News Analysis India

Tag: covid deaths

  • 270 doctors have died of COVID in second wave of pandemic: IMA

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Tuesday said 270 doctors across the country have succumbed to the coronavirus infection in the second wave of the pandemic so far.

    The list of the deceased doctors includes former IMA president Dr K K Aggarwal, who succumbed to the deadly virus on Monday.

    Bihar saw the maximum number of 78 deaths of medical practitioners, followed by Uttar Pradesh (37), Delhi (29) and Andhra Pradesh (22).

    According to the IMA COVID-19 registry, 748 doctors succumbed to the disease in the first wave of the pandemic.

    “Last year, 748 doctors across India succumbed to COVID-19, while in the current wave, in a short period, we have lost 270 doctors.

    “The second wave of the pandemic is turning out to be extremely fatal for all and especially for the healthcare workers who are at the forefront,” IMA president Dr JA Jayalal said.

  • COVID horror: More bodies found floating, shallow graves along banks of Ganga in UP

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW:  Amid dead bodies being found floating in the Ganga in eastern UP districts, shallow graves have also been reported on the banks of the river in central parts of the state even as the Yogi Adityanath government maintains that Covid-19 cases and positivity rate in the state are declining.

    A few days after reports emerged about dozens of bodies found floating on the banks of the Ganga in eastern districts of Ghazipur, Ballia and Chandauli, at least seven bodies were found on Thursday floating in the river near Sujabad village in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi.

    Ved Prakash Rai, SHO of the Ramnagar police station of Varanasi district, said: “There were seven bodies, many of which were partially decomposed, which were found floating near Sujabad village. All these bodies were retrieved and buried safely as per safety protocol.”

    Meanwhile, sources said in Ghazipur, Ballia and Chandauli districts of east UP, dozens of bodies have been found floating in the Ganga along the UP-Bihar border in the last few days.

    Ballia district magistrate Aditi Singh said: “Village pradhans of nearby villages failed to identify the bodies since these were badly decomposed. The last rites of the bodies were performed by following safety protocols.

    The local SDM is looking into the matter.” Around 450 km away in central UP’s Unnao district, dozens of shallow graves have been found. Videos of stray dogs invading and digging these graves have gone viral. Unnao collector Ravindra Kumar said the graves found at Buxar Ghat (Bighapur) are located in Unnao, but are very close to Rae Bareli and Fatehpur district also. 

    “After the matter came to the light, a sub-divisional magistrate was sent to the spot for the probe. He will submit his report,” Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said.

    He said the Baksar ghat is on the border of many districts including Raebareli, Fatehpur and Unnao and people go there for the cremation of bodies.

    “We will take appropriate action after seeing the situation. Directives have been issued that such situation does not arise,” the DM said when asked about the alleged burial of bodies on the ghat.

    SDM Dayashankar Pathak, who visited the Baksar ghat of the river with the circle officer, said they did not find any dead body out in the open.

    On the exact number of bodies buried on the riverbank, the SDM said he was not aware of the number.

    People living near the riverbank on Thursday said no dead body was allowed to be buried and all the bodies being brought to the Ghat are being cremated.

    Meanwhile, the state on Thursday recorded 17,775 fresh COVID-19 cases that pushed the infection count to 15,80,980, while 281 new fatalities took the death toll to 16,646 in the state, officials said.

    The number of active cases in the state has come down by over 1.06 lakh in the past 12 days, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.

    The COVID-19 recovery rate now stands at 86 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

    On April 30, there were about 3.10 lakh active cases, and the number currently stands at 2,04,658, the official said.

    With this, the total number of patients in the state who have recovered from the infection has risen to 13,59,676, Prasad said.

    In the past 24 hours, while the state reported 17,775 fresh cases, 19,425 people recovered from the disease, he said.

    Among the fresh deaths, the maximum of 35 were reported from Lucknow, 16 each from Kanpur and Ghaziabad, 12 from Bahraich, 15 from Meerut, 10 each from Mahoba, Jhansi and Ghazipur, nine from Gorakhpur besides other cities, a health bulletin issued here said.

    As far as fresh cases are concerned, the maximum of 1,070 cases were reported from Meerut, 856 from Lucknow, 775 from Gorakhpur and 772 from Varanasi, it said.

    So far, over 4.39 crore samples have been tested in the state and it includes more than 2.53 lakh samples tested on Wednesday, Prasad said.

    Of the fresh cases, 1,45,108 are in home isolation, he added.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • COVID tragedy: Orphaned minor brothers leave Raipur, unaware of parents’ deaths

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR:  April 28 was usual in its sameness and grim in its foreboding: A Covid-induced lockdown had forced most residents of Chhattisgarh’s capital indoors.

    Pankaj (5) and Mohan (8) (names changed) were playing with other kids near their one-room rented home in the Kushabhau Thakre area. The kids were told their father was unwell and taken to hospital.

    Four days later, their mother was admitted to the same hospital. On May 4, their parents died. The kids were not told of the tragedy.

    The last rites were performed by Raipur Municipal Corporation authorities as per Covid protocol.

    When their parents were in hospital, neighbours provided food and care to the children.

    They  didn’t know how to handle the kids. Nobody knew exactly where the family arrived from to settle in Raipur to work as daily wagers.

    “A day after their death, we knocked on their door, the children came out and started looking for their parents. We comforted them by saying God is there to help. They didn’t demand anything except food. They were at ease in our presence and stayed indoors,” said Raghu Yadav, a neighbour.

    Three days passed, and the neighbours still could not muster the courage to tell the kids about the tragedy.

    The couple was engaged in construction works under the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme.

    The BSUP seeks to address the needs of some of the lowest-income and most vulnerable urban dwellers.

    “First, the husband and later the wife fell ill. It was with Covid. The man died and two days later, the wife also succumbed”, says Sushila Dheevar, corporator of Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC).

    She avoided revealing the names and details of the couple.

    “Our party has told us not to share personal details of patients we support. Such people are unsettled migrant labourers, they stay as long as they remain engaged. I don’t know anything about the children,” she said.

    Pankaj and Mohan had some inkling about the virus that has made a lot of people sick.

    They felt like any other illness, their parents would also be cured of it. Mukesh Srivas, a local social worker,  quoted a doctor as saying that the parents were brought late to the hospital.

    “Doctors felt the delay in medical care apparently pushed back chances of recovery,” said Srivas, who has helped many during this crisis.

    Dheevar and others interacted with the kids and got some information about their relatives who could be reached. Finally, the kids’ paternal grandparents were contacted over the phone.

    “Their grandparents live in some remote village of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. They were deeply shocked after learning about the deaths. They came to Raipur and took the children along with them to Allahabad,” said Manohar Chand, a resident of the ward.

  • Chhattisgarh govt announces schooling, scholarships for children orphaned by Covid pandemic

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: The Bhupesh Baghel government on Thursday took a decision to bear the cost of school education of children who have lost their parents to coronavirus and the state will also offer them a monthly scholarship.

    The Covid orphans will be covered under the Chhattisgarh Mahtari Dular Scheme from the ongoing academic session.

    These students, irrespective of whether studying in government or private school, will also be getting scholarship of Rs 500 (for students of Class 1-8) and Rs 1000 for the those studying in Class 9-12

    It has also been decided that such orphaned children will get priority for admission in the government-run elite Swami Atmanand English Medium Schools and no fee will be charged from them.

    “Such sensitive initiative of the CM intends to promote better future of destitute children”, read a tweet from the Chief Minister’s office. 

  • Dead bodies found floating in Ganga in PM Modi’s Varanasi constituency

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: After dead bodies were seen floating in river Ganga in East Uttar Pradesh districts, shallow graves have been reported on the banks of the sacred river in the central parts of the state since the last few days. Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath government maintains that the COVID-19 cases and positivity rate in the state is declining fast.

    Just a few days after dozens of dead bodies found floating on the banks of river Ganga in eastern districts of Ghazipur, Ballia and Chandauli, at least seven bodies (five males and two females) were found floating near Sujabad village in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Thursday.

    Confirming the development, Ved Prakash Rai, the station officer of Ramnagar police station of Varanasi district, said “there were a total seven bodies, many of which were partially decomposed, that were found floating near Sujabad village. All the bodies were retrieved from the river and buried safely by following all safety protocols by the local administration.”

    The Sujabad village neighbours Domri village, which has been adopted by PM Modi in 2018 under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

    Meanwhile, as per informed sources in Ghazipur, Ballia and Chandauli districts of East UP, several dozen bodies (numbering possibly between 70-100) have been found floating in river Ganga on UP-Bihar border in the last few days.

    According to Banwari Lal, a guard deployed near the new bridge coming over the Ganga river between Ballia and Buxar claimed that around 70 bodies have been found floating near the under construction bridge at Bharauli Ghat and adjoining villages in Ballia district (Bihar’s Buxar district located on the opposite banks).”The local administration got them buried with the help of JCB machines,” he said.

    The Ballia district magistrate Aditi Singh, while confirming that many bodies were found floating in the river said, “village pradhans of nearby villages were called to identify the bodies, but as the bodies were badly decomposed, they failed to identify them. Subsequently, the last rites of the bodies were performed by following all safety protocols and the local SDM is looking into the entire matter.”  

    Around 450 km away in Central UP’s Unnao district, dozens of shallow graves have been found in the last few days. Videos of the stray dogs invading and digging the shallow graves too have gone viral.

    READ HERE | COVID-19 cases continue to decline fast in UP, active tally declined by 1.06 lakh in 12 days

    According to Unnao district collector Ravindra Kumar, the graves found in Buxar Ghat (Bighapur) is located in Unnao district, but is very close to Rae Bareli and Fatehpur district also. “Traditionally Buxar Ghat has had a long tradition of people from all three districts not cremating, but burying the human corpses on the riverbank. We’re ensuring that all the bodies being buried are buried deeply and also ensuring that bodies which have been buried in shallow graves be covered properly, to prevent stray animals from invading the graves.”

    Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, after receiving complaints about several bodies found floating in the Ganga river in UP and Bihar. “It (NHRC) has issued notices to the chief secretaries of both the states and the secretary, Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, today calling for an action taken report within four weeks,” NHRC statement mentioned.

    Tweeting about the bodies in river Ganga and graves on the riverbanks, Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “Bodies are floating in the Ganga in Ballia and Ghazipur. Reports are coming in of mass burials on the banks of the river in Unnao. Official numbers from cities like Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Jhansi and Kanpur appear to be grossly under-reported.” The Congress leader demanded judicial enquiry headed by a High Court Judge into these events.

  • UP COVID horror: Day after seven bodies found floating in Ganga, corpses found buried in sand in Unnao

    By ANI
    UNNAO: Days after bodies of suspected COVID-19 patients washed up on the shores of the river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, more have been found buried in the sand in Unnao.

    A team of the local police is in the process of carrying out an inquiry and searches are being conducted for more bodies.

    According to District Magistrate Ravinder Kumar, the bodies were found buried in an area far from the river.

    “Our team has found buried bodies in an area far from the river. Search being conducted for more bodies in other areas. I have asked a team to carry out an inquiry. Action will be taken accordingly,” the DM said.

    Over the last two days, horrific scenes of dead bodies floating in the Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur and Bihar’s Buxar caused panic among locals who feared that the bodies were of deceased COVID patients.

    According to Bihar Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha, 71 bodies were taken out from the river in Buxar district and their last rites performed and a net has been placed in the Ganga in Ranighat, bordering UP and Bihar, to stop any similar incident from happening again.

    Local residents have complained of stench coming from the bloated, decomposed corpses and accused the authorities of ineptitude.

    These incidents have sparked fears about the scale of the Covid crisis in the country. Authorities believe the relatives of those who succumbed to the virus, may not have been able to find space for the last rites. 

    ALSO READ | Seven more bodies seen floating in Ganga in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia; total count 52

    The state recorded 18,125 fresh COVID-19 cases that raised the infection count to 15,63,238, while 329 new fatalities pushed the death toll from the pandemic to 16,372, officials said on Wednesday.

    On the bright side, the number of active cases in the state has come down by over 1.04 lakh in the past 11 days, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said.

    The COVID-19 recovery rate now stands at 85.7 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

    On April 30, there were about 3.10 lakh active cases, while the number currently stands at 2,06,615, the official said.

    With this, the total number of patients in the state who have recovered from the infection has risen to 13,40,251, Prasad added.

    So far, over 4.36 crore samples have been tested in the state, including more than 2.45 lakh samples that were tested on Tuesday, he said.

    Among the fresh cases, 1,52,725 are in home isolation, Prasad said.

    He said that following the ‘track, test and treat’ policy, surveillance teams of the state government have reached 3.47 crore households, covering a total of 16.73 crore people.

    Prasad said while 1.11 crore people have been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 29.35 lakh have received the second shot.

    The programme of vaccinating people in the 18-44 age group is also going on in the state and so far 2.16 lakh in this category have been administered vaccines, he said.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Corpses in Ganges: Transmission of coronavirus through water is not a concern, say experts

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Experts on Wednesday said transmission of coronavirus through water is not a concern, after bodies of suspected COVID-19 patients were fished out of the Ganga and Yamuna.

    Satish Tare, professor at IIT-Kanpur, said dumping of dead bodies in the Ganga or its tributaries or sub-tributaries is a serious matter, particularly at a time when the country is grappling with the COVID-19 crisis.

    The Ganga and Yamuna are key sources of drinking water for many villages, local bodies along the rivers.

    The professor, however, stressed that dumping of bodies will not have a significant effect on transmission.

    Tare said dumping bodies in the Ganga or its tributaries is not new, but it has come down significantly in the last 10-15 years.

    Dumping of bodies primarily leads to pollution of rivers, he said.

    Even if the bodies of suspected COVID-19 patients were fished out, there is a lot of dilution that happens (during the flow of water). The effect may not be significant,” he said.

    “If the water is passed for water supply, then it passes through the water supply system. Normal treatment takes care of it,” said Tare, who teaches environmental engineering, water quality and wastewater treatment.

    ALSO WATCH:

    He, however, added that there are patches where people draw water directly from the river.

    But even during this people do exercise caution.

    Tare is also associated with the National Mission for Clean Ganga, the apex body under the Jal Shakti Ministry that deals with the cleaning of Ganga, its tributaries and sub-tributaries.

    On Tuesday, the Bihar government fished out 71 bodies from the Ganges in Buxar district, where these were found floating in the river, triggering suspicion that the abandoned corpses could be those of COVID-19 patients.

    According to Ballia residents in Uttar Pradesh, at least 45 bodies were seen floating at the Ujiyar, Kulhadia and Bharauli ghats in the Narahi area.

    However, the district authorities did not tell the exact number of bodies found there.

    On Monday, residents in Hamirpur district spotted five bodies floating in the Yamuna, creating a scare that these were of COVID patients.

    The bodies were later fished out and cremated.

    Following this, the Centre on Tuesday asked states along the Ganga to ensure strict vigilance and check future incidences of people dumping bodies in Ganga and its tributaries after 71 corpses were fished out of the river body in Bihar.

    In a letter to the District Ganga Committees which are chaired by district magistrates/ collectors, the National Mission for Clean Ganga also asked the authorities to dispose of unidentified dead bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims in accordance with safety protocols.

    “Ensure strict vigilance along length of the river within territorial jurisdiction of the district to prevent and check such future incidences of people dumping dead bodies in Ganga and its tributaries and of any other activities hazardous for river Ganga and health and hygiene of the area,” the NMCG Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra said in a letter to the chairpersons of the District Ganga Committees.

    It has also asked to submit an action-taken report (ATR) to the NMCG in the next 14 days, the letter said.

    Responding to a question on this in a briefing on May 7, V K Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog said, “Spread of transmission through water is not a concern. Not to worry.”

    Principal Scientific Adviser K VijayRaghavan said there is no worry about transmission through such mediums.

    “Primary transmission happens when people speak, or when two people are in close proximity and if the droplets drop on any surface come in contact with the other person then it can spread through water,” he said.

    “But mostly it spreads through aerosol. It also depends on airflow. There is no need to worry. It dilutes in the water to an extent that there is little danger of transmission,” Raghavan said.

  • Seven more bodies seen floating in Ganga in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia; total count 52

    By PTI
    bALLIA: With seven more bodies seen floating in the Ganga, the count of bodies found in this Uttar Pradesh district has reached 52, an official said on Wednesday.

    The district administration is immediately performing the last rites of the deceased as there is a possibility that they had contracted COVID-19.

    According to Ballia residents, at least 45 bodies were seen floating near the Ujiyar, Kulhadia and Bharauli ghats in the Narahi area on Tuesday evening.

    Late on Tuesday night, seven more bodies were found, taking the total count of bodies to 52, an official said.

    In a statement issued on Tuesday, District Magistrate Aditi Singh had said some bodies in a decomposed condition were seen floating under the Ballia-Buxar bridge.

    She said Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Sadar) Rajesh Yadav and Circle Officer Jagveer Singh Chauhan are probing the matter and the last rites of the deceased were performed with due respect.

    “The last rites of the deceased were performed on Tuesday itself. We are trying to find out where did the bodies come from. Seeing the flow of the river, it seems that they came from Buxar and other parts of Bihar,” Yadav told PTI on Wednesday.

    Although Buxar is downstream to Ballia, there is a possibility that the bodies came from Buxar, he said.

    “The distance between the Bharauli and Ujiyar ghats in the Narahi police station area of Ballia, and the ghat in Buxar is around one kilometre. The direction of wind over the river is towards Ballia,” the SDM said.

    A police official said the administration is immediately performing the last rites of the dead as there is a possibility that they were infected with the coronavirus.

  • Human corpses float, pile up at Ganga bank, this time in Uttar Pradesh

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: A day after bodies of suspected Covid patients washed up on banks of Ganga in Bihar’s Buxar, some unidentified corpses were found floating in the Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.

    The local administration has initiated the probe.

    “Our officers are present on the spot to investigate and ascertain where they came from. A probe into the matter is underway,” MP Singh, Ghazipur’s District Magistrate told ANI.

    The local people, traumatised by the sight of floating human bodies in the Ganga, fear spreading of diseases in the area, which has not been spared by the ravaging Covid pandemic.

    They complained of stench coming from the bloated, decomposed corpses and accused the authorities of ineptitude.

    “We informed the administration about the matter, but no action has been taken by them. If the situation continues like this, there is fear of us getting infected by Coronavirus,” Akhand, a resident, told ANI.

    The incident of floating and piling up of corpses in Bihar sparked fears about the scale of the Covid crisis in the country. Authorities believe the relatives of those succumbed to the virus, may not have been able to find space for the last rites.

    Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday termed the incident as “unfortunate” and asked concerned states to take immediate cognizance.

    “The incident of corpses found floating in Ganga in Buxar region of Bihar is unfortunate. This is definitely a matter of investigation. The Modi government is committed to the cleanliness ‘mother’ Ganga. This incident is unexpected. The concerned states should take immediate cognizance in this regard,” Shekhawat tweeted. 

  • Record high 4,187 COVID-19 deaths in India, 4.01 lakh new cases

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India saw a record 4,187 fatalities due to COVID-19 in a single day, taking the country’s death toll to 2,38,270, while 4,01,078 new infections were reported in a day, pushing the tally to 2,18,92,676, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.

    Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 37,23,446, comprising 17.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 81.90 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,79,30, 960, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.09 per cent, the data stated.

    4,01,078 new #COVID19 cases and 4,187 deaths were reported in the country in the last 24 hours.Express Photo | @sooraj_TNIE pic.twitter.com/zzs0R1x2UR
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 8, 2021

    India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

    It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.

    According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 30,04,10,043 samples have been tested up to May 7 with 18,08,344 samples being tested on Friday.