VA-SenaSeptember 21, 2020
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2min3470

“The second round of countrywide serosurvey led by ICMR has been successfully completed. The final phase analysis of the survey is now underway and will offer a comparison with the results of the first survey #IndiaFightsCOVID19,” the ICMR said in a tweet.

Research Body ICMR

New Delhi [India]: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Sunday informed that the second round of the countrywide serosurvey for COVID-19 has been successfully completed and the final phase analysis of the survey is now underway.

“The second round of countrywide serosurvey led by ICMR has been successfully completed. The final phase analysis of the survey is now underway and will offer a comparison with the results of the first survey #IndiaFightsCOVID19,” the ICMR said in a tweet.

According to the Council, the containment zones, that refer to a specific geographical area where positive cases of coronavirus are found are dynamic in nature and they do not fit into nationally representative sampling

 

 


VA-SenaSeptember 21, 2020
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3min3218

Raipur, which is among the worst-hit districts, has been reporting a high number of infections.

Raipur-Underlockdown

 

Ten districts in Chhattisgarh, including state capital Raipur, have been put under lockdown from today amid spike in COVID-19 cases in these districts. The state capital — which has been reporting 900-1,000 daily cases — has been declared a containment zone.

Apart from Raipur, nine other districts including Jashpur, Baloda Bazaar, Janjgir-Champa, Durg, Bhilai, Dhamtari, Bilaspur,  Bilaspur, will remain under lockdown till September 28, according to the government order.

Raipur, which is among the worst-hit districts, has been reporting a high number of infections.

“Raipur district has so far reported over 26,000 COVID-19 cases and 900-1000 cases are being recorded daily. To break the chain of transmission, it has become necessary to declare the entire district a containment zone. Inter-district borders in Raipur will remain sealed during this duration,” the order issued by Raipur Collector S Bharathi Dasan said.

All Central, state and semi government as well as private offices will remain closed, though government staff engaged in prevention and control of COVID-19 will continue to work as earlier, it said. No public meeting or rally will be allowed during the period, it said.

“All shops and commercial establishments, including grocery shops will be closed. Medical shops will be allowed to remain open while home deliveries of medicines will be given priority. Milk shops will be open from 6am to 8am and then 5pm to 6:30pm,” an official said

Petrol pumps will provide fuel only to government vehicles, private vehicles engaged in medical emergency and ambulances. LPG cylinder distributors are allowed to take orders only via telephone and provide home delivery.

Essential services, like health, electricity and water supply, sanitation works and emergency services have been kept out of the purview of restrictions, and those needing to move out of the district will need an e-pass, an official said.


VA-SenaSeptember 18, 2020
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3min3138

The health ministry’s Covid-19 dashboard showed there were 1,017,754 active cases and the country’s death toll has gone up to 84,372.

96,424 new Covid-19

India’s coronavirus disease (Covid-19) tally surged to 5,214,677 after 96,424 new cases and 1,174 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours from across the country, according to the Union health ministry on Friday.

The health ministry’s Covid-19 dashboard showed there were 1,017,754 active cases and the country’s death toll has gone up to 84,372.

Close to half or 48.45% of the active cases of Covid-19 are concentrated in three states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the ministry said on Thursday. Along with Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, these states contribute nearly 60% of the total active cases in the country, it added.

According to the health ministry’s dashboard at 8am, 87,472 Covid-19 patients recovered between Thursday and Friday morning. With this, the number of recoveries in India has climbed to 4,112,551 and the recovery rate to 78.86%.

India has recorded more than 82,000 recoveries for three days in a row now and the recovered cases exceed active ones by more than 3 million, according to the ministry’s data.

“These high levels of recovery have resulted in a 100% increase in the number of recovered cases in the past 30 days. Maharashtra (17,559) contributed more than one-fifth of the new recoveries (21.22%) while the States of Andhra Pradesh (10,845), Karnataka (6,580), Uttar Pradesh (6,476) and Tamil Nadu (5,768) contributed 35.87% of the new recoveries,” the health ministry said on Thursday.

It added that these states together account for 57.1% of total new recoveries.

Maharashtra accounted for more than 40% of the new deaths related to the coronavirus disease. The following four States of Uttar Pradesh (86), Punjab (78), Andhra Pradesh (64), West Bengal (61) contributed 25.5% of the fatalities in the last 24 hours, the ministry had said on Thursday.

There are more than 30 million coronavirus disease cases worldwide and 944,887 people have succumbed to the viral disease, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Covid-19 data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


VA-SenaSeptember 18, 2020
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3min3487

At least half of the 7,033 Covid-19 cases and 115 deaths recorded in Gujarat’s Rajkot have been reported in the past month, official data shows.

Gujarat health department data shows that the number of Covid 19 cases increased from 3,289 on August 16 to 7,033 on September 16. The number of deaths rose to 115 from 54 in the same period.

healthcare-covid-19

According to the official data, Rajkot’s case fatality rate is the lowest in the state but some recent incidents have raised suspicion of there being some discrepancy in the data on the number of deaths. A local Gujarati daily in Rajkot reported on September 3 that 32 bodies were cremated/buried in Rajkot city the previous day as per Covid-19 protocols but only three deaths were recorded in Gujarat’s Covid health bulletin.

Rajkot municipal commissioner Udit Mishra denied hiding real death figures and said that a death audit committee determines the cause of deaths of Covid patients.

“Some people have confused routine deaths with Covid deaths. This may be because suspected Covid patients are cremated following the Covid protocol when they die. Covid death figures are decided by the audit committee,” said Mishra.

Former president of the Rajkot medical association (RMA) Dr Chetan Lalseta said: “One should not attribute all deaths to Rajkot district. Many terminally ill patients coming from the neighbouring districts also contribute to the high death numbers in Rajkot.”

Still, the situation turned so bad that the Gujarat government had to rush its health secretary Jayanti Ravi with a team of health experts and doctors to the home town of chief minister Vijay Rupani on August 31 to bring the situation under control.

“All efforts are being made to reduce fatalities in Rajkot district. Around 15 doctors from other districts would be stationed here and additional ventilators would be provided,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying on August 31.

As the cases have risen exponentially, residents have gone into isolation.

“We had no option but to go for a self-imposed complete lockdown as cases were rising very fast and lockdown is the only way to control the chain of transmission,” said Suresh Kumar, communications in-charge of the Rajkot wholesale textile merchants association.

He said the voluntary lockdown is almost complete with essential good shops opening for limited hours every day. “There is a huge fear among people as the virus is spreading very fast. People are not coming out of their homes voluntarily now,” he said

 

 

 


VA-SenaSeptember 18, 2020
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4min3164

 

Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva, Switzerland: Too many doctors and nurses are paying the ultimate price while battling Covid-19, the World Health Organization said Thursday as it launched a charter aiming to boost safety for health workers.

The UN health agency said that the pandemic had exposed health workers and their families to “unprecedented levels of risk”.

While the coronavirus crisis has taken a heavy toll overall, data from many countries and regions show that healthcare workers have been infected at a far higher rate than the general population.

Health workers represent less than three percent of the population in most countries and less than two percent in low- and middle income countries, but account for around 14 percent of all Covid-19 cases reported to the WHO.

In some countries, the proportion has been as high as 35 percent, the body said.

On Wednesday, the International Council of Nurses said thousands of nurses had likely died in the pandemic, pointing to numbers from just 44 countries showing 1,097 deaths by mid-August.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded all of us of the vital role health workers play to relieve suffering and save lives,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing.

“We all owe health workers an enormous debt, not just because they have cared for the sick, but because they risk their own lives in the line of duty.”

The risks are not only physical. The WHO pointed to “extraordinary levels of psychological stress” on health workers, who have been asked to work long, draining hours battling Covid-19, living in constant fear of being infected.

Many are also living separated from their families, and facing social stigma amid fear they are carrying the virus. – Depression, anxiety –

These strains are increasing the likelihood of depression among medical professionals, who were already more at risk of suicide than the general public in a number of countries prior to the pandemic.

One in four health care workers surveyed for a recent study said they were struggling with depression and anxiety amid the pandemic, while one in three said they had suffered insomnia, the WHO said.

In its charter presented Thursday, the WHO emphasised the legal and moral obligations governments have to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of health workers.

The charter among other things calls on countries to develop programmes that better protect the health and safety of medical workers, and to combine them with patient safety policies.

It also calls for better policies for protecting health workers from violence in the workplace, and for improving access to mental health support.

And it demands that minimum standards for patient safety, infection prevention and control, as well as for occupational safety are implemented across all care facilities.

Access to personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as sufficient training in how to use such equipment safely should also be guaranteed, it said.


VA-SenaSeptember 18, 2020
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2min3378

“During the period of lockdown from March 24, 2020 to September 13, 2020, the district and subordinate courts across the country have disposed 15,32,334 cases,” Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

15.32 Lakh Cases Disposed

New Delhi: The district and subordinate courts across the country have disposed of over 15.32 lakh cases since the lockdown was announced in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 24, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the announcement of the nationwide lockdown, directions were issued from time to time by the respective high courts to the courts under their administrative jurisdiction for hearing of the urgent civil and criminal matters in the virtual or physical mode, depending on local conditions.

“During the period of lockdown from March 24, 2020 to September 13, 2020, the district and subordinate courts across the country have disposed 15,32,334 cases,” he said.

Mr Prasad said most of the high courts have further advised the district and subordinate courts that where there is no shutdown or lockdown and that they may resume normal functioning virtually or physically and take up all kinds of cases, including those pertaining to undertrial prisoners, civil cases, matrimonial disputes, child custody matters, recording of evidence and other old matters.

 

 


VA-SenaSeptember 15, 2020
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1min2880

The government should help the aviation sector, says Nationalist Congress Party MP Praful Patel

Airline Support-Covid

New Delhi: Airlines are financially stressed due to COVID-19 and need support from the government, said Nationalist Congress Party MP Praful Patel today.

“We have to help the aviation sector. Airlines are financially stressed due to COVID-19 and need support,” said former Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel during a discussion on Aircraft (Amendment) Bill 2020 in the Rajya Sabha.

Stating the importance of civil aviation sector in the country, he said: “Four to five per cent people of the country board flights one time in a year. If this number goes up to 10-15 per cent, we would need a huge increase in the number of airports and aircraft.”


VA-SenaSeptember 15, 2020
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3min3336

Rahul Gandhi has been attacking the centre over the migrants’ plight in his tweets, accusing the government of a poor handling of the outbreak.

Rahul Gandhi Taunts PM Over Migrants

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is abroad for his mother Sonia Gandhi’s health check-up, this morning tweeted a sharp retort to the government’s response in parliament on Monday about the data of migrants’ deaths during coronavirus lockdown.

On Monday, as the 18-day monsoon session of parliament began amid pandemic, over five months after the previous session, Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that centre has no data about the death of migrants during the lockdown that began in March.

“The Modi government does not know how many migrants died during lockdown… how many lost jobs. If you didn’t count… did nobody die? The sad part is that the government does not care about the loss of lives. The world saw them dying… Modi government was unaware,” Mr Gandhi, 50, tweeted in Hindi.

Lakhs of migrants were left jobless in March when the government declared one of the strictest lockdowns in the world to check the spread of coronavirus. Many of them died while trying to cover journey of hundreds of kilometres, back to their villages from cities, on foot as the transport services remained shut. Heartbreaking visuals had captured their plight.

Mr Gandhi has been attacking the centre over the migrants’ plight in his tweets, accusing the government of a poor handling of the outbreak.

In May, when he met some migrants camping at a flyover in Delhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman derided the move, calling it “draamabazi”. “Instead of wasting the time of migrants and sitting with them, walk along with them and carry their suitcase. In Congress-ruled states, request for more trains so that more migrants can reach home,” she had said.

Today, Mr Gandhi, the Congress MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, yet again launched a fresh attack after the government’s statement in parliament.


VA-SenaSeptember 12, 2020
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3min3418

The United States withdrew from the WHO this spring, accusing the body of mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic and delaying launch of a global alert.

UN Adopts Coronavirus

US supported only by Israel in a vote against a UN resolution for a Covid-19 response.

United Nations, United States: The United States was supported only by Israel Friday in a vote against a UN resolution for a “comprehensive and coordinated response” to the Covid-19 pandemic, a text that included recognition of the WHO’s leadership role.

The measure, which has been negotiated since May, was adopted by an overwhelming majority of 169 countries out of 193, with Ukraine and Hungary abstaining.

The text, called an omnibus resolution because it covers multiple aspects of the pandemic, “acknowledges the key leadership role of WHO and the fundamental role of the United Nations system in catalyzing and coordinating the comprehensive global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The United States withdrew from the WHO this spring, accusing the body of mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic and delaying launch of a global alert.

The text “calls for intensified international cooperation and solidarity to contain, mitigate and overcome the pandemic and its consequences.”

And it supports UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call in March for a ceasefire between countries in order to better facilitate the fight against the pandemic — a request that has been little followed.

The text additionally calls for “the urgent removal of unjustified obstacles,” meaning sanctions, in order to create better access to products used in combatting the virus.

It requests nations to maintain food and agricultural supply chains and encourages synching economic recovery strategies to promote sustainable development and combat climate change.

Ahead of the vote, the United States unsuccessfully attempted to remove a paragraph on protecting women in the area of sexual and reproductive health, over objections about abortion.

 


VA-SenaSeptember 12, 2020
COVID-19-News-Adar-Poonawallas.jpg

4min3974

Coronavirus: The Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) has also directed the Serum Institute of India (SII) to increase the safety monitoring of the subjects who have already been vaccinated as part of the trial and submit the plan and report.

New recruitment for the Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials of the Oxford University’s Covishield vaccine being manufactured in India by the Serum Institute of India, along with pharma major#

, has to be suspended till further orders, country’s drug controller DCGI has said.

The Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) has also directed the Serum Institute of India (SII) to increase the safety monitoring of the subjects who have already been vaccinated as part of the trial and submit the plan and report.

On Thursday, the Serum Institute, headed by Adar Poonawalla, said it would pause Phase 3 trials that were to begin in India next week after AstraZeneca stopped vaccine trials across four nations as a precautionary measure. The pausing of trials by the pharma giant was linked to a UK volunteer showing potentially adverse symptoms.

“We are reviewing the situation and pausing India trials till AstraZeneca restarts the trials,” read a statement from the Serum Institute, which was still doing the groundwork for the trial including listing volunteers.

The Phase 2 of the human trials of the vaccine started in Maharashtra’s Pune on August 27. It is not clear, however, how many volunteers received the dosage. The Phase 3 of the trials was set to begin next week with 1,600 volunteers across 17 different sites.

A show-cause notice was sent to the Serum Institute on Wednesday by the DGCI which questioned why it was continuing the trials in India though it has been stopped elsewhere. The DCGI also questioned why it has not received a report detailing the symptoms of the patient in the UK.

The drug firm, replying to the notice, said there have been no safety issues so far. “India’s Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) has noted no safety concerns from the first dose and seven days post-vaccination safety data,” the SII said in its reply.

The DSMB “recommended pausing further enrollment into the study until ongoing investigations of the issues reported in the UK study is completed and UK’s Data Safety Monitoring Board is satisfied that it doesn’t pose any safety concerns,” the Serum Institute further said in its reply.

After examining the reply, the DGCI ordered suspension of new recruitment for Phase 2 and Phase 3 human trials until further orders. The drug regulator had granted the permission for the trials on August 2.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief scientist on Thursday said AstraZeneca’s pause of an experimental vaccine for the coronavirus after the illness of a participant is a “wake-up call”.  A

“This is a wake-up call to recognise that there are ups and downs in clinical development and that we have to be prepared,” Soumya Swaminathan told a virtual briefing from Geneva, news agency Reuters reported.