Covid-19: Cinema halls, multiplexes to remain closed in five Haryana districts including Gurugram
Chandigarh, Jan 1: Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Haryana, authorities on Saturday ordered the closure of cinema halls, multiplexes and sports complexes in five districts, including Gurugram and Faridabad, from January 2 to 12, according to an official order.
The other three districts where the restrictions will be applicable are Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat.
This comes on a day when a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am came into force in the state.
All cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes shall remain closed in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat from January 2 to January 12, an order issued by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority said.
All sports complexes, swimming pools and stadia shall remain closed except when being used for training of sportspersons for participation in national and international sports events, it said.
Government and private offices, except for emergency/essential services have been advised to function with 50 per cent staff attendance, it added.
Malls and markets will be allowed to open till 5 pm, while bars and restaurants will be allowed to operate at 50 per cent seating capacity, the order said.
Haryana reported 552 fresh Covid cases on Saturday. Gurugram district alone accounted for 298 of these cases, according to a health department bulletin.
Gurugram, which falls under the National Capital Region, has been witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases for over a week now.
Faridabad reported 107 fresh cases, Ambala 32 and Panchkula 26, the bulletin stated.
As of Friday, Haryana had 63 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to official data.
To check the spread of the viral infection, the state government has banned people eligible for vaccination but not fully vaccinated from entering shopping malls, cinema halls, restaurants and grain markets, among other crowded places, starting Saturday.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
