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NEW CORONA SOP PERMITS RELAXATION FOR MOVIE HALLS, SWIMMING POOLS

January 28, 2021, 8:22 am

Cinema halls and theatres will be allowed to operate with higher occupancy, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced in its revised Covid-19 guidelines. The updated standard operating procedures (SOPs) also allow the reopening of swimming pools for all. The fresh guidelines are effective from 1 February.

“Cinema halls and theatres have already been permitted up to 50% of seating capacity. Now they will be permitted to operate at higher seating capacity, for which a revised SOP will be issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in consultation with MHA,” it said in a release.

The guidelines for ‘Surveillance, Containment and Caution’ will remain in force till 28 February. According to the MHA, the substantial gains are visible in the steady decline in the number of active and new cases in the country over the last four months.

It further said all activities are now permitted outside containment zones and urged the people for strict adherence to the new standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued for containment zones.

“It is, therefore emphasised that to fully overcome the pandemic, there is need to maintain caution and to strictly follow the prescribed containment strategy focussed on surveillance, containment and strict observance of the guidelines/ SOPs issued by MHA and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW),” the official notification read.

“Business to Business (B2B) exhibition halls have already been permitted. Now all types of exhibition halls will be permitted, for which a revised SOP will be issued by the Department of Commerce in consultation with MHA,” it stated.

The MHA further said the opening of international air travel of passengers along with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) may take a decision based on the assessment of the situation.

However, social, religious, sports, entertainment, educational, cultural, religious gatherings have already been permitted upto a maximum of 50 per cent of the hall capacity, with a ceiling of 200 persons in closed spaces, and keeping of the size of the ground or space in view, in open spaces.

“Now such gatherings will be allowed subject to SOP of the State and UT concerned,” it added.

The ministry further informed that there will be no restriction on inter-State and intra-State movement of persons and goods including those for cross land-border trade under treaties with neighbouring countries.

“No separate permission/ approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements. Use of Aarogya Setu has been encouraged,” the notification added.

PM Modi’s formula for winning the Covid war

January 21, 2021, 2:20 am

The Modi government has decided to export Covid vaccines free of cost to its neighbours as a ‘goodwill gesture’. Covaxin will be sent to seven countries, including Mongolia, Oman, Myanmar, the Philippines, Bahrain, Maldives and Mauritius, while Covishield is being sent to Bhutan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Seychelles. The government will procure the vaccines for export through the government-run pharmaceutical company, HLL Lifecare Limited. The country had exported hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) last year through the same company to many other countries. India plans to offer 20 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to its neighbours, once again showcasing how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s war against the Wuhan virus has been guided by the abiding principles of “India First” and “Neighbourhood First”.

The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against the coronavirus touched 6.31 lakhs in the first four days itself, through 11,660 sessions. Of the total people vaccinated against Covid-19 so far, 0.18 percent experienced adverse events following immunisation, while 0.002 percent had to be hospitalised, which is fairly low. Hence, concerns about adverse effects and serious problems post-immunisation as of now are unfounded and negligible, with both the “Made in India” vaccines being completely safe.

On 16 January 2021, India, the world’s largest democracy, with a population of 1.38 billion people, kickstarted the world›s largest Covid vaccination drive, with 2.07 lakh people vaccinated in a single day across 3,351 sessions and with the help of 16,755 vaccinators. What makes India›s vaccination drive against Covid unique is the sheer size, scale and meticulous planning of this mammoth exercise, guided by the humanitarian concept of “Jan Bhagidari” or people’s participation. The plan is to inoculate 300 million or 30 crore “priority population” in the first two phases by July-August 2021, including 3 crore healthcare and frontline Covid workers in the next three months in the first phase itself. Inoculating 300 million people within six to seven months is akin to vaccinating almost the whole of America or vaccinating the combined populations of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France, in record time!

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while laying the foundation stone of a new battalion campus of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) near Bhadravathi in Shivamogga district, recently summed up the crux of India›s gigantic pushback against Covid when he said, “India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fought the most successful battle against coronavirus in the world, and with the beginning of the vaccination drive, the country has taken the fight against the pandemic to a final stage”.

“The whole world has been fighting against the coronavirus for about a year, many people have lost lives. This was probably one of the toughest fights that humanity has fought, using knowledge, innovations and mutual cooperation,” Shah further added.

India has reported less than 20,000 daily cases over the past 10 days and less than 300 daily deaths for the last 23 days, pushing the national recovery rate to a solid 96.58 percent and the case fatality rate (CFR) to just 1.4 percent, the lowest globally. The active caseload now is less than 1.98 percent and the daily positivity rate is also pretty low, at barely 1.8 percent. India›s cumulative positivity rate is hardly 5.6 percent, which is commendable given that many states in America like Florida and Connecticut are still reporting daily positivity rates as high as 8.55 percent. It is indeed noteworthy that despite having a density of population of 455 per sq km, amongst the highest in the world, India has tested over 170 million people and done an extraordinary job of reining in the total number of cases at 10.6 million. In sharp contrast, the USA, with a population density of just 36 per sq km, has reported a staggering 24.3 million coronavirus cases and 163 percent higher deaths than in India.

The Modi government has built a war kitty of 2,360 master trainers, 61,000 programme managers, 2 lakh vaccinators and 3.7 lakh vaccination team members so far. The Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech›s Covaxin, which it has developed with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), are homegrown vaccines that vindicate PM Modi›s clarion call of “Vocal for Local” and are reflective of the country›s immense innovative and scientific temper. Both the vaccines have been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

The Modi government has procured 11 million doses of Covishield at a cost of Rs 200 per dose, exclusive of taxes. Of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, the number is 5.5 million doses, of which 1.65 million doses are being procured free of cost, and the remaining 3.85 million doses are being purchased at a cost of Rs 295 per dose. In effect, India›s vaccine roll-out is not only the largest in the world, but also the most affordable, with no compromises whatsoever on any standard operating procedures (SOPs). The PM-Cares fund will bear the entire cost of the first phase, which will inoculate 3 crore frontline Covid workers. Earlier, in June 2020, over Rs 2000 crore had been allocated from the PM-Cares fund for the supply of 50,000 ‘Made-in-India’ ventilators to government-run Covid hospitals in all states and UTs. Out of the 50,000 ventilators, 30,000 ventilators were manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited, again showcasing India›s indigenous manufacturing prowess. While a jaded, directionless and clueless Rahul Gandhi keeps taking needless jibes at the Modi government, the fact of the matter is that for over six decades, India just had 47,000 ventilators, whereas in one go, in June 2020, the Modi government made available 50,000 ventilators to ensure that no life is lost for want of life-saving equipment.

PM Modi›s food security scheme for the needy, called the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY), provided free ration to 81 crore people every single month, for nine months in a row, during the pandemic. Effectively speaking, this means that a population 2.5 times the size of America was fed every month, showcasing the Modi government’s generous, welfarist and people-centric approach.

Contrast the policy of obfuscation and apathy followed by China with the probity and transparency shown by India in taking Covid head-on. Be it building over 116 million toilets under the «Clean India›› or «Swachh Bharat» mission, making India›s 5.5 lakh villages open defecation-free (ODF), giving free health insurance to 50 crore Indians under the «Ayushman Bharat» scheme, producing over 60 million PPE kits and 150 million N95 masks in 2020, bringing home over 3.9 million stranded Indians from different parts of the globe via the “Vande Bharat Mission”, or extending medical and humanitarian assistance to over 150 countries in the fight against the pandemic, the Modi government›s fight against the Wuhan virus was made easier by the fact that a huge amount of effort has gone into ramping up India›s health infrastructure and making cleanliness a way of life in the last 6.5 years.

What is worth mentioning here is that, during the initial days of the Covid outbreak, there was only one lab in the country that could undertake testing for the infection. But today there are over 2000 testing laboratories. Punjab’s case fatality remains at 3.20, amongst the highest in the country. Meanwhile, Maharashtra, which has recorded the highest number of Covid deaths in India, has the second highest CFR of 2.56. Had it not been for the high Covid fatality rates from these two states, India›s CFR of 1.4 percent would have been even lower. Maharashtra, which is currently a non-BJP-ruled state and is led by a Congress-centric alliance, is, in fact, one of the worst performing states, having reported close to 50,000 deaths already. Despite having just 8 percent of India›s population, Maharashtra accounts for almost 33 percent of India›s Covid-related fatalities, showcasing how a poor and lethargic leadership can be a bane during a global health crisis. In sharp contrast, Uttar Pradesh, a BJP-ruled state, which has a massive population of over 200 million people and is almost the same size as Brazil, has reported less that 8,600 deaths. Brazil, in the meanwhile, has reported over 2.1 lakh mortalities.

The Modi government›s massive vaccine roll-out plan has put in place an end-to-end traceability mechanism with RFID and barcoding to secure and monitor the supply chain, transportation and distribution, right from the manufacturing facility to the time the patient is inoculated. Automated data loggers that monitor storage temperature and transfer messages every three seconds to a central unit under tight surveillance 24/7 have been deployed. The mega immunisation drive may see high-speed vehicles transporting the vaccines, secured by rifle-wielding escorts on the outside and highly secure Internet of things (IoT)-enabled locking system from the inside, to prevent theft and counterfeiting.

More importantly, there is the Modi government›s CoWIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network), with 80 lakh beneficiaries from the first priority list already registered on the app. The CoWIN platform is owned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and was earlier the platform used for conducting Pulse Polio and other crucial and highly successful immunisation programmes across the country. The same platform has been expanded for doling out Covid-19 vaccines and the Ministry of Electronics and IT along with the National Informatics Centre are handling the backend and the tech infrastructure for it. CoWIN is again an example of how the Modi government has seamlessly embraced technology to ensure last mile delivery. When it does become open to everyone, it will have four modules—user administrator, beneficiary registration, vaccination and beneficiary acknowledgement, and status updation. The CoWIN app is likely to be made accessible to the general public for registration by the end of March-April 2021. The idea behind the CoWIN app is to create a digital health behemoth. The CoWIN app has two parts: one that will be used by the beneficiary and the other that will be a back-end module to be used by vaccinators.

To cut to the chase, if 2020 was a year that tested the human will to survive, 2021 is slated to be the year that will heal the world and restore faith in the ability of leaders who are both courageous and compassionate. «Good governance is not firefighting or crisis management. Instead of opting for ad-hoc solutions, the need of the hour is to tackle the root cause of the problems››, as a famous quote by PM Modi goes. Better words have not been said. Undoubtedly, India›s outstanding and successful war against Covid will go down in history as a textbook case of what a sensitive and nimble footed leadership can accomplish.

It would be apt to conclude with a quote by John F. Kennedy, who said, “When written in Chinese, the word ‹crisis› is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” Undoubtedly, while a reckless China foisted the Wuhan virus on an unsuspecting mankind, a visionary leader like PM Modi utilised this unprecedented global crisis as an opportunity to reach out to and heal millions, both in India and outside, showcasing India›s true spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, which means that “the world is one family”.

The writer is an economist, national spokesperson for the BJP and the bestselling author of ‘Truth & Dare: The Modi Dynamic’. The views expressed are personal.

DOCTORS SHARE COVID-19 VACCINE EXPERIENCE

January 19, 2021, 4:00 am

The pan-India massive vaccination drive against Covid-19 began from January 16. Hospitals had prepared for it beforehand, they followed guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health for the vaccination process, trained the team and did dry runs, some hospitals formed Adverse Effects committee, set up Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) room or made special arrangements to deal with side effects. For a smooth process, each hospital has a pre-vaccination waiting area, vaccination room and observation area. Taking a leap of faith, many healthcare workers including doctors and medical staff from hospitals across the country came forward to get the vaccination dose. They are urging that if given a chance, people should get the vaccine shot. Scientists have worked hard for the vaccine and doctors are leading by example so people should not hesitate to go for the vaccination.

Talking about the vaccination drive, Dr Shreevidya Venkatraman, senior consultant-Internal Medicine, MGM Healthcare, Chennai said, “Covid-19 is here to stay. Covid cases are less but as seen in Europe, the peak is expected in March/April. Vaccination against Covid-19 is our best option. Safety and efficacy of the Covid vaccines have been proven. Mild malaise, fever, and local pain may be expected. So far we have not seen any major hypersensitivity reactions after the administration of the Covid vaccines.” Health professionals including doctors, who were vaccinated at Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, Delhi, said that they are upbeat as the final assault on coronavirus has begun and this will create a strong safeguard against the infectious disease. Dr Pankaj Dhamija, Centre head, Wockhardt Hospital, Mira Road, Mumbai said, “The news of vaccination has certainly given hopes to people. We are proud to be a part of this vaccination drive and committed to working round-the-clock for the betterment of the patients. Coronavirus vaccination will protect people by creating an antibody (immune system) response without getting sick by the virus.”

Doctors and healthcare workers share their first-hand experience with us about receiving the first shot of Covid-19 vaccine:

It is a moment of victory for the war against Coronavirus. I was excited and eagerly waiting for these vaccines to be made available. When this initiation of vaccination news arrived I was upbeat and after going through all the information I readied myself to get vaccinated. The process was well organised and meticulous. I took the first dose of Covisheild vaccine at 10.30 am on Saturday at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. I was made comfortable and all the information was given. I am doing fine and feeling confident.

— Dr Gururaj Sangothimath, spine surgeon, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Vasant Kunj, Delhi

There was certainly an apprehension about taking the vaccine initially in terms of efficacy and reaction. There were misconceptions and after discussions with doctors, everyone came forward to take the vaccine jab. We were made to wait for 30 minutes post the vaccination for any adverse effects after which I experienced mild nausea and gastritis. I was completely fine after an hour of vaccination.

— Dr Prakash K.N., Chief of Medical Services, Columbia Asia Hospital Hebbal, Bengaluru

It feels good to be the first person to be vaccinated in the vaccination site at BLK Super Speciality Hospital. It was just like any other shot that one would have taken. We were really looking forward to this and the process was pretty smooth.

— Dr Sandeep Nayar, Senior Director, Centre for Chest and Respiratory Disease, BLK Super Speciality Hospital, Pusa Road, Delhi

I am glad that I was the first one to get the vaccination at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital. I did not feel any sign of anxiety or reaction. Everyone should get the vaccine shot and even after the vaccination, people must follow the safety guidelines issued by the government.

— Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Emergency Nursing Head, Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, Delhi

I was the first one to get vaccinated at Aakash Healthcare. I was vaccinated at 11:10 am on Saturday and was told to sit for 30 minutes to check if I have got any adverse effects of the vaccine. The government officials assigned were constantly checking with me for any side effects. I had no side effects in my body and I am fine since I got the vaccine shot. I started working after getting vaccination and not experienced any problem. I am having no interruptions due to the vaccine in walking, eating, or working. This is a very appreciable step that the government has taken for healthcare workers.

— Anita Ryder, Support Services Department, Aakash Healthcare Super Specialty Hospital, Dwarka, Delhi

NEW COVID CASES BELOW 20K FOR 4 DAYS IN A ROW

January 6, 2021, 2:21 am

With 16,375 new Covid-19 cases and 201 deaths in the past 24 hours, India’s overall tally stood at 1,03,56,845 on Tuesday, while the toll touched 1,49,850. The country continued its streak of low daily new cases as the fresh infection numbers remained below 20,000 for the fourth consecutive day. Till now, 99,75,958 have recovered. Currently, there are 2,31,036 active cases. The recovery rate stands at 96.32%, while the fatality rate is 1.45 per cent. Delhi recorded 442 Covid-19 cases and12 new fatalities on Tuesday, even as the positivity rate slumped to 0.55 per cent. The overall infection tally in the city has now gone past 6.27 lakh and the death toll reached 10,609. The 442 new cases came out of the 79,777 tests conducted the previous day, including 41,633 RT-PCR tests and 38,144 rapid antigen tests. The active cases tally on Tuesday dropped to 4,562 from 4,689 the previous day.

Maharashtra’s Covid-19 tally increased to 19,50,171 on Tuesday after it recorded 3,160 fresh cases of the viral infection. The state reported 64 more deaths due to the infection, taking the fatality count to 49,759. Also, 2,828 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the tally of recovered people to 18,50,189. With this, the state now has 49,067 active cases of coronavirus.

Goa’s coronavirus caseload went up by 80 and reached 51,415 on Tuesday, while the death toll increased by one to touch 744. The number of people who have recovered rose to 49,811 after 70 people were discharged during the day. Goa now has 860 active cases.

Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday reported 671 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking its infection count to 2,45,318, while 839 patients recovered from the infection. With 14 more people succumbing to the viral infection, the state-wide death toll rose to 3,662. A total of 839 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s overall recovery count to 2,33,229. The state now has 8,427 active cases.

The coronavirus caseload in Gujarat rose to 2,48,581 with 655 new cases coming to light on Tuesday. Four patients succumbed to the viral infection which took the death toll to 4,325. At the same time, 868 patients were discharged from hospital. The number of recovered persons in the state thus rose to 2,35,426.

Telangana added 253 fresh infections to its Covid-19 tally, taking the total caseload to nearly 2.88 lakh while three related fatalities pushed the toll to 1,554. The total number of cases stood at 2,87,993 while the recoveries were at 2,81,400.

INDIA IS ALL SET TO ROLL OUT COVID VACCINE BY 13 JANUARY

January 6, 2021, 2:10 am

Days after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) gave approval to two Covid-19 vaccines, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said that it is prepared to roll out the coronavirus vaccine by 13 January, paving way for mass vaccination drive in the country.

“We are prepared to roll out Covid-19 vaccines within 10 days of granting emergency use authorisation date, based on dry run feedback,” said Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan at a press conference. Approval to two vaccines was given on 3 January.

The Drug Controller General of India had, on Sunday, announced approvals to two vaccine—Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield, manufactured by Serum Institute of India, and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin—for restricted emergency use against Covid-19 infection.

The announcement has come as a major relief for India which has the second highest number of infections in the world, after the US.

Talking about the vaccination process, the Health Secretary said that healthcare workers and frontline workers would not need to register themselves as a beneficiary as their data has been stored in a bulk database. “Healthcare workers and frontline workers would not need to register themselves as a beneficiary as their data in bulk database that has been populated on the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner,” said Rajesh Bhushan.

He further said, “When we would come to the population priority group, the provision of registration or editing of data would be used. The system electronically allows session allocation… The process of session allocation would be digital. Whether the beneficiaries have been vaccinated, this will be captured digitally.”

The Health Secretary also emphasised that India’s active Covid-19 cases have now fallen below the 2.5-lakh mark. “The active cases in the country are less than 2.5 lakhs and continue to decline. The positivity rate stood at 1.97 per cent,” he added.

The Health Secretary further said that 44 per cent of active cases are in hospital with moderate or severe symptoms while 56 per cent of cases are very mild or asymptomatic and are in home isolation.

He also revealed how the approved vaccines will travel from manufacturers to the beneficiaries. Addressing a press conference, the health secretary said that the manufacturers will send the vaccine to the Government Medical Store Department depots at Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Karnal in Haryana by air. The vaccine will then travel to 37 state vaccine stores from where it will go to district vaccine stores which will then supply primary health care centres, designated as Covid-19 immunisation centres.

Rajesh Bhushan said that India currently has 29,000 cold chain points where the approved vaccines Covishield and Covaxin can be stored safely.

The vaccine will be first offered to one crore healthcare workers, along with two crore frontline and essential workers and 27 crore elderly, mostly above the age of 50 years with co-morbidities.

On Saturday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had announced that one crore healthcare workers, along with two crore frontline will get the vaccine for free.

India’s daily count in 16k bracket; recovery rate improves to 96.19%

January 5, 2021, 3:18 am

India’s recovery rate continued to rise, standing at 96.19 percent on Monday. A total of 99,46,867 patients have recovered or been discharged in the country so far.

In the past 24 hours, India added 16,504 cases to its Covid-19 tally, placing its overall number at 1.03 crore cases. This is the third time that the daily count has remained within the 16,000 bracket after June 23 and December 28. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has reported that there are still 2,43,953 active cases in the country.

In the same period, India also reported 214 deaths linked to the virus, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,49,649. The fatality rate in India stands at 1.45 percent currently.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state. The maximum number of cases is from Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, which contribute 62 percent of the total active cases.

The Maharashtra Health Department said on Monday that the state has recorded 2,765 fresh Covid-19 cases.

The total coronavirus tally in Maharashtra is 19,47,011 now. With 29 Covid-19 deaths reported on January 4, the death toll in the state is 49,695.

The Covid-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 9,792 with 26 more people succumbing to the disease. At least 896 fresh coronavirus cases pushed the tally to 5,54,975. 1,432 people were cured of the disease during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 5,34,737. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state now stands at 96.35 percent, while the percentage of positive cases, out of the samples tested, stands at 7.70 percent. West Bengal now has 10,446 active cases.

Bihar’s Covid-19 tally rose to 2,53,933 as 282 more people tested positive for the virus, while two new fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,405 on Sunday. The Covid-19 recovery rate in the state climbed to 97.75 percent as 631 more people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,48,210.

Delhi recorded 424 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest in over seven months, and 14 fatalities yesterday, even as the positivity rate slipped to 0.62 percent. The 424 new cases came out of the 68,759 tests conducted the previous day, including 39,217 RT-PCR tests and 29,542 rapid antigen tests. The infection tally in the national capital stands at over 6.26 lakhs. The death toll linked to the pandemic rose to 10,585 in the city.

Haryana reported 244 new cases of Covid-19 infections, six deaths and 391 recoveries in the last 24 hours. At least 17,578 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. For the last few days, except Gurgaon, all the 21 districts of Haryana have reported less than 50 new cases in a single day.

PM Modi’s Covid-19 decisions make him most popular leader

January 5, 2021, 2:06 am

US-based political rating firm Morning Consult rated Prime Minister Narendra Modi the most popular world leader last week for his efficient handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. While this should be a moment of pride for all of us, we need to refresh our memory about what he has done to attract such encomiums across the world.

Imagine a family that is saving money on a day-to-day basis to buy lifestyle items but is suddenly faced with a situation where a member falls seriously ill. The family head decides to spend the entire money on getting the ailing member back to health and postpones all major economic decisions. No one in the family grudges that and everybody gets ready to build their dreams again.

This is exactly what happened when Covid-19 struck India in February-March 2020. The country was doing reasonably well and aspiring to become a major economy, despite the economic slowdown the world over. The decision to put the country under lockdown meant that economic activities would virtually shut down. But the decision had to be taken and the country’s leader, like the family elder, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to save lives first.

Nobody knew how to deal with the situation. Nobody knew how the new virus would spread and how it would be contained. World health bodies and experts had differing views on how to deal with the situation. The only reasonable way was to track down the carrier and isolate the patient till he recovered. But this was a near impossible task due to the density of population and the number of people who had already come into India from various affected countries, including China.

Luckily, in India, we had Narendra Modi, who is an expert in disaster management, at the helm. He had organised the biggest relief work in Gujarat while trying to rebuild Bhuj after a devastating earthquake. He did it first as BJP’s organisational man in 2001, then as Chief Minister from 2002, till he became the Prime Minister in 2014.

His experience and instinct, besides feedback from experts, indicated that something serious was going to threaten human existence. Let us not forget that Covid-19 was declared a pandemic much later. One can imagine how civilisations must have collapsed and become extinct in the past. India was clearly not prepared. There was a shortage of PPE Kits, masks, sanitisers, drugs and every other thing that was needed to deal with the situation, including doctors and paramedical staff.

It was in this context that on 24 March 2020, Prime Minister Modi came on national television and announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. Prior to the lockdown, US health expert Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan had warned that, in the worst-case scenario, about 60% of India’s population, or 80 crore people, would be infected with Covid-19. But in view of the lockdown, Dr Ramanan scaled down the figure to about 20% (almost 30 crore). There is now a history of how the lockdown was extended and how it was violated and the controversy associated with the events. But, overall, the country behaved very sensibly. The economy shrunk, people lost jobs and life got completely disturbed—but lives were saved.

A comparison would give a clearer picture. As of 2 January 2021, about 8.2 crore people have been infected with Covid-19 worldwide, of which, more than 18 lakh people have succumbed to the disease. Meanwhile, the most powerful country in the world, with one of the best healthcare systems, saw about 2 crores of its 32-crore population become infected with Covid-19 and close to 3.5 lakhs die. Compare this with India, which has a population of about 140 crores. More than 1 crore people were infected and close to 1.5 lakh people died in the country. While the Indian graph is tapering further and bringing hope, the situation elsewhere in the world is not encouraging. Just last Saturday, the United States recorded the highest spike of 2.77 lakh cases in a day.

PM Modi must be credited for deciding that the economy can wait. Like a senior figure in a family, he decided to save the lives of each and every individual. There are many countries that thought they could tackle the crisis differently due to their strong healthcare systems, but failed and saw very high casualty figures. One country even tried to become a predator by buying cheap stocks in the depressed market. But India upheld its morality and showed the human face of its civilisational roots.

From manufacturing PPE kits, masks and sanitizers, creating extra beds and training paramedics on how to handle the situation, it was an onerous task never undertaken on such a huge scale ever before. Normally, in such situations, panic grips people because of the shortage of essential commodities and the uncertainty about events. But the Modi government ensured that the supply line was not disrupted. He appealed to traders and stockists not to hoard and appealed people not to panic. The Indian Railways plied at night to ensure that there were no shortages. Road transport ensured that these reached the right places. Even the supply of milk was never disrupted.

From depositing money directly into the accounts of the poor and the deprived to giving free ration to 80 crore people for eight months, it was a mammoth task that the government achieved with aplomb. In the absence of employment and money, they had nowhere to go. But the society was saved from a situation that could have turned volatile. From the Prime Minister down to every minister and health worker, everyone stressed on boosting immunity, and I have hardly heard anyone not knowing the art of boosting immunity using traditional herbs and medicines.

The lockdowns and the consciousness generated among the people prevented Covid-19 from touching the rural areas. We saw barricades put up by villagers for those coming from outside. By the time the disease touched the fringes of the rural population, Indian farmers had already produced a miracle as if to supplement the efforts of the government. India received a bumper kharif crop, rekindling the hope of a quick economic revival.

We have entered 2021 with the hope that the vaccine will soon be available to take care of critical and priority sections of the population. Unless a mishap happens, it appears that we have been successful in containing the disease. Of course, the entire country deserves praise for acting as one. However, one must not forget the leader who made this happen. And the nation must rise in unison to thank God for giving us a leader who knew what to do. He deserves our salute, irrespective of any world ratings.

The writer is convener of the Media Relations Department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on television debates. He has authored the most authentic book on the Prime Minister, called ‘Narendra Modi: The Game Changer’. The views expressed are personal.

On 24 March 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came on national television and announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days. Prior to the lockdown, US health expert Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan had warned that, in the worst-case scenario, about 60% of India’s population, or 80 crore people, would be infected with Covid-19.

9 MORE DETECTED WITH UK COVID STRAIN, TOTAL CASES IN INDIA RISE TO 38

January 5, 2021, 2:04 am

Nine more Covid patients have been detected with the UK Covid strain, taking the total number of such cases to 38 in the country, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

All the nine latest additions have been reported from a single laboratory in the national capital, which accounts for nearly half of the total cases of new mutant coronavirus strain. The Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) have reported all the new nine cases detected on Monday.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have also reported 8 cases till date. Together, NCDC and IGIB have detected 18 of the total 38 cases.

Earlier, 4 new cases of the UK strain were detected on January 1, when the total count had reached 29.

A government official said all the 38 persons have been kept in single-room isolation in designated health care facilities while their close contacts have also been put under quarantine.

“Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is underway,” the official added.

The health ministry stated that the situation is under watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs. The samples have so far been sequenced in six of the 10 designated labs across the country.

Of the total 38, the mutated UK strain was detected in the samples of eight persons at the NCDC, 11 in the IGIB, one in the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani (near Kolkata), five in the National Institute of Virology in Pune, three in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and 10 were sequenced at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bengaluru.

With IANS inputs

Centre must provide free Covid vaccine to all without discrimination: Balbir Sidhu

January 4, 2021, 2:36 am

Health and family welfare minister of Punjab, Balbir Singh Sidhu on Sunday said that Central Government should provide free of cost Corona vaccine to the state in a stipulated time.

Talking to media persons he said that stringent measures were taken from time to time with view to control the pandemic and now, the Centre cannot backtrack from its duty to supply the Corona vaccine. Sidhu said that about 5364 COVID related unfortunate deaths till date had happened in the state which is about 178 deaths per million, in comparison to Delhi where total 10,577 COVID-19 related deaths took place and their deaths per million rate is quite high at 528. We are in a way better position than other states, he added, saying that Punjab has a recovery rate of 95 % and active cases are declining day-by-day.

Giving details on vaccination preparedness in the state, he said that Punjab is fully prepared for the vaccination drive and state has a capacity of vaccinating 4 lakh persons a day. Elaborating more on this he said that state has established robust storage capacity of 1 crore vaccines in state’s own Cold Chain centres. He stated that Punjab has also achieved more than 95% of routine vaccination of children which is highest in the Country.

Speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary Health Hussan Lal said that vaccine will be given to about 70 lakh people in the state in phased manner, which includes 1.6 lakh health workers, other frontline workers, people aged above 50 and people with co-morbidities aged below 50. The criteria of the age will be counted as on 1 January, 2021. In the first phase all the 1.6 lakh health care workers will be vaccinated on top priority.

INDIA RECORDS 18K CASES, DELHI’S DAILY COVID TALLY FALLS BELOW 500 FOR FIRST TIME IN MONTHS

January 4, 2021, 2:09 am

NEW DELHI: With only 424 fresh infections reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours, for the first time in the last seven and a half months, the number of Covid-19 cases has gone below 500 in the national capital.

As per the latest health bulletin, there were 424 positive cases in Delhi, showing a 0.62 percent positivity rate after 68,759 tests were conducted on people suspecting symptoms of Covid-19 that has claimed 10,585 lives and infected 6,26,872 people in the city till date.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, “For the first time, positive cases were less than 500, and the positivity rate was on a continuous decline.” “After May 17, 2020, this is the lowest number of cases. Positivity rate has fallen to 0.73 percent implying that in every 1,000 tests conducted, seven positive cases are detected. Testing is still being conducted on a large scale,” he added. However, he also stressed that it is still advisable to wear a mask and follow all precautions. “It is better to remain on the safer side,” he said.

In Maharashtra, the coronavirus tally reached 19,32,112, including 18,28,546 recoveries. The cumulative death toll in the state reached 49,521.

Gujarat’s tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,47,228 on Sunday with the addition of 715 fresh infections. With four more deaths, the number of people who have succumbed to the viral disease in the state went up to 4,318. A total of 938 patients were also discharged from various hospitals during the day, taking the count of recoveries in Gujarat to 2,33,660.

Telangana recorded 394 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total positive cases to over 2.87 lakhs, while three fatalities pushed the toll to 1,549 on Sunday.

Mizoram reported 12 new COVID-19 cases

A DECISIVE TURNING POINT: PM MODI ON VACCINE APPROVAL

January 4, 2021, 2:00 am

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded scientists of the country after the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) gave approval to Serum Institute of India’s ‘Covishield’ vaccine and Bharat Biotech’s ‘Covaxin’ for emergency use, paving the way for its roll-out and administration to millions.

“A decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight! DCGI granting approval to vaccines of @SerumInstIndia and @BharatBiotech accelerates the road to a healthier and COVID-free nation. Congratulations India. Congratulations to our hardworking scientists and innovators,” the Prime Minister said in a series of tweets.

He further said it would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India. “This shows the eagerness of our scientific community to fulfil the dream of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, at the root of which is care and compassion. We reiterate our gratitude to doctors, medical staff, scientists, police personnel, sanitation workers and all Corona warriors for the outstanding work done, that too in adverse circumstances. We will remain eternally grateful to them for saving many lives.”

Prime Minister’s remarks came after Drugs Controller General of India V.G. Somani announced that the CDSCO has decided to accept the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee and accordingly, vaccine of Serum and Bharat Biotech are being approved for restricted use in emergency situation after adequate examination.

This is a major relief for India which has the second highest number of infections in the world after the US. The Central government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 crore people in the first phase of drive in the next six to eight months.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan criticised Congress and other Opposition leaders over their comments on Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, which was cleared for emergency use in the country along with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had pointed out that Covaxin lacked efficacy data to show the vaccine’s effectiveness before it was approved for emergency use.

“Disgraceful for anyone to politicise such a critical issue. Sh @ShashiTharoor, Sh @yadavakhilesh & Sh @Jairam_Ramesh don’t try to discredit well laid out science-backed protocols followed for approving #COVID19 vaccines. Wake up & realise you are only discrediting yourselves,” Dr Harsh Vardhan tweeted.

The Health Minister said Covaxin is “likely to have similar protective efficacy reported for others”, despite the lack of efficacy data from phase 3 trials.

“Vaccines approved globally based on gene encoding spike proteins have protective efficacy of over 90%. However, Covaxin based on whole inactivated virus has other antigenic epitopes in addition to spike protein. So, it’s likely to have similar protective efficacy reported for others,” the minister said.

“Covaxin is more likely to work against newer variants like N501Y Variant (UK variant) & any other that may arise due to antigenic drift as it contains immunogens (epitopes) from other genes in addition to those from Spike protein. Inactivated virus from NIV also had D614G mutation,” Harsh Vardhan said.

“For those spreading rumours let it be known that EUA for Covaxin is differently conditional—in clinical trial mode EUA for Covaxin is different from Covishield because its use will be in clinical trial mode. All Covaxin recipients to be tracked, monitored as if they’re in trial,” the minister tweeted, referring to emergency use authorisation.

Earlier in the day, Congress leaders had said the government must explain why mandatory protocols and verification of data from phase 3 trials have been dispensed with while granting permission for emergency use of Covaxin.

«Covaxin has not yet had Phase 3 trials. Approval was premature and could be dangerous. @drharshvardhan should please clarify. Its use should be avoided till full trials are over. India can start with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the meantime,» Tharoor tweeted.

Jairam Ramesh too raised concerns and asked the Health Minister to clarify why internationally-accepted protocols on phase 3 trials are being modified. «Bharat Biotech is a first-rate enterprise, but it is puzzling that internationally-accepted protocols relating to phase 3 trials are being modified for Covaxin. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan should clarify,» the senior Congress leader said on Twitter.

Akhilesh Yadav, however, politicised the issue the most when he called it a “BJP vaccine”. He said he would not take the Covid-19 vaccine “at this moment”. “That too given by Bharatiya Janata Party. How can I trust the BJP’s vaccine, no chance? When our government is formed, everyone will get a free vaccine. We cannot take the BJP vaccine. The inoculation programme under the BJP-led regime cannot be trusted,” the former UP CM said.

INDIA’S WAIT OVER, DRUG REGULATOR CALLS COVID-19 VACCINES 110% SAFE

January 4, 2021, 1:56 am

India’s central drug authority, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), on Sunday announced the formal approval for the Covid-19 vaccines of Oxford-AstraZeneca, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and Bharat Biotech, saying they would be administered in two dosages each. Drugs Controller General of India V.G. Somani said that the two firms submitted data on their trial runs of the Covid vaccines and both have been granted permission for “restricted use” in emergency situations.

The approval by the DCGI was given on the basis of recommendations submitted by an expert committee of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

Announcing approval to Serum Institute’s ‘Covishield’ vaccine, Somani said that the vaccine trial was conducted on 23,745 participants and the overall efficacy of the vaccine was found to be more than 70 per cent. “The Indian data was also found to be comparable with overseas clinical studies,” the DCGI said.

“Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine ‘Covaxin’ is safe and gives a robust immune response,” the DCGI said adding that Covaxin, too, has been approved for restricted use in emergency situations.

Somani also quelled rumours surrounding the Covid-19 vaccines regarding impotency, rubbishing such speculations as “complete nonsense”.

“We will never approve anything if there is even the slightest safety concern. Vaccines are 110 per cent safe. Some side effects like mild fever, pain and allergy are common for every vaccine. It (rumours of impotency) is complete nonsense,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav had said, “Covid-19 vaccine might contain something, which can cause harm. Tomorrow, people will say the vaccine was given to kill or decrease the population. You can even become impotent, anything can happen.”

On 31 December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged people to be careful regarding rumours about vaccines and as responsible citizens refrain from forwarding messages on social media without checking.

“The number of new cases of Covid-19 is decreasing in the country now. We are preparing to run the world’s largest vaccination programme in the next year. In our country, rumours spread quickly. Different people for their personal gains or due to irresponsible behaviour spread various rumours. Maybe rumours will be spread when vaccination begins, some have already begun,” Prime Minister Modi had said.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Singh Guleria lauded the work done by Indian laboratories in making indigenous vaccines. “The research has been done here and it’s truly from the scratch and it is Indian vaccine. It’s a great moment, especially because unlike past where we had to rely on importing various products like PPE or N95; now we have vaccines which are being manufactured in India itself. We do not have to rely on vaccines coming from outside. They are cost-effective and easy to administer between 2 to 8 degrees Centigrade,” he said.

He also said that a vaccine has to go through various stages of study to make sure that it is safe for use. “It is important to understand that when we look at any vaccine, safety is paramount and therefore a vaccine goes through various stages of studying to make sure that it is safe,” Dr Guleria stated in an interview with ANI.

On some concerns being raised by the Opposition, the AIIMs director said, “All the data are being critically looked at by the regulatory authorities and experts and then only a vaccine is given approval. At multiple levels, the safety is ensured and I do not think we should be concerned.”

There are questions being raised on Covaxin of Bharat Biotech which is yet to go for Phase III trials. Dr Guleria responded, “Even as far as Bharat Biotech vaccine is a concern, it is on a traditional platform which has been used for other vaccines also. It is shown to be safe and they have robust data from Phase I and Phase II trials to show that it’s a safe vaccine.”

India’s Covid-19 recovery rate reaches 96.08%

January 2, 2021, 3:16 am

India recorded 21,822 fresh infections in the last 24 hours, 6% higher than on Thursday. India’s tally has surged to 1,02,66,674, and 1.48 lakh deaths linked to the disease have been recorded so far.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 98,83,461 pushing the national recovery rate to 96.08%, while the Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45%. The Covid-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the 11th consecutive day. There are 2,54,254 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 2.47% of the total caseload.

Delhi recorded 574 fresh coronavirus cases and 13 new fatalities, even as the positivity rate slipped to 0.7%. The infection tally mounted to over 6.25 lakh and the death toll rose to 10,536.

Maharashtra reports 3,509 new Covid-19 cases, 3,612 discharges, and 58 deaths. Maharashtra›s coronavirus tally has reached 19,32,112, including 18,28,546 recoveries. The cumulative toll reached 49,521.

Haryana reported six fatalities linked to the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the death toll to 2,911 even as 286 fresh cases pushed the state›s infection tally to 2,62,611.

Kerala reported 4,991 new Covid-19 cases, 5,153 recoveries, and 23 deaths in the last 24 hours. A total number of active cases now stands at 65,054.

Jharkhand›s coronavirus tally rose to 1,15,113 as 240 more people tested positive for the infection, while three fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,030.

Odisha›s Covid-19 tally rose to 3,29,866 as 245 more people tested positive for the infection, while three fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,876.

Daily Covid recoveries outnumber new cases for 33 days in a row

January 1, 2021, 3:09 am

Daily recoveries of Covid-19 have outnumbered daily new cases in India for the last 33 days successively. The national recovery rate has now crossed 96 percent.

India›s caseload currently stands at 10,281,229, with 21,957 fresh Covid-19 cases. The country›s death toll has mounted to 148,932. With 1,932,112 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Maharashtra›s Covid-19 caseload rose to 19,32,112 with 3,509 fresh cases being reported. As many as 58 patients died during the day, taking the death toll to 49,521. On the other hand, 3,612 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered persons to 18,28,546. There are 52,902 active cases in the state.

Gujarat recorded 780 new coronavirus cases, taking its count to 2,45,038, while four more patients died due to the infection. With the addition of 780 new cases, Gujarat›s Covid-19 tally reached 2,45,038, while deaths increased to 4,306. 916 patients were also discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the count of recovered cases to 2,30,893.

Uttar Pradesh reported 971 new cases of the coronavirus infection, taking the contamination tally to 5,85,902 even as 12 people died of Covid-19, raising the death toll to 8,364. The number of active cases stood at 14,260 in the state. Meanwhile, a total of 5,63,278 people have recovered and discharged from hospitals till now, putting UP’s recovery rate at 96.13 percent.

Haryana reported six more coronavirus deaths as 271 fresh cases pushed the state›s infection tally to 2,62,325. So far, 2,905 people have died from the infection in the state.

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 227 new Covid-19 cases, while three virus-related deaths took place in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 1,20,971 and the total fatalities to 1,883. Of the fresh cases, 132 were from Kashmir and 95 from Jammu. The number of active cases have dropped to 3,009 in the UT and 1,16,079 patients have recovered so far.

Active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu also continued to decline with the number of people under treatment sliding to 10,299, while the infection count inched toward the 8 lakh-mark. However, the state also added 1,235 fresh infections and 17 more deaths, taking the infection tally to 7,96,475 and the death toll to 11,870.

Punjab to send 5% of total positive samples daily to premier institutes to check new mutated strain

December 31, 2020, 3:13 am

CHANDIGARH: Principal Secretary Medical Education and Research DK Tiwari on Wednesday said that in order to check the mutation of new mutated strain (N501Y) SARS-CoV-2 virus in Punjab, the state government has decided to send 5% positive samples per week to Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi and NCDC, Delhi- Division of Biotechnology, Epidemiology and Central Surveillance Unit.

Divulging the details, the Principal Secretary said that it was part of the master plan conceived by the state government to contain the spread of new virus in Punjab. He said that after the emergence of new mutated strain (N501Y) SARS-CoV-2 virus with high transmissibility, an advisory was issued by Government of India that the new strain could also be circulating in India too.

Tiwari said Punjab has sent random positive samples 80 from Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) GMC Patiala, 40 each from VRDL GMC Amritsar and VRDL GGMC Faridkot to check the emergence of new mutated (N501Y) SARS-CoV-2 virus strain to NIV Pune.

The Principal Secretary said that samples were selected from September to December 2020 adding that apart from that, all the passengers who came from UK were screened for Covid-19. He said that eight patients came positive for Covid-19 at VRDL GMC Amritsar and one at VRDL GMC Patiala. Tiwari said that samples of these nine patients have been sent to NIV Pune for sequencing to check new mutated (N501Y) SARS-CoV-2 virus strain.

J&K EXTENDS COVID CURBS TILL 31 JANUARY, CONFUSION ON GROUND IRKS PARENTS, STUDENTS

December 31, 2020, 3:10 am

SRINAGAR: Covid-19 restrictions in Jammu & Kashmir’s containment zones have been extended up to 31 January 2021, as per the latest communication of the administration.However, people have no fresh information about containment and red zones in Jammu and Kashmir as such notification has not been issued for a long time now. People, especially the student community in Kashmir, are confused as all the private coaching institutions are functioning normally, making thousands of students vulnerable to covid-19 infection.

“If government has extended fresh lockdown till January end 2021, why the administration is not coming out with names of those areas which fall in containment zones, they are hand in glove with owners of these private coaching institutions making lives of our wards vulnerable,” said Muhammad Sultan Bhat of Parry Pora on Airport road, where dozens of private coaching institutions are open.

While there have been some dry run exercises for the vaccination plan in many areas, in Jammu and Kashmir no exercise has been taken so far. Earlier J&K Chief Secretary held a high-level meeting a few weeks back and claimed that they were ready for a vaccination plan.

Students are also very disappointed as the authorities have extended a ban on 4G services till 8 January 2021. This extension of ban on the high speed Internet has only added to the worries of students who were expecting after the results of DDC elections, complete lifting of curbs on internet services here.

Despite Britain’s nod, India in no hurry to approve Covid vaccine, seeks more data

December 31, 2020, 2:55 am

The analysis of the additional data and information submitted by Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech is still being conducted by regulator Central Drug Standard Control Organisation’s (CDSCO) Subject Expert Committee and their next meeting will be held on 1 January 1.

The Subject Expert Committee met on Wednesday to consider the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) request of Pfizer, SII and Bharat Biotech Private Ltd.

The meeting was held after Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine, which is being developed by the SII Pune in India, got a green signal for use in the UK on Wednesday.

Further time was requested on behalf of Pfizer, while the additional data and information presented by the SII and Bharat Biotech was perused and analysed by the SEC.

“The analysis of the additional data and information is going on. SEC will convene again on 1st January 2021 (Friday),” the Centre said in a statement.

America’s Pfizer was the first one to apply for the accelarated approval on 4 December, followed by the SII and Bharat Biotech who applied on 6 and 7 December, respectively.

On 9 December, the Subject Expert Committee had asked the SII and Bharat Biotech to submit more data and information to get approval.

The expert panel had then recommended the SII to submit outcome of the assessment of UK regulator for grant of emergency use approval, the updated safety data of the Phase 2/3 clinical trial and immunogenicity data from the clinical trials in UK and India.

Bharat Biotech was recommended to present the safety and efficacy data from the ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial in the country for further consideration.

Their applications were reviewed again earlier on Wednesday, hours after the UK accepted the recommendation of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorise Oxford University-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, named Covishield, for emergency use.

The authorisation was significant for India as the Pune-based SII had tied up with the company to conduct clinical trials and manufacture the vaccine. Besides, Bharat Biotech is developing country’s indigenous coronavirus vaccine—Covaxin—in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The Central government plans to vaccinate nearly 30 crore people in the first phase of drive. It will be offered to one crore healthcare workers, along with 2 crore frontline and essential workers and 27 crore elderly, mostly above the age of 50 years with co-morbidities.

Covishield uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector based on a weakened version of a common cold virus that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein.

After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack the coronavirus if it later infects the body.

The vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions at two to eight degrees Celsius for at least six months and administered within existing healthcare settings.

Its interim analysis for efficacy showed that the vaccine was 70.4 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 occurring more than 14 days after receiving two doses of the vaccine.

The SII has already made 40 to 50 million doses of the shot. “We have 40-50 million doses of Covishield stockpiled. We will be producing around 300 million doses by July 2021,” its CEO Adar Poonawalla had recently said.

Besides this, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is India’s indigenous vaccine and is being developed in collaboration with the ICMR’s National Institute of Virology. The indigenous, inactivated vaccine is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) high containment facility. WITH IANS INPUTS

INDIA’S COVID RECOVERY RATE ALMOST REACHES 96%

December 31, 2020, 2:53 am

India recorded 20,549 fresh infections in the last 24 hours, taking the Covid-19 caseload to 1,02,44,852. The recoveries crossed 98 lakh on Wednesday. The death count increased to 1,48,439 with 286 new fatalities. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 978,34,141 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.99%, while the Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45%.

Delhi continued to add less than 1,000 cases for the fifth consecutive day. On Tuesday, the national capital reported 703 cases, and 28 deaths. The fatality rate has dropped to 1.68%, and 42,026 rapid antigen tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra’s Covid-19 tally rose to 19,28,603 in the last 24 hours with the addition of 3,537 fresh 70 more fatalities, the overall death count went up to 49,463. A total of 4,913 people were discharged, taking the cumulative count of recoveries to 18,24,934. Maharashtra now has 53,066 active cases.

Haryana reported seven more coronavirus-related deaths, taking the fatality toll to 2,899 even as 382 new cases pushed the infection tally to 2,62,054. The number of active cases is 3,799, with as many as 2,55,356 having been discharged, clocking a recovery rate of 97.44%.

Madhya Pradesh reported 866 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the count of infections to 2,40,947. With 13 more people succumbing to the viral disease, the overall death toll rose to 3,595. A total of 1,061 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative count of recoveries to 2,27,965.

Rajasthan reported 770 new Covid-19 cases, including six deaths, and 1,142 recoveries, taking the total positive coronavirus cases to a toll of 3,07,554. The total fatalities recorded so far is 2,689, and the cumulative count of recoveries is 2,95,030. There are 9,835 active cases in Rajasthan.

A total of 6,268 new coronavirus cases, 5,707 recoveries, and 28 deaths were reported in Kerala. The total number of active cases is 65,394. The total recovered cases are 6,87,104.

Jharkhand’s Covid-19 tally mounted to 1,14,650 as 230 more people tested positive for the virus, a health department official said on Wednesday. The death toll rose to 1,025 after five more patients succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours. Jharkhand has 1,604 active cases, while 1,12,021 people have been cured of the disease so far.

Telangana clocked 474 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the total positives to nearly 2.86 lakh while three related fatalities pushed the toll to 1,538. The total number of cases stood at 2,85,939, while the recoveries were at 2,78,523. As many as 5,878 patients are under treatment, and 45,590 samples have been tested. The case fatality rate is 0.53%, and the recovery rate is 97.40%.

Covid vaccination dry run test held in Gandhinagar

December 30, 2020, 3:17 am

Gandhinagar: A dry run test was conducted for corona vaccination in Gandhinagar city on Tuesday. The dry run test was held at five places decided in Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation area. In the dry run test, 125 beneficiaries were called for vaccination at different places. Through this dry run, all the matters required for vaccination were closely monitored.

Gujarat State Immunisation Officer present at Sector-II Urban Health Center Dr Nayan Jani said that on Monday he had texted the beneficiaries of the corona vaccination and informed them to visit on Tuesday. The beneficiaries came on time at the Urban Health Center at Sector-7.They were then reassured and arranged to stand in social distance. All the beneficiaries who came after that were taken to the vaccination waiting room, from there they were being vaccinated against corona. One by one they were taken to the room where they were given an understanding of the vaccine. In the meanwhile, it was also closely monitored whether the necessary medical facilities were properly arranged in the vaccine room.

All the beneficiaries who were taken to the vaccination room were taken to a separate room after being vaccinated. They were kept there for half-an-hour. They were counselled. What benefits do you and your family get from getting them vaccinated during the council, how do you feel after getting the vaccine? Opinions will be sought on the vaccine and the facility, he said. They will also be sent a message that the vaccination has been successful.

Dr Jani further said that if the beneficiary who has received the message for vaccination cannot come to get the vaccine for any reason, they will be sent the message to come to the next round.

Medical Officer of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, Dr Kalpesh Goswami said that dry run for vaccination has been organized at five places in Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation area today. These include Civil Hospital, Gandhinagar, Sector-3 Urban Health Center, Hitech Hospital, Indrada and Sector-3 Primary School. A total of 125 beneficiaries were called for dry run today at five centers.

Dr Goswami added that there are 1,824 frontline warriors in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation area, as well as 4,286 healthcare warriors. In addition, details of 41,287 beneficiaries above 50 years of age are available. Along with it, details of 2,483 persons who are less than 50 years old, but are co-morbid are available.

INDIA RECORDS 16K NEW CASES, LOWEST IN 6 MONTHS

December 30, 2020, 3:01 am

New Delhi: The daily new coronavirus infections in India dipped below 20,000 for the third time this month taking the Covid-19 caseload to 1,02,24,303, while the recoveries crossed 98 lakh on Tuesday. A total of 16,432 new infections were reported in a span of 24 hours, the lowest in a little over six months, while the death count increased to 1,48,153 with 252 new fatalities. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 98,07,569 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.92 per cent, while the Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

Delhi reported 703 new Covid-19cases, 850 recoveries and 28 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Delhi Health Department. Total cases now stand at 6,24,118 and death toll at 10,502.

Maharashtra on Monday reported 2,498 new cases Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 19.22 lakh. The state is now a host to 54,537 active cases. In the past24 hours, Maharashtra also saw 5,572 discharges. With this, the total number of recoveries climbed to 18,20,021. The state’s total recovery rate stands at 94.54 per cent. The state’s total recovery rate stands at 94.54 percent. The state death toll surged to 49,373 after 68 people lost their lives today.

Andhra Pradesh reported 326 new Covid-19cases, including 364 recoveries and 2 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 8,81,599. Recovered Cases in the state stand at 8,71,116, the number of active cases is 3,383 and the total deaths is 7,100.

5,887 new Covid-19 cases, 5,029 recoveries and 24 deaths reported in Kerala today. The total number of active cases in the state is 64,861. The total recovered Tamil Nadu reported 957 new Covid-19 cases, including 1,065 discharges, and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases so far is 8,16,132 with, 7,95,293 total recoveries and 12,092 total deaths. Active cases in the state stands at 8,747.

Uttar Pradesh reported 1,044 new Covid-19 cases, including 1,369 discharges and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total active cases in the state is 14,344 with total discharges 5,61,257 and 8,340 total fatalities.

6 persons arriving from UK test positive for mutant strain

December 30, 2020, 2:48 am

Six cases of a mutant Covid-19 strain, which first surfaced in the UK, have been detected in the country. The six patients have recently returned from the UK, where cases have spiralled within days.

The new strain is believed to be 70 per cent more infectious, but hardly more lethal.

Three of the patients are in NIMHANS, Bengaluru, two in Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad and one in National Institute of Virology, Pune.

All six of the infected people had been kept in isolation, the health ministry said in a statement, adding that their fellow travellers were being traced. “Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine,” the ministry said.

India had suspended all flights from Britain until the end of the month over worry about the infectious variant of the virus but about 33,000 passengers arrived from the UK between 25 November and 23 December. Of them, 114 have tested positive for Covid. Genome sequencing for other specimens is on, the government has said. The states where these passengers arrived, meanwhile, are tracing them and their contacts for Covid RT-PCR tests.

Given the seriousness of the issue, India is likely to extend a flight ban. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the ban on flights from Britain would probably remain in force into the New Year. “I foresee a slight extension,” Puri told reporters. “I don’t expect that extension to be a long or indefinite extension.”

The UK strain surfaces at a time the spread of the infection—after hitting a peak in September—has slowed down. Over the last 24 hours, the country logged 16,432 cases–the lowest since 24 June, when 15,968 cases were recorded. The overall coronavirus figure is now 1,02,24,303, the highest after the US.

“The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the States for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing & dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs,” read a government statement announcing the UK strain.

The government had released details of the genomic surveillance consortium INSACOG, which has been formed to detect the presence of different strains of coronavirus in India. Ten labs across the country will be carrying out genome sequencing.

On 21 December, India banned flights from the UK and soon extended it to the Vande Bharat flights. The bar was to stay in place till December 31. Mumbai, the city hit worst by coronavirus, announced a night curfew.

WITH AGENCY INPUTS

COVID-19 HAS EXPOSED FAULT LINES IN INDIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

December 29, 2020, 3:31 am

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the need for healthcare reforms that promote universal access at an affordable price. Although all aspects of the Indian healthcare system have faced—and will continue to face—incredible challenges in the coming months (maybe years), the patchwork way our healthcare system is governed and the way we, particularly the poor, pay for healthcare is unravelling in this time of crisis.

To address the panoply of issues in our healthcare system brought into the spotlight by Covid-19, the government should now gather the gained experience in the field and put the pieces together to form pieces of legislation in order to address long standing healthcare needs in the country. There should be appropriate laws to provide critical assistance in clinical treatment and additional policies to ensure affordable care as the crisis continues.

In the current scenario, we see that most of the health policy analyses and recommendations have primarily targeted the Central government, even though, as per the Constitution, state governments are responsible for healthcare delivery. As the management of the current epidemic was delegated to state governments, for the first time, they have taken a leadership role in the healthcare sector.

The reactions of the Central and state governments to the coronavirus pandemic have brought into spotlight the fault lines in our public health governance system. The Disaster Management Act, under which the most executive actions have been undertaken to manage the pandemic, is a central legislation, though public health is a state subject. The exact delineation of responsibilities between the Centre and the States has always remained a work-in-progress, especially over the past few months that resulted in confusion (around quarantine rules, lockdown measures, etc) in the pandemic management. Although, at this stage of the pandemic, we must say that the government has managed the disaster well so far in spite of the rickety healthcare system.

Covid-19 has exposed the high cost of India’s reliance on private healthcare and their exorbitant and inconsistent billing. As the pandemic has spread, so have demands for the Indian government to regulate the costs of healthcare in private hospitals, which provide the bulk of the country’s medical treatment. India has nearly twice as many private hospitals as public ones—an estimated 43,487 versus 25,778—and it accounts for 82% of outpatient care, 58% inpatient care and 40% of institutional births. And this is despite the fact that about 85.9% of India’s rural population and 80.9% of its urban population have no health insurance.

The loss of jobs and incomes and the lack of health insurance during the pandemic have greatly exacerbated existing cost challenges for many. The current out-of-pocket costs would impact people’s decision to seek care. Failure to receive testing and treatment because of costs also results in prolonging the pandemic, thus exacerbating its economic impact.

The highest number of people insured under government-sponsored health insurance schemes as well as under individual insurance plans stood at a meagre 35 percent (overall penetration of health insurance) in the financial year 2018. And with record numbers of people paying out-of-pocket for healthcare, millions find themselves without affordable and accessible healthcare (for Covid as well as non-Covid care) in the midst of the largest pandemic in a century.

Despite the Central Government promulgating health sector regulations, the onus of regulating private hospitals has always been on State Governments, a responsibility many State Governments have been evading so far. It is for the first time during the current epidemic that many State Governments have taken strict measures to control private sector hospitals. State Governments are experimenting with rate capping; out of 28 states, 16 have so far brought out regulations fixing Covid-19 treatment charges and testing at private hospitals. West Bengal alone brought out 11 different regulations to regulate the prices in private hospitals related to Covid-19. Depending on the severity of the illness and the type of hospital, private hospitals can charge between Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000 in Delhi, Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 in Tamil Nadu, and between Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000 in Uttarakhand per day. Similarly, Covid-19 testing is capped at Rs 1,500 in Nagaland and Rs 3,000 in Tamil Nadu. Yet, even at the capped rates and hospital charges for Covid treatment, 80% of families would be crippled if they had to pay for Covid treatment charges for even a single family member. According to the latest household expenditure report of 2017-18 (by National Statistical Office), in the state of Delhi, the average per person monthly expenditure among 80% of the population is around Rs 5,000. In contrast to this, the lowest price of an isolation bed is around Rs 80,000 for ten days’ treatment. To make the scene worse, the capped cost for a Covid-19 ICU bed would be in several lakhs as the treatment usually stretches over two to three weeks or even more.

In the current scenario, State Governments are actively managing public hospitals, ensuring supply chain, coordinating as well as regulating at all levels. Many have also issued strict directives for hospitals that refuse Covid-19 patients, while many others have punished violators of these regulations, which had never been seen earlier.

The present experience of price regulation in the private sector may provide impetus and experience for the regulation of other healthcare services of public health importance such as tuberculosis in the country. State Governments are seen to have created new health service positions in urban health services for cities as in the worst Covid-affected state of Maharashtra. These new managerial roles, activities and processes will probably persist and strengthen the delivery of public health services in the years to come. Further, the epidemic has brought the middle-income class to public hospitals, who have forgone public hospitals long back. Compared to private hospitals, which tended to refuse Covid-19 patients, public hospitals with improved services and infrastructure are regaining the trust of people.

During the epidemic, extensive coordination is being observed between the public and private sector hospitals for testing, reporting, bed availability and treatment. Many State Governments have established committees or appointed officers to facilitate this coordination. The extent of data sharing increased significantly between the public and private sectors which is a very welcome change and we hope it is here to stay. Whereas, before the epidemic, apart from some basic data, there was little sharing of information and coordination between the public and private sectors, which negatively affected health planning at the state and grass-root levels. We hope the pandemic experience and the lessons learned will be useful for health planning at the district and state levels and contribute to futuristic policymaking for good healthcare governance.

Never before has the interdependence of our health, finances, and social fabric been so starkly visible. Never before has the need for healthcare reforms that ensure universal access to affordable care for all been more apparent. Our policies on health and healthcare, both during this pandemic and in the future, should reflect this reality, and we should not let the lessons learnt during this crisis pass us by. The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed some long-pending reforms in India’s health sector to the border and there can’t be a better time for bringing in health reforms in India than now.

The writer is a medical doctor (pathologist) and holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of London. The views expressed are personal.

MoS Health tests Covid positive as India’s tally crosses 1.2 crore mark

December 29, 2020, 2:30 am

New Delhi: Union Minister of State (MoS) for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey tested positive for coronavirus on Monday evening.

Choubey took to micro-blogging website Twitter to announce his health condition. He informed via a tweet that he underwent a test after he exhibited initial symptoms of Covid. Choubey also requested people who came in contact with him recently to get tested for the viral disease.

“On getting the initial symptoms of corona, I got tested today and the report came positive. My health is fine and I am following all the guidelines in home isolation on the advice of doctors. I request, whoever has come in contact in the last few days, please isolate yourself and get yourself tested,” the minister tweeted.

Choubey, 67, assumed the office of MoS Health & Family Welfare in September 2017. He is a member of Parliament (MP) and represents the Buxar Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar.

In the meantime, India reported 20,021 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,02,07,871, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Recoveries have surged to 97.82 lakh on Monday.

The death count increased to 1,47,901 with 279 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 97,82,669 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.83 per cent, while the Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. There are 2,77,301 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 2.72 per cent of the total caseload.

Covid-19 tally in Maharashtra rose to 19.19 lakh on Sunday with the addition of 3,314 fresh infections. So far, 18.10 lakh people have recovered in the state. The state has 59,214 active cases.

Karnataka reported 653 new Covid-19 cases, including 1,178 discharges and 8 deaths today. Total number of coronavirus cases is 9,16,909 with 8,92,273 total recoveries and 12,070 fatalities. Active cases in the state stand at 12,547.

3,047 fresh Covid-19 cases and 4,172 recoveries reported in Kerala today. The total number of active cases in the state is 64,028. The total recovered cases are 6,76,368.

Jharkhand’s Covid-19 caseload rose to 1.14 lakh as 122 more people tested positive for the infection today. The Covid-19 death toll in the state rose to 1,019 as one more person succumbed to the infection in the last 24-hours.

Telangana reported 205 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest figure after several months, taking the tally to over 2.85 lakh while two fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,533, on Monday.

Odisha today reported 234 new Covid-19 cases taking the state’s tally to 3.28 lakh, while three more fatalities pushed the state’s coronavirus death toll to 1,864. The new cases were detected in 24 of the state’s 30 districts.

Tamil Nadu reported 1,005 new Covid-19 cases, including 1,074 discharges, and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total number ofCovid-19 cases is 8,15,175 with 7,94,228 total recoveries and 12,080 fatalities. Active cases in the state stands at 8,867.

As for Delhi, it reported 564 new Covid-19 cases on Monday—the lowest in the last five months—as the positivity came below one per cent in the last 24 hours. The deaths due to Covid also saw a significant drop with only 21 fatalities in the same duration, the Delhi government’s health bulletin said. Meanwhile, 959 patients recovered from the disease and 57,463 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, the bulletin showed.

The latest figures of the case tally now stands at 6,23,415 while the death toll has reached 10,474. Of the tests conducted in the last 24 hours, 32,484 were done through RT-PCR and 24,979 were Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT). The capital city has conducted 84,08,511 tests so far, according to the bulletin.

Currently, 2,499 out of 18,774 beds are occupied in the hospitals, 62 out of 7,792 beds in the dedicated Covid Care Centres and 19 out of 562 beds in the dedicated Covid Health Centres. Meanwhile, 3,153 people are in home isolation, as per the data shared by the Delhi government.

The tally of active cases in the national capital also dropped to 6,297 on Monday from 6,713 on Sunday. The number of containment zones raised by the Delhi government remains 4,563.

On 27 July, Delhi had recorded 613 Covid-19 cases. The city had reported 652 coronavirus cases on August 16 and 787 on August 17. The highest single-day spike in the city till date—8,593 cases—was reported on 11 November.

INDIA TO ROLL OUT COVID VACCINE IN JANUARY, 50 MN DOSES READY: SII CEO

December 29, 2020, 2:23 am

New Delhi: Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) on Monday expressed hope at the possibility of Covid-19 vaccine—Covishield—receiving the regulatory approval in a “few days”, while emphasising that the company has a massive stockpile 40-50 million doses. It also said that Covishield rollout is expected in January 2021.

“We have 40-50 million doses of Covishield stockpiled. Once we get regulatory approvals in a few days, it will be down to the government to decide how much they can take and how fast. We will be producing around 300 million doses by July 2021,” Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla told a press conference.

He added, “India is a part of COVAX. We will keep giving 50 per cent of everything we make to India and to COVAX at the same time. India has such a large population that we will probably end up giving the majority of those 50 million doses to India first.”

“Initially, in one or two months the offtake will be slow. Once the logistics and everything work out well we can expect the rollout for Covishield in January,” he said.

The drug maker has partnered with global pharma giant AstraZeneca and the Oxford University for making the vaccine and is conducting trials in India. Indian drug regulatory body is looking at the UK’s approval to this vaccine before giving nod for Emergency Use Authorization to its Indian counterpart developed by SII.

Asked whether there is any concern regarding Covid-19 vaccine getting approval, he said, “Regulators are evaluating the data…Lot of people keep raising issues. There are no concerns at all. 92 to 95 per cent vaccine efficiency is there. Emergency use of vaccine may come in the end of December or maybe in January in the UK and we are hoping the same in India as well. We should wait for some good news.”

He, however, mentioned that the first six months of 2021 will see a shortage of vaccines globally. “Nobody can help that. But we will see easing off by August-September 2021 as other vaccine manufactures also being able to supply,” he added.

‘COVAX’ was launched in April by the WHO, Gavi Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for a solution to accelerate the development and manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines and equitable access to them for people in all countries.

India currently has eight Covid-19 vaccine candidates, including three indigenous vaccines, under different stages of clinical trials which could be ready for authorisation in near future. Serum Institute-Oxford’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Pfizer vaccine are in the fray for emergency use authorisation.

Andhra gears up for two-day vaccination dry run in Krishna

December 28, 2020, 4:04 am

Hyderabad: A dry run for Covid-19 vaccination will be conducted in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district on 28th and 29th of December.

Andhra Pradesh is among the four states chosen by the Centre for the vaccination dry run. The dry run has been planned for five places in the district: Government General Hospital, Vijayawada, Uppuluru primary health centre, Purna Heart Institute, Penamaluru primary health centre, and Prakash Nagar eUPHC. The dry run is aimed at testing the planned operations and the mechanisms laid out for Covid-19 vaccination in the state. It will provide insights on any gaps or bottlenecks so that they can be addressed before the commencement of the actual vaccination drive.

Session planning, vaccinator deployment, deployment of team members, vaccine and logistics mobilization at session site, mock drill of beneficiary vaccination and reporting and review meetings at block, districts and state and providing feedback to guide actions are among the activities planned. The dry run is also aimed at providing hands-on experience to programme managers at various levels. This will also test cold storage and transport arrangements made for distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, apart from other issues like management of crowds. The collector of Krishna district, Imitaz, supervised all the arrangements for the dry run.

“The dry run, which is a sort of dummy vaccination programme, is aimed at testing the planned operations and the laid-out mechanisms for Covid-19 vaccination in the state. Nobody will be given any vaccine but it would help the selected beneficiaries to understand the whole process of vaccination,” State Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar said.

“The state task force will review the feedback to guide further actions and send it to the Union Health Ministry,” he said during the training programme for team members identified for conducting the dry run.

AFTER ‘GO CORONA GO’, ATHAWALE HAS NEW SLOGAN TO BEAT UK COVID STRAIN

December 28, 2020, 3:52 am

Pune: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday said that his earlier slogan “Go Corona, Corona Go” was effective as the Covid-19 situation in the country was improving and has now coined a new slogan “No Corona, Corona No” in an attempt to combat the new more infectious strain of coronavirus, that was first detected in the United Kingdom.

Speaking to ANI, Athawale said, “Earlier I gave the slogan ‘Go Corona, Corona Go’ and now corona is going. For the new coronavirus strain, I give the slogan of ‘No Corona, No Corona, Corona No, Corona No’.” Athawale on Monday said a Covid-19 vaccine will be available in the country within a month or two and that Covid-19 will have to go ultimately.

The minister had himself tested positive for the virus in October.

Asked about farmers’ protest on the new Agriculture laws, the Republican Party of India chief said : “The demands of the farmers to take back the laws is not possible in a democracy, however, to make amendments and improvement in the law is the responsibility of the government and the Parliament.”

“The government has said that it is ready to make amends in the laws where the farmers have problems. So with the meeting ahead on December 29, a way will be out,” he said.

When asked that NDA has lost its alliance partners over the issue, and what about the RPI, the Rajya Sabha MP and minister of state for social justice in the Narendra Modi government said, “RPI will never take back support to the NDA. It will remain with NDA and Narendra Modiji.”

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Singhu border for over a month against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Farmer unions have held several rounds of talks with the government.The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint front of almost 40 farmer organisations, wrote a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare accepting the Centre’s offer for dialogue and proposed December 29 as the next date for the meeting.

WITH ANI INPUTS

India records 18k new Covid cases, lowest daily rise in nearly six months

December 28, 2020, 3:08 am

India reported 18,574 new Covid-19 infections, taking the total count to 10,188,392. The death toll mounted to 147,659 with 280 new fatalities. Total discharged cases stand at 9,760,848.

Looking at the individual tally of some worst-affected states due to coronavirus The Covid-19 tally in Maharashtra rose to 19,19,550 with the addition of 3,314 fresh infections. With 66 more people succumbing to the viral disease, the overall death toll in the state mounted to 49,255. A total of 2,124 patients have been discharged, taking the number of recoveries to 18,09,948. The state has 59,214 active cases. Delhi recorded as many as 757 fresh coronavirus cases. With this, the tally of Covid-19 cases in the state has reached over 6.22 lakh, while the death toll mounted to 10,453. Sixteen fatalities have been recorded in the last 24 hours. The case tally stands at 6,22,851 in the national capital, including 6,05,685 patients who have either been discharged, migrated or recovered. The number of active cases is 6,713, of which 3,335 are in home isolation.

The neighbouring state of Haryana reported a low count of 362 new coronavirus cases, and nine deaths in the last twenty-four hours. Now the state has total 26,09,07 cases, 2,874 deaths, and 2,53,765 recoveries till date.

Uttar Pradesh witnessed 13 more people succumbing to Covid-19 infection, the death count rose to 8,306. The number of total cases touched 5,81,980 with 959 more people found positive for the infection. In the past 24 hours, 1,391 patients recovered from the viral disease and have been discharged.

Odisha’s coronavirus tally mounted to 3,28,504 after 303 more people tested positive for the infection, while four more fatalities pushed the toll to 1,861. The state currently has 2,841 active cases, while as many as 3,23,749 people have recovered from the infectious disease. Tamil Nadu added 1,009 fresh infections to its coronavirus tally, taking the total count to 8.14 lakh, while 10 more fatalities pushed the toll to 12,069. Daily recoveries continued to outnumber the new cases with 1,091 people getting cured, taking the aggregate to 7,93,154. The number of active cases stands at 8,947.

WITH 24K NEW CASES, INDIA’S COVID TALLY REACHES 1.1 CRORE MARK

December 25, 2020, 5:49 am

New Delhi: India’s Covid-19 caseload rose to 1,01,23,778 with 24,712 new infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96.93 lakh on Thursday. The death count increased to 1,46,756 with 312 new fatalities.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96,93,173 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.69per cent, while the Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. There are 2,83,849 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 2.86 per cent of the total caseload.

Delhi on Wednesday reported 1,063 new Covid-19 cases, including 1,120 recoveries and 37 deaths. Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus toll in the city is 6,20,681, with 6,02,388 recoveries. Death toll reached 10,384.

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported more recoveries than fresh coronavirus cases. The state recorded 3,913 fresh cases, taking the tally to 19.06 lakh. The state also reported 93 deaths during the day. The overall toll has reached 48,969. A total of 7,620 patients were also discharged from hospitals. The number of active patients in the state stands at 54,573.

Odisha’s Covid-19 caseload rose to 3,27,542 after 263 more people tested positive for infection, while four fresh fatalities took the coronavirus death toll to 1,850, today. Currently, Odisha has 2,991 active Covid-19 cases, while as many as 3,22,648 patients have recovered from the highly infectious disease.

West Bengal reported 34 more Covid-19 fatalities yesterday, pushing the death toll to 9,473, while a total of 1,628 fresh cases took the tally to 5,41,624. Altogether, 5,16,462 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 2,153 since Tuesday, it said. The state’s recovery rate stands at 95.35 percent.

Kerala reported 5,177 new Covid-19 cases and 4,801 recoveries in the last 24 hours. Total active cases in the state now is 63,155 with 6,60,445 total recoveries.

Rajasthan reported 1,001 new Covid-19 cases, 8 deaths and 970 recoveries today. Total cases in the state is 3,02,709 with 2,650 fatalities and 2,88,388 recoveries. Active cases in the state now stand at 11,759.

Andhra Pradesh reported 357 new Covid-19 cases, 355 recoveries and 4 deaths today. Total number of coronavirus cases in the state hiked up to 8,80,075 out of which 3,862 active cases remained. The total number of recoveries in the state is 8,69,124 and the death toll climbed to 7,089.

Goa’s coronavirus caseload reached 50,454 with 90 new infections coming to light on Thursday. One patient died, taking the death toll to 728. The number of recovered patients in the state rose to 48,725

Andhra and Telangana prepared for Covid-19 vaccine distribution

December 24, 2020, 4:58 am

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have set up committees and made necessary arrangements for Covid-19 vaccine distribution. The Telangana Health Department has been put on high alert over the new strain of coronavirus that was detected in the United Kingdom.

The Medical Education Secretary Ramesh Reddy told The Daily Guardian, “Arrangements like setting up special wards in government general hospitals in all the districts, and introducing more ambulances have been made at Covid-19 centres.” He said that those who arrived from the UK and have tested Covid positive are being treated in special rooms. The Telangana government has constituted committees at the state, district, and mandal levels for planning and execution, prioritising high-risk groups followed by others.

The committees would undertake a structured review of all aspects related to preparedness and implementation of Covid-19 vaccination, said a government order. The government has formed the state steering committee, state task force, district task force, and mandal task force. The Chief Secretary would be the Chairperson of the state steering committee while the state task force would be headed by the Health Secretary. The District Collector would be the Chairperson of the district task force, while the mandal task force would be chaired by the Mandal Parishad Development Officer (MPDO).

On the other hand, the Andhra Pradesh government has issued orders about setting up an urban task force to conduct the Covid vaccine distribution exercise in urban areas.