration. At least four other potential COVID-19 vaccines are currently in Phase III trials globally, according to WHO records.

Corona Vaccine Race: China's latest COVID-19 phase III vaccine to be available, affordable to people worldwide

Beijing: China's vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic will be available and affordable to people worldwide, said Liu Jingzhen, chairman of China National Pharmaceutical Group, in Beijing on Thursday. 

A ceremony took place in Beijing on Thursday to launch phase three clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine in Peru. Peru's national health authorities have approved the trials, the latest in China's efforts to strengthen international cooperation in pandemic control. "We launched the promotion of international clinical trials in April. So we’re making key breakthroughs in the United Arab Emirates, which have been very successful. Today, we established a cooperation relationship with Peru, and officially received the documents in all aspects, and will soon start equity participation. Up to now, the clinical phase three trials, from the experimental point of view, the layout is completely sufficient," said Liu.

Liu said that China's Biotec Group is carrying out the research with experts from some of Peru's leading universities. "In Peru, we're working with the National University of San Marcos and another university [University of Cayetano Heredia], specifically to cooperate comprehensively on the clinical phase three trials. They're two of the top universities in Peru, and their experts have been very professional across the board," said Liu.

Liu added that the vaccines will only be used after sufficient preparations and they are striving to make it available to the public worldwide. "Vaccines are to be used for prevention by healthy people. It must be accessible to the general public. According to President Xi Jinping's speech at the World Health Assembly, China's vaccines will be used as global public goods after research and development is successful, which means both available and affordable to the people worldwide," Liu said.

Liu pointed out two research and production facilities in Beijing and Wuhan, which was hit the hardest by the virus, that could ensure the supply of 200 million vaccines a year. "We have two research and production facilities in Beijing and Wuhan, which can ensure the next large-scale quantitative production, feasibility and availability of the vaccines. We are making every effort to prepare for the vaccine's mass production. According to normal daytime production speed, we can supply over 200 million vaccines a year. We can ensure the availability and mass production on the basis of the quality, safety, and effectiveness of our vaccines," said Liu.

Liu introduced that taking an injection twice with an interval of 28 days would give the best effect of the vaccines. "According to our clinical experiments, taking two injections can achieve the best effect. The best interval between the two injections is 28-days, which would ensure overall effectiveness, because, after the first injection, the antibody would increase slowly and after the second injection, the antibody increases quite fast. The two injections could guarantee the validity and could prolong the validity. So this method is best in effectiveness, which is approved by experimental data," said Liu.

Fight against Corona: COVID-19 vaccine maybe ready by the end of 2020, said experts

Experts around the world are confident in the current research and development progress of the COVID-19 vaccine, with some of them believing that a safe and efficient vaccine will be ready for production by the end of this year.

Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against COVID-19, and more than 170 candidate vaccines are now tracked by the World Health Organization. Among those, the promising ones are reportedly from the UK, the U.S., China, and Russia, with large-scale human tests underway in different parts of the world. Six of the vaccines have entered phase three clinical trials, the last phase in the development of a vaccine before it goes through licensure.

"I'm quite hopeful that by the end of 2020 we will have vaccines that have made it through phase trials and are ready for production. But of course between here and there is a long time, there could be things that go wrong, but the sheer number of vaccines that are entering phase three trials gives me hope that at least one will make it through and show itself to be both safe and effective in preventing COVID-19," said Megan Ranney, director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health during an TV interview on Tuesday.

Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute, also hopes that good signs will appear in the next three or four months, and stressed the importance of vaccine manufacture and distribution.

The WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from #COVID19 lists 6⃣ steps to create a healthier 💟, fairer ⚖️ & greener 🌳 world while investing to maintain & resuscitate the economy:

👉https://t.co/Ftv0KCKsMA pic.twitter.com/PBuejrb7B4

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 31, 2020

"It's very important that we have six vaccines entering phase three testing. Phase three, of course, is the stage where we show that a vaccine is both safe and effective, and that's critical. We hope that in the next four months or so, we'll get a signal, an early signal from one of these vaccines that shows that it's actually protecting people against COVID-19 infection, and that will be a very, very important step. But equally important will be being able to manufacture it and then being able to distribute it around the world and to use it to prevent infections wherever they’re occurring," said Kim.

Kim also expressed his concerns about the impact of geopolitical disputes on vaccine distribution, and called for a solution that will ensure all people can have access to the vaccine.

"The thing that concerns me the most is that we aren't coordinated. It needs to go into ensuring that when we have the vaccine, that it isn't going to be a single deal between China and Brazil or a single deal between a U.S. or European based company and a country somewhere in the world. This has to be a solution that will be available to people all over the world, big countries and small countries, rich countries and poor countries," said Kim.

Fight against Corona: Cuba to start clinical trials of potential COVID-19 vaccine

Havana, Cuba: Cuba is set to begin clinical trials next week of a potential coronavirus vaccine called 'Soberana 01' (Sovereign 01) developed by its state-run Finlay Institute, with results due in February, state-run media said on Wednesday.

The potential coronovirus vaccine will be delivered in two injections during the trials that will involve 676 people aged between 19 and 80 years and conclude on Jan. 11. The island prides itself on its biopharmaceutical industry, begun by former revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, which is also an important hard currency earner and already produces several vaccines.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, told Cuban state news agency Prensa Latina that Cuba could even be one of the places it could choose to produce the vaccine from November onwards. Authorities say their treatments for the new coronavirus have already helped it reduce mortality in sufferers.

They touted interferon long before other producers started hailing the merits of the decades-old antiviral agent that boosts immune system and say dozens of countries have expressed an interest in buying it. The country of 11 million inhabitants has registered just a handful of deaths in the last few months, bringing the total to 88 deaths for 3,482 confirmed cases since the start of its outbreak in March.

Cuba has handled its outbreak in textbook fashion through contact tracing and isolation of potential asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, although cases have risen in recent weeks since it eased lockdown restrictions in the capital, prompting it to tighten them once more.

Ireland: Storm Ellen sends severe winds and crashing waves to coast

Louth, Ireland: Waves caused by Storm Ellen crashed over a beach barrier on Ireland's northeast coast on Thursday morning, as the Irish Meteorological Service warned of "very severe and destructive winds" coming off the North Atlantic Ocean.

Eyewitness footage from Blackrock in Louth County, about 75km (46mi) north of the capital Dublin, showed wave after wave slamming against a beach side road as flags flapped uncontrollably. 331km (205mi) south of Louth, a rarely used status red wind warning was in place for the county of Cork from 9 p.m. until midnight on Wednesday, with an orange wind warning in place for the other counties in the south and west of the country.

A red warning means there is the potential for widespread gusts of wind in excess of 130 km per hour (80 miles per hour). The areas likely to be hit hardest are popular with holidaymakers, whose numbers have increased this year as people avoid foreign travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The authorities have urged people in mobile holiday homes or on campsites in parts of southwest Cork to seek shelter or find alternative accommodation.

China grants country's first COVID-19 vaccine patent to CanSino

Tianjin: China's vaccine specialist CanSino Biologics Inc has won a patent approval from Beijing for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad5-nCoV, state media reported, citing documents from the country's intellectual property regulator.

It is the first COVID-19 vaccine patent granted by China, according to state-owned newspaper People's Daily. The paper cited documents published by China's National Intellectual Property Administration saying that the patent was issued on Aug. 11. A late-stage trial of a COVID-19 candidate vaccine from CanSino Biologics Inc has started in Russia, registration records showed, as the Chinese pharmaceutical firm steps up testing abroad to close in on regulatory approval.

The Ad5-nCoV vaccine already has approval for use by China's military after early and mid-stage trials, and further late-stage trials are being lined up for Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

COVID-19 vaccine race: China approves first coronavirus vaccine patent

China has granted its first COVID-19 vaccine patent to the adenovirus vector vaccine developed by Chen Wei of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences and Chinese biotech company CanSino Biologics, according to the National Intellectual Property Administration.

The patent was submitted for application on March 18 and was approved on Aug 11, according to the patent document. The vaccine, dubbed "Ad5-nCoV", uses a weakened common cold virus to introduce genetic material from the novel coronavirus into the human body. The goal is to train the body to produce antibodies that recognize the COVID-19 protein spike and fight it off.

Phase-two clinical trials have shown it to be safe and capable of inducing an immune response, according to research published in the journal Lancet last month. Meanwhile, phase-three clinical trials are currently in the pipeline and will include more participants and be conducted overseas.

Experts have called adenovirus vector vaccine a promising technique for its safety and potency against COVID-19 based on current evidence, as well as its potential in mass production. The United Kingdom and Russia are also working on a vaccine candidate using this kind of technology.

Free coronavirus testing site opens on U.S.-Mexico border

San Diego, US: A coronavirus testing site has been set up on the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, offering free virus tests to travelers crossing into California from Mexico.

The testing site, located at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which is the world's busiest, offers free tests with no appointments needed to travelers crossing by foot from the Mexican border city of Tijuana. "This is open to everyone, we don't ask for immigration status. Right now there are restrictions on the border in terms of who is able to cross; those that are coming in for essential reasons or those that are providing essential services. So anyone who is coming across is able to come and anyone that lives in the community can come and get their test," said Barbara Jimenez, from the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

"We get about 20,000 people that are crossing the border walking and so this is an opportunity for those coming for essential reasons and our essential workers, they can quickly stop by and get their test on their way to work or to do their activities," she added.

A ban on non-essential border travel between Mexico and the U.S. has been in place since March in an attempt by both governments to limit coronavirus infections, yet cross-border traffic has been busy. Mexico's northern border region is home to a large population of U.S. permanent residents and U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, who are typically free to cross back and forth.

"I think (border testing) is a very good program, especially for those who are responsible and want to keep their families safe," said Sarina Coronado, who lives in Tijuana but crosses the border everyday to get to her job waiting tables at a restaurant in San Diego.

"It's great because it makes you feel safe, it makes everything feel safer, when you come and you go, so I'm all for it," said 50-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez, a San Diego resident who had just returned from visiting his parents who live in Tijuana.The San Ysidro coronavirus testing site will be open 6:30 am to 12pm (local) Monday through Friday.

New Zealand scrambles to trace cluster, reporting 14 new virus cases

Auckland: New Zealand officials were scrambling to trace the source of an outbreak of the coronavirus, reporting 14 new cases on Thursday, as long queues of people formed to escape a renewed lockdown in the country's biggest city or be tested for the virus.

The discovery of four infected family members in Auckland two days ago shocked a country that had not recorded a case of COVID-19 for more than three months, raising some criticism of the government's handling of the crisis. New Zealand announced on Thursday that there were 13 new cases in the community, and one overseas arrival who was in quarantine, bringing the total number of active cases to 36.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reimposed tight movement restrictions in Auckland and social distancing measures across the rest of the country on Wednesday, echoing her early response to the pandemic, which was praised for its apparent effectiveness. Officials reported on Thursday that three more people at a refrigerator storage facility - Americold -where one of the family members worked, had tested positive.

Ardern said it was a positive sign that all the new 13 cases were linked back to the infected family, either via work or broader family connections. All were being transferred into quarantine facilities. The rest of the country was placed back into slightly looser level 2 restrictions. The restrictions will initially remain in place until Friday, when Ardern will announce the next steps.

Argentina and Mexico to produce AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Buenos Aires: Argentina and Mexico will produce the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for most of Latin America, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said on Wednesday after a meeting with company executives involved in the project.

An agreement signed between British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the biotechnology company mAbxience of the INSUD Group includes transfer of technology to initially produce 150 million doses of the vaccine to supply all of Latin America with the exception of Brazil, the Argentine government said.

AstraZeneca, Britain's second-largest drugmaker, has long operations in Argentina. The company signed a deal with the foundation of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim for production of the vaccine, which is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2021, pending Phase III studies and regulatory approvals.

The South American country, which has passed 5,000 coronavirus fatalities, posted a record daily number of COVID-19 infections on Wednesday with 7,663 new cases. There were more than 200 fatalities over the previous 24-hour period.

Brazilian state agrees to produce Russian COVID-19 vaccine

Curitiba: A Brazilian technology institute said on Wednesday it expects to produce a controversial coronavirus Russian vaccine by the second half of 2021, shortly after the state of Parana signed a memorandum of understanding with Moscow.

Russia has touted it as the world's first registered coronavirus vaccine, although experts have also raised safety concerns for going to market while other pharmaceutical companies are still carrying out mass testing. Parana's Technology Institute, known as Tecpar, said it may import the vaccine earlier than the production date, if Brazil's federal health regulator Anvisa approves the vaccine.

Tecpar signed the cooperation agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which said in a statement from Moscow that its goal was to "organise the production of the Sputnik V vaccine and its distribution in Brazil and other Latin American countries."

Brazilian public health experts and former senior regulatory officials said on Tuesday they had safety concerns about the vaccine, which has not passed the usual mass testing required of vaccinations. At a press conference, Tecpar Director Jorge Callado said they were still waiting for Russia to send in its phase 1 and 2 vaccine test results, and that their understanding is they are still conducting phase 3 trials. He added that Parana would likely participate in the phase 3 testing, subject to Anvisa authorisation.

Brazil has the world's worse coronavirus outbreak after the United States, with over 3 million confirmed cases and 100,000 deaths, making it a global hub for testing coronavirus vaccines, including British and Chinese candidates.

Israeli jeweller makes $1.5 million gold COVID-19 Face Mask, The World's Most Expensive

Motza, Jerusalem, Israel: Art rather than ostentation is the rationale behind the world's most expensive coronavirus mask, say the Israeli jewellers who are crafting the $1.5 million object for an unnamed U.S.-based client.

Made out of 18 carat gold and studded with 3,600 black and white diamonds, the mask will be fitted with an N99 filter to offer a high level of protection, said Isaac Levy, owner of the Yvel jewellery brand. "I don't think he is going to use it going to the supermarket but he is going to use it here and there, I'm sure," said Levy. He described the client as a Chinese art collector living in the United States.

"He is a young-old customer of ours, very charming, very outgoing, very wealthy and he likes to stand out," Levy said. The jeweller plans to deliver the mask personally when it is completed, in October. The mask, which a team of around 25 artisans is working on, might be viewed a vulgar display of wealth during hard economic times, but for Levy it is above all a work of art.

"We are very proud to be able to create such a mask that provides so much work to so many people that desperately need these jobs in theses challenging times." he said.