The government, it would seem, is reserving its firepower to spend on big-ticket items that will be announced in the Budget, reports Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
The Centre, for the first time, has initiated a draft proposal for setting up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like institute of national importance for animal health, education and research in Delhi to be called the All India Institute of Veterinary Sciences (AIIVS).
The amount of financial assistance to each state and Union Territories is based on their COVID-19 caseload.
Alert to the looming threat from the 'Omicron' variant, states began to re-tighten curbs and urgently trace people who arrived from abroad in the last one month while a demand to not allow flights from the affected countries was made by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
A 31-year-old man from Kannur in Kerala tested positive for monkeypox on Monday, making it the second confirmed case of the disease in India, a Union health ministry official said.
Tope's remarks on the forthcoming drive wherein people above 18 years will become eligible for immunisation came amid reports that many people in Maharashtra are not getting the doses due to the shortage.
Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal reported their first COVID-19 variant Omicron cases on Wednesday, four more persons each tested positive in Maharashtra and Kerala.
The minister emphasised the need for people to take precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the world, especially in China.
As the country eagerly awaits an expected coronavirus vaccination drive in January, at least 125 intended beneficiaries each in four states who had registered on the Co-WIN App were on Monday sent SMSes informing them about the time and place of their 'COVID-19 vaccination' under a mock-drill to administer the shots at designated centres.
With the reporting of Omicron, a highly mutated variant of SARSCoV-2 virus and its classification as a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Union Ministry of Health revised its 'Guidelines for international arrivals', Mandaviya said in a written reply.
Wielding a broom, the prime minister took part in the drive along with fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuriya.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first phase of the pan India roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination drive at 10.30 am via video conferencing.
Former Congress MLA from Barnala, Kewal Dhillon, and former Shiormani Akali Dal MLAs Sarup Chand Singla and Mohinder Kaur Josh also joined the BJP.
"Kerala has received 73,38,806 doses of vaccine from Central government. We have provided 74,26,164 doses, even making use of the extra dose available as wastage factor in each vial. Our health workers, especially nurses have been super efficient and deserve our wholehearted appreciation!," Vijayan had tweeted.
All those above the age of 18 who have completed nine months after the administration of the second dose will be eligible for the precaution dose, it said.
The oxygen shortage was inevitable to an extent given the tsunami of Covid cases, but the problem is the lack of even basic preparation by both the Centre and states, notes Shyamal Majumdar.
The first dry run of the vaccination drive took place across 125 districts covering all States/UTs on January 2. The dry run was also conducted to familiarise the state, district, block, and hospital-level officers on all aspects of the COVID-19 rollout.
The government on Tuesday set the maximum price private hospitals can charge for the three COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the country -- Covishield Rs 780 per dose, Covaxin Rs 1,410 and Sputnik V Rs 1,145.
Stating that the fight against COVID-19 is at the final stage, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday cautioned against letting the guard down before it is completely over and requested states to enhance the vaccination coverage and motivate the over 12 crore beneficiaries who are due for their second dose to take it.
Nadda enjoys warm relations with Modi, who was for a long time in charge of the party's affairs in Himachal Pradesh.
The sources said 39 international passengers were found positive for COVID-19 out of the 6,000 tested on arrival in the last two days.
Kuwaiti authorities have identified the bodies of 45 Indians and three Filipino nationals killed in the tragic fire incident in a building housing foreign workers in the Gulf Kingdom, a top official said on Thursday.
Eight new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were reported in Maharashtra -- seven of them in Mumbai -- and none of the patients had a history of international travel, the state health department said on Tuesday.
Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha on Tuesday recorded their first cases of the Omicron variant of COVID as the count of the new strain in 14 states and union territories crossed 200 even as the Centre said there is a need to 'activate' war rooms, take 'pro-active' action and consider night curfews.
A control room has also been set up and the Strategic Health Operations Centre (SHOC) of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been activated, phone number for which is 011-23978046, a health ministry statement stated.
Four earthquakes, the strongest being of magnitude 6.2, jolted Nepal in quick succession with tremors reverberating through parts of north India including Delhi-NCR, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said on Tuesday.
The education ministry released guidelines last week for the reopening of schools, including for thorough cleaning and disinfection of the premises, flexibility in attendance, no assessment for up to three weeks and ensuring a smooth transition from home-based schooling during the coronavirus-induced lockdown to formal schooling.
The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
According to the latest data available from the Centre and the states in the night, the total number of Omicron cases in the country was around 1,200.
While the coronavirus mutated and evolved, citizens let their guard down and all this led to a spike in cases, snowballing into the second wave, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said.
The vaccine option for this age group would only be Covaxin, according to guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry on December 27.
Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases, the Centre on Monday reviewed with states and Union territories the preparedness for pandemic management and the progress of vaccination.
As many as 29,557 COVID-19 patients have recuperated in the past 24 hours.
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 patient had a medical history of prolonged illness with "uncontrolled diabetes".
The Union health ministry has also directed airport and port health officers to be vigilant, they said.
As India reached the halfway point in the 21-day coronavirus lockdown on Saturday, some states and rail and airline operators were considering measures to relax restrictions in phases from April 15. Simultaneously, the Centre has drawn up a cluster containment strategy to contain the coronavirus pandemic within a defined geographic area by early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and thus preventing its spread to new areas.
In a post on Instagram on Tuesday, Singh alleged that the administration was harassing him to prove that the child was legal.
The Union health ministry has directed states to identify all left-out people and ensure everyone gets their Covid jab through initiatives such as workplace vaccination, as part of the government's "Har Ghar Dastak" campaign. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a review meeting on vaccination progress with Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Puducherry on Monday. In a tweet, the minister said, "Spoke about augmenting Govt's #HarGharDastak vaccine campaign. Requested help from religious leaders, NGOs & political groups to speed-up vaccination coverage." Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has asked state officials that workplace vaccination should be organised for targeting people due for their doses.
Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav has exuded confidence that four labour codes, which would bring another wave of reforms, will soon be implemented as around 90 per cent of states have already come out with draft rules. In 2019 and 2020, 29 central labour laws were amalgamated, rationalised and simplified into four labour codes, viz, the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Code on Social Security, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code, 2020, noted the Survey. During an interaction, Yadav told reporters that around 90 per cent of the states have already published draft rules on four labour codes and he expects the four legislations would become operational soon.
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