To address the shortage of COVID-19 jabs in the country, the government is exploring the possibility of boosting production of vaccines, including identifying manufacturing sites for indigenously developed Covaxin outside India, sources said.
The Centre said bird flu has been confirmed only in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh so far, but all states should be prepared for any eventuality. States have been told to ensure sufficient stock of PPE kits and accessories required for culling operations.
As the COVID wave gradually shifts to rural areas, several states are gearing up to check its spread through self-proclaimed lockdowns by Panchayati Raj institutions, creating a database of migrants and providing free online medical consultation to the sick.
If you are a BJP backer, you'd ask why Modi and Shah would even bother about Rahul Gandhi and Congress. But they do. Because they are serious politicians who win elections. That's why their priority is to ensure Rahul cannot shed his 'Pappu' image, points Shekhar Gupta.
Prashant Kishor, a core member of Narendra Modi's election campaign team, is likely to work for Nitish Kumar.
The government can verify 5 per cent of claims in four states -- Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh -- where the gap between number of claims and recorded deaths was wide, said a bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna.
The reset button that the Bharatiya Janata Party has pressed on governance in the wake of the Covid-19 wave, which also saw a major overhaul by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his own Cabinet, continues as Vijay Rupani on Saturday became the fourth chief minister from the party to go.
The fatality rate has further dropped to 2.07 per cent, the data stated.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other ministers took charge of their respective offices on Thursday, a day after taking oath at a ceremony held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
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.
Experts believe that under-reporting is likely to cause an underestimation of the spread of the disease.
The GoM was told that six states -- Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -- account for 86 per cent of the deaths caused by COVID-19 and 32 districts account for 80 per cent of such fatalities, the Union health ministry said.
'People are getting admitted to hospital two to three days before their death in a very serious respiratory compromise state and they are passing away within 48 hours.' 'Those who are coming early in the disease, the minute they are suspicious that they have COVID-19, the recovery rate has been much, much, higher.' 'The moral of the story is: We must destigmatise COVID-19.' 'People should be told: 'Look, if you have anything like this, please come immediately'.'
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.
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Satav died on Sunday, days after recovering from the coronavirus infection, hospital sources said.
In the hearing conducted through video-conferencing, the bench, also comprising Justices R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah, took note of the submissions by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the high court order was also harsh, having serious repercussions on the health of the violators.
We may be witnessing a slow erosion of the democratic republic and the emergence of the police State, warns Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
The BJP has nothing to lose after a point. For the DMK it is a difficult choice, as it would not want to give too much of space to a 'national party' lest the 'Dravidian duel' of the past decades should be lost forever, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
After two years of muted festivities due to COVID-19, crowds thronged churches across the country this Christmas on Sunday for special prayers as people celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state due to the virus with 35,058 cases, including 1,249 deaths. It is followed by Tamil Nadu (11,760) and Gujarat (11,745).
The Centre stressed that the next three weeks will be critical for the country reeling from the worst health crisis as it announced a series of measures to shore up medical infrastructure and supplies and scale up vaccination.
Himachal Pradesh has become a champion by being the first state to administer the first dose of Covid vaccine to all eligible people despite logistic difficulties, he said through video conference.
Generally, before adjourning the house sine die the chair reads out the statistics about the business transacted in the house in detail.
To add to the worry of the insurers, non-Covid claims, which were muted in the initial months of the pandemic, have also picked up pace and are more or less at pre-Covid levels.
'This prime minister thinks he knows everything.' 'He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him.'
Members of Joint Platform of Doctors, in their letter to Banerjee, referred to the steep rise in coronavirus cases in Kerala after the recent Onam festival, and a similar situation in Spain following International Women's Day celebrations and a football match to make their point.
'The handling of the pandemic, under this totally constitutional and legal three-level dictatorship, has begun to show its downside,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said he had directed the state Advocate General to approach the high court and request it to allow the annual procession. The HC had on Saturday stayed the procession in the light of coronavirus pandemic in Ahmedabad.
While the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 6,039, as many as 515 people have been cured and discharged, and one had migrated, it said. The total number of cases include 71 foreign nationals.
The dinner Jill Biden and her husband US President Joe Biden hosted for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, June 22, at the White House brought together, Indians and Americans from so many firmaments.
As many as 51 more people have died due to swine flu in the country raising the toll to 926
'There is a sense within the government and Modi that things are not as good as they were in 2019.'
The Centre on Saturday strongly advised 12 states and Union Territories reporting a surge in coronavirus cases to significantly increase testing and ensure people follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, noting that one infected person could spread infection to an average of 406 individuals in a 30-day window without restrictions.
More than 6.5 crore vaccine doses have been administered across the country so far to frontline workers, healthcare workers, those above 60 and for people aged above 45 with specified co-co-morbid conditions.
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.
Taking exception to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan not mentioning the death of healthcare workers due to Covid-19 in his statement in Parliament, the Indian Medical Association has published a list of 382 doctors who died due to the viral disease and demanded that they be treated as "martyrs".
Amid a rise in coronavirus cases and the threat of the Omicron variant, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Wednesday directed district magistrates to ensure no Christmas and New Year gathering takes place in the national capital.
In a review meeting by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, these states and the union territory were asked to continue with rigorous vigil so as to contain the spread of infection as well as take steps to reduce fatalities.
'If done well, the containment measures can help minimise the impact of the epidemic.'
The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.52 per cent.
