KANNUR l monday l january 17, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION djokovic loses case, deported from australia application ‘dismissed with costs’ Chief Justice James Allsop dismissed the amended application with costs. It finally ended a 10-day legal drama since the the 34-year-old announced on social media that he had secured a ‘medical exemption’ to enter Australia. Djokovic could have technically appealed the decision at the High Court but decided against doing so | P11 World No 1 leaves Melbourne after the Federal Court upholds government’s decision to cancel his visa for the second time 21 Serbian ‘disappointed’ ■ In a statement, the Serbian said he was disappointed. “I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me." He also said he will now rest and recuperate ■ He had his visa cancelled as his presence could cause ‘civil unrest because he’s a talisman of anti-vaccination sentiment’ Djokovic was going for a men’s record 21st slam title CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Though the sample size is small, the study by the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences is representative of the Omicron surge across India Hospitalisation under 4%, finds latest research 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 24 Oct Case positivity trajectory Alleppey Ranganath passes away at 73 Alappuzha/ Kochi: Veteran music director Alleppey Ranganath, who has composed several evergreen devotional and film songs, passed away on Sunday. The 73-year-old was undergoing treatment at the Kottayam Medical College after contracting Covid. Last week, he was presented with the ‘Harivarasanam’ award by the state government. West Bengal R-Day tableau too rejected Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee expressed her shock at the Centre’s decision to exclude the state’s R-Day tableau on Netaji and urged it to reconsider. There was similar criticism for rejecting Kerala’s tableau on Sree Narayana Guru. Interestingly, it came from a Congress leader in Karnataka Baseline characteristics of Omicron cases Male 57.3% Female 42.7% Vaccination status Vaccinated 87.8% Not Vaccinated 12.2% Travel history Yes 39.1% | No 60.9% Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by RT-PCR Yes 17.1% | No 83.9% Clinical features Asymptomatic 61% Symptomatic 39% Comorbidities 18.3% No comorbidities 81.7% Hospitalisation 3.6% statewide jan 15 jan 16 Fresh cases 2,68,833 2,71,202 Recoveries 1,22,684 1,38,331 Deaths 402 314 statewide jan 15 jan 16 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 17,755 18,123 3,819 4,749 17 8 Full vaccination against Covid-19 or previous infection may not offer any substantial protection against the highly contagious Omicron variant of SARSCoV-2, but its hospitalisation rate is way low at less than 4%. These were the takeaways from India’s first epidemiological study on Omicron carried out by researchers associated with a leading government hospital. Their results, released on a pre-print repository of medical science, have also shown that Omicron was already in community circulation in Delhi in December and underlined the limited impact of airport screening or curtailing flights from other countries. Researchers associated with the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in Delhi sequenced the genomes of 264 Covid-19 positive samples from five districts across the national capital and found 82 of them had Omicron. The rest were infected with the Delta variant that had fueled the devastating second Covid wave in India last summer. Though the sample size is small, the study is being viewed as a representative analysis of Omicron-driven surge in many parts of India. The analysis of 264 patients who had tested positive between November 25 and December 23 last year found that 72 (or 88%) of the Omicron-infected patients had been fully vaccinated. Only three among the Omicron patients required hospitalisation. Worlds bronze-medallist beats world champion Loh Kean Yew in straight games to claim India Open title. A look at some of the talking points... 31 Oct The former junior World No 1 has always advertised his talents and he’s now making good on his promise. After reaching the final of the World Championships in December, he’s now won his first Super 500 crown The 20-year-old, who is World No 17, has a definite chance of making a run for the top 10 spot soon. Covid cases notwithstanding, he will also take part at the Syed Modi meet, a Super 300 meet. Win there as well and it’s a possibility Satwik/Chirag make it a sweet double 17 Results (only Indians, all finals) Lakshya is currently No 17 in the world Lakshya bt Loh Kean Yew 24-22, 21-17 Satwiksairaj/Chirag bt Ahsan/ Satiawan 21-16, 26-24 The doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Chetty completed a sweet double from an Indian perspective with a fine win over Indonesia’s Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan Lakshya Sen in action against Loh Kean Yew in the YonexSunrise India Open in New Delhi on Sunday | BAI Distress signs as expatriates dip into NR deposits in state’s banks R A J E S H A B R A H A M @Kochi Bank deposits by non-resident Keralites have declined, perhaps for the first time ever, indicating a distress in the sizeable expatriate community in the state. The NR deposits in Kerala banks have declined by `593 crore to `235,897 crore for the quarter ending September 2021 from the previous quarter, as per the figures made available on Saturday . The decline indicates that expatriates are dipping into the reserves as a large number of them have returned to the state following job loss, mostly from West Asian countries, in the last two years, experts said. As of July last year, about 15 lakh Keralites have returned to the state from across the world since the first week of May 2020. Of this, 10.45 lakh have First dose to eligible population 7 Nov 14 Nov 21 Nov 28 Nov NR deposits in Kerala banks Sept, 2021 J235,897 cr (-J593 cr) June, 2021 J236,490 cr (+J6,854 cr) Mar, 2021 J229,636 cr (+J2205 cr) Dec, 2020 J227,430 cr (+J5401 cr) cited “loss of job’’ as the reason for their return. NR deposits have been growing consistently in Kerala banks despite the recent shift in the pattern of the Malayali workforce in the Gulf countries, focusing more on whitecollar jobs, where the opportunities are less. The NR deposits have shot up by a whopping `54,867 crore from `181,623 crore in September 2018 to `236,490 crore in June 2021, be- fore declining for the first time in the September 2021 quarter. The NR deposits should not be confused with remittances, the experts said. NR remittances are foreign currency funds sent by the NRIs to their families and relatives for maintenance and upkeep while NR deposits are foreign currency deposits made in a bank in the country by a nonresident Indian, which can be repatriated on maturity . “The pandemic has disproportionately impacted Kerala migrants, especially those in the Gulf. This is evident from the remittance pattern since early 2020. Many lost jobs or suffered salary cuts and a substantial number, about 15 lakh, has returned to Kerala since the outbreak,” said Divya Balan, assistant professor and a migration expert at FLAME ● More on P4 University Pune.  , 0.63% 5 Dec 12 Dec 19 Dec 26 Dec India US UK France Spain 59.9% Of world’s population has taken first shot 9.5% People in poor countries got their first does so far tal Ltd (BMH), Kozhikode. The finding, even if conducted on a The Test Positivity Rate small scale, is significant as it (TPR) in the state has crossed hints at community spread that the 30% mark on Sunday as calls for emergency measures health experts link the recent to manage an impending peak surge in Covid cases and clus- of the third wave. ter formations to the presence “The tests prove that the of the fast spreading Omicron surge we see around is due to variant. Omicron. Hence there is an urCiting a sample gent need to promote study that found the testing and self isola528 cases first evidence of comtion to delay the surge. so far munity spread of the If it is not done the Official records Omicron virus in the situation will move to account for 528 a major outbreak,” acstate, the experts said confirmed authorities should cording to Dr Anoop stop targeting only the Omicron cases so Kumar A S, Chief of far. The daily international travelCritical Care Medinumber of lers for containing the cine, BMH. The daily positive cases variant. positive cases are likehas recorded a However, of ficial ly to cross 50,000 in massive 600% records account for three to four weeks, he increase since only 528 confir med warned. January 1 Omicron cases so far Fast spreading Omieven as the daily cron in the communinumber of positive cases has ty means that a lot of people recorded a massive 600% in- would be experiencing throat crease since January 1. As pain and cold with fever somemany as 18,123 persons tested times. Unlike Delta, the Omipositive for Covid on Sunday in cron variant does not cause the state. loss of ability to sense smell The presence of Omicron has and taste.Experts want people been detected in 75% of the with mild symptoms and those samples tested among inpa- with multiple diseases to untients in Baby Memorial Hospi- dertake Covid test.  ● More on P2 2 Jan 9 Jan 16 Jan 90% 73.2% 75.9% 78.3% 84.7% Door-todoor drive in India since November enhanced single dose coverage by over 5%, full vax coverage by nearly 12% UP Police books Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for flouting Covid norms while on a door-to-door campaign for a Congress candidate in Noida Vax drive for children in schools from Wednesday T’Puram: Covid vaccination for children in the age group of 15 to 17 years will be given through schools from Wednesday. The health and education departments on Sunday decided to start the campaign. Those who were born in 2007 or before will be eligible. P2 E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @ T’Puram Top 10 beckons youngster Omicron community spread on, warn experts U n n i k r i sh n a n S @ T’Puram 0.84% CPM expresses regret over mega Thiruvathira First Super 500 title for Lakshya Big last few months (7 days moving average) 1.28% S um i S u k a n ya D u t ta @ New Delhi express read 13.69% After drawing severe criticism over the conduct of mega Thiruvathira at Parassala ahead of the Thiruvananthapuram district conference, the CPM local leadership has finally expressed regret. The farcical affair was held flouting Covid restrictions and at a time when the slain SFI leader Dheeraj Rajendran’s mourning procession was proceeding to his hometown. To worsen matters, it literally turned into an event that blatantly extolled the virtues of CM Pinarayi Vijayan. In what could be termed as an apologetic act within the party forum, the local leadership said it was not meant to eulogise Pinarayi and the same should have been avoided. Party’ Parassala area secretary S Ajayakumar, who is also the general convener of the reception committee for the district conference, expressed regret, while thanking delegates at the end of the conference on Sunday . Criticising the CPM for conducting party conferences amid Covid surge in the state, Opposition leader V D Satheesan said people of Kerala would now have understood who the real ‘merchants of ● More on P4 death’ were. Closer Ec watch on muscle power in election fray non-compliance of its orders will be deposited to the above THE Election Commission fund. has created a separate cell Earlier, on August 10, the dedicated to deal with matters Supreme Court had said that pertaining to the crimiparties will have to pubnal antecedents of canlish information redidates, in compligarding the criminal ance with the antecedents of candiSupreme Court’s ordates—including deder on the issue. The tailed information on poll panel has manthe nature of the ofdated that candidates fences, relevant parGuidelines as well as the cont i c u l a r s s u ch a s to publish cerned political parwh e t h e r ch a r g e s criminal ties issue a declarahave been framed, history tion in the media the concerned court, The particulars about their criminal the case number, regarding the background. etc.—on the candidate’s The poll panel has homepage of their come up with a mo- pending criminal websites, along with b i l e a p p l i c a t i o n cases must be in the reasons for their bold letters. named ‘Know Your selection and why Candidate’, contain- Details should be other individuals ing information re- given separately could not be given garding the criminal for each case in tickets instead. separate rows. backgrounds as deThey also need to Publication of clared by candidates. write to the EC withMoreover, a dedicat- the declaration in 48 hours of selecshould be ed fund has been cretion of such a reported to the a t e d f o r vo t e r s ’ candidate. aw a r e n e s s c a m - Returning Officer The reasons as to paigns and to make selection must be available the criminal history with reference to the qualifiof the contesting candidates cations, achievements and to the general public. Any fine merit of the candidate conimposed by the apex court on cerned, not mere winnability political parties regarding at polls. Kumar V i k ram @ New Delhi Denied ticket, Channi sibling to contest as independent E x p ress Ne ws S er v i c e @ Chandigarh REVOLTS by netas denied poll tickets are no big deal, but when the brother of a chief minister throws a fit, it is bound to catch attention. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s brother Dr Manohar Singh, who was denied a ticket to contest the elections, will fight as an independent against the Congress candidate for the Bassi Pathana seat. Channi had unsuccessfully lobbied for his brother as the Congress refused to budge on the ‘one ticket one family’ formula. However, the party gave tickets to the relatives of a few leaders. For example, Kamil Amar Singh, son of Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh, has been fielde d f ro m R a j ko t wh i l e Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary , son of Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary was , given the Phillaur ticket. Channi’s brother is a medical practitioner who had quit the Kharar civil hospital to enter the poll fray . Woman, son confess to murder of girl to hide rape E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @ T’Puram A day after the arrest of three people, including a woman and her son, for murdering an elderly woman and stealing her ornaments at Mulloor here, the Vizhinjam police claimed that the mother-son duo was also involved in the murder of a 14-year-old girl in 2020. The police said the suspects — Rafeeqa Beevi, 50, and her son, Shafeeq, 23 — confessed to the crime during questioning and they killed the girl to prevent her from revealing that Shafeeq had sexually assaulted her. The girl, a native of Muttakkadu, was found unconscious at her house on December 13, 2020, and she died on the way to the hospital. Rafeeqa said they were residing near the girl’s house at that time. On the day of the incident, Rafeeqa and Shafeeq strangled the girl as they feared that she might tell the sexual assault incident to her parents. The girl fell unconscious and they hit her head with a hammer, the police said. When the girl’s parents reached the house and found her lying unconscious on the floor, they alerted the neighbours. Rafeeqa rushed to the spot and she accompanied the girl to the hospital in the ambulance to avoid suspicion. As there were some bruises on the girl’s body the Kovalam po, lice registered a case of unnatural death. However, the probe did not make any headway. Though the postmortem report revealed that there were four injuries on her head, the doctor and the probe team ruled out the possibility of murder as they thought that she might have been injured when she fell down.  ● More on P4