Alert on Delta Plus
The emergence of a new mutant form of the coronavirus and the delayed upgradation of the threat perception to a ‘variant of concern’ is worrying (Page 1, “Govt. raises alert on Delta Plus”, June 27). The new variant has mutated in a way which suggests that it will limit the effectiveness of vaccines. Large-scale genomic sequencing has to be done quickly to ascertain the prevalence of this Delta variant so that vaccination can be stepped up and the possibility of further lockdowns weighing down our staggering economy is mitigated. The concern is that we always seem to be moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to planning and implementation of strategies to combat this deadly pandemic.
Dr. Thomas Palocaren,
Vellore, Tamil Nadu
The more we relax public health and social measures, the more the chances of the Delta Plus variant striking hard. WHO is absolutely right in pointing out that right now, all countries should urgently consider using all available tools to prevent transmission. The first and second waves have definitely taught us a lot about the pandemic and hence it calls for more caution.
Govardhana Myneedu,
Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
ITR form woes
The recently introduced Income-Tax Return form is not user-friendly and makes everyone pay a penalty when he or she commits an error inadvertently. I am a senior citizen and when I made a mistake by ticking the box (‘Yes’) to the ‘Are you audited u/s 44ab’, the calculated tax worked out to be three times more than what I have to pay. I could not correct the mistake. When I logged in a second time, the filled-in particulars could not be seen nor could I re-enter them. The existing ITR e-filing form has to be scrapped and a new one should be introduced. It needs to be tension-free and a flexible process.
P. Ramasubramanian,
Madurai
