The shocking death of 53 infants in the last 11 days at Sishu Bhavan in Cuttack have raised questions about poor infrastructure and shortage of doctors in major hospitals in Odisha.
The first part of the study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed that 0.73 per cent of the population surveyed showed evidence of past exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and that urban slum population was the most vulnerable to the infection, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said at a press conference.
Annapurna Devi, Subhas Sarkar and Rajkumar Ranjan Singh will be the new ministers of state for education.
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The death toll also saw a record single-day increase of over 350 fatalities to move closer to the 8,500-mark, more than one-third of which have been recorded in 11 days since June 1 -- the day that marked the beginning of a phased exit from most restrictions imposed under a nationwide lockdown with effect from March 25.
State Health Minister K K Shailaja told reporters that the government has declared the epidemic as a 'state calamity' to take all necessary steps to ensure that the outbreak is effectively controlled. A medical bulletin issued by the government said the health status of all the three students, who tested positive for the virus, was 'satisfactory'.
The chief minister raised these issues when Modi called him up to discuss the state's COVID-19 situation and the measures being taken to tackle the crisis, according to an official statement issued here.
These dedicated COVID-19 facilities will have a capacity of 1,06,719 isolation beds and 12,024 ICU beds reserved for such patients in the country.
The government said there was no immediate plan to extend the 21-day lockdown period, which entered its sixth day on Monday, while the Indian Army dismissed as "fake" social media posts about a possible emergency declaration next month.
Two kinds of diagnostic tests are being currently used in India -- RT-PCR test and rapid antibodies test -- as per the global health norms.
The latest move comes as countries, including India, are initiating measures to tackle the spread of rumours, fake news and misinformation on social media platforms.
The NHRC said that it has received several complaints regarding the ongoing farmers' protest.
Mann stares at a twin-headed monster: Resuscitating the state's debilitated public-sector enterprises and controlling the spiralling debt to keep the state machinery and his poll-fuelled populist schemes running.
The Bombay high court on Friday said the Union government should look at the door-to-door vaccination programme carried out 'successfully' by Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir, and take a 'sound decision' on its present policy that states door-to-door vaccination was not possible.
Many medical experts feel that the nation would have fared far worse without the lockdown.
The decision to increase the gap between two doses of Covishield from 4-6 weeks to 12-16 weeks was based on scientific decision and there was no dissenting voice among the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation members.
Satara, Sangli, Panvel have stopped vaccination while Buldhana has only one day's vaccine doses left in stock, said Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
'A decision on the IPL matches against the backdrop of coronavirus to be held in Mumbai will be taken at the state cabinet meeting on Wednesday.'
Some individuals or small families were still 'being pulled through the gates somehow' as of Saturday, CNN reported citing a source familiar with the situation.
"Despite the high number of cases reported so far, we have been able to contain the spread to under 2 pc of population," said Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal.
The military is 'totally prepared to stand up to the demands made by the government and the people.'
Telecom industry body COAI has approached the information technology ministry for removal of fake and misleading messages from social media platforms like Facebook, Whatsapp and Twitter linking spread of COVID-19 to 5G technology. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said the claims linking 5G with coronavirus are baseless as 5G networks have not yet been installed in the country and even 5G trials are yet to be started by the telecom operators. In a letter dated May 15 to MeitY additional secretary Rajendra Kumar, COAI director general S P Kochhar said: "To safeguard the national interest, we request your good office to kindly instruct all the social media platforms such as Facebook, Watsapp, Twitter, etc, to remove all such posts and misleading campaigns from their platforms on an urgent basis." People have been sharing audio and video messages on social media platforms in which 5G towers are being blamed for rise in casualties across the country even though none of the companies have installed 5G technology anywhere in India.
Railway officials also indicated that possible 'sabotage' and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.
Old ideas contained in the heads of old economists still dominate. That's not good, asserts T C A Srinivasa Raghavan.
The military is mobilising to play a central role in holding patients exposed to the coronavirus.
Replying to the notice issued, the Central government said that ex-gratia amount cannot be paid due to financial constraints and other factors.
While hearing the matter on December 1, the top court had observed that once posters or signages are pasted outside the homes of COVID patients, the people affected are treated as "untouchables", reflecting a different "ground reality".
Their implementation is expected to create investment owing to improving ease of doing business as well as initiating pro-worker measures.
The Centre directed Uttar Pradesh and Bihar on Sunday to prevent dumping of dead bodies in the Ganga and its tributaries, and focus on their safe disposal and a dignified cremation after corpses were seen floating in these rivers following a spurt in the number of coronavirus cases.
Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Santosh Gangwar, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, BJP national general-secretary Arun Singh and party MP Maneka Gandhi also visited the hospital to know about his wellbeing.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia pledged to donate his sixth months' salary towards Haryana's COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Dr Kanchan Sanyal, health and wellness advisor at Columbia Pacific Communities, a healthcare group, shares some crucial tips to stay safe.
India's official COVID-19 tally on Wednesday was 4,18,480 (4.18 lakh), the third highest in the world after the US and Brazil.
E-commerce companies have said they are well prepared and working closely with delivery partners to ensure smooth and safe delivery of packages in Maharashtra where the government has announced a slew of restrictions, including night curfews and weekend lockdown to control the spike in COVID-19 cases. However, there are concerns around the mandate for delivery staff to be either vaccinated or carry a negative RT-PCR report. According to the health ministry data, till 8 am on Tuesday Maharashtra's COVID-19 caseload was 452,777 with an addition of 20,881 from the previous day. In an order on Sunday, the Maharashtra government said all personnel belonging to home delivery services will have to be vaccinated and in case they are not vaccinated, they will have to carry a negative RT-PCR report.
Ahead of India's annual budget presentation next week, IMF's chief economist Gita Gopinath has favoured the extension of the pandemic support measures, thrust on investment in infrastructure and expanding health sectors programmes like Ayushman Bharat, and a very credible divestment path for commercially viable companies. The Indian government has provided a lot of schemes for small and medium enterprises, most of which is in the form of liquidity support, Gopinath told PTI on Tuesday. "And you want to revisit it and see how effectively that is working and see whether additional support may need to be provided," she said while responding to a question on her recommendations to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, ahead of her presentation of the annual Union Budget on February 1. It would be a good time for banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to raise capital given the attractiveness of financing conditions at this point, she said.
Apart from outlining its future plans for the development of Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led party also referred to poll promises made by the rival Grand Alliance, including approving 10 lakh jobs, and sought to know from where would they manage Rs 5 lakh crore additional money that will be required for fulfilling their 'lofty' announcements.
The first tranche of 50 expected to arrive soon as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
Babar named Pakistan Test captain, takes charge of all three formats.
The average rate of COVID-19 vaccination in the country has been 10.8 million per week. At that rate, it will take India till December 2024 to complete two billion doses.
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