Wave in new US states fuels raging outbreak

nNEWDELHI: California and Texas marked record spikes in new Covid-19 infections on Monday to cap a week that saw the highest-ever new infections reported in the US. This latest surge in cases in the southern and western parts of the country has caused what is seen as the second wave of infections in the country, undoing gains made by north-eastern states such as New York and New Jersey.

New York led the ‘firstwave’ states that also included New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania when Covid-19 first swept through the country in the second half of March. By early April, 60% of all new cases could be traced to these five states. Since then, these regions managed to contain the virus, contributing just 6% in the last seven days.

However, this drop was undone as the virus started spreading in the south-east and the western parts of the US early in June. California is among a number of states including Florida, Texas, Arizona and North Carolina, battling a new wave of cases. This group of ‘second-wave’ states was responsible for less than 12% of new cases reported in the first week of April. Their contribution to the tally has grown to 55% in the last seven days.

NEWDELHI: In a shift from its usual admission process, Delhi University’s St Stephen’s College is considering doing away with the written test component for enrolment to its undergraduate courses and may switch to online interviews this year in order to maintain social-distancing norms amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision was taken by the college’s governing body on Tuesday, its chairperson Bishop Warris Masih said. A detailed official statement is, however, awaited.

St Stephen’s College, being a religious minority institute, has its own admission process and reserves 50% seats for Christian students.