Fresh cases cross 6K, Coimbatore records most cases after Chennai Chennai Sees 16 More Covid Deaths, Followed By Salem (9) & Chengalpet (8)

Fresh cases cross 6K, Coimbatore records most cases after Chennai

Chennai Sees 16 More Covid Deaths, Followed By Salem (9) & Chengalpet (8)

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 31.08.2020

As a slew of unlock measures were adopted, Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu have begun to peak again. On Sunday, Tamil Nadu saw 6,495 cases and 94 deaths.

Fresh infections were crossing 6,000 for the second day in a row after a month. Chennai registered more than 1,200 cases for the third day in a row. Of the 52,721 active cases in the state, the city accounts for a quarter of them (13,472).

Chennai also recorded the most deaths at 16, followed by Salem with nine and Chengalpet eight.

Chennai region, comprising Chennai city , Chengalpet, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts continued to account for most of the deaths

(33), followed by western region (18).

Sunday’s tally of 2,154 new cases increased the total number of active cases in Chennai region to 19,804, while western region with 1,267 cases added on Sunday has 10,316 active cases.

Coimbatore recorded its highest-ever single day tally of 498 cases, remaining the district with the second-highest incidence in Tamil Nadu, next only to Chennai. Even as the total cases in the district inched closer to 15,000, the number of active cases remained at a little over 3,500. The recovery rate too touched a new high with 451 people being discharged. Though there are no new clusters, cases have steadily increased in hotspots such as Selvapuram and Gandhipuram, and spread to neighbouring localities.

The southern districts reported 953 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, and Madurai’s tally crossed the 14,000 mark. Theni district reported the most cases, 176, in the south; Madurai had 134 cases.

The central region recorded its second-highest singleday spike of 754 cases pushing the tally past 31,000 The state, meanwhile, has continued to test aggressively, with more than 83,000 samples tested by RT-PCR method at approved labs on Sunday -- 12,000 more than a week ago on August 23.

The southern districts reported 953 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, and Madurai’s tally crossed the 14,000 mark

Fee revision for professional courses unlikely this year

COVID CRISIS

Fee revision for professional courses unlikely this year

A.RaguRaman@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 31.08.2020

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the fee committee is unlikely to revise the fee structure for professional courses for 2020-21. The students joining professional courses are likely to pay the existing fees for both government quota and management quota seats in self-financing colleges.

As per the existing fee structure, colleges are collecting ₹50,000 for government quota seats and ₹85,000 for management quota. For accredited courses, they can collect ₹55,000 for government quota and ₹87,000 for management quota. “People are suffering due to Covid-19 crisis. There is a view that any fee increase will create more hardships for parents. The fee committee will soon take a decision in this regard,” sources in the fee committee said.

Justice K Venkatraman took over as the head of the fee fixation committee in March.

The fee committee announced that it would revise fees for BE, BTech, BArch, ME, MTech, MArch, MBA and MCA courses for three years from 2020-21. It also invited individual proposals for fee hike from colleges with documents like balance sheet, auditor income, expenditure statements and books of accounts.

More than 500 colleges have applied to the committee seeking fee revision for next three years from 2020-21. The colleges sought fee hike ranging from 25% to 40% for all the courses.

Following the Covid-19 crisis, now several colleges are prepared to run the colleges with existing fee structure for 2020-21.

“I don’t think there is any possibility of a fee hike this year in view of the pandemic,” said M A Maluk Mohammed, director and correspondent of MAM College of Engineering and Technology in Trichy.

The colleges need to honour their commitment and pay salaries to their staffers. Colleges also need to engage students with online classes. It is going to be a challenging year, he added.

Buyers to get ₹52 lakh refund, compensation for unfinished flat

TNRERA ORDER ON UNREGISTERED PROJ

Buyers to get ₹52 lakh refund, compensation for unfinished flat

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 31.08.2020

Coming to the rescue of two homebuyers who had booked an apartment in an unregistered housing project, the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (TNRERA) has directed the project developer to refund the customer’s payment with interest.

The case pertains to a project titled “Aurum Pride Tower” at Padur, on the outskirts of Chennai, which the TNRERA order states is not registered. It is developed by Pacifica (Chennai) Infrastructure Co. Pvt. Ltd.

In a recent order, TNRERA adjudicating officer G Saravanan said documents furnished by homebuyers proved that the developer failed to complete the construction of the booked flat and handover its possession as promised. Therefore, the complainants (homebuyers) are entitled to get back the payment made with interest and compensation, it added. The developer concerned has been directed to refund the payment of ₹52.2 lakh to the complainants with an interest of 10% per annum till the repayment is made. Besides, the homebuyers have also been awarded compensation of ₹2.2 lakh towards mental agony and litigation expenses.

The order is significant as it gives homebuyers who invested in such unregistered housing projects an opportunity to seek relief from the state’s realty regulator. Such projects, which commenced before the implementation of RERA Act, could not deliver apartments and also failed to register with the TNRERA, after the Tamil Nadu government notified rules for real estate Act in June 2017.

The complainants said they had paid ₹52.2 lakh of the ₹53.9 lakh owed for booking the flat. After a sale agreement was entered between the homebuyer and builder in 2013, the developer executed a sale deed assuring to handover the flat in 2015. But, the construction was not completed and the (apartment) unit has not been handed over till date, the order added.

Despite attempts, Pacifica (Chennai) Infrastructure Co. Pvt. Ltd. did not respond to TOI queries for reaction.

The developer, in 2019, informed the homebuyers that construction of the block in which a unit was booked can’t be completed and urged them to shift the booking to another block. The complainants sought to cancel the booking and sought a refund of the amount paid.

Buses to run half-full after 5 months

Buses to run half-full after 5 months

Masks A Must For Travelling; Offices To Have 100% Staff

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 31.08.2020

Five months after the first lockdown was announced to handle the Covid-19 pandemic, city streets will regain life starting Tuesday as bus services will resume and malls, hotels will reopen. Offices have been permitted to function with 100% staff in attendance. Metro rail services will also resume on September 7 and Chennai will no longer be the city with the most restrictions in the country as only colleges, schools, cinemas and parks will remain closed.

As the city continues to log more than 1,000 fresh Covid-19 cases daily, MTC authorities, malls and hotel managements will take precautions to ensure safety of patrons. Measures — a mix of technology and manual enforcement — will be taken to prevent crowding and ensure social distancing in buses, malls, hotels and metro trains.

Anticipating a huge rush of commuters on the first day, MTC will run its entire fleet of 3,000 buses. A transport department official said due to social distancing restrictions, they will be running more buses. “We will first see the crowd, and based on that, we will increase services in the subsequent days.”

Buses can take in only 50% passengers and none can travel standing, and everyone must wear masks. “Buses have 44 seats, so now only 22 passengers can board and only one person can sit in a two-seater, in order to maintain social distancing,” said a senior official from the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC). The crew will wear masks and gloves, and there will be a hands-free sanitiser dispenser stand at the entrance of every bus for the public to use.

Until further government orders, MTC buses will not ply in Chengalpet, Arakkonam, and areas outside the corporation limits.

Metro rail, which has already readied a standard operating procedure, is expected to finetune it based on fresh guidelines from the Centre. An official said issuing of tokens will be dispensed with and QR code-based ticketing will be introduced in addition to the smart cards to ensure contactless entry and exit at the stations. The services were suspended at the end of March.

Sources said services may be stopped earlier than usual. “We are yet to take a decision on what all SOPs to follow,’ said an official.

Making the most of the opportunity to resume business, star hotels have started to reassure its customers about their safety standards. Zubin Songadwala, general manager of ITC Grand Chola, said, “Our safe practices start with prearrival check-in, safe car ride, security personnel in PPE, hand sanitisers at touchpoints, luggage sanitisation, remodelled receptions with WelcomSeparators, deepcleaned and sanitised room allotment.” He also said restaurants will follow contactless dining while food will be delivered to rooms on sanitised IRD trolleys.

India becomes 1st country to cross 80k cases in a day

India becomes 1st country to cross 80k cases in a day

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:31.08.2020

India added a record 80,092 fresh Covid cases on Sunday, becoming the first country in the world to cross the 80,000-mark in a single day since the outbreak of the pandemic, even as the week ending August 30 turned out to be the worst week of the month. The growth rate in both fresh cases and fatalities in this week not only increased after a dip, but more than doubled compared to the preceding week.

The highest peak of 80,000-plus cases comes on a Sunday when the number of fresh infections have been lower than other days of the week because of a lull in testing during the weekends. The highest peak of fresh cases on a Sunday was last recorded on August 9 with 63,851fresh cases.

However, more alarming than the new peak in fresh infections is the growth rate of both fresh cases and fatalities shooting up in the last week of August after a dip which was seen in the earlier weeks of the month.

India’s first woman cardiologist dies at 103

India’s first woman cardiologist Dr S I Padmavati died of Covid-19 on Saturday. The 103-year-old was admitted 11 days ago to the National Heart Institute, which she founded in 1981. A severe infection in both lungs caused the death. P 8

Covid-19: AP emerges as second worst-hit state, pushes TN to 3rd

With more than 76,000 fresh cases being registered daily for five consecutive days, the growth rate this week at 13.1% was almost three times the 4.7% growth registered the previous week. This was 5.9% in the preceding week and 10.9% in the first week of the month (Aug 3-9).

Similarly, with 1,000-plus fresh deaths recorded for four consecutive days, the growth rate in fatalities this week, at 3.9%, was more than double of 1.7% recorded in the previous week.

Sunday’s peak of fresh cases came on the back of Maharashtra recording its second highest surge with 16,408 infections – more than 16,000 cases for the second consecutive day – as well as five other states registering their highest peaks. Maharashtra registered its highest peak with 16,867 new cases just a day ago.

On Sunday, the states/ UT which registered their highest peak were Uttar Pradesh (which crossed the 6,000-mark for the first time with 6,233 new cases), Rajasthan (1,450 fresh cases), Madhya Pradesh (1,558), Chhattisgarh (1,471), and Jammu & Kashmir (786).

With 970 fresh deaths on Sunday, India’s toll inched closer to the 65,000-mark at 64,550. Maharashtra, the worst affected state, registered 296 fresh deaths on Sunday, taking the toll to 24399, which is nearly 38% of the country’s total fatalities.

While the cumulative caseload of the country crossed the 36-lakh mark on Sunday at 36,16,730, the number of patients who have recovered is 27,67,412. The number of active cases is close to the 8-lakh mark at 7,84,768.

Andhra Pradesh emerged as the second worst affected state in the country, with 10,603 new infections in the country taking the state’s caseload to 4,24,767, thereby pushing Tamil Nadu to the third place with a caseload of 4,22,085.

TOUGH TESTING: A woman gives sample at mobile Covid testing bus at ENT hospital in Visakhapatnam on Sunday

› Nashik currency press stops ops over Covid, P 8

TN scraps e-pass, allows buses within dists, opens up shrines Edu Institutes, Cinemas Will Remain Shut

TN scraps e-pass, allows buses within dists, opens up shrines

Edu Institutes, Cinemas Will Remain Shut

D.Govardan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:31.08.2020

In line with the Centre’s unlock 4.0 norms, the Tamil Nadu government on Sunday announced that from September 1 e-passes would not be needed for travel within the state, buses could ply within districts, and malls, hotels, resorts, clubs and places of worship were free to open. The intense lockdown on Sundays, which had little meaning with people crowding market places on Saturday, too will go.

Schools, colleges and cinema theatres, including multiplexes in malls, will, however, remain closed.

In Chennai, metro rail services will resume operations from September 7, while suburban train services will remain shut. Passengers arriving by domestic and international flights, as well as those entering the state in private vehicles and trains would still need to apply for e-pass, which will be sanctioned to all automatically.

Parks and sports stadia will be open for undertaking training, but members of the public will not be allowed inside stadiums. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said the relaxations were to boost overall economic activity and growth and had been decided after discussions with officials and health experts.

While Section 144 that prevents unlawful assembly of more than five persons will remain in force, no relaxations of any type will be applicable for containment zones.

No public meetings or religious gatherings or processions will be permitted. All industries as well as IT/ITeS sector can have their operations with 100% employees.

State government offices to function with all employees

But the IT sector is being advised to encourage WFH for most, barring the critical areas of operations. State government offices will function with 100% employees from September 1, while skill development centres and ITIs will function from September 21.

People visiting hill stations such as Nilgris, Kodaikanal and Yercaud should apply for e-pass from the respective district collector.

Film shootings are permitted to resume, but with a maximum of 75 people. Members of the public will not be allowed to be present at shooting spots. “It has come as a breather for an industry bogged down by inaction for five and half months. While challenges remain, production houses will resume shooting in a couple of days,” said S R Prabhu, vice president, Tamil Film Active Producers Association said.

“Operation of intra-district bus transport will help. But, we urge the government to considering early resumption of suburban train services, since MSME workers will have to shell out more for travel by buses from other parts of same districts. If metro rail is for white-collar jobs, suburban trains are for blue-collared workers and they are important if industrial units have to run with 100% employees,” said M Balachandran, president, AIEMA.

“It will only aid then economy, which has taken a hit,” Hari K Thiagarajan, Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu told TOI. “We are relieved. We are in a state of readiness to open the mall in a couple of days,” Mukrim Habeeb, director, Grand Marina Mall on OMR.

People visiting hill stations such as Nilgris, Kodaikanal and Yercaud should apply for e-pass from the respective district collector

Why women feel worse after breakup sex

Why women feel worse after breakup sex

Canela Lopez 30.08.2020

Breakups come along with a flurry of emotions packed into a small period of time, which can be pretty confusing. It’s no surprise that a little breakup sex may occur in the heat of it all. But sometimes, it can really hard to pinpoint exactly why we do it.

A team of researchers put together a paper published in Evolutionary Psychology, which includes two studies on how men and women differ in their approach to breakup sex — which they defined as sex with your ex two weeks or less after breaking up — and how it makes them feel when everything is said and done.

They found that both genders have breakup sex for vastly different reasons.

The first study in the paper surveyed 212 college students in the Northeast, who were predominantly white and almost entirely heterosexual, and asked how they felt after having breakup sex.

Overall, women typically felt better about their relationship but worse about themselves after breakup sex, while men felt better about themselves.

“It is due to women being more likely than men to express regret over having a one-time sexual encounter as prior research by others has documented,” Dr. T. Joel Wade, Professor of Psychology at Bucknell University and coauthor of the paper, told Insider.

The second study asked a group of 292 college students, predominantly white and entirely heterosexual, to choose from a list of what motivated them to engage in breakup sex and rank the reasons.

According to Wade, men typically had breakup sex for “hedonistic reasons” — like “wanting to feel good, the opportunity occurred, missed having sex, and wanting to satisfy their needs.”

Women, on the other hand, tended to do so for more emotional and loving reasons.

The research hypothesizes there is an evolutionary aspect to why men and women differ in their decisions to have breakup sex. The evolutionary theories for breakup sex that were explored included doing so a mate-retention tool (way to entice your partner to stay) and as a mate-coping strategy (way to give the possible dissolution of your relationship).

While evolution was the main focus of this set of research, the authors said social factors like sexism could also play a role.

One limitation of the data was the sample groups used for the studies. Both groups were predominantly White and almost entirely heterosexual.“The data cannot speak to LGBTQ+ individuals. It is hard to say how queer people would engage,” Moran, lead author of the paper, told Insider. BUSINESS INSIDER.IN

GENDER DIFFERENCE: Men have breakup sex for hedonistic reasons, while women do so for emotional and loving reasons, a new study claims