SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightGetty ImagesThe Australian city of Perth will end a snap three-day lockdown that began after a man contracted Covid in hotel quarantine and moved around the community while infectious.Three local cases have been reported since Friday, and restrictions are set to be lifted at midnight (GMT 17:00).State Premier Mark McGowan said the harsh steps had been “necessary”.Australia’s snap lockdowns have helped contained Covid outbreaks and kept infection rates low.Mr McGowan described the lockdown in the West Australian capital as a circuit-breaker that had “done the job it was designed to do”.About two million residents in Perth, and the nearby Peel region, have been subject to stay at home orders since Friday. Schools and most businesses are set to reopen, though some restrictions – including mandatory mask wearing – will remain. “We need to be cautious as we come out of lockdown as the virus could still be out there,” he said.Western Australia will also temporarily reduce the number of international arrivals. Last week, Australia said it would temporarily cut the number of incoming flights from India by 30% as the country deals with a devastating surge in Covid cases.In Australia, snap lockdowns have proved to be an effective health measure to help suppress Covid outbreaks early on. The country has fared much better than most other nations during the pandemic, with fewer than 30,000 cases and 910 deaths. At the same time, frustration has grown in Australia over the slow pace of the vaccination rollout. The immunisation programme has been beset by delays and the country has one of the world’s lowest Covid vaccination rates. What’s gone wrong with Australia’s vaccine rollout?Quarantine concerns Despite its success in managing outbreaks, the latest Australian lockdown again ignited debate over the safety of the country’s hotel quarantine system. The case at the centre of the Perth lockdown was a returned traveller who probably became infected in hotel quarantine. He spent five days in the community before testing positive, along with one of his close contacts, which marked the first case of community transmission of the virus in Western Australia in 12 months. Australia has imposed strict border controls and all international arrivals – essentially restricted to returning residents or travellers from New Zealand – must complete two weeks mandatory hotel quarantine at their own expense.While hundreds of thousands of people have gone through the system, several small outbreaks have been tied to hotel quarantine. The virus has spread from infected people in one room to those in neighbouring rooms. Critics have argued that quarantining in populated city centres amplifies the risk of spread.The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has been among those calling for an overhaul of the hotel system due to problems with infection control and airborne spread inside the facilities.”The hotels have never been fit for purpose and we’ve been saying that from the start,” Dr Andrew Miller, AMA Western Australia president, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday. Western Australia’s premier Mr McGowan, among others, has called on the federal government to set up dedicated quarantine facilities and divert travellers away from hotels. He suggested immigration detention centres or air force bases could be used as an alternative.But the federal government has argued such sites aren’t fit for the job – given a lack of segregation within those facilities for eating and washing – and that the states are better placed to manage quarantine.

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingMost hospitals in Delhi and many other cities in India have completely run out of beds, forcing people to find ways to get treatment for sick patients at home. But even that is proving to be a difficult task as prices of oxygen cylinders, concentrators and essential medicines have skyrocketed on the black market. Anshu Priya spent most of her Sunday looking for an oxygen cylinder as her father-in-law’s condition continued to deteriorate. She couldn’t find any hospital bed in Delhi or in its suburb of Noida. Her search for an oxygen cylinder in shops was also futile, forcing her to turn to the black market.She paid the hefty amount of 50,000 rupees ($670; £480) to procure a cylinder from the black market. It costs 6,000 rupees in normal times. Her mother-in-law is also struggling to breathe and Anshu is now worried about her. She says she may not be able to afford another cylinder on the black market.Countries send urgent aid to Covid-stricken IndiaPatients die without oxygen amid Delhi Covid surgeWhy India is running out of oxygen againHow have you been affected by coronavirus in India? Email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.The BBC also called several oxygen cylinder suppliers and most of them asked for at least 10 times more than the normal price. Her struggle is not unique. Hospitals in many cities, including Delhi, Noida, Lucknow, Allahabad and Indore, have run out of beds, leaving families to rely on makeshift arrangements at home. The situation is particularly dire in Delhi where there are no ICU beds left. Families, those who can afford it, are hiring nurses and remote consulting a doctor to keep their loved ones breathing. India has been reporting more than 300,000 cases for days, setting new daily global records. On Monday, it had the highest number of daily coronavirus cases for a fifth straight day, reporting 352,991 new infections and another 2,812 deaths in the previous 24-hour period.This sharp spike has overwhelmed the healthcare system of many cities, and left no choice for families but to arrange whatever they can at home for their sick loved ones. But the struggles are huge from getting blood tests done to getting a CT scan or x-ray.Labs are overrun and it’s taking up to three days for test results to come back. This is making it harder for treating doctors to assess the progression of the disease. CT scans are also used by doctors to asses the condition of the patient but it’s taking days to get an appointment.Doctors say that these delays are putting many patients at risk. RT-PCR tests are also taking days. I know several sick patients who found a bed but couldn’t get admitted as they didn’t have a positive Covid report. Back to getting treatment at home, Anuj Tiwari hired a nurse to assist in the treatment of his brother at home after he was refused admission in many hospitals. image copyrightGetty ImagesSome said they didn’t have any free beds and others said they were not taking new patients due to continuing uncertainty over the supply of oxygen. A number of patients have died in Delhi due to a lack of oxygen supply. The city’s hospitals are desperate and some have been issuing daily warnings, saying they are left with just a few hours of oxygen. Then the government swings into action and tankers are sent, which is often enough to run the hospital for a day.A doctor in Delhi said that was how hospitals were working and “there are real fears now that a big tragedy may happen”. Given the scenario at hospitals, Mr Tiwari paid a hefty amount to procure a concentrator – which can extract oxygen from the air – keep his brother breathing. The doctor also asked him to arrange the anti-viral drug remdesivir, which has been given emergency-use approval in India and is being prescribed widely by doctors. The benefits of the drug – which was originally developed to treat Ebola – are still being debated across the world. Mr Tiwari couldn’t find the drug in any medicine shop and eventually turned to the black market. His brother’s condition continues to be critical and the treating doctor says he may soon need a hospital where remdesvir could be administered. “There are no beds. What will I do? I can’t even take him anywhere else as I have already spent so much money and don’t have much left,” he said.He added that “the desperate battle to save Covid patients has shifted from hospitals to home”, and even that is proving to be a daunting task as “we don’t have easy access to oxygen”. Remdesivir is in such short supply that families of the patients who are being treated at home are rushing to procure it. They want to have the drug in case the patient is required to go to hospital and may need the drug.The BBC spoke to several dealers on the black market who said the supply was tight and that was why they were charging such high prices. The government has allowed seven firms to manufacture remdesvir in India and they have been told to ramp up production. But several promises of adequate supply from the government have failed to show any result on the ground. Epidemiologist Dr Lalit Kant says the decision to ramp up production was taken too late and the government should have been prepared for the second wave. “But somehow the drug is available in the black market, so there is some leakage in the supply system which the regulators haven’t been able to plug,” he says.”We learnt nothing from the first wave.”image copyrightGetty ImagesAnother drug that is in huge demand is tocilizumab. It is normally used to treat arthritis but studies have shown that it can reduce the chances of a very sick patient needing to go on a ventilator. Doctors are prescribing the drug mostly to patients who are severely sick. But it has disappeared from the market. Cipla, the Indian company that imports and sells the drug, has been struggling to meet the rising demand.It usually costs around 32,480 rupees for a vial of 400mg. But Kamal Kumar paid 250,000 rupees to buy one dose for his father. He said the price was “mind boggling” but he had no other option but to pay.But not many in India can afford to pay the price and they are being exploited in their desperation to save their loved ones. Public health expert Anant Bhan says the government should have procured the drug in huge quantities. “Not many can afford to pay the official price of the drug, forget about the black market prices. This shows that there was no planning. The government failed to anticipate the wave and plan for it,” he says.”People have been left to their own fate.”CheatingFake remdesivir has also appeared in the black market. When the BBC questioned a dealer that the drug he was offering seemed fake as the firm manufacturing it wasn’t on the list of the companies licensed to produce it in India, he replied that it was “100% original”.The packaging was also full of spelling errors. But he shrugged and asked me to get it tested in any laboratory. The firm also has no presence on the internet.image copyrightGetty ImagesBut such is the desperation that people are willing to buy even questionable drugs. And some have been cheated as well. People are constantly sharing phone numbers of suppliers who can provide anything from oxygen to medicines. But not all of these numbers are verified.An IT worker, who did not want to be named, said that he desperately needed to buy an oxygen cylinder and remdesivir, and he got a lead from Twitter. When he contacted the person, he was told to deposit 10,000 rupees as advance payment.”The moment I sent the money, the person blocked my number,” he said.Desperation is driving people to trust anything in the hour of need and that seems to be fuelling the black market. Several state governments have promised to crack down on black marketing of remdesivir and some arrests have also been made. But the black market seems unfazed.Mr Tiwari says people like him don’t have any choice but to pay more.”It seems you can’t get treated in hospitals, and now you can’t save your loved ones even at home.”How have you been affected by coronavirus in India? Tell us your story by emailing: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSayUpload your pictures/video hereOr fill out the form belowPlease read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

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SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingInternational efforts are under way to help India as the country suffers critical oxygen shortages amid a devastating surge in Covid cases.The UK has begun sending ventilators and oxygen concentrator devices. EU members are also due to send aid.The US is lifting a ban on sending raw materials abroad, enabling India to make more of the AstraZeneca vaccine.India’s capital Delhi has extended its lockdown as overcrowded hospitals continue to turn patients away. The government has approved plans for more than 500 oxygen generation plants across the country to boost supplies. Meanwhile neighbouring Bangladesh has announced that it will close its border with India from Monday to prevent the spread of the virus.Patients die without oxygen amid Delhi Covid surgeA city where breathing has become a luxuryViral picture that defines India’s Covid distressIndia reported 349,691 more cases in the 24 hours to Sunday morning and another 2,767 deaths, however the true figures are thought to be much higher. What is the UK sending?The first consignment of aid left the UK on Sunday and is due to arrive in India on Tuesday. Further shipments will take place later in the week. The aid includes 495 oxygen concentrators – which can extract oxygen from the air when hospital oxygen systems have run out – as well as 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 manual ventilators.”We stand side by side with India as a friend and partner during what is a deeply concerning time in the fight against Covid-19,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.The spike in infection has led to the cancellation of a planned visit by Mr Johnson to India and to a travel ban. Other nations, including the UAE, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands have also banned flights from India.Sights you never thought you’d see. An oxygen tanker with police escorts. More precious than gold. #india #covid19 pic.twitter.com/6hkTiH8iLF— Yogita Limaye (@yogital) April 25, 2021
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on TwitterWhat about the US and others?The White House says it will immediately provide raw materials for vaccines to Indian vaccine manufacturers.”Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need,” said President Joe Biden.It follows calls by Indian officials and the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the US to lift export controls on raw materials for vaccines that were put in place in February.Washington has also been criticised for delaying a decision on sending surplus vaccine doses abroad. The US has millions of unused doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been approved for use there. Top infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci said the option of sending them to India was being considered.The US will also provide medical equipment and protective gear. France meanwhile says it will provide oxygen.image copyrightReutersIn Brussels, the European Commission said it planned to send oxygen and medicine too. Its head Ursula von der Leyen said the organisation was “pooling resources to respond rapidly to India’s request for assistance”.India’s neighbour Pakistan – which has tense relations with Delhi amid territorial disputes – offered medical equipment and supplies and its Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted prayers for a “speedy recovery”. The country’s Edhi foundation has also offered to send a fleet of 50 ambulances to India.Today we have sent the first of several urgent deliveries of surplus medical equipment to our friends in India to help provide life-saving care for vulnerable Covid patients. No-one is safe until we are all safe. pic.twitter.com/HOudeYv86c— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) April 25, 2021
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on TwitterIndia in crisisDelhi is extending its lockdown for a second weekPM Narendra Modi urged people to exercise caution and get vaccinatedThe Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, a private hospital in Delhi, said on Sunday it would not admit any more patients because of a shortage of oxygen At least 20 people died on Saturday at the Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi because of a lack of oxygenWhat is the situation in India?In Delhi – a region of about 20 million people – hospitals are full and are turning away new patients. At least two hospitals have seen patients die after oxygen supplies ran out.Relatives of sick people are appealing on social media for hospital places, oxygen supplies and ventilators. Some streets outside medical facilities have become crowded with the seriously ill, their loved ones trying to arrange stretchers and oxygen supplies for them as they plead with hospital authorities for a place inside.Meanwhile testing capacity has also been overwhelmed and crematoria are working around the clock.Jayant Malhotra has been helping at one crematorium in Delhi.”I’ve never seen such a terrifying situation. I can’t believe we’re in the capital of India. People aren’t getting oxygen and they’re dying like animals,” he told the BBC.Similar scenes are playing out in other major cities. In total India has confirmed nearly 17 million infections and 192,000 deaths. Some states and territories have imposed lockdowns and other restrictions. image copyrightReutersHealth officials say more infectious variants have been driving the surge in infections, including the UK variant which has been found in Delhi, and a variant first detected in India in October. There has been growing criticism of Prime Minister Modi’s government for the country’s lack of readiness for the second wave. Large religious gatherings and political rallies have been taking place.Have India’s rallies helped spread coronavirus?What is the India Covid variant?On Sunday in a radio address Mr Modi said: “We were confident, our spirits were up after successfully tackling the first wave, but this storm has shaken the nation.”He also tweeted his condolences after it emerged that a famous classical Indian music singer, Rajan Mishra, had died in Delhi after suffering Covid-related health complications.India’s government has confirmed it asked Twitter to block tweets that were critical of the authorities’ handling of the crisis, saying the tweets had contained misinformation and were against Indian law. The social media platform blocked dozens of tweets from being seen in India – among them were tweets from a lawmaker named Revnath Reddy, a minister in the state of West Bengal named Moloy Ghatak and a filmmaker named Avinash Das, Reuters reported.Meanwhile a newspaper group said it was suspending coverage of the country’s flagship domestic cricket competition, the Indian Premier League, saying it was “incongruous” for the competition to be going ahead amid the surge.

Top U.S. health officials sought to reassure Americans on Sunday that the 10-day pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine showed how well safety monitoring for the Covid-19 vaccines worked, and should not add to the hesitancy to get shots among some Americans.“What we’re going to see, and we’ll probably see it soon, is that people will realize that we take safety very seriously,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the president’s top medical adviser for the coronavirus, during an interview on the ABC News program, “This Week.”“We’re out there trying to combat the degree of vaccine hesitancy that still is out there,” Dr. Fauci said. “And one of the real reasons why people have hesitancy is concern about the safety of the vaccine.”On Friday, federal officials lifted a pause that had been recommended on April 13 for the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of a few cases of a rare blood clotting disorder that had occurred mainly among younger women. By Friday, experts had identified 15 cases, including three deaths, stemming from the extremely unusual clotting issue. A warning about the risk for the disorder will be included for the company’s product.Public health experts have raised concerns that the Johnson & Johnson pause was particularly worrisome because many states were relying on the one-dose shot to expand vaccinations into harder-to-reach rural areas, and for those who were homebound, homeless and on college campuses. Some officials also worried that the pause would dampen vaccine rates that are already falling in the country.On NBC’s program “Meet the Press,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, compared the risk of a blood clot from the vaccine — less than 1 in 500,000 — to the danger of aspirin causing significant bleeding in the intestines among people who regularly take aspirin.“We’re talking about something about a thousand times less likely to happen,” Dr. Collins said. “But we Americans are not that good at this kind of risk calculation.”Many states have already announced that they would resume use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Nearly 8 million people had received it before the pause, and about 10 million doses were sitting on shelves around the country waiting to be dispensed.Overall, more than 50 percent of adult Americans have received at least one shot among the three vaccines available, Dr. Fauci said.Both Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins said it was crucial for a high percentage of Americans to be vaccinated to end the pandemic. “The more people you get vaccinated, the more people you protect,” Dr. Fauci said. “When you get a critical number of people vaccinated, you really have a blanket of protection over the entire community.”Dr. Collins said scientists did not know the exact percentage of people with immunity, either from the vaccine or from antibodies generated from surviving a bout with the virus, that would be needed to reach herd immunity, especially as the coronavirus mutates into new variants that can be more infectious.“But it’s up there around 70, 85 percent,” he said. “And we’re not there yet.”He said that being fully vaccinated was freeing.“My wife and I were able to invite another couple to come to our house to dinner and take off our masks because they were immunized as well and have a normal conversation and hug each other at the end of the evening,” Dr. Collins said. “That was so liberating. If you’re not vaccinated, you’re missing out on that chance to lift that blanket of fear that’s been there.”Asked about calls for lessening restrictions for mask-wearing outdoors, Dr. Fauci said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could soon revise its recommendations. “I think it’s pretty common sense now that outdoor risk is really, really quite low,” Dr. Fauci said. “I mean, if you are a vaccinated person, wearing a mask outdoors, obviously, the risk is minuscule.”

A Florida grand jury indicted a man and his three sons, accusing them of marketing an “unproven and potentially harmful” solution as a remedy for Covid-19, cancer, autism and more.MIAMI — Leaders of a business masquerading as a church sold a toxic bleach solution as a religious sacrament and marketed it as a “miracle” cure for Covid-19, cancer, autism, Alzheimer’s disease and more, federal prosecutors said.A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted Mark Grenon, 62, and his three sons, Jonathan Grenon, 34; Jordan Grenon, 26; and Joseph Grenon, 32; all of Bradenton, Fla. Prosecutors said on Friday that they violated court orders and fraudulently produced and sold more than $1 million of their “Miracle Mineral Solution,” a dangerous industrial bleach solution.The solution contains sodium chlorite and water. When it is ingested orally, it becomes chlorine dioxide, a strong bleach used in industrial water treatments and in bleaching textiles, pulp or paper, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.The federal Food and Drug Administration warned last year that the product the men were accused of marketing through the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing was “unproven and potentially harmful.”Mark Grenon and his sons relied on a book, radio station and a newsletter to market their solution to vulnerable consumers, prosecutors said.via YouTube“Despite a previous warning, the Genesis II Church of Healing has continued to actively place consumers at risk by peddling potentially dangerous and unapproved chlorine dioxide products,” Stephen M. Hahn said last year, when he was the F.D.A. commissioner.The Grenons relied on a book, radio station and newsletter and cited Bible verses to market the solution to vulnerable consumers, according to prosecutors. It was unclear whether anyone was sickened or died from taking the product they promoted.In documents from a civil case last year, a program analyst at the F.D.A. said she ordered the bleach product and had it shipped to her. Federal prosecutors said they found that the solution was being manufactured in a shed in Jonathan Grenon’s backyard.Officers seized dozens of blue chemical drums with nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder that could produce thousands of bottles of the solution, federal prosecutors said. Loaded firearms were also recovered, including a pump-action shotgun concealed in a custom-made violin case, officials said.The Grenons were each charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and criminal contempt. If convicted, they could face life in prison, federal prosecutors said.The church has described itself on its websites as a “nonreligious church,” federal prosecutors said.Mark Grenon, described as an archbishop and a founder, has also repeatedly said that the church “has nothing to do with religion,” and that he founded the institution to legalize the use of the bleach solution and to avoid going to prison, prosecutors said.The church has promoted the bleach solution for years.Jim Humble, a church founder and a former Scientologist, has claimed that he is a billion-year-old god from the Andromeda galaxy. Mr. Humble, who was not charged in the case involving the Grenons, said that he asked “to be put in the part of the space navy that watched over Earth,” according to an investigation last year by ABC7 in Los Angeles.Jonathan Grenon and Jordan Grenon were arrested last summer on related charges based on a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Miami. They have been detained since their arrest based on a judge’s ruling that they posed a risk of not appearing at future court proceedings and were considered a danger to the community.Mark Grenon and Joseph Grenon are currently in Colombia, prosecutors said. The Grenons, who could not be reached, have previously represented themselves in court.Federal prosecutors believe that Mark Grenon and Joseph Grenon operate what they call a “health restoration center” in Santa Marta, Colombia, where they charge consumers about $5,000 a month to stay at the compound and “dose themselves with Miracle Mineral Solution,” court records show.Federal prosecutors brought criminal contempt charges against the Grenons, accusing them of willfully violating court orders in a separate civil court case last year that directed the family to halt distribution of the solution.Prosecutors said the Grenons also threatened a federal judge presiding over the civil case, saying that if the government stopped their solution distribution they would “pick up guns” and instigate “a Waco,” a reference to the deadly 1993 siege by federal agents of a religious sect’s compound in Texas.This case is one of several that have been prosecuted related to a debunked bleach cure. In 2015, a seller of a bleach solution from Spokane, Wash., was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.“I can tell you that the Department of Justice is taking the distribution of Miracle Mineral Solution, and all chlorine dioxide products, extremely seriously,” said Michael B. Homer, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

A Florida grand jury indicted a man and his three sons, accusing them of marketing an “unproven and potentially harmful” solution as a remedy for Covid-19, cancer, autism and more.MIAMI — Leaders of a business masquerading as a church sold a toxic bleach solution as a religious sacrament and marketed it as a “miracle” cure for Covid-19, cancer, autism, Alzheimer’s disease and more, federal prosecutors said.A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted Mark Grenon, 62, and his three sons, Jonathan Grenon, 34; Jordan Grenon, 26; and Joseph Grenon, 32; all of Bradenton, Fla. Prosecutors said on Friday that they violated court orders and fraudulently produced and sold more than $1 million of their “Miracle Mineral Solution,” a dangerous industrial bleach solution.The solution contains sodium chlorite and water. When it is ingested orally, it becomes chlorine dioxide, a strong bleach used in industrial water treatments and in bleaching textiles, pulp or paper, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.The federal Food and Drug Administration warned last year that the product the men were accused of marketing through the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing was “unproven and potentially harmful.”Mark Grenon and his sons relied on a book, radio station and a newsletter to market their solution to vulnerable consumers, prosecutors said.via YouTube“Despite a previous warning, the Genesis II Church of Healing has continued to actively place consumers at risk by peddling potentially dangerous and unapproved chlorine dioxide products,” Stephen M. Hahn said last year, when he was the F.D.A. commissioner.The Grenons relied on a book, radio station and newsletter and cited Bible verses to market the solution to vulnerable consumers, according to prosecutors. It was unclear whether anyone was sickened or died from taking the product they promoted.In documents from a civil case last year, a program analyst at the F.D.A. said she ordered the bleach product and had it shipped to her. Federal prosecutors said they found that the solution was being manufactured in a shed in Jonathan Grenon’s backyard.Officers seized dozens of blue chemical drums with nearly 10,000 pounds of sodium chlorite powder that could produce thousands of bottles of the solution, federal prosecutors said. Loaded firearms were also recovered, including a pump-action shotgun concealed in a custom-made violin case, officials said.The Grenons were each charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and criminal contempt. If convicted, they could face life in prison, federal prosecutors said.The church has described itself on its websites as a “nonreligious church,” federal prosecutors said.Mark Grenon, described as an archbishop and a founder, has also repeatedly said that the church “has nothing to do with religion,” and that he founded the institution to legalize the use of the bleach solution and to avoid going to prison, prosecutors said.The church has promoted the bleach solution for years.Jim Humble, a church founder and a former Scientologist, has claimed that he is a billion-year-old god from the Andromeda galaxy. Mr. Humble, who was not charged in the case involving the Grenons, said that he asked “to be put in the part of the space navy that watched over Earth,” according to an investigation last year by ABC7 in Los Angeles.Jonathan Grenon and Jordan Grenon were arrested last summer on related charges based on a complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Miami. They have been detained since their arrest based on a judge’s ruling that they posed a risk of not appearing at future court proceedings and were considered a danger to the community.Mark Grenon and Joseph Grenon are currently in Colombia, prosecutors said. The Grenons, who could not be reached, have previously represented themselves in court.Federal prosecutors believe that Mark Grenon and Joseph Grenon operate what they call a “health restoration center” in Santa Marta, Colombia, where they charge consumers about $5,000 a month to stay at the compound and “dose themselves with Miracle Mineral Solution,” court records show.Federal prosecutors brought criminal contempt charges against the Grenons, accusing them of willfully violating court orders in a separate civil court case last year that directed the family to halt distribution of the solution.Prosecutors said the Grenons also threatened a federal judge presiding over the civil case, saying that if the government stopped their solution distribution they would “pick up guns” and instigate “a Waco,” a reference to the deadly 1993 siege by federal agents of a religious sect’s compound in Texas.This case is one of several that have been prosecuted related to a debunked bleach cure. In 2015, a seller of a bleach solution from Spokane, Wash., was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison.“I can tell you that the Department of Justice is taking the distribution of Miracle Mineral Solution, and all chlorine dioxide products, extremely seriously,” said Michael B. Homer, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

Children going to camp this summer can be within three feet of peers in the same-group settings, but they must wear masks at all times, federal health officials say. The only times children should remove their masks is when they are swimming, napping, eating or drinking; they should be spaced far apart for these activities, positioned head to toe for naps and seated at least six feet apart for meals, snacks and water breaks.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the anticipated updated guidance for summer camp operators on Sunday morning, just weeks before many camps resume operations in mid-May. Many parents have been eager to find camps for their children, who had spent months indoors in remote learning classes during the pandemic.A theme that runs throughout the updated guidance is the emphasis on conducting as many activities as possible outdoors, where the risk of infection in considered much lower than indoors. When activities must be brought indoors, spaces should be well-ventilated and windows should be kept open (windows should also be open on camp buses and vans), the C.D.C. said. The guidance urges children not to share toys, books or games. Each camper should have a labeled cubby for their belongings, and nap mats should be assigned to individual children, and sanitized before and after use.Some activities should still be avoided altogether, including close-contact or indoor sports, and large gatherings or assemblies. Singing, chanting, shouting or playing instruments are recommended for outdoors.Wearing a mask is a critical piece of the prevention effort, even as federal health officials are weighing whether to lessen that restriction for the outdoors especially among people who are fully vaccinated.“All people in camp facilities should wear masks at all times, with exceptions for certain people, or for certain settings or activities, such as while eating and drinking or swimming,” the guidance states in the only sentence emphasized in bold font in the 14-page advisory.Federal health officials also issued rules for overnight camps, saying eligible staff, volunteers, campers and family members should be fully vaccinated two weeks before traveling to camps, while those who are not vaccinated should self-quarantine for two weeks before arriving at camp. Those who are not fully vaccinated should also provide proof of a negative test for the virus, taken one to three days before arriving at the camp.Campers and staff members should be screened for Covid symptoms upon arrival at camps, and screening tests should be conducted if there is substantial community transmission in the area. Daily symptom checks should also be carried out to monitor for possible illness, the advice says.Anyone working at a camp who is 16 or older is “strongly encouraged” to get vaccinated “as soon as the opportunity is available,” health officials said.But immunized individuals must still wear masks around children, who are not eligible for vaccination yet, and stay six feet away from them. Children should also stay six feet away from children in other groups.

Many job seekers don’t know where to look after the year we’ve just had. If you count yourself among this crowd, here’s how to get back into the market, even if you’re feeling rusty.Airlines are canceling flights because they don’t have enough pilots to fly them. Restaurants are posting open positions on their Instagram feeds. Even the local grocery store has a “hiring” sign out front. Welcome to spring 2021: After a year of being battered by the pandemic, the economy is finally showing signs of a strong, steady recovery, and jobs are popping up like crocuses. Employers added almost a million positions in March alone, according to the Labor Department.“Across our industry, everyone is prioritizing hiring,” said Kelly McCulloch, the chief people officer at Taco Bell, which held a nationwide “hiring party” by converting parking lots into drive-through job fairs last week. The company’s goal: To find 5,000 new employees in one day. “It’s definitely unprecedented,” she said.It’s not just food, travel and hospitality businesses that are desperate for workers. “The market for job candidates in the technology space is crazy right now,” said Randi Weitzman, a recruiter for Robert Half, an international human resources consulting firm. “There are more jobs than there are available candidates, and most candidates are receiving multiple competing offers.”But with this hiring frenzy comes a new conundrum: How can the still-staggering number of unemployed Americans (about 9.7 million, per the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or more if you’re counting those who are underemployed) find their way to the right positions? Especially those people who have been out of the work force for months or even a full year?“It’s frustrating when we hear job candidates say they’ve been looking for work and can’t find it,” said Richard Wahlquist, president and chief executive of the American Staffing Association, an alliance of recruiters and staffing agencies that helps companies fill contract and permanent roles. “We’ve got more than seven million open jobs right now in America that businesses are having a hard time filling, and our members are having a hard time sourcing talent.”The main problem, Mr. Wahlquist said, is that many job seekers don’t know where to look — or how to market themselves, especially in this new era of online job postings and remote work. “A lot of people just aren’t good at finding employment,” he added. “Most of us don’t get taught how to do that by our parents, or in high school or college.” If you count yourself among this crowd, here’s how to bridge the disconnect and get back into the job market, even if you’re feeling rusty.Brush up on your digital communication skills.If you haven’t spent the past year in Zoom meetings, you didn’t exactly miss out, but you still need to be able to present yourself as savvy and professional onscreen. “A lot of interviews are virtual now, even if the job itself will be done in person,” Ms. Weitzman said. “People who’ve been out of the work force should practice setting up Zooms with their friends or family, so that they feel comfortable on video.”Even if you’ve had plenty of experience chatting with people on FaceTime, that’s not quite the same thing. “Ask for feedback on how your background looks, and know where to look in the camera or on the screen in order to come across as engaged,” Ms. Weitzman explained. “It takes practice to be able to shake off nerves when you’re going through the process.”Look online — and not just on LinkedIn.LinkedIn is by far the biggest job-searching tool, and you’ll want to make sure your profile is up-to-date and well tended. (Better yet, use the platform’s “Open to Work” feature, which displays a badge on your profile photo that indicates you are looking for a new job and makes it easier for potential employers to find you.) But it’s not the only place you should look; many employers are soliciting candidates on other social platforms, too, like Facebook and Instagram.“We’re constantly looking for new ways to market our jobs,” Ms. McCulloch said. “To do that, we have to meet candidates where they are — and many of them are on social channels.”That goes both ways. If you’re looking for work, it can be helpful to share that with your own online network. A friend or connection might be able to refer you to a job opening. “We fill a lot of positions through referrals from existing employees,” Ms. McCulloch said. (While you’re at it, tidy up your social media presence — potential employers might be put off by certain types of content.)Finally, don’t be scared of online networking events. Many offer useful services like résumé reviews and interview coaching.Talk to an employment agency, recruiter, or headhunter.Many job seekers think that they have to pay recruiters to find them jobs. But it’s actually the opposite — employers hire recruiters to find qualified candidates. And no matter what field you’re in, there’s probably a recruiter who’s looking to staff it right now, Mr. Wahlquist assured. “You can find one that represents people who do the kind of work that you’ve done, or what you’re looking to do, based on your skills,” he said. A Google search can provide names, while the American Staffing Association also has a directory online of employment firms that’s searchable by location, field and job type.Mr. Wahlquist recommends having initial conversations with recruiters, to give you a sense of what work they have done with people with backgrounds similar to yours. Feel free to ask the firm to help you identify exactly what your skill set is, and how to sell it.“Most of us have learned things over the course of our careers that don’t logically fall out of our fingers onto a résumé,” Mr. Wahlquist said. “An employment professional will go through your education, training and job history to get a full picture of your hard and human skill sets, with an eye on what’s needed today by employers.”Broaden your horizons.The transition to, and acceptance of, remote work has enabled employers to cast a wider net when they search for talent — and so should you, in looking for jobs.“Many employers are open to hiring remote workers, but often in the same time zone,” Ms. Weitzman said. “That means if you live on the East Coast, you’ll have multiple options in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Connecticut.” Sure, this means you’re competing with a bigger pool of candidates, but it also gives you more chances to find the right fit.This could also be a good time to make a career transition. “You might want to be more flexible and think about switching fields,” Mr. Wahlquist said. “Take those skills that you’ve developed and try to find something that is even better, or more sustainable long term.”Meanwhile, consider taking a relevant training course, especially if you’ve been unemployed. “If you’re not working, I would 100-percent recommend to sign up for some training, because it shows initiative and a vested interest in updating and expanding your skill set,” Ms. Weitzman said. Be honest about why you’re unemployed.If you’ve been out of a job for a while, either for lack of opportunities or because you were busy shepherding children through Zoom school, that’s OK. “Everybody knows what happened this past year,” Mr. Wahlquist said. “Most people have a big free pass for a gap in their work history during the pandemic.”Still, you should be prepared to explain — succinctly — what happened and what you’ve been doing since. “Even if your past job loss wasn’t entirely due to Covid, most employers want to start a relationship with transparency,” he said.And, potential employers will want to check up on your references. Expect that they’ll want to talk to your former supervisors for the past five years, or past couple of jobs. “Take this time to go back to those people and be direct,” Mr. Wahlquist. “You can ask, ‘Will you be willing to give a reference, and able to give me a good reference?’” A question that your former supervisor might be asked is if he or she would rehire you. “And if the answer is no, then why?”Consider a temporary role.Some people enjoy contract work. But many others prefer the security of a long-term role, especially one that offers benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and paid sick leave or vacation time. What a lot of people don’t realize is how useful temp work can be for landing a permanent position.“We see a lot of this in a recovering economy: Employers put people on temp-to-hire assignments,” Mr. Wahlquist said. “Essentially, it reduces a lot of the risk of hiring somebody, both for the job seeker and for the employer. You can see if your personality fits with your colleagues, and how you align in terms of mission values.” If it isn’t a slam dunk, you can both move on. But if it is, then your foot is in the door.At the very least, contract work puts something on your résumé. “It gets you experience, gets you exposure and gets you more references,” Ms. Weitzman said. “Sometimes a client falls in love with a contractor and says, ‘I can’t live without them, so I’m going to offer them a full-time job.’ It’s a great step for anyone to get back into the work force.”

Millions of Americans are not getting the second doses of their Covid-19 vaccines, and their ranks are growing.More than five million people, or nearly 8 percent of those who got a first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, have missed their second doses, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is more than double the rate among people who got inoculated in the first several weeks of the nationwide vaccine campaign.Even as the country wrestles with the problem of millions of people who are wary about getting vaccinated at all, local health authorities are confronting an emerging challenge of ensuring that those who do get inoculated are doing so fully.The reasons vary for why people are missing their second shots. In interviews, some said they feared the side effects, which can include flulike symptoms. Others said they felt that they were sufficiently protected with a single shot.Those attitudes were expected, but another hurdle has been surprisingly prevalent. A number of vaccine providers have canceled second-dose appointments because they ran out of supply or didn’t have the right brand in stock.Walgreens, one of the biggest vaccine providers, sent some people who got a first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to get their second doses at pharmacies that only had the other vaccine on hand.Several Walgreens customers said in interviews that they scrambled, in some cases with help from pharmacy staff, to find somewhere to get the correct second dose. Others, presumably, simply gave up.From the outset, public health experts worried that it would be difficult to get everyone to return for a second shot three or four weeks after the first dose. It is no surprise that, as vaccines are rolled out more broadly, the numbers of those skipping their second dose have gone up.But the trend is nonetheless troubling some state officials, who are rushing to keep the numbers of only partly vaccinated people from swelling.In Arkansas and Illinois, health officials have directed teams to call, text or send letters to people to remind them to get their second shots. In Pennsylvania, officials are trying to ensure that college students can get their second shots after they leave campus for the summer. South Carolina has allocated several thousand doses specifically for people who are overdue for their second shot.Pharmacists gave vaccines to patients at Cornerstone Pharmacy in Little Rock, Ark., in March. In Arkansas, about 11 percent of people eligible for second doses have missed them.Rory Doyle for The New York TimesMounting evidence collected in trials and from real-world immunization campaigns points to the peril of people skipping their second doses. Compared with the two-dose regimen, a single shot triggers a weaker immune response and may leave recipients more susceptible to dangerous virus variants. And even though a single dose provides partial protection against Covid, it’s not clear how long that protection will last.“I’m very worried, because you need that second dose,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory panel.The stakes are high because there is only one vaccine authorized in the United States that is given as a single shot. The use of that vaccine, made by Johnson & Johnson, was paused this month after it was linked to a very rare but serious side effect involving blood clotting. Federal health officials on Friday recommended restarting use of the vaccine, but the combination of the safety scare and ongoing production problems is likely to make that vaccine a viable option for fewer people.The C.D.C.’s count of missed second doses is through April 9. It covers only people who got a first Moderna dose by March 7 or a first Pfizer dose by March 14.While millions of people have missed their second shots, the overall rates of follow-through, with some 92 percent getting fully vaccinated, are strong by historical standards. Roughly three-quarters of adults come back for their second dose of the vaccine that protects against shingles.In some cases, problems with shipments or scheduling may be playing a role in people missing their second doses. Some vaccine providers have had to cancel appointments because they did not receive expected vaccine deliveries. People have also reported having their second-dose appointments canceled or showing up only to find out that there were no doses available of the brand they needed.Some people can be flexible about being rebooked. But that’s harder for people who lack access to reliable transportation or who have jobs with strictly scheduled hours, said Elena Cyrus, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Central Florida.Walgreens booked some customers for their second appointments at places that didn’t have the same vaccine that they had received for their initial doses. The company said it fixed the problem in late March.Some Walgreens locations have not had the right supply of the brand of shots that people need for second doses.John Taggart for The New York TimesSusan Ruel, 67, was scheduled to get her two vaccine doses at different Walgreens stores in Manhattan. She said she got her first Pfizer dose without incident in February, but when she arrived for her second appointment, she was told that the store only had Moderna doses in stock.A Walgreens pharmacist told Ms. Ruel that there was another Walgreens pharmacy less than two miles away with Pfizer doses in stock. While Ms. Ruel was waiting for the subway to take her there, she got a phone call: That Walgreens store had run out of Pfizer doses, too.Ms. Ruel managed to get the Pfizer dose at yet another Walgreens the next day. But she said many people in her situation probably wouldn’t have tried so hard. “All you need is hassles like this,” she said.In the Chicago area, for example, pharmacists at two Walgreens locations said the problem was causing headaches. They said that Walgreens’ appointment system was sending each pharmacy anywhere from 10 to 20 customers a week who need a second Pfizer shot, even though both pharmacies stock only the Moderna vaccine.It is not clear how widespread the Walgreens dose-matching problem has been or how many people have missed their second doses because of it.Jim Cohn, a spokesman for Walgreens, said that the problem affected “a small percentage” of people who had booked their appointments online and that the company contacted them to reschedule “in alignment with our vaccine availability.” He said that nearly 95 percent of people who got their first shot at Walgreens have also received their second shots from the company.Walgreens has also come under fire for, until recently, scheduling second doses of the Pfizer vaccine four weeks after the first shot, rather than the three-week gap recommended by the C.D.C. Pharmacists have been besieged by customers complaining, including about their inability to book vaccine appointments online.In other cases, though, access to vaccines is not the sole barrier; people’s attitudes contribute, too.Basith Syed, a 24-year-old consultant in Chicago, nabbed a leftover Moderna vaccine at a Walgreens in mid-February. But when the time came for his second shot, he was busy at work and preparing for his wedding. After the first shot, he had spent two days feeling drained. He didn’t want to risk a repeat, and he felt confident that a single dose would protect him.“I didn’t really feel the urgency to get that second dose,” Mr. Syed said.By early April, his schedule had calmed down a little, and he went looking for a second Moderna shot. But by then, the Walgreens where he had gotten his first shot was only offering Pfizer shots. He couldn’t find slots at other Walgreens stores. Mr. Syed is no longer actively looking for a second shot, though he still hopes to eventually get one.Basith Syed, of Chicago, said that after the first shot, he spent two days feeling drained. “I didn’t really feel the urgency to get that second dose.”Lyndon French for The New York Times.The C.D.C. says there is limited data on the vaccine’s effectiveness when shots are separated by more than six weeks, although some countries, including Britain and Canada, are giving shots with a gap of up to three or four months.Mr. Syed’s experience is part of a broader shift in Illinois. When vaccines were mostly being given to health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities and people over 65, almost everyone was getting their second shots. In recent weeks, though, the number dipped below 90 percent, though it has since rebounded slightly, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.In Arkansas, about 84,000 people have missed their second shots, representing 11 percent of those eligible for those shots, said Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, the state epidemiologist. Workers recently began calling people who are due or overdue for their second shots.College students pose a particular challenge. Many recently became eligible to be vaccinated and are getting their first shots, but they will have left campus by the time they are due for their second doses.In Pennsylvania, health officials have instructed vaccine providers to give second doses to college students even if they did not receive their first doses from that location. Some vaccine providers have put on special clinics for people who need a second dose. In South Carolina, the health system Tidelands Health started a program specifically for people who received their first Pfizer doses more than 23 days earlier but hadn’t been able to find a second shot. The state health department sent the health system 2,340 doses for the effort.Demand has been strong, and Tidelands only has a few hundred doses left. The majority of takers have been people who “were having difficulty navigating all the various scheduling systems and providers,” said Gayle Resetar, the health system’s chief operating officer.In many cases, vaccine providers had canceled second-dose appointments because of bad winter weather. “It was up to the individual to reschedule themselves on a web portal or web platform, and that just became difficult for people,” Ms. Resetar said.There are rare cases in which people are supposed to forgo the second shot, such as if they had an allergic reaction after their first shot.Shortly after receiving his first dose of the Moderna vaccine, Zvi Ish-Shalom developed a headache that remains more than a month later. Chet Strange for The New York TimesZvi Ish-Shalom, a religious studies professor from Boulder, Colo., had planned to get fully vaccinated. Then, an hour after his first shot of the Moderna vaccine, he developed a headache that hasn’t gone away more than a month later.There is no way to know for sure whether the vaccine triggered the headache. But after weighing what he saw as the risks and benefits of a second dose, Dr. Ish-Shalom reached a decision about how to proceed.“At this point in time, I feel very clear and very comfortable, given all the various elements of this equation, to forgo the second shot,” he said.

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingFor a fourth day in a row, India has set an unwelcome world record for the number of new coronavirus infections: a further 349,691 cases in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, with another 2,767 lives lost. The capital, Delhi, is one of the worst-hit areas. The BBC’s Vikas Pandey reports from a city whose hospitals are overwhelmed and whose citizens are in desperation. When Ashwin Mittal’s grandmother’s oxygen saturation level dropped a week ago, he started frantically looking for a hospital bed in Delhi. He called everybody he could, but every hospital refused.Her condition deteriorated further on Thursday and he took her to the emergency rooms of several hospitals, but every place was full. They accepted the fate that she was going to die without getting any treatment. But she was gasping for every breath and Ashwin just couldn’t bear it after a while. He took her in his car and went from one hospital to another for several hours until one in north Delhi agreed to take her in the emergency ward for “a few hours”. He was to continue looking for a bed.Ashwin, who has also tested positive for coronavirus, continued his search while battling a high fever and severe body aches. But he couldn’t find a bed, and the hospital continued to keep his grandmother in the emergency ward on compassionate grounds.Deaths climb as India reels from deadly Covid waveViral picture that defines India’s Covid distressWhy second Covid wave is devastating IndiaDoctors there said she needed an ICU and had a good chance of survival. A family friend told me that the hospital was planning to discharge her on Sunday as it was running out of oxygen.”The family is back to where they started and has accepted the fate. They know that if she survives, it will be because of a miracle, not because of any treatment,” the friend said.Miracles are what many families in Delhi are left to rely on. Most hospitals are full and many of them are refusing new admissions owing to the uncertainty over oxygen supply.Oxygen-equipped ambulances are in short supply and it’s becoming difficult for families to transport patients to hospitals even if they find a bed. image copyrightGetty ImagesIndia in crisisDelhi is extending its lockdown for a second weekIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to exercise caution and get vaccinated, saying ” this storm has shaken the nation” The Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, a private hospital in Delhi, said on Sunday it would not admit any more patients because of a shortage of oxygen At least 20 people died on Saturday at the Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi because of a lack of oxygenI know a few cases where patients have died because they did not get high-flow oxygen support. Every morning starts with frantic calls from friends, family and colleagues asking for a bed, oxygen cylinders or medicines. The number of people I am able to help is reducing every day as the doctors and officials who could earlier help are no longer available to speak on the phone. Helplines are not working and the vendors who could earlier help have run out of supplies.I go to bed with a sense of defeat every night, but then pick myself up and start in the morning again as more and more people call for help. I can understand their helplessness as I lost a cousin a few days ago in a top hospital in the city. He waited for 18 hours to get a ventilator but the hospital didn’t have any. That’s how Delhi is functioning at the moment. Friends are calling friends; social media is awash with desperate pleas for help.But it’s almost impossible to find a hospital bed here now. Oxygen cylinders and medicines are in short supply. On Saturday, Saroj Hospital and Batra Hospital told families to take their patients away as they were running out of oxygen. The city has been been reporting more than 24,000 cases daily in the past few days. The hospitals are completely overrun, and healthcare workers are exhausted. Some people I know are taking dangerous journeys with their critically ill relatives to other cities which are 300-500km (18-300 miles) away. Sivesh Rana’s brother was in a critical condition but he couldn’t find a bed in Delhi and decided to take him in an ambulance to a city in the neighbouring state of Haryana. But his condition worsened during the journey and the ambulance wasn’t equipped to deal with a critical patient. He died a few hours after arriving at the hospital.Dr A Fathahudeen, who is part of Kerala state’s Covid task force, says the crisis is unprecedented and doctors can’t do much if oxygen supply is not guaranteed.”You need high-pressure liquid oxygen for the smooth functioning of ventilators and bi-pap machines. When the pressure drops, the machines fail to deliver adequate oxygen into the lungs, and the consequences can be fatal,” he says.He adds that oxygen is one of the major treatments to stabilise the patient, allowing doctors time to assess them and plan a future course of treatment. image copyrightGetty ImagesDr Fathahudeen says urgent measures are needed as patients are dying without getting the treatment they require.”The Indian army is one of the finest in the world to build makeshift hospitals and ICU beds within a short span of time. They should be roped in,” he adds.The situation is not very different in other cities, including Pune, Nashik, Lucknow, Bhopal, Indore and Allahabad, as the second Covid wave devastates the country.India reported 349,000 cases on Friday – a record daily spike. It reported 2,767 deaths. But experts say the actual numbers are likely to be much higher.Getting tested has become very difficult in many cities as labs are overrun. As I earlier reported, many people are dying at home because they are not getting hospital beds or they are not being able to get tested for Covid. So, they don’t find a place as a Covid patient in the database managed by different states.Meanwhile, frantic calls continue – each one more heartbreaking than the last. How have you been affected by coronavirus in India? Tell us your story by emailing: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSayUpload your pictures/video hereOr fill out the form belowPlease read our terms & conditions and privacy policy

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