COVID-19 vaccination begin in the UAE
Compliments to the UAE for the commencement of COVID-19 vaccinations (“COVID-19 vaccine: UAE Minister of Health received first dose”, Gulf News, September 19). I salute UAE health ministry officials, who led the way in the UAE, by taking the first vaccine doses. Many countries are still waiting for the vaccine to be finalised.
There is also a subtle competition between countries and companies to be amongst the first few to launch the vaccines. However, a challenge that developing countries with large rural populations face, is the transportation of the vaccines in frozen or semi-frozen states to small villages with a population of 500 or even less. Of the total 664,369 villages in India, 2,36,004 villages have a population less than 500. Companies which operate cold chains and are engaged in products like frozen foods and ice-creams, can study the logistics and make suggestions. Health authorities can also deploy cold vans, with freezers, to transport the vaccines to remote areas. The planning for these challenges should commence right now. We should not be caught unawares, as happened when COVID-19 spread voraciously across national boundaries and the world ground to a halt.
From Mr Rajendra Aneja
Mumbai, India
IPL 2020: Umpiring controversy as short-run call potentially costs the match for KXI Punjab against Delhi Capitals
This letter is about King XI Punjab's appeal against the crucial “short run" decision by umpire Nitin Menon, which cost them the match against Delhi Capitals (“IPL 2020 in UAE: Kings XI Punjab appeals over 'short run' error”, Gulf News, September 21). Now that the "No Ball" is decided by the third umpire, why can't the third umpire be designated to verify such short runs too? We feel the Delhi Capital Coach, who preaches his members to play the game in the spirit of the game, should be gracious enough to admit their defeat and award the points of King XI Punjab.
From Mr N Mahadevan
India
IPL-2020: T20 match at the famous Zayed Sports City Stadium in the Abudhabi
The much-awaited T20 match started on September 19 at the famous Zayed Sports City Stadium in the Abudhabi was nice and colourful to watch (“IPL 2020 in UAE: Fans soak up the excitement as action goes live”, Gulf News, September 19). The initial speech by the honourable Minister of Culture Youth and Social development, Sheikh Mubarak bin Nahyan about the game, which will last 55 days, was inspiring. Even though Chennai Super Kings(CSK) won the toss, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to field. The initial four overs were very thunderous with good hits by the openers, skipper Rohit Sharma and Quinton De Kock. Piyush Chawla took Sharma's wicket, the leg spinner made a change in the game as the average score crossed more than nine runs per over. The following two wickets made the game not only more interesting but also challenging. After hitting 42 runs, Saurabh Tiwary brought the score to a good figure. Chennai Super King's Rayudu score an excellent 71 runs, and Du Plessis’ 58 made a remarkable victory for the CSK. Both the teams played very well with a limited score—congratulations to Dhoni and his men.
From Mr K Ragavan
Bengaluru, India
