From the Editors: Physical classes in Sharjah schools from January

PHYSICAL CLASSES IN SHARJAH SCHOOLS FROM JANUARY WILL FUTHER BOOST CONFIDENCE: In keeping with the directives of the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, Sharjah Private Education Authority has announced that it will continue with physical classes for all students in private educational institutions in the emirate from the beginning of the second semester in January 2022. Along with this announcement, certain safety measures will also have to be mandatorily adhered to. For instance, until further notice, no joint class activities, group trips or assemblies will be allowed. In addition, all students above the age of 12 and staff members must produce a negative PCR test report obtained not more than 96 hours prior to entering the school premises. These measures are bound to have a positive impact on the confidence level of parents, pupils and all other stakeholders. This is yet another instance of the pragmatic policies followed by the UAE in combatting the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. While making sure that there is no let-up in testing, tracking and vaccination, measures such as allowing pupils to attend physical classes will go a long way in ensuring that we return to normality soon. [COMMENT BY: Sanjib Kumar Das, Assistant Editor]

IT’S NOT A WAVE, BUT ‘TSUNAMI’: The COVID-19 virus shows no sign of going away. The world hit a record number of infections in a seven-day period, with more than 935,000 cases detected on average each day between 22-28 December, as the Omicron variant tore through populations with a speed of a ‘tsunami’. Notably, in France every second two people are diagnosed positive. But the good news is the Omricon variant seems to be milder than previous versions of the virus — with vaccinations, boosters and previous infections all offering some protection against serious illness and death. However, the surge of infections is causing chaos, as people scramble to obtain tests, businesses grapple with staff shortages and New Year’s festivities are thrown into question. As health experts closely watch the numbers for indications of the vaccines’ effectiveness in preventing serious illness, we, on our part, should take all COVID safety protocols. Prevention is better than cure. [COMMENT BY: Stephen N R, Senior Associate Editor]

KOHLI’S OFF STUMP WORRIES DOG INDIA IN SOUTH AFRICA: If the pace bowlers and KL Rahul’s century helped India dominate the first Test against South Africa and Centurion, skipper Virat Kohli’s familiar failing outside the off-stump came back to haunt them again. It’s a pity to see how the South African bowlers could set him up in both innings when after doing the hard work, Kohli couldn’t resist himself from trying an expansive cover drive instead of leaving the delivery alone. There is now Rahul Dravid at hand, or he may even pick the brains of Sachin Tendulkar – who got into a rut in 2004 and found a way out of it when he famously didn’t hit a single cover drive in Sydney to score an epic 241 not out despite hitting 33 boundaries. When will that turnaround come now? [COMMENT BY: Gautam Bhattacharyya, Senior Associate Editor]

UNCOUPLING IN THE PUBLIC EYE: Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen recently announced her split from Rohman Shawl after around three years of dating. It has been quite amicable; Sen shared a smiling picture of the two of them along with the statement about their break-up and both have said they’ll stay friends. It mustn’t be easy to be a public figure telling the world about a very personal moment, but it’s a conscious choice to do it with grace and poise — which Sen has done. It’s the best way to avoid gossip mongers and people speculating about what went wrong. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor – Features]