In this exclusive interview with Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier from Jaipur, Dr Gupta talks about the study and what the urban population to do to fight hypertension.
'Almost 70 per cent production time of a vaccine is dedicated to quality control, which is done through several hundred tests.'
Experts feel the figures are modest for a count of the size of 1.3 billion and "much more number of tests" are needed to combat COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
Winning against Covid means thinking ahead, at least six months, putting in place the likely scenarios of what might happen, and then planning. Planning is the role of the government. Having planned, it should communicate what and why. Then, get out of the way, recommends Naushad Forbes.
It took 110 days for the COVID-19 cases in the country to reach one lakh and just 59 days more to go past the nine-lakh mark.
Addressing a daily media briefing to give updates on the COVID-19 situation in the country, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said most of the Markaz event-related cases have been found in states with high burden of the disease, such as Tamil Nadu (84 per cent), Telengana (79 per cent), Delhi (63 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (59 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (61 per cent).
The turning point in his career was undoubtedly Nepal where he was sent as ambassador and acted with a cool head.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases with 74, including three foreigners, followed by Kerala at 52 including seven foreign nationals.
'We know that there are new variants which are more transmissible. We know that human behaviour determines the spread of this virus. Therefore, it is not very relevant if we declare whether the second wave is over or not'
'Until the case load starts dropping, we will have to keep up the current level of prevention activities.'
Fresh guidelines were issued by the government on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, with the Union home ministry barring all kinds of public transport and prohibiting opening of public places during this period.
A 40-year-old man who was a volunteer in the third phase of the ''Covidshield'' vaccine trial in Chennai has alleged serious side effects, including a virtual neurological breakdown and impairment of cognitive functions.
Vardhan stated the government is taking full precautions in human trials of vaccines and the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 under the chairmanship of Dr V K Paul, member-health, NITI Aayog, is drawing up a detailed strategy on how to immunize the majority of the population.
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.
In view of the surge in the coronavirus cases, a night curfew will be enforced in Bengaluru and six other cities in Karnataka from 10 pm to 5 am starting Saturday, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announced.
The government said it had been evaluating the implementation of the decentralised model of vaccination since its launch on May 1 and that the decision to centralise it again was taken after detailed deliberations and following requests by some states, amid claims by the Opposition that the policy change was due to the Supreme Court's intervention.
'You cannot fight a disease as complex as COVID-19 without a carefully calibrated, localised response.'
Describing the virus as "dhoort" and "bahurupia" in Hindi, Modi in an interaction with district magistrates and field officials also underlined concerns expressed in various quarters about the threats it poses to the youth and children.
Three new categories -- all asymptomatic healthcare workers working in non-COVID hospitals/areas of COVID hospitals/blocks, asymptomatic frontline workers such as surveillance workers deployed in containment zones and paramilitary/police personnel involved in COVID-19 related activities -- have now been included.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen took to Twitter to say "Greetings India. Everyone is united in the fight against coronavirus and that everyone should listen to their government's instructions and stay at home for a few days. This is time to be smart."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he had a "very warm meeting" with Pope Francis and discussed a wide range of issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge posed by climate change, with the head of the Roman Catholic church and also invited the Pontiff to visit India at an early date.
There are worrying signs that the resolve to continue adhering to the dos and don'ts of the times -- physical distancing, wearing masks and maintaining hygiene protocol - is flagging. This recklessness, more evident ahead of Diwali, may lead to a resurgence in novel coronavirus infections and stall the progress in curbing the disease, the experts said.
The Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday that majority of the imported cases are the Chinese nationals returning from abroad.
The Bombay high court on Thursday asked the Union government to reconsider its stand that door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination was not feasible, saying it must consider the plight of old people and the disabled.
China has given conditional approval for a single dose COVID-19 vaccine, touted to be a rival to Johnson & Johnson's one-jab shot cleared by the United States drug regulator on Sunday.
While the new COVID cases and total active cases are going up, the administration is focusing on testing, contact tracing and treatment.
The ambitious Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10 crore poor families.
'In countries like Japan, one out of 11.7 tests turns out to be positive, which is among the highest in the world. Italy tests 6.7 persons for one positive test while the USA tests 5.3 persons and the United Kingdom 3.4'
Unlike the race to buy airwaves by telecom companies, airports by infrastructure companies and city gas networks by energy companies, the race to develop super apps by consumer-facing companies in India has not brushed up against any regulatory issues. Officials at the ministry of electronics and information technology and at other regulators are happy they do not have to meddle in who among the Tata group, Reliance Industries Ltd, Flipkart or Paytm will manage to build an app that sweeps in customers. Unlike separate apps a customer uses on her mobile to order groceries, buy food or airline tickets or just make payments, a super app can perform all these functions.
The ministry of home affairs has made the use of Aarogya Setu app mandatory for all employees, both private and public, and pinned the responsibility for compliance on the head of respective organisations.
A sense of disquiet prevailed in Beijing as officials announced the capital's first death from the deadly virus, a grim reminder that the epidemic has begun to take toll outside Hubei province.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun, an official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, called for the Summer Games to be cancelled in an editorial
'If you delay the diagnosis even by 24 hours, in that 24 hours individuals would have affected more people.' 'So, contact tracing, testing, isolation, quarantine needs to continue.'
The first two special flights that will operate from Thursday to evacuate Indians stranded in the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic
A PTI tally of figures announced by states and UTs, as of 9.30 pm, showed the total number of confirmed cases having risen to close to 2.1 lakh and the death toll to approximately 6,000, showing an increase of nearly 9,000 cases since Tuesday evening and at least 273 more fatalities in this time period.
This will help expand the distribution channels, said Subhash Chandra Khuntia, chairman of the insurance regulatory and development authority of India.
The NPR data can be used for transparent and efficient delivery of social benefits by linking it with various beneficiary oriented government schemes, they said.
Fresh guidelines issued by the Union home ministry on Wednesday permit industries operating in rural areas to run from April 30 with strict social distancing norms.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories have agreed to cooperate on clinical trials and distribution of Sputnik V vaccine in India, RDIF and Dr Reddy's said in a joint statement.
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