Long queues were seen at outpatient department ticket counters in government hospitals, where senior doctors joined their junior colleagues in the protest.
The unrelenting heatwave sweeping large parts of the country has claimed at least 110 lives and left over 40,000 people grappling with suspected heatstroke between March 1 and June 18 this year, health ministry sources said on Thursday.
Although no fresh arrests were reported in the case, the Central Bureau of Investigation continued with its questioning of top officials of the RG Kar Hospital.
Amid rising incidents of black fungus in the national capital, the Delhi government on Thursday declared it an epidemic with Lt Governor Anil Baijal issuing regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act to contain and manage cases of the deadly mucormycosis in the city.
The elite healthcare facility in central Delhi had sent multiple SOS messages last week amid a severe shortage of oxygen as the lives of hundreds of patients at the facility hung by a thread.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also announced that during weekdays, government employees, barring those engaged in essential services, will be asked to work from home, while private offices will remain open with 50 percent capacity.
Others taxed at 5, 12, 18, 28%
Fortis Healthcare on Thursday said it has inked a pact with the VPS Group to acquire Manesar-based Medeor Hospital for Rs 225 crore. The healthcare major said it has signed definitive agreements to acquire Medeor Hospital for an overall purchase consideration of Rs 225 crore. The hospital has a potential capacity of 350 beds and can be operationalised in a phased manner in around nine months, it added.
The Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital, the mainstay of the city's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, now has "zero patient" admitted at the facility, the first time since March 2020, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday.
"We are in a very comfortable situation today. The daily requirement of oxygen is 3.6 metric tonnes and we have about six tonnes available which will last for the entire day. It is quite a comfortable situation."
'From April 25, 2021, Modi disappeared. He made no public appearance for 20 days.' 'The prime minister of India fled the field when his people needed the government most,' points out Aakar Patel.
Anil Swarup, who conceived the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana -- a scheme the United Nations Development Programme and the International Labour Organisation recognised as among the finest -- speaks to Anjuli Bhargava.
'The residents are a bit apprehensive about the lack of complete trial in case of Covaxin and might not participate in huge numbers thus defeating the purpose of vaccination. We request you to vaccinate us with Covishield which has completed all stages of trial before its roll-out'
According to the job portal TimesJobs.com's job index Recruittex, the top hiring industries are healthcare, petrochemicals/oil and gas, consumer durables/FMCG and automobiles/auto ancillaries.
India, with its immense expertise, sophisticated infrastructure and low costs, is poised to become the healthcare destination of the world, Dr Anupam Sibal, medical director, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, said in Dehra Dun on Friday.
In a tweet, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "7,040 people underwent rapid-antigen test at 193 centres across Delhi. Of this, 456 people have been found positive."
The Centre wrote to Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi governments on Wednesday flagging below-par vaccination of eligible beneficiaries, including healthcare workers.
Mumbai's Saturday Covid count is the highest since the 5,888 cases witnessed on April 24 this year during the second wave, the official said. The death toll increased by one to reach 16,377. Delhi's tally of coronavirus cases was 51 per cent higher than the figures registered a day before.
"Lives of another 60 'sickest' patients at risk. Major crisis likely," he said.
Interacting with reporters, he said experts have been saying that the spike in Covid cases in Delhi should be considered largely due to the Omicron variant.
Delhi's stock of Covishield vaccine for the 18-44 age group will last less than a day and the city government will have to shut more than 150 vaccination centres on Friday, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi said on Thursday.
Healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals in West Bengal as junior doctors continued their cease-work protest.
As Singapore, New York and Melbourne have shown, cities can mitigate the impact of heatwaves if they have the will to create green infrastructure, explain Amit Kapoor & Bibek Debroy.
A government doctor said hospitals in Delhi are wary of admitting more patients amid a serious shortage of oxygen in the city.
'Barber shops and salons will be allowed to open, but spas will remain closed'
Ten states and Union Territories have so far detected the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus.
'My mother feels it will be tough and emotional for her to enter an assembly which has essentially been reduced to a municipality now.' 'My opinion is that even if it is a municipality one cannot cede that space to the BJP.'
In view of the rising Omicron threat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that the state government has decided to strengthen the home isolation module since the new variant of COVID-19 causes mild infection.
Eminent epidemiologist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya said these fluctuations in the figures will continue for a fairly long time and it is difficult to predict till when it will continue.
A purported video clip of the incident showed the hospital staff and some people engaged in a pitch battle, hitting each other with sticks, near the hospital's entry gate.
Candidates who appeared for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate 2023 exam will now be eligible to participate in the counselling process.
Congratulating the medical staff for administering over one crore doses in the national capital, Kejriwal said there was an acute shortage of vaccines for which inoculation could not be scaled up.
'The private sector believes that some enablers in labour-intensive sectors like apparel, toys, tourism, and media retail, can unlock a lot of jobs.'
Corporate India is starting to step up its capital expenditure plans amid government incentives and signs of rising demand, company executives and analysts have indicated. This coincides with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently citing a double-digit growth in private capital expenditure. Healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, along with increasing capacity utilisation and improving business sentiment, are contributing to a favourable environment for sustained growth in private sector investments, the RBI said in its policy last week.
With its landslide victory in Punjab assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party has achieved a major milestone in its journey so far and emerged as an alternative in the national politics.
The chief minister, however, added, "It's a matter of concern since the COVID-19 cases are rising exponentially. But there is no need to panic. The government is monitoring the situation and taking all necessary steps."
'The BJP's numbers in this government are almost the same as those enjoyed by the Congress under P V Narasimha Rao when the reform process was kicked off in 1991.' 'As before, the only constraints on the prime minister's actions are internal, not external.' 'They come from his own assessment of the political consequences of any action,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
With Delhi witnessing an increase in swine flu cases, they have also advised people to follow the mask mandate and adhere to social distancing norms.
Delhi government authorities on Tuesday issued an order asking luxury Taj Mansingh Hotel to have its rooms and premises be placed at the disposal of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for using it as an attached COVID-19 facility.
