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The first case of COVID‐19 in India detected on January 30, 2020, after its emergence in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The lockdown was imposed as anemergency measure by the Indian government to prevent the spread of COVID‐19 but gradually eased out due to its vast economic consequences. Just 15 days after the relaxation of lockdown restrictions, Delhi became India's worst city in terms of COVID‐19 cases. In this paper, we propose a variable‐order fractional SIR (susceptible, infected, removed) model at state‐level scale. We introduce a algorithm that uses the differential evolution algorithm in combination with Adam–Bashforth–Moulton method to learn the parameters in a system of variable‐order fractional SIR model. The model can predict the confirm COVID‐19 cases in India considering the effects of nationwide lockdown and the possible estimate of the number of infliction inactive cases after the removal of lockdown on June 1, 2020. A new parameter p is introduced in the classical SIR model representing the fraction of infected people that get tested and are thereby quarantined. The COVID‐19 trajectory in Delhi, as per our model, predicts the slowing down of the spread between January and February 2021, touching a peak of around 5 lakh confirmed cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different industries throughout the world face a tough time confronting the pandemic of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), so does the hotel industry. Hence, this research attempts to determine the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the hotel industry in terms of guest retention. The crisis which started in Wuhan, China (December 2019) has spread to the whole world and continues to spread. Although in newspapers, journals, and online media there are few published articles, they are mostly based on secondary data. This study is an attempt to examine the perceptions of hotel employees regarding the effect of COVID-19 on the hotel industry through qualitative analysis. Further, the study attempts to evaluate the crisis preparedness and steps taken to combat COVID-19, and eventually determine the positive outcome of the crisis. This paper presents an overview of the advent of COVID-19 in New Delhi, India, and more importantly, reports on the approaches that hotels employ to sustain during this diffcult time. Through the in-depth interviews with senior employees in six hotels in the national capital city New Delhi, India (four interviews before the lockdown and two interviews during the lockdown). Empirical findings showed that at various phases of the crisis, hotels were taking different approaches to survive. The hotels were introducing strategies for guest retention to create stronger guest relationships. This paper presents the impact of this crisis on hotel employees and how the hotels are reacting to this crisis. The practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]