Coronavirus India News Live Updates
The Delhi High Court Friday directed the AAP government in Delhi and the Centre to increase the number of beds and ventilators for Covid patients in the national capital. The Delhi government is also planning a 10,000-bed makeshift hospital for the coronavirus patients under a sprawling tent in south Delhi as part of the preparations to address the projected surge in cases in the city.
Meanwhile, estimating that the “90 per cent dip” in public transport ridership volumes during the lockdown is unlikely to pick up any time soon, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has called on states and Union Territories to come up with “alternative modes of transport” and “encourage and revive Non-Motorised Transport (NMT)” such as bicycles.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday said that no coercive action will be taken against private firms which failed to pay full wages during the lockdown period, adding that industries and labourers need each other and efforts should be made to resolve dispute over wage payments. The court asked states to facilitate settlement between firms and employees over wage payment and submit reports before labour commissioners. It also asked the Centre to file an affidavit within 4 weeks on the legality of March 29 circular that mandated payment of full wages during the lockdown.
The ICMR has termed the lockdown phases as "successful" in containing the rapid spread of the virus. Less than one per cent of 26,400 people, randomly chosen from 65 districts with varied caseloads, were exposed to the coronavirus in the first month of the national lockdown, according to the first phase of a nationwide sampling to check for the pandemic’s spread via testing for antibodies.
The spike in cases has pushed states to seek requisitions of isolation coaches from the Indian Railways to accommodate as beds for Covid positive patients and avoid overwhelming the health infrastructure. The Centre has warned that five most affected states — Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh — going by current trends, are projected to fall short in terms of ICU beds and ventilators between June and August.
After almost two months, the railways' isolation coaches have finally found takers -- Uttar Pradesh has asked for 240 such coaches for 24 locations, Telangana has requisitioned 60 for three places and Delhi has asked for 10 such coaches as COVID-19 cases in India close in on the three lakh mark.
The railways' first such COVID-19 care centre was deployed at Shakur Basti railway stations in Delhi on May 31. It consisted of 10 coaches with a capacity of 160 beds. The coaches can be used for very mild cases that can be clinically assigned to the coronavirus care centres according to guidelines issued by the health ministry.
Coronavirus (Covid-19) Vaccine Latest Update: Even though the US and China seem to be on the global frontline in terms of developing a Covid-19 vaccine, an Italian Health Ministry official said Europe was far ahead in the race and the results of an ongoing research could lead to first doses “by autumn-winter”.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has decided to expedite the start of human clinical trials for its experimental Covid-19 vaccine by two months to the second half of July. The move saw its shares rising nearly 2 per cent to $148.69. On the other hand, Moderna Inc has started testing its vaccine candidate in a 600-subject mid-stage trial.
Coming to India, New Delhi-based biotechnology company Panacea Biotec has partnered with US-based Refana Inc to develop, manufacture and distribute an experimental Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, the number of people who have recovered from Covid-19 disease in India is now more than those who are still sick. However, apart from being an interesting milestone, this statistic has little relevance.
This doesn’t mark the beginning of the end of the epidemic, nor is it the arrival of the “peak”. It does not mean either that the number of cases would be declining from now on. In fact, once the number of deaths is brought into the equation, 8,102 at last count, it becomes clear that less than 50 per cent of the total infected people (2.86 lakh) have recovered so far. The total recoveries, in fact, work out to 49 per cent of all cases.
More importantly, total recoveries and the number of active cases are not comparable metrics. Total recoveries account for everyone who has recovered from the disease since the start of the outbreak. It is an accumulated number. Active cases, on the other hand, are only those that have been infected in the last 14 days, if it is assumed that every infected person, apart from those who die, is recovering in 14 days. So the comparison being made is between a number that has accumulated over three months, and increasing, which is the case in India right now, and a number that has emerged in the last two weeks.
In an attempt to balance Covid-19 precautions along with identification parade norms, the Goa police recently covered the faces of eight accused with grocery bags, complete with eyes and nose holes cut out.
According to the law, the accused’s faces can’t be revealed to the general public before an official identification parade.
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A Goa Police spokesperson said: “All precautions were observed and they were all given masks while being ferried to the police station. This was just for the photograph, as giving only masks would have meant revealing scars etc. Often, there are marks of identification on the face.”
The men had been booked after the North Goa Police busted an online gambling unit on June 13. The Panjim Police booked siblings Ajay and Akshay Karol under various sections of the Goa Gambling Act for online gambling running out of a house at Taleigao, according to a press statement.
The bust involved six others, who were booked for “engaging in online activities”. Property worth Rs 6 lakh, including computers, internet router and other gadgets, was seized.
The photograph announcing the bust shows police personnel all in masks, and the accused lined up with their faces covered with grocery bags.
The Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday said people entering the state will have to provide address proof, making it clear that those arriving from the red zones will be quarantined. A senior official said there have been cases of people coming from red zones, which are more seriously affected by coronavirus, but claiming that they were staying in a green zone. This allowed them to go directly to their Himachal homes instead of first spending time at a quarantine centre.
The state also issued a revised list of places with a high virus load. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Thane, Pune, Hyderabad, Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Howrah and Indore are on this list. Travellers from these places must go into quarantine first, Himachal Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said.
He said the system of issuing e-passes has also been changed, making it mandatory for applicants to provide address proof. Following the new order, Kangra and Hamirpur district magistrates issued directions that everyone coming from these cities will be institutionally quarantined. The quarantine period is usually 14 days. PTI
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh Saturday said ‘lack of discipline and violation of safety guidelines inside quarantine centres’ were the main reasons for the rise in Covid-19 cases in the state.
The Chief Minister was speaking to mediapersons during his visit to the new Covid-19 Care Centre at UNACCO School, in Imphal West District.
Reiterating that inmates who misbehave will be put behind bars, the Chief Minister said that eight people had already been sent to jail for breaking safety protocols and creating disturbances inside quarantine centres. Till Saturday evening, the total number of cases in the state was 385, of which with 308 were active, according to the Union government. Read more
The total number of containment zones in Delhi is now 241. Total 66 zones have been de-contained till date, said Delhi Government.
The Pune district administration has, till now, run 97 Shramik Special trains to send nearly 1.22 lakh migrant workers back to their home states, but nearly 1,500 workers are still stranded in the district. City-based activists and trade unions, which have worked to provide relief to migrant workers and others during the pandemic, have written a letter to Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram, requesting him to make arrangements to send the stranded workers home. The group of activists have also reminded Ram about the Supreme Court directive earlier this week, which directed state governments to send stranded migrants home within a fortnight. Read full story here
A total of 2,134 fresh cases of COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 38,958. 57 more people have succumbed to the illness. The death toll in the city was recorded at 1,271.
PIB DG K S Dhatwalia has been discharged from AIIMS after testing negative for COVID-19. He was admitted to the institute on June 7.
Kerala has decided to allow some exemptions in its complete clampdown on Sundays, in view of the relaxations been provided since Monday. The exemptions will apply only in non-containment zones. With places of worship reopening partly since June 9, devotees moving to or back from such places are exempt from the Sunday shutdown.
Also, with several university and entrance exams scheduled on Sunday, the administration will allow the movement of students and personnel, albeit on producing their relevant admit and identification cards. Students joining their allotted medical or dental colleges and other educational institutions too have been exempted from the Sunday lockdown. Read the full story here
Tripura recorded 45 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday. The infected persons were all returneed from other states Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb tweeted: "Alert. Out of 1860 samples tested for #COVID19, more 45 people found #POSITIVE in Tripura today. All of them have travel history. The count includes : Sepahijala District : 44 West District : 01 #TripuraCOVID19Count". With these cases, the state's total Covid case tally now stands at 1,046, out of which 768 are active.
A PIL has been filed by an NGO before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to prepare, notify and implement a 'national plan' as prescribed under the Disaster Management Act to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The petition, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) through advocate Prashant Bhushan, has also sought a direction to the Centre to transfer all contributions made to the PM CARES Fund, set up for COVID-19 relief, to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). 'In line with Section 46(1)(b) of the DM (Disaster Management ) Act, all present and future collections, contributions, and grants for the fight against COVID-19 should be credited towards the NDRF,' the PIL said. 'A National Plan under Sections 10 and 11 of the DM Act must be prepared, notified, and implemented to deal with the pandemic,' it said. (PTI)
Maharashtra, which is worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic in the country, on Saturday reported 3,427 new COVID-19 cases and 113 deaths, including 69 from Mumbai, state Health department said. With this, the latest case count in the state stands at 1,04,568 and fatalities at 3,830, an official release said. Of the totalcases, 78,134 cases are concentrated in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) which has reported 2,650 deaths, including Mumbai with 56,831 cases and 2,113 fatalities, it said. (PTI)
Watch | Coronavirus update on June 13
With 1,989 fresh COVID-19 cases today, a total of 42,687 people have tested positive in Tamil Nadu till date. Chennai recorded 1,484 cases. With 30 deaths today, the toll rose to 397 in Tamil Nadu. A total of 1,362 persons got discharged, there are 18,878 cases still active.
A junior doctor from the Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad, who is presently undergoing treatment along with many of his fellows for Covid-19 at the state-run Gandhi general hospital, has written a letter to the Telangana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan seeking her intervention regarding postponement of the final year exams for PGs scheduled to be held between June 20 and 29.
“I personally faced and experienced how difficult it is to be isolated in this critical situation. To prepare for exams in such an atmosphere is simply not possible. Due to this mental agony, I am not able to concentrate to study for the exams. I fear that I may not perform well in the exams and risk losing an academic year because of an unfortunate incident. It is simply not possible to face everything simultaneously: the health problem, studies, the exam anxiety, and the social stigma,” the 29-year-old wrote in his letter. Read full story here
In view of the spike in coronavirus cases, a complete shutdown will be imposed in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar every Sunday starting June 14. All activities except essential services will be suspended, notified the district administration on Saturday. According to District Magistrate Selvakumari J, it has been decided to impose Janata Curfew with all business establishments including shops, hotels, and malls suspended every Sunday. Only the essential services will be allowed, reported PTI. The DM also warned that strict action will be taken against those found violating the curfew.
Seven more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh today, taking total number of active cases to 177, said State Health Department
Bengali filmmaker Kamaleswar Mukherjee, who is also a qualified doctor, is now treating patients in Cyclone Amphan-ravaged Sundarbans region of West Bengal. He had been a full-time medical practitioner, having worked in government and private hospitals, before taking a plunge into the world of cinema in 2011. Read the story in Bengali
Delhi govt has restarted the RT PCR testing for Covid-19 at Sir Ganga Ram hospital. The lab services at the hospital were suspended on June 3.
PMO: Meeting also took stock of situation in different states & UTs including Delhi. It was attended by Home Minister, Health Minister, Principal Secretary to PM, Cabinet Secretary, Health Secretary, DG ICMR & other related conveyance of the Empowered Groups. It was observed that out of total cases two-thirds are in 5 states with an overwhelming proportion of cases in big cities. In view of the challenges being faced, particularly by the large cities, it was discussed to augment testing as well as the number of beds and services to effectively handle the peak surge of daily cases.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday held a detailed meeting with senior ministers and government officials to review India’s response to Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting reviewed the national level status and preparation in the context of the pandemic, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Pakistan's former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, becoming the latest top political figure to contract COVID-19 that has claimed 2,551 lives and infected 132,405 people in the country. Gilani, 67, tested positive after attending a hearing of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a corruption case. On Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif, chief of the Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), tested positive for the coronavirus after he appeared before the NAB in a money laundering case. Gilani's son Kasim Gilani announced on Twitter that the former premier had tested positive for the coronavirus. "Thank you Imran Khan's govt and National Accountability Bureau! You have successfully put my father's life in danger. His COVID-19 result came positive," Kasim said. (PTI)
It may take some more weeks for anti-viral drug remdesivir to available to COVID-19 patients in India as pharmaceutical companies, seeking to manufacture them domestically, are still working on furnishing safety and quality data, even though the approval process for its introduction is being fast-tracked. India's drug regulator had on June 1 granted US pharma giant Gilead Sciences marketing authorisation for its drug remdesivir, being touted as a potential treatment for COVID-19, in the country. Four companies -- Hetero, Jubilant Life Sciences, Cipla and Mylan NV -- with which the original drug maker, Gilead Sciences Inc, have entered into non-exclusive licensing agreements are still awaiting nod from the DCGI for manufacturing and selling of remdesivir in India. (PTI)
A day after the Supreme Court expressed concern over fewer coronavirus tests in the national capital, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday put the onus on the ICMR, saying its guidelines should be changed for the testing to increase. Facing flak after a video purportedly showing mishandling of bodies and patients at the LNJP hospital surfaced, Jain said a contractual employee, who made the video, has been suspended. "A contractual employee who made the video was motivated and did it on purpose. The person has been suspended," Jain told reporters here. (PTI)
In the beginning of May, when the country was entering the third phase of the lockdown, the colour-coded classification set by the central government put almost all of Northeast entirely in the green zone, reflecting only a handful of reported cases: 43 in Assam, 12 in Meghalaya, 2 in Manipur, 2 in Tripura, 1 in Mizoram, 1 in Arunachal Pradesh and none in Nagaland. Cut to June, the region accounts for more than 5,000 cases — with Assam taking the lead, followed by Tripura, with Manipur not far behind. A significant chunk of this surge can be traced back entirely to returnees, or those who have come back to their home states after the opening up of inter-state borders on May 17. While Assam has reported cases since April 1 and is now the most affected state with its current tally at 3,693 (2,098 active), the other states, too, are witnessing a considerable rise every day. A look at Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Tipura, the surge and how they are coping. Jimmy Leivon, Debraj Deb, Tora Agarwala reports fromAgartala, Guwahati, Imphal. Read the state-wise detailed story here
The Railway Protection Force unit of Central Railway has deployed a robot to thermally screen and record temperature of passengers at Pune station in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak, officials said on Saturday. The robot, named Captain ARJUN, acronym for "always be responsible and just use to be nice", displays the temperature in a panel with a response time of 0.5 seconds, said a CR release. (PTI)
As number of Covid-19 patients spike to levels as high as 36,000, Delhi govt directed four premier hotels, Pullman, Hyatt Regency, Vasant Continental & Andaz Delhi in south Delhi to be attached with hospitals to accommodate more patients, reported IANS.
The Delhi High Court Friday directed the AAP government in Delhi and the Centre to increase the number of beds and ventilators for Covid patients in the national capital. The direction was issued by a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan after the Delhi government informed it that till June 9 there were 9,179 beds for COVID-19 patients in the city and out of that 4,914 were occupied and remaining were available. The Delhi government is also planning a 10,000-bed makeshift hospital for the coronavirus patients under a sprawling tent in south Delhi as part of the preparations to address the projected surge in cases in the city. (PTI)
It may take some more weeks for anti-viral drug remdesivir to available to COVID-19 patients in India as pharmaceutical companies, seeking to manufacture them domestically, are still working on furnishing safety and quality data, even though the approval process for its introduction is being fast-tracked. India's drug regulator had on June 1 granted US pharma giant Gilead Sciences marketing authorisation for its drug remdesivir, being touted as a potential treatment for COVID-19, in the country. Four companies -- Hetero, Jubilant Life Sciences, Cipla and Mylan NV -- with which the original drug maker, Gilead Sciences Inc, have entered into non-exclusive licensing agreements are still awaiting nod from the DCGI for manufacturing and selling of remdesivir in India. (PTI)
With 37 new cases reported on Saturday, Tripura Covid cases crossed 1,000-mark. Sepahijala is among the worst-hit districts of the state after Dhalai district where a number of the recent cases surfaced. While 163 previous Covid cases were reported among Border Security Force (BSF) jawans, the new cases were reported from returnees from other states.
Unlock 1.0: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Saturday visited MTR, Bengaluru’s famous joint for breakfast, & posed for a selfie with Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.
Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harshvardhan will hold a meeting with LG Delhi Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvinder Kejriwal and SDMA members on Sunday 11 am to review Covid situation in the national capital.
Loss of smell and taste are now among the symptoms of Covid-19 while remdesivir, tocilizumab and plasmatherapy are included in the list of investigational therapies for the disease as per clinical management guidelines notified by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The new symptoms had already been added by US’ Centres for Disease Control in the list of coronavirus symptoms in early May.
Sriperumbudur AIADMK MLA Palani tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. He is the second legislator after J Anbazhagan to test positive for the viral infection in Tamil Nadu.
The Sikkim government has deferred reopening of educational institutes by a month and decided to resume classes in schools, colleges and universities in the first week of August this year, PTI reported. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of the State Task Force presided over by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Friday, officials said. The educational institutes in the state were supposed to reopen from July 1. "There is a need for abundant precaution to resume educational activities in Sikkim in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases," the officials said.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Saturday said he has tested positive, becoming the first high-profile cricketer to be infected with the deadly virus.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has approached the Delhi High Court, seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against its medical superintendent by Delhi police for allegedly violating Covid-19 regulation norms, PTI reported. The petition is listed for hearing on Monday before Justice C Hari Shankar. Advocate Rohit Aggarwal, representing the hospital, said they are seeking quashing of the FIR lodged on June 5 at Rajinder Nagar police station under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of IPC and the proceedings initiated thereafter. The plea has also sought to set aside the Delhi government's June 3 order, prohibiting RT/PCR sampling for COVID- 19 suspect/contact cases with immediate effect.
Amid videos of bodies being dragged in South Kolkata, the Bengal government today said: "The Government of West Bengal respects the credo of dignity at death and, while handling the COVID pandemic, it has espoused the principle by laying down transparent procedures regarding disclosure of facts, opportunities given to bereaved relatives for showing last respect to the deceased, disposal of dead bodies etc. The recent misinformation drive to project an isolated incident of a particular agency's handling of some unidentified and decomposed dead bodies lying (post accidents etc) in a morgue has no relationship whatsoever with the current pandemic.This has been communicated in writing and in person by most senior state officials even to Hon'ble Governor." It added: "Decontexualising the incident and projecting an one off incident on the pandemic canvas, despite explanatory communiques, adversely impacts the social mind, demotivates public administration, denigrates frontline public health workers, hamstrings further streamlining of all relevant procedure especially at a time when the entire state is fighting the twin blows of Covid and Amphan. GOWB condemns untruths."
Charging both the Central and state governments with "failing" to contain the spread of coronavirus, DMK leader A Raja on Saturday said there was no proper infrastructure to test those with symptoms of the infection, PTI reported. Criticising the governments over their handling of the situation, the Nilgiris Lok Sabha MP told reporters here that arrangements were made to test those coming by air and train, but there was no proper facility to examine those coming by road, leading to an increase in cases. Asked about the proposed medical college in this tourist town, he said he has done his part while the rest was in the hands of the state government.
Nearly 600 Indian nationalss stuck in Kuwait returned home on Saturday by two special flights operated by the gulf nation, PTI reported. As many as 580 passengers who arrived hailed from different parts of Andhra Pradesh, including Nellore, and were later taken in special buses arranged by the AP government after completion of immigration and Customs formalities, they said. The stranded Indians arived by two Kuwait Airways relief flights on Saturday morning and later left for the neighbouring state, where the required Covid-19 health protocols including quarantining, would be done, the officials added.
At least 39 more people tested positive for coronavirus in Tripura, raising the tally in the state to 964, officials said on Saturday. Of the fresh cases, 27 were from Sepahijala, seven from West Tripura, three from Gomti and one each from Unakoti and South Tripura districts, they said. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, in a tweet late on Friday, said, "Out of 1,750 samples tested for Covid-19, 39 people found positive. All of them have travel history."
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope today said that the government has reduced the rates of the coronavirus tests conducted by private laboratories from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,200. Talking to news agency PTI, Tope said the lowering of rates for the tests would provide a relief to the people. "Rs 2,200 will be charged for collecting the swabs through viral transport media (VTM) from hospitals, while it would cost Rs 2,800 for collection of swab from home. Earlier, the charges were Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,200 respectively," he said. The revised rates are the maximum these labs can charge. District collectors can negotiate with private labs to reduce the rates further, Tope said.
Several minor coronavirus milestones were reported on Friday. The number of confirmed cases in the country went past the 3-lakh figure mark, Maharashtra reached one lakh infections, Delhi had more than 2,000 new cases for the first time, while UP reported more than 500 cases for the first time. Total number of infections in Bihar crossed 6,000 figure. But the most worrisome reports, which are likely to be missed, came from Ladakh and Sikkim, both regions with very small caseloads till now. Ladakh reported 104 new cases on Friday, while Sikkim reported 50. Both are unusually high numbers for those regions. Ladakh had 135 confirmed infections before Friday, while Sikkim, the last state in India to have been affected by the virus, had just 13.
Hitting out at the government over its lockdown strategy to point out the continuous spread of Covid-19 despite restrictions, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Anonymous."
As many as 241 Buddhist monks from Mongolia, who were stranded in Karnataka due to the lockdown, were flown back to their homeland in a special flight from Goa, an official said on Saturday. The flight took off from Dabolim international airport on Friday night, Goa airport director Gagan Malik told PTI. Another official said that the monks were stranded in Karnataka's Hubli due to the travel restrictions. They were brought to Goa on Friday by road. "A Mongolian Airlines flight arrived in Goa to ferry the stranded monks. All the rules related to social distancing and hygiene were meticulously followed during the departure of this group," he added.
With Covid-19 cases in India crossing the 3-lakh mark, data from Johns Hopkins University reveals that the nation has taken the longest to reach the figure among the top four worst-affected nations. India has taken 134 days to reach 3 lakh cases ever since the first infection was reported on January 30 — a medical student who had arrived in Kerala from the virus epicentre of China’s Wuhan. At present, India’s tally stands at 3,00,519, including 8,872 deaths and 1.52 lakh recoveries. India is the fourth worst-hit nation by the Covid-19 pandemic after the US, Brazil and Russia. While the US was the fastest to reach the 3-lakh figure in 73 days, Brazil took 85 days and Russia 109 days. In the hindsight, the population of all the three nations combined is approximately half of India’s.
Several markets in Beijing were shut down after six new domestically-transmitted coronavirus cases were reported, taking the tally to nine in the Chinese capital in the last three days, while 12 new infections were registered in other parts of China. China's National Health Commission said on Saturday that 18 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in the country on Friday, including six domestically-transmitted cases in Beijing. Also on Friday, seven new asymptomatic cases were reported, taking the total number of such people in quarantine to 98, it said. Officials in Beijing found the coronavirus on a chopping board of imported salmon at Xinfadi market. Following this, nine related people have been put into quarantine even though their test results were negative, Zhang Yuxi, head of the Xinfadi market, told the Beijing News on Friday.
Use the ingredients well and follow a proper method to stay protected:
Concerned over the rising number of positive cases in India and the recent migrant crisis, the Bombay High Court has said that the pandemic has revealed that despite our constitutional guarantees, a society that provides equal opportunities to all remains a 'distant dream'. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice A A Sayed also said that going by the current situation of the economy and health care, 'one can hardly think of a fair society in the near future'. It said that the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdown have hit the Indian economy and shown how 'pitiable' the condition of migrant workers in the country was.
Early evidence indicates that while males overall bear a higher burden of coronavirus, females have a higher relative-risk of Covid-19 mortality in India. Data till May 20 reveals that the overall case fatality rate (ratio of number of confirmed deaths as to the total confirmed cases) among males is 2.9 per cent, but is significantly higher among females, at 3.3 per cent. A new study reported in the Journal of Global Health Science has said these findings call for equal, if not greater, attention toward females for Covid-19 care. Researchers from Population Research Centre, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, Institute of Health Management Research, IIHMR University, Jaipur, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, USA and Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston used crowdsourced data (https://www.covid19india.org/) to provide preliminary estimates for age-sex specific Covid-19 case fatality rate (CFR) for India.
Amid the spike in the number of Covid-19 deaths in Uttar Pradesh, another concern is growing —more people below the age of 60 without known comorbidity have died of Covid-19 in the state. Despite the assessment that healthy youngsters are at lesser risk from SARS-CoV-2 and only elderly people with underlying conditions have increased risk of severe infection, the latest data from Uttar Pradesh show otherwise. Out of the 321 deaths reported in the state till Wednesday, 209 — roughly 65 per cent — were in the 21-60 years age group. In the remaining cases, 101 (31.5 per cent) of the deceased were above 60, and 11 (3.5 per cent) in the age group of 0 to 20 years. By Friday, the death toll in the state rose to 365.
A series of studies in mice of Moderna Inc’s Covid-19 lent some assurance that it may not increase the risk of more severe disease, and that one dose may provide protection against the novel coronavirus, according to preliminary data released on Friday. Prior studies on a vaccine for SARS – a close cousin to the new virus that causes Covid-19 – suggests vaccines against this type of virus might have the unintended effect of causing more severe disease when the vaccinated person is later exposed to the pathogen, especially in individuals who do not produce an adequately strong immune response. Scientists have seen this risk as a hurdle to clear before vaccines can be safely tested in thousands of healthy people.
With 11,458 fresh cases, the Covid-19 tally in India rose to 308,993 on Saturday
With restrictions on public spaces being lifted, retail outlets in the organised sector are witnessing a discernible shift in the way business is done. Retailers point to an interesting trend over the last couple of weeks. They say only a quarter of pre-lockdown customers are contributing to more than half the revenues they earned earlier. Stores are not really offering discounts to boost demand or clear inventories given the fear of crowding, and the need to maintain social distance. This suggests only purposeful shoppers are visiting stores. “Only 25-30 per cent customers (compared to pre-lockdown) are visiting us. Now these customers account for almost 60 per cent of the sales compared to last year. They are coming with a clear purpose; to buy. Window shopping is not a term to be used anymore,” says Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), a trade body representing more than 1,800 retailers across the country.
Estimating that the “90 per cent dip” in public transport ridership volumes during the lockdown is unlikely to pick up any time soon, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has called on states and Union Territories to come up with “alternative modes of transport” and “encourage and revive Non-Motorised Transport” such as bicycles. “Re-establishing the earlier level of ridership in public transport is a big challenge for cities, as people may be looking for more options, especially personal modes that allow for safer travel in the post lockdown scenario… Such dramatic and dynamic changes in demand and supply will require complementing these public transport systems with alternative modes of transit,” says the advisory, signed by Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra.
The Maharashtra government has approved the use of homeopathy medicine Arsenic Album 30 for the general population as a prophylactic against Covid-19 and as an immunity booster. A task force set up by state government has also come up with a list of Unani and Ayurvedic medicines like Agastya Haritaki, Ayush 64 and even sesame oil, as measures against Covid-19.
The state has begun the process of identifying people aged above 55 years in rural areas to administer Arsenicum Album 30. Read more here
With Gurgaon having recorded almost 3,000 cases of coronavirus, the District Magistrate Friday directed hospitals to dedicate “at least 25% of bed capacity” for coronavirus patients.
Directing all “Public/Private Hospitals” to ensure that “at least 25% of bed capacity” is “dedicated for COVID-19 cases with adequate availability of human resource and logistics”, the order adds, “The same is to be updated on an online portal from 11th June, 2020…wherein requisite information with regard to patient and no. of beds available be updated daily. This information is required to be collated for a cogent, empirical planning & establishing systematic surveillance at the District Level.”
This latter point has also been made in a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for hospitals issued by the administration on Friday. The document, in addition to the above, adds, “ “In order to ensure standardized reporting as also to avoid multiple calls from various Govt agencies/departments an online portal…has been made and each hospital given a unique ID/Password that allows daily updation of the data twice a day in a prescribed format.” State the SOP.
“If Bed with the level facilities is not available at the hospital, it would be the sole responsibility of the hospital to transfer the patient to another hospital and till that happens, the hospital would provide available medical facilities.” States the SOP.
In addition, it states that hospitals have to set up a helpline number manned by a “responsible person” round the clock, through the week, using which patients can look for solutions to any grievances.
“During the stay at Hospital or Hospital triage, if the patient feels that he is not being treated as per the protocol or admission is being denied or delayed without reasonable explanation, or there is any other grievance, he should be provided with a hospital helpline number. The hospital authorities should dedicate one line manned 24x7 by a responsible person,” states the SOP, adding that this number should be given at the time of admission and should also be displayed at the hospital.
Sakshi Dayal reports from Gurgaon
Samples collected in Gurgaon are likely to be tested faster with the district now having its own laboratory for Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing at the Civil Hospital in Sector 10.
According to officials, until now, samples were being sent for testing either to PGIMS, Rohtak, or to one of the six private laboratories authorised by the ICMR to conduct the tests in the district. Officials said samples of only “indoor patients” – those who were symptomatic – and of the deceased were sent to private labs, while all other samples were being sent to PGIMS, Rohtak. The results took 3-4 days to come.
“The major advantage of this laboratory will be a reduced waiting time for reports. The lab will be sharing the load with PGIMS, Rohtak, leading to quicker results,” said Principal Medical Officer (PMO) Deepa Sindhu. According to officials, a blind trial had been conducted at the laboratory, located at the Sector 10 Civil Hospital, earlier this month, wherein samples that had already been tested at PGIMS, Rohtak, were tested again. With the results being a “100 per cent” match to those of PGIMS, the process had moved to the state government, which gave its approval for starting the laboratory on Thursday.
Officials said that the lab can currently test only up to 92 samples a day. “The machine we have now is a manual RT-PCR. If we get an automatic RT-PCR machine, the time taken for analysis will reduce even further. If we have two machines and available manpower to run them around the clock, we can even do 300 samples a day,” said Sindhu, adding that a total of 40 samples had been tested on Thursday.
The district is, at present, collecting around 400 samples for testing per day. A total of 18,391 samples had been sent for testing until Thursday evening.
Sakshi Dayal reports from Gurgaon