The Supreme Court of India has formed a National Task Force (NTF) to address the growing concern of student suicides in higher educational institutions. The court took note of the recurring cases and directed Delhi Police to register FIRs on the complaints of families of two students who died by suicide at IIT Delhi in 2023. The NTF, chaired by former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, will prepare a comprehensive report, including the identification of causes leading to suicides, analysis of existing regulations, and recommendations for strengthening protections. The NTF will also have the authority to conduct surprise inspections of higher educational institutions and make further recommendations to ensure a holistic approach to addressing mental health concerns and eliminating suicides.
Night patrolling on hospital premises and regulating access for people to key areas are among the measures the Centre has asked states to implement to ensure the safety of medics at workplaces, following Supreme Court orders in the rape-murder case of a junior doctor in Kolkata.
During a virtual meeting with health ministers and senior officials of states in view of the recent surge in coronavirus cases in some parts of the world, he said, "The Centre and states need to work in tandem and in a collaborative spirit as was done during the previous surges for Covid prevention and management."
A man from Bihar was arrested and a juvenile was apprehended in connection with their involvement in the alleged data leak from CoWIN portal, officials said on Thursday.
The death toll climbed to 5,26,396 with 24 new fatalities.
The death toll stands at 5,30,702 with three fatalities reconciled by Kerala, data updated at 8 am by the ministry stated.
"Hospitals under the central government, state governments and UT administration, including private hospitals managing COVID patients, shall ensure that requirement of a positive test for COVID-19 virus is not mandatory for admission to a COVID health facility.
Under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, an initiative of the government, more than 40,000 Nikshay Mitra are supporting over 10.45 lakh TB patients all over the country presently, the Union health ministry said.
The death toll climbed to 5,24,974 with 20 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The death toll stands at 5,30,748 with one death reported by Uttar Pradesh and one reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
According to the health ministry, advance appointments for vaccination can be booked through http://cowin.gov.in, or one can visit their nearest vaccination center after 3 pm and get on-site registration done.
Healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors continued their cease-work protest.
The death toll stands at 5,30,745, the data updated at 8 am stated.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will arrange identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal to assist 1 crore gig workers. Presenting the Union Budget 2025-26, the finance minister also said a scheme for the socio-economic upliftment of urban workers will be implemented.
The health ministry said that 5,22,149 deaths have been reported so far in the country.
The ICMR-National Institute of Virology has been regularly undertaking studies to understand the protective efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against emerging variants.
The death toll climbed to 5,28,943 with 20 fatalities, which include 13 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated by the Union health ministry at 8 am stated.
As per Dr Vardhan, there are 4,362 COVID-19 care centres across the country where 3,46,856 patients with mild or very mild symptoms can be kept.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,36,38,844.
'Pick up momentum and find opportunities from an intelligence-sharing standpoint.'
The World Health Organisation on Friday said that it is in touch with the Uzbek authorities about the reported deaths of 18 children after consuming contaminated cough syrup made by Noida-based Marion Biotech.
The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.74 per cent, the health ministry said.
Personnel to be deployed in election duty will be included in the frontline workers category.
The state had reported 6,421 cases this year, of which 6,146 were reported only in September, three times the 1,896 registered in September last year.
The meeting comes amid rising global concerns over a new strain of the coronavirus which the World Health Organisation has named 'Omicron' and classified as a highly transmissible virus of concern.
The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.54 per cent, the health ministry said.
The ministry said this will also ensure early detection, isolation and hospitalisation of such "false" negative cases. It has also been reiterated in the joint letter that while the RAT is being used to increase access and availability of testing in the field, RT-PCR remains the gold standard of COVID tests, the ministry said.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
The Union health ministry on Friday said license has been given to five more manufacturers for production of Amphotericin-B, used in the treatment of black fungus, and they will start producing 1,11,000 vials of the drug per month from July.
The ministry on Sunday wrote to the Delhi government, saying the bodies of suspected COVID-19 cases should be handed over to their relatives without waiting for laboratory confirmation but the mortal remains should be treated as per the government guidelines.
The death toll has climbed to 5,30,528 with eight fatalities which includes three reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The death toll climbed to 5,28,799 with 21 fatalities which includes 16 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The Union health ministry has also directed airport and port health officers to be vigilant, they said.
The death toll due to the disease stands at 5,30,696 with one fatality being reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The health ministry sources said even if there is a wave, deaths and hospitalisation will be very low.
The tenure of the incumbent AIIMS director, Dr Randeep Guleria, which was set to end on March 24, was extended by three months.
The death toll climbed to 5,28,139 with 18 fresh fatalities, which included two deaths reconciled by Kerala, data updated by the ministry at 8 am stated.
The death toll has climbed to 5,30,500 with 14 fatalities which includes five deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The death toll climbed to 5,30,479 with 18 fatalities which includes 15 deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The development comes after Prakash Kumar Singh, the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at SII, informed the Union health ministry that the firm would be able to supply 20.29 crore doses of Covishied in the month of September.
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