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New, more contagious coronavirus strain in UK does not appear to be deadlier: Vivek Murthy

“This news from the UK appears to be about a new strain of the virus that’s more transmissible, more contagious than the virus we’ve seen prior to this,” he said.

“While it seems to be more transmissible, we do not have evidence yet that this is a more deadly virus to an individual who acquires it,” Murthy told NBC News on Sunday.

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44% rural Indians willing to pay for COVID-19 vaccine; 51% consider coronavirus ‘Chinese conspiracy’: Survey

The survey, conducted by Gaon Connection among 6,040 rural respondents across 60 districts in 16 states and one union territory, found that 36 per cent said they would not want to pay for it. The remaining 20 per cent said they are yet to decide on paying for the vaccine.

Of those who were willing to pay, two-third said they can pay up to Rs 500 for two doses of the vaccine, whenever it is available.

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Industry bodies to press for holding back new wage definition in meeting with govt on Dec 24

The source also said that lobbyists want the government to hold back the new definition and fear that this would result in major cut in take-home salaries and also put additional burden on employers.
The industry bodies want that the implementation should be put on hold till the economy rebounds again and buoyancy returns.

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US population growth smallest in at least 120 years

Population growth in the U.S. already was stagnant over the past several years due to immigration restrictions and a dip in fertility, but coronavirus-related deaths exacerbated that lethargic-growth trend, said William Frey, a senior fellow at The Brooking Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program.

“I think it’s a first glimpse of where we may be heading as far as low population growth,” Frey said. “It’s telling you that this is having an impact on population.”

The U.S. population grew by 0.35% from July 2019 to July 2020, an increase of 1.1 million people in a nation whose estimated population in July was more than 329 million residents, according to Census Bureau estimates.

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Infosys to prefer flexible ‘hybrid’ work model for employees in view of pandemic

Parekh said that going forward the company will focus on putting in place a hybrid work model as it will depend on how the situation evolves. “However, the flexibility will remain critical,” he said.

There will be flexibility in the models that will allow employee work from different locations at different times, he added.

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