Pant, a 1991-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre, is currently secretary in the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr V K Paul said the pandemic situation in the country worsened with a sharp rise in cases and a large part of the population is still susceptible to the virus.
Many people are not maintaining social distance and do not wear masks, exposing themselves to the infection, experts say.
The Centre on Thursday advised states slated to hold assembly polls in the next few months to ramp up COVID vaccination exponentially to protect the vulnerable population given the steady rise in cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in India.
These seven countries are South Africa, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.
The Centre has asked Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to ensure that health facilities are stocked with essential medicines and supplies to meet any exigencies in the wake of Cyclone Yaas which is expected to make a landfall later this month.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said future decisions on COVID-19 SOPs will be taken in consultation with the Union Health Ministry and the state Task Force, amid a difference between the Centre and the state over guidelines for international travellers in the wake of the new variant of SARS-CoV2.
After the Maharashtra government revised the guidelines on quarantine for international passengers in view of concerns over the Omicron variant, the Centre on Wednesday asked the state to align its order with the SOPs issued by the Union Health Ministry.
The presence of spike protein facilitates a virus' entry into the host cell and is responsible for making it transmissible and causing infection.
Such persons are expected to obtain the advice of their doctor before deciding to avail of the precaution dose or third dose.
Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan held a review meeting with states and Union Territories on Tuesday and advised them to ramp up testing for early identification and management of cases.
The civil aviation ministry had last week suspended all flights between the European country and India from December 23 to December 31 as a mutated variant of the coronavirus was detected there.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a three-month extension in Sudan's service, beyond the date of her superannuation, i.e. April 30, a personnel ministry order said. She will continue to function as the secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare during the period, it said.
The second dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers from February 13, the Centre said on Thursday, highlighting that 45 per cent of them have been inoculated so far.
'We can't sit back clutching our memories of the riots. The country, the future of our children are more important.' Jyoti Punwani reports on an unusual election meeting in Mumbai.
"We are very worried about the rise in cases in Maharashtra. Don't take this virus for granted. It can come up unexpectedly. If we have to remain free of this virus, COVID-appropriate behaviour, containment strategy as well as vaccination has to be brought in," Paul said.
Responding to a question on the Rajasthan government's claim that there is a shortage in COVID-19 vaccine stock, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the central government regularly monitors the availability of vaccine supply in all states and UTs and their consumption on a daily basis.
The govt said there are 18 states and UTs in the country where the total number of active cases are between 5,000 and 50,000, while there are only four states with more than 50,000 active cases.
'If there are any symptoms/variants of concern, states can prepare accordingly.'
While some states are carrying out vaccination twice a week some others are carrying out four or more than four times a week.
Kerala, West Bengal and Delhi are proceeding towards a third peak.
Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on the basis of a seven-day rolling average the positivity rate of COVID-19, which was 11 per cent during the first week of August, has come down to 8 per cent now.
As a proactive step, the government has already placed nations, where this VoC has been found, in the category of 'at risk' countries for additional follow-up measures of international travellers coming into lndia from these destinations, he said in a letter dated November 27.
OSD in the health ministry Rajesh Bhushan said that herd immunity is a kind of indirect protection from an infectious disease like COVID-19. It happens only when a population becomes immune either through vaccination or immunity is developed through a previous infection, he said.
The average daily recovered cases are now more than 55,000 and active cases are just 25 per cent of the total COVID cases.
A vacation bench comprising Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Justice Shree Prakash Singh was hearing separate petitions of Kuldeep Tiwari and Naveen Dhawan seeking a ban on the movie.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, however, did not specify when its implementation is likely to start. He said that he has discussed the issue with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Union Health Secretary said that priority groups have been decided who are vulnerable to mortality.
Giving details of coronavirus situation in the country, Bhushan said the previous highest surge has already been crossed and the trend is going upward and that is a cause for worry and that is something they continuously share with the states and UTs and try to help them tackle the pandemic in a more effective manner.
The Centre has said that on-site registration for COVID-19 inoculation for healthcare and frontline workers aged 18 to 44 years will now only be available at government COVID vaccination centres.
NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said, "COVID-19 situation is turning from bad to worse. In last few weeks, especially in some states, it is a huge cause for worry. No state, no part of the country or district should be complacent."
The move comes in view of rising cases of the infection, weekly positivity rates and weekly deaths in some districts.
With talks underway between the central government and Zydus Cadila over the pricing of the COVID-19 vaccine ZyCov-D, the pharma company is learnt to have proposed a price of Rs 1,900 for its three-dose jab that can be given to those above 12 years of age.
The panel was informed that the economic impact of the second wave of viral infection was "asynchronous in its onset and wider in its spread particularly in rural hinterland", a source said.
Apart from the 1.1 crore doses of Covishield being procured from the Serum Institute of India, 55 lakh doses of indigenously developed Covaxin were being obtained from Bharat Biotech, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press conference.
Amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cautioned against complacency and directed officials to strengthen the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports.
He urged people not to panic and clarified that there was no change in the guidelines for international air travel so far.
In a letter to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted that a few states were reporting a higher contribution to India's caseload, indicating the possibility of a localised spread of the infection.
The seven states are Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
'There can be potential hotspots for spread of infection like industrial clusters with closed work environment, people coming from high prevalence areas, other high density areas such as slums, prisons, old age homes etc'
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