Shutting of stores had not stopped alcohol sales. On the contrary, it had increased black market operations and peddling of illicit hooch, which could cause death/serious injury.
The test - called the Truenat Beta CoV test - effectively enables same-day testing, reporting, and patient isolation initiation.
A leading exporter said, there is enough stock of paracetamol in the country. At present, the US, which has become the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, needs paracetamol. He further said India would lose its credibility as the "pharmacy of the world" if it adopts protectionist policies during such a crisis.
The strident support from the hotels comes at a time when the industry is itself caught off guard with a sharp dip in both in-bound traffic from foreign markets, reduced domestic traction as well as a total shut-down of MICE business that has led the country top players by market cap to lose over half their value in just a little over a month.
Cost of the diagnostic test for Covid-19 has been fixed at Rs 4,500 per test by the government. Hospitals, however, do not think this is feasible.
The ICMR has already approved a bunch of rapid test kits for launch. The health ministry admitted that clusters of COVID-19 had appeared in many states and the risk of further spread remains very high.
In the past one week alone, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh have issued orders to take over private hospitals in some districts. Sohini Das, Vinay Umarji and Gireesh Babu report.
The test used now, called PCR (or polymerace chain reaction), uses a nasal or throat swab sample and identifies the virus. These tests take at least five hours to give results. The rapid test, on the other hand, uses a blood sample and gives results based on detecting the presence of certain antibodies that react to the coronavirus protein.
Many firms have asked those joining on April 1 to delay their on-boarding by 2-3 months. The outlook for the airline, tourism, hotel, and media industries is bleak too.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation said while the rights, safety, and well-being of trial subjects were of paramount importance, protocol amendment, deviation or modification might be necessary in some cases owing to unavoidable circumstances.
The situation is severe in North India as most of the logistics operation was manned by migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The problem with manpower is not only in courier and delivery services, but also at a shop level.
Investors say they see large companies going through the grind, as their promoters struggle with liquidity because they are levered up at the holding company level and are starting to get margin calls thanks to the crashes in the stock market, and in the next six months, the targets that will come up for PE companies will make for a harvest season like never before.
The ICMR is working on a war footing to develop the testing ecosystem -- especially for the screening blood tests. NIV, Pune, is in the process of validating antibody-based screening kits.
The telecast was viewed by 197 million Indians, higher than the Indian Premier League final which was watched by 133 million, reports Sohini Das.
'There will be two to three months of containment, and when there is normalcy, the risk is a relapse and a return to lockdowns.'
At present, the cost of testing for COVID-19 is Rs 4,500 per examination and the results are available within 24 hours. Almost 90 per cent of queries fizzle out after patients realise the cost of testing will not be borne by the government.
Medicines that fall under Schedule H category (class of prescription drugs) would be provided against a valid prescription that can be submitted either physically or over e-mail. Narcotics, psychotropics and controlled substances, though, cannot be delivered.
Retailers and multiplex operators want mall owners to either forgo rent for the period of the shutdown or lower rent in the event the mall is open but footfalls are low.
Any concerned citizen ought to start practicing hygiene by washing their hands properly and be aware of the brands that are certified.
Culinary Culture, which is spearheading the venture, will bring globally-ranked chefs to India as well as take local chefs abroad so they can work at world-ranked eateries.
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