Current Affairs in Short: 11 January 2022

BJP President JP Nadda tests positive for Coronavirus

• Bharatiya Janata Party Chief JP Nadda has tested positive for COVID-19. The President of the party further said that he was keeping fine and has self-isolated himself.

• While sharing the news via tweet, Nadda added that those who came in contact with him in the past few days must also get themselves tested.

• Apart from JP Nadda, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj S Bommai, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar, Union Minister of State for Defence Ministry Ajay Bhatt have also tested positive for COVID-19.

• India has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases and is reporting more than 1 lakh cases from the past few days.

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas appointed as Chief Economist of IMF

• Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, a French-born University of California-Berkley Economist, has been appointed as the next Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund. He has replaced the Indian-Origin Gita Gopinath.

• Gourinchas will succeed Gita Gopinath who has been appointed as the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

• Gourinchas will begin his work as the new Chief Economist on January 24, 2022, initially on a part-time basis as he will conclude some prior teaching commitments. He will transition to full time on April 1.

• As per IMF, Pierre-Olivier will bring his expertise in analysing today’s most pressing economic problems. He is known for his agility in spotting emerging trends in the field of economics.

No Covid test required for contacts of confirmed cases: Govt

• The Indian Council of Medical Research has announced that the contacts of COVID-19 patients are not required to get themselves tested unless identified as high-risk based on age or co-morbidities.

• The latest guideline was issued by ICMR on the purposive testing strategy for COVID-19. It further added that testing is not required for asymptomatic individuals.

• ICMR has further added that a person having fever, cough, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, breathlessness must be tested.

• The advisory by ICMR also stated that no emergency procedures such as deliveries or surgeries should be delayed because of the lack of a test.

Mihir Das, legendary Odia film actor, passes away

• Mihir Das, a legendary Odia film actor passed away in Cuttack at the age of 55. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital there.

• Mihir Das was hospitalized in December 2021 after suffering a mild heart attack. Das, in a career that spanned over three decades, had won the Best Actor Award from the Odisha Government for his work in Laxmi Protima in 1998 and Pheria Mo Suna Bhauni in 2005.

• Mihir Das was also a popular anchor in socially relevant programmes on television channels.

Chris Morris, South African all-rounder, announces retirement from all forms of cricket

• Chris Morris, the South African all-rounder, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on January 11, 2022.

• The cricketer thanked everyone who was part of his journey and also expressed excitement for his new role as a coach.

• Chris Morris had made his international debut in December 2012 against New Zealand and had played his first One Day Internationals in 2013.

• The all-rounder featured in four tests, 23 T2OIs and 42 ODIs for South Africa. He last played an international game in 2019.