The UK government has refused to say how many covid-19 contact tracers it has employed, with less than three weeks to go until its target of recruiting 18,000 of them by mid-May

At a time when the nation needs its frontline workers, Railway doctors remain inconspicuous by their absence. Considering this, the railway board has now issued a circular stating that "unauthorised absence" was hurting the system and creating a serious imbalance, hence fresh recruitments were necessary.

The circular, (a copy of which is with mid-day) signed by executive director/health, railway board, Dr Vijay Kumar, states, "A large number of doctors are on unauthorised leave. This is causing a serious imbalance in the strength of doctors in many zones. In view of this, it has been decided that vacancies of doctors who are on unauthorised absence will be filled up." It further mentioned that as and when the doctors, who are currently absent, report back to duty, they would be directed to report to the Director General/Railway Health Services (DG/RHS) for their further posting.h

The circular said necessary disciplinary action should be completed early and on priority. The Indian Railway Health Services (IRHS) is a cadre of doctors recruited through the Union Public Service Commission medical exam.

The key responsibilities of the doctors include attending to rail accident victims, pre-employment medical examination of staff, periodical medical tests of serving staff, conducting medical boards and other medical certification of serving employees and much more.

While the director-general (health) was not available for comment, a senior official said, "Recruitments are being carried out to get doctors and medical staff on board to fight the COVID-19 battle as the railways have been actively functioning even in these times. It has become the key provider of essential services, keeping the supply chain alive. Hence, the more number of medical workers come on board, the better it is."

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Gloucestershire batsman George Hankins has been arrested for a drunk-driving incident in Surrey following a car crash.

Hankins, who has featured in 28 first-class games, was arrested after the collision in Portsmouth Road, Cobham, on April 19 and will now appear in Guildford Magistrates' Court in July, reports BBC Sport.

"Gloucestershire Cricket has been made aware of an incident - being investigated by Surrey Police - regarding one of its players, who has been based in Surrey during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

The club is in touch with the player concerned and has initiated a full internal investigation," the club said in a statement.

The 23-year-old has scored 961 first-class runs since making his debut in 2016 against Durham. He has also featured in 15 List A games and seven T20 games - scoring 535 and 17 runs respectively.

Gloucestershire is the same club where ace India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara was supposed to play the first six matches of this year's County Championship. The deal was, however, called off earlier this month due to the COVID-19 pandemic which is spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom and has claimed thousands of lives in the country.

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Senior India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's deal with English county side Yorkshire Cricket Club was on Monday cancelled by mutual consent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) recently suspended all forms of professional cricket till July 1 due to the pandemic which has wreaked havoc across the globe. Ashwin, who signed for the club in January, was expected to play in the majority of the remaining County championship fixtures. It would have been the 33-year-old's third county stint, having represented Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire in the past.

The club also announced the termination of contracts for its other two overseas players, South African spinner Keshav Maharaj and West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran. "Firstly, I really appreciate the players' understanding in this matter. We have been in regular contact with the players and their agents throughout this Covid pandemic. They have been extremely professional and appreciate the uncertainty facing counties at present," Yorkshire's Director of Cricket, Martyn Moxon said.

"We hope that we will be able to see them at Emerald Headingley in the future," he added. Maharaj had agreed to re-join the White Rose for their opening two Specsavers County Championship fixtures against Gloucestershire and Essex. While Pooran had agreed a second stint at Emerald Headingley after agreeing to re-join as Yorkshire Vikings' Vitality Blast overseas player for the 2020 campaign. However, with the COVID-19 outbreak forcing a cricket shutdown in UK until May 28, means the trio will not be able to play for the club this season.

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Announcement Number: TN-19-DOE-1530-OCDH
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