Election Commission announces polling dates of 5 states; Why are these elections crucial?

News Hub: it's going to be a very exciting politically sizzling summer of 2021 the election commission, today announced dates for assembly elections in four states and one union territory so elections will be starting from the 27th of march and resulted will be the second of may it's the states of West Bengal Assam Tamil Nadu Kerala and the union territory of Puducherry going to polls.

so all in all over 18 crore voters will be voting in 842 constituencies let's tell you why these elections are exciting the big battle undoubtedly is the one, in west Bengal 294 assembly constituencies it's an eight-phase poll and here you have two-time chief minister a very strong regional leader Mamata Banerjee,

who is going to try and stop! the bjp juggernaut the bjp on its side has been campaigning heavily with prime minister Modi uh home minister Amit shah leaving no stone unturned to bring what they say will be barbarian in West Bengal they aim to win 200 seats in a state where they have never won.

 so they want to conquer new territory let's come now to the state of Assam also very interesting with its 126 assembly seats here in 2016 the last round of these elections the bjp had won and formed a government in Assam, for the first time ever so chief minister sarban sonowal has the tough task of holding down the fort his biggest opponent will be in the congress that has traditionally ruled Assam and its tallest leader in.

 the state taran Gogoi passed away recently the congress meanwhile has tied up with a i wf but in and will try to rest back Assam from the bjp let's go across to Tamil Nadu where you don't have the congress and the bjp facing off directly but it is in a way a proxy battle because the two big players are the aia DMK in the 234 assembly constituents seat assembly the aiadmk has tied up with the bjp while the DMK has tied up with the Congress party

 the x-factor here is Sashi Kala close aide of former chief minister Jaya lalita we have to see what impact she has on Tamil Nadu polls let me come to Kerala another very exciting battle 140 assembly seats over here and traditionally the government has been alternating between two fronts every five years so on the one side you have the left-led coalition which is in power right now and then

 you have the congress-led coalition and by that arithmetic, it's the turn of the congress-led coalition but uh the current government the incumbents want to change that pattern and hope to retain power here the interesting twist in the tale is the bjp which does not really have a large presence in the state at all but is trying to make headway uh with a very interesting.

 the new leader in their party is the former bureaucrat metro man e Sridharan let's see if he manages to help the bjp make a dent in Kerala and then, of course, 

you have the union territory of purucheri just 30 seats there remember in 2016 this was the only victory that the congress had uh in this round of elections and they lost Puducherry that government fell because of defections just a few days before election dates were announced so the congress will try and take back Puducherry as well so if i were to sum it up these elections the summer elections of 2021 has the bjp, on the one hand,

 trying to conquer fresh territory as they have been doing politically for the last few years and the congress fighting for survival

Kerala New Cyber LAW by CM Pinarayi Vijayan | Kerala’s new law curb fake news?

Big Breaking News: coming in as far as the free speech Rao is concerned in Kerala the chief minister has responded says there is no curb on liberties not curbing the freedom of the press so opposition, while hits out at the Kerala chief minister here, is a statement coming in from the chief minister of Kerala is responding on the free speech raw and he claims that the state government has no intention to curb individual liberties and freedom of press remember the left government, in fact, as amended

the Kerala police act empowering the police to arrest or find anyone responsible for offensive social media posts and not just the opposition but some activists also has slammed the government for this let's go across to vivekarindalam who's joining us with more details and amidst the controversy here comes in a statement from the chief minister says there are no curbs on liberties exactly chief minister pindavijn says that you know certain media houses are misleading the people he says 

that even though section 118a has been inserted uh into the new amendment uh there is no such, uh you know means of uh scuttling the voice of people who are dissenting or opposing the views of the government but the question here is that the section 118a and the provisions are very very clear it 

clearly says that those people who question the government any of the government functionaries you know will face the law uh three years of imprisonment and rupees 10 000 is fine now that's very very clear and the government is still not willing to go back on this now uh 

what I

 understand is that a senior cpi leader has also condemned this decision he says that the government should look back and you know change certain provisions of this law but you know the ldf government has still not decided uh to do anything right now the government is sticking on to this provision and they say that this amendment will stay now whatever the chief minister says that the amendments the points the main points the fundamental provisions of this amendment remains the same it clearly stipulates and it clearly states that uh you know those people who are questioning any uh the government authorities or any deliberately 

commented against any person for that matter you know he or she will be arrested and be put in where and will be uh stay on with us because we're also getting some reactions and both the

 bjp and congress have lashed out at the Kerala government over this issue let's listen has been clearly noticed of the press and the freedom of the people and now they have brought this law and they are implemented this is the real face of left parties amendment made in the Kerala police act through an ordinance is illegal and it is a clear violation of the fundamental rights for freedom of expression it is to bypass the supreme god decision by removing the section 66 of the i.t when the provision of an act passed by the parliament had removed by the supreme court how can a state government made legislation in the same line the government is trying to impose police raj and trying to make silence those

 who criticize the government the so-called champions of freedom of expression and freedom of media the left parties in India has shown their duplicity and their hypocrisy once again by amending the Kerala police act the new amendment in Kerala police act actually gives powers to the Kerala police to arrest anyone who criticized the government in social media or in media this is nothing but uh but a clear move to implement police raj in Kerala to prevent all kinds of criticism against the government the left government in Kerala is in panic mode from last four-five months after the gold smuggling case has exposed their connection with the anti-national elements well we have more breaking inputs 

coming in on the broadcast before that let's go across to shazad punawala is through with us now shazad we were just talking about the statement that is coming from the chief minister of Kerala while the opposition both bjp and congress say that this is the real face of the left government they want to curb freedom of speech uh the kerala cm says there are no curbs that far as liberty is concerned you know there are attempts being made by the left government now to backtrack on this draconian move but it's nothing but a backdoor entry for the dreaded section 66a which was struck down by the supreme court and trying to push that across would be blatantly unconstitutional in fact contempt of the supreme court but here is the point I have removed a statistic which shows that till

 June 2019 119 social media activists were arrested or booked by the Kerala government so how can they say that this will not be misused even if some sops were in fact put in place so clearly uh it looks like an attempt to muzzle free speech it looks like a police raj kind of a situation and it looks like the left party or the Vijayan government has been afflicted by the emergency mindset and nothing less than scrapping this would work because clearly, those who cry about freedom of speech day in and day out those who call Modi fastest day in and day out their silence on this issue would be very very troubling so

 I would hope that the Antifa activists of India would awaken themselves and take notice and cognizance of this attempt to muzzle free speech in Kerala right in fact at this point in time the government is attempting a face-saver we have breaking inputs coming in the Kerala dgp has said that a special standard operating procedure will be prepared before taking action on the amendment to the Kerala police act where Karen Allen continues to be with us now, of course, uh the government is realizing fully well that uh this is not going down well with the opposition neither with the people the activists another government says a sop will be prepared exactly the dgp has come out and said that a standard operating procedure will be there uh before uh you know taking any action to remember this according to 

this particular new ordinance that the police can so motor register a case against a person you do not have you know a third party or any person to file a defamation case earlier we have a defamation case, uh you know will be filed against a media house if at all they find that there is anything uh which is against the government or if at all they find uh that is it is malicious now there is no need of a defamation case that we find so the amount of case can be registered now against which now a large number of human rights activists and opposition party leaders have raised their voice and it's at this juncture that the dgp himself has come out and said that you know the set of uh you know protocols 

will be followed and only then that the action will be taken now this is clearly a face-saver at this point of time remember the CPM's ally the cpi uh you know the theme and the other party uh which is an ally in the ldf government has also come out against this particular ordinance um issued a statement saying that the government should recheck this, uh you know uh ordinance and then come up uh with a renewed, uh you know ordinance where stringent laws uh are not uh against uh put against the ordinary citizens of the country all right Vivek thank you very much for joining us with those details we'll keep coming back to you for more updates

Corona:LOCKDOWN INDIA POLICE work-PRINCE CHARLES HAS TESTED POSITIVE-NEW YORK GOVERNOR SAID

CoronaVirus >>LOCKDOWN INDIA POLICE STOPPING CARS CHARGING PEOPLE DO PUSHUPS WHEN THEY BREAK THE RULES

A CRACK DOWN IN THE WORLD'S LARGEST DEMOCRACY, POLICE IN INDIA WIELDING BATONS, CHARGING TOWARDS PEOPLE IN THE LOCKDOWN, STOPPING CARS, MAKING PEOPLE DO PUSHUPS WHEN THEY BREAK THE RULES. ALL THIS AS THEY TRY TO GET THE OUTBREAK TO STOP THREATENING THEIR POPULATION.

 HERE AT HOME THE SENATE REACHES A DEAL ON THE $2 TRILLION RELIEF PACKAGE. SOME LAWMAKERS STILL HAVE RESERVATIONS. THE U.S. HAS ABOUT 60,000 CASES HALF IN NEW YORK. THE NUMBER OF IN AMERICA'S COVI EPICENTER. THERE ARE GLIMMERS OF HOPE ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL DISTANCING. MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICA'S STATES HAVE SHUT DOWN NONESSENTIAL BUSINESS. OVERSEAS, PRINCE CHARLES HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR

 COVID-19. 

 WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHERE WE CAN REPORT SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BUT ONCE AGAIN, CORONAVIRUS CASES CONTINUE TO RISE. THE NEW YORK GOVERNOR SAID THAT HOSPITALS HERE WILL SOON HAVE MORE PATIENTS THAN BEDS AND CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO PEAK FOR ANOTHER THREE WEEKS. AND A SIGHT THAT NO ONE WANTS TO SEE IN ANY CITY, TENTED,

MAKESHIFT MORGUES SET UP IN NEW YORK CITY. OFFICIALS SAY JUST IN CASE. THESE ARE CERTAINLY PECULIAR AND SCARY TIMES. NORMALLY STATES ADVERTISE WHAT THEY HAVE TO OFFER, HOPING TO LURE TOURISTS IN AND HAVING VISITORS COME VISIT. NOW HAWAII IS ASKING TOURISTS TO STAY OUT FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH. ALASKA IS IMPLORING OUTSIDERS TO QUARANTINE FOR 14 DAYS AND FLORIDA IS TELLING ANYONE FROM NEW YORK,

NEW YORK GOVERNOR SAID!

 NEW JERSEY AND CONNECTICUT TO SELF-QUARANTINE FOR TWO WEEKS. BUT THE GOOD NEWS, LOOKING FOR SILVER LINES HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US, TODAY THE NEW YORK GOVERNOR SAID THAT EARLY INDICATIONS SUGGEST SOCIAL DISTANCING APPEARS TO BE SLOWING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. ABC'S TOM LLAMAS STARTS US OFF.

 Reporter: TONIGHT A GRIM SIGN THIS PANDEMIC IS FAR FROM OVER. TEAMS SETTING UP A MAKESHIFT MORGUE OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK'S BELLEVUE HOSPITAL. SOMETHING THEY DID DURING 9/11 AND HURRICANE SANDY. OVERNIGHT, AT LEAST 5,000 NEW CASES IN THE STATE, AND ONE HOSPITAL ALONE, 13 PEOPLE DYING IN JUST 24 HOURS.

HOSPITAL VIRUS TAKING

THE HOSPITAL SAYING THE VIRUS IS TAKING A TERRIBLE TOLL. BUT TONIGHT ONE SLIVER OF HOPE, EXTREME SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES MAY BE WORKING. THE RATE OF HOSPITALIZATION SLOWING SLIGHTLY. THIS IS A VERY GOOD SIGN AND A POSITIVE SIGN. AGAIN, I'M NOT 100% IT HOLDS OR IT'S ACCURATE, BUT THE ARROWS ARE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

Reporter: BUT GOVERNOR CUOMO SAYS WE'RE STILL WEEKS AWAY FROM HITTING THE PEAK IN NEW YORK CITY. A SCENARIO WHICH COULD COLLIDE WITH THE PRESIDENT'S NEW TIMELINE, PROPOSING TO EASE RESTRICTIONS BY EASTER SUNDAY, THAT'S APRIL 12th. WHAT A GREAT TIMELINE THIS WOULD BE. EASTER IS OUR TIMELINE. WHAT A GREAT TIMELINE.

Reporter: BUT EVEN THE NATION'S TOP HEALTH EXPERTS RECOMMENDING NOT COMMITTING TO ANY DATE. THAT'S REALLY VERY FLEXIBLE. WE JUST HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT IN THE OVAL OFFICE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LOOK AT A DATE, BUT YOU GOT TO BE VERY FLEXIBLE. TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO.

 Reporter: NEW YORK, THE EPICENTER IN THE U.S., STILL IN NEED OF MORE SPACE AND MORE SUPPLIES. FOUR FIELD HOSPITALS UNDER WAY, AND STILL IN NEED FOR THOSE CRITICAL LIFESAVING DEVICES, VENTILATORS. THE GOVERNOR ANNOUNCING 11,000 ARE ON THE WAY, BUT HE NEEDS A TOTAL OF 30,000. CUOMO SAYING THEY MAY DO WHAT ITALY DID, SPLIT THE VENTILATOR. ONE DEVICE, TWO PATIENTS. WE'RE EXPLORING SPLITTING. WHERE ONE VENTILATOR COULD DO TWO PATIENTS. ITALY HAS HAD TO DO THIS BECAUSE THEY WERE FORCED TO DO IT.

Reporter: THOSE VENTILATORS DESPERATELY NEEDED FOR PATIENTS LIKE 25-YEAR-OLD JACK ALLARD FROM NORTH DAKOTA WHO IS IN A MEDICALLY INDUCED COMA. THIS VIRUS IS REALLY DANGEROUS. SHE'S VERY, VERY SICK. THE 26-YEAR-OLD FORMER LACROSSE PLAYER WOKE UP WITH BACK ACHES AND A FEVER NEARLY A WEEK AGO. HE NEVER VAPED. HE NEVER SMOKED. HE TOOK HIS HEALTH VERY SERIOUSLY. I MEAN, HE'S AN ATHLETE. JACK'S DOCTORS NOW TRYING AN EXPERIMENTAL DRUG FOR EBOLA.

 NEW YORK CITY FAMILY HOPING IT WILL SAVE HIM  CORONAVIRUS CASES?

 NEW YORK CITY, 46% OF CORONAVIRUS CASES ARE PEOPLE AGE 18 TO 44. THE VIRUS HITTING ALL AGES. 62% OF DEATHS ARE MEN AND 54% OF PEOPLE WHO DIE FROM THE VIRUS ARE OVER 75. THAT'S WHY IN WOODBRIDGE, NEW JERSEY TODAY MORE THAN 90 RESIDENTS HAS TO BE TRANSFERRED FROM AN OUTBREAK INSIDE THIS NURSING HOME. THE U.S. NAVAL HOSPITAL SHIP "THE MERCY" HEADING TOWARD LOS ANGELES. THE MEDICAL CREW PREPARING BEDS AND EQUIPMENT TO HANDLE A SURGE OF UP TO 1,000 PATIENTS OFFSHORE. TONIGHT A NEW EFFORT TO HELP FROM NORTH CAROLINA TO COLORADO. VETERINARIANS NOW DONATING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT INCLUDING VENTILATORS.

 >> THIS IS JUST ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF THE ONE HELP AND US BEING ABLE TO PARTNER WITH OUR COLLEAGUES ON THE HUMAN SIDE. NEW HOT ZONES NOW POPPING UP ACROSS THE COUNTRY. TONIGHT DISASTER DECLARATIONS FOR TEXAS AND LOUISIANA. IN NEW ORLEANS, MARDI GRAS JUST WEEKS AGO A CELEBRATION WITH MASSIVE CROWDS AND DAYS OF PARTYING MAY BE ONE REASON THE CORONAVIRUS IS NOW SPREADING FASTER HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET.

MY EMS DEPARTMENT, OVER 50% OF MY PEOPLE ARE NOW ON QUARANTINE, AND SO WHILE WE'VEN LOCKED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AT THE STATE LEVEL, THE STATE CAN NO LONGER GO OUT WITHOUT ADDITIONAL -- WITHOUT FEDERAL ASSISTANCE AT THIS TIME. AND THE VIRUS NOW TAKING ITS TOLL ON FIRST RESPONDERS. 

Kamal Nath Govt Buys Time To Prove Majority After Speaker Adjourns Assembly Till March 26

MP Crisis:

governor of Madhya Pradesh lousy Tandon is under wising the common last government of the state to uphold law of the state and the governor also in his very brief address has primarily asking and advising the MLAs who must uphold the Constitution after that the governor after a brief interaction with the speaker and he Prajapati has left the assembly premises after this very short

me society craft and I say ocean people dedicated all Tomblin dwara villages for apparently lava new here voluntary yoga relay your panties for apparently will be the Charles today alright so giving their best wishes and also an advice to the incumbent government I'm joined by our consulting at Rajdeep Sardesai national affairs editor Rahul Shrivastav and also on the ground as my colleague Moss missing mostly first an update from you reactions coming in from the Congress party canceling what's happening in Gujarat as well with resignation of Emily's in Madhya Pradesh 

how was the party reacting to the crisis

course with the MLAs not here to returning from Bengaluru mostly puja is very interesting because it's a cascading effect that we see euro a regional satrap asserting himself the Congress High Command are backing him up and that is come a lot for you and that then it actually has a ripple effect with Scindia defecting to the BJP and now you have the entire you know it is it's opened an entire Pandora's box for the Congress

 I come out because you have regional sat traps hurting themselves as well so very interesting situation and it's a huge challenge for Camelot to actually pass this litmus test because not only is chief ministership is at stake but also his reputation visibly the high command alright so governor there - the couple of government the Congress caught on different votes this time just unaware of how to manage I also want to now ask around Steve asked the Rahul because you spoke

  the speaker and P Prajapati you were in Bhopal when the crisis broke out today do you see Kamal not with some confidence at all of having to pull back having to have his government back in shape or do you think it's now over 107 already with the BJP 22 MLAs in total which six Emily's whose resignations have been accepted are we looking at a BJP government in Madhya Pradesh if and when the floor test happens you see there is if you look at the entire drama one element is there as deep spoke about the possibility of intervention 

the President's rule element you see if I don't think the BJP wants to do its hands have a blood of a government on it and so that will be explored at the last option I think what the state governor will do is build towards a what can be created as a template called constitutional breakdown now what can be a constitutional breakdown is that a government which does not have the numbers presenting a budget and if it is voted if it is does not have the numbers this is a crisis and that is why governor will do all visible things to show that common law is the chief minister and the Congress ruling Congress there is creating a constitutional crisis right now what one can say the BJP has an advantage okay 

 enamel is even with the six gone the numbers of the common law government out are doubtful because the strength of the houses come down and that is why common law is playing for time see in these crises what happens that an MLA is a very know he may have defected but he's a very nervous entity it's like waiting outside an operation theatre so what the the Congress would like to do is play on their nerves make all the members by time make all the maneuvers to show that this government is not falling but what's stopping the flow test and asking for a few more Leeman - to understand what is stopping the flow test why can't the flow test have to be inevitable it is also to try the possibilities but that's what I was saying if you play on the nerves of these emily's if the speaker does things come a lot says think that we have the numbers okay you start planting the seeds of doubt in the mind of those 16 amulets were camping in Bengaluru okay what if some of them come back that what if drives a lot of politics in every country and the Congress will keep thinking of that water keep trying to buy time and that is why I say if the center does not step in if the Supreme Court doesn't step in come on laughs has time till the 30th of March to pass the finance bill on which day the pain that we can bring down the government it will have too much numerical okay I want to now go across to Rajdeep Sardesai Roz deep with the political experience that you've had of having covering different parties and their crises as well we also must discuss the ethics of politics here because of water is watching right now in Madhya Pradesh across the country they vote in a government then this crisis suddenly comes up the government is almost about to fall BJP says we have nothing to do with it Congress says its aspirations that we have no control over what about the ethics of politics in a democracy I don't think that's a question that should even be asked anymore morality really doesn't matter look at what has happened 15 months after you are elected on a particular party's ticket you are shifting almost wholesale not even retail almost wholesale to another party and you'll get reelected possibly on that on a new party ticket 

What is a pandemic Coronavirus Explains?

coronavirus:Explains

        The first world war was among the deadliest conflicts in history and killed more than 20 million people. But an outbreak of flu that began as the war ended, turned out to be far more destructive. It was known as the Spanish Influenza, and infected one in three humans on earth. It was the worst    pandemic in modern history and claimed the lives of between 50 and 100 million people. Now, as a new strain of coronavirus spreads across the world, when does a disease become a pandemic and if it does,

1. what happens next?                                      

               Disease experts use the term ‘pandemic’ when a new infection spreads to multiple countries and continents at the same time, affecting many people. That’s different from another term, epidemic, which describes an infection outbreak that’s larger than usual, but stays confined to a single location or region.

2.   So when does a disease officially become a pandemic?

The World Health Organization is the body that decides when an infectious disease formally becomes a pandemic, but that choice is not always black and white. The group’s director-general says the WHO assesses whether to use the word ‘pandemic’ by evaluating three things. First is the geographical spread of the virus. Second is the severity of the disease caused by the virus and lastly, the societal impact of the disease. A disease is more likely to become a pandemic if it is caused by a new strain of a virus, as is the case with Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19. 

The ease with which it infects people and spreads from person to person also play a role in the designation. Past pandemic outbreaks have typically originated from animal viruses, before crossing over to humans. These can spread rapidly around the world because people do not have the immunity needed to fight the new infection. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, the sixth pandemic declared in about a century. The 1918 Spanish flu was easily the deadliest flu pandemic of the 20th century, killing tens of millions of people.
The Asian flu outbreak followed in 1957, killing roughly 1.1 million people around the world. Thankfully scientists were able to develop a vaccine quickly, effectively containing its spread. Another influenza outbreak – the Hong Kong flu – started to spread from China in 1968. It was caused by a compound virus, which combined the Asian virus from ten years earlier with a form of bird flu. It killed around 1 million people – most of them older than 65. HIV, which was first identified as the virus behind AIDS in 1983, was also considered a pandemic.

The human immunodeficiency virus severely damages the cells in your immune system and weakens your ability to fight everyday infections and disease. In the past 40 years, it’s killed 35 million people worldwide, about half of the people who were infected by the virus. Then in 2009, a new outbreak, initially called the swine flu, was named a pandemic. It infected nearly 61 million people, and experts estimate it killed up to 575,000 people in a single year. The WHO declared the pandemic over in August 2010, but the virus has continued to circulate as a seasonal flu ever since.

 In recent years, the WHO has changed how it decides whether an outbreak constitutes a pandemic, following criticism that the threat of the 2009 swine flu had been exaggerated. Many governments stockpiled vaccines which ultimately went unused, while pharmaceutical companies profiteered from the ensuing panic. The disease turned out to be milder than was originally thought. Since then, the WHO has released a guide to manage flu pandemics at a national and international level.

According to its pandemic preparedness plan, national governments are required to follow specific protocols – if a pandemic is declared – to prevent or reduce the spread of a virus. For instance, authorities at a regional and local level must fully mobilize health systems, hospitals and medical workers. In addition, healthcare providers must plan for a surge in patients, and offer protective equipment to their workforce. Governments must also limit social interaction, initiate quarantine measures and enforce isolation procedures. Upgrading a disease to a pandemic outbreak also has psychological implications for how we think about a disaster. According to the WHO ‘using the word pandemic carelessly has no tangible benefit, but it does have significant risk in terms of amplifying unnecessary and unjustified fear and stigma.’ Six months before the latest coronavirus outbreak, a WHO report noted that “many countries still lack a national pandemic influenza preparedness plan.”

3. So what are the economic costs of a pandemic? 

A previous coronavirus strain called Sars, which was detected in 2002, wasn’t widespread enough to become a pandemic. While it only infected more than 8,000 people, it still cost the global economy more than $50 billion in 2003. You see, advances in medicine, communication and technology have brought down mortality rates. But greater trade flows and cheaper air travel have seen the world economy become ever more interconnected and that causes the costs of a pandemic to rise.

 A report now estimates that a pandemic will cost $570 billion a year. That represents 0.7% of the world’s total income. A pandemic can overwhelm global health systems. It can also force infected individuals to avoid the office or work less productively. The fear of infection spread forces people to stay apart. And that can be even more debilitating… shutting down schools, businesses and public services. Insurance companies must also watch developments closely. A pandemic can mean more travel claims, more hospital claims and choke up global supply chains. The impact on corporate earnings can then cascade into financial markets all around the world.