News Analysis India

Tag: COVID19

  • British-Indian musician Shayan Italia strikes the right chord

    Express News Service
    Ten years ago, when British-Indian musician Shayan Italia came to India from the UK, little did he know that his experiences in the country would become his inspiration for songs he would create in the future.

    Once he was surprised to find himself standing up for the National Anthem with a bucketful of popcorn in his hands at a theatre in Mumbai. This inspired him to create a new rendition, which became one of the most viewed versions of the anthem with over 100 million views.

    This singer is now back with Warrior, inspired by the COVID-19 situation. The song is a metaphorical representation of the current situation as the pandemic has caused millions of deaths and despite the present political and social conditions people are fighting and surviving.

    “It was written with the sense that we all need a push and this song is that force. I needed one song for people to relate to. Warrior is adult, contemporary melodic pop,” says Shayan, who hails from Secunderabad and has lived in the UK since he was a teenager.

    “People remember songs no matter what situation they are in. I thought if I can create a song which people remember, then it has the possibility to live on. Warrior might reach that tipping point,” hopes the singer. Born in a Parsi family, Shayan’s journey with music started as a teenager when his mother asked Shayan’s father to get him a piano.

    Shayan, at a very young age lost his parents and had to move to London to live with his elder brother. “There I got opportunities to work with a lot of musicians. I have been recording and writing in the shadows for a long time,” he recalls.

    Driven by purpose rather than fame and money, Shayan is protective of his catalogue of work and despite living in Mumbai, he doesn’t want to collaborate with Bollywood musicians. “Bollywood is not my language of choice. I don’t think in that language and won’t be able to do it justice with my music,” asserts the composer.

    Asked if he has plans to move back to the UK, he says living in India is tough but, “I love Indian food and there are some good things about India that keep me going. But, I can’t live anywhere else other than in Mumbai.”

    An avid traveller, Shayan has explored more than 100 countries and believes that his exposure to the world helps him make good music. As of now, Shayan is celebrating the success of the song, and leads a private life focusing on his music and his philanthropic endeavours. However, this lockdown has hit him hard. “A lot of things are happening with my project but I am not able to gather resources,” he concludes.

  • COVID Think Tank | How did we make vaccines so fast?

    By Express News Service
    Everybody is worried about how the vaccines got developed in a year. They feel that if it was this quick, then they must’ve taken shortcuts. But these vaccines have been made for the past 20 years, this virus is a member of the Coronavirus family, said Dr Satyajit Rath, a well-known immunologist and researcher.

    “We met one of COVID’s relatives — SARS — 20 years ago. We met another one 10 years later — it caused the MERS epidemic. What has been similar is that all three are respiratory. But two things aren’t similar — if five people had SARS/MERS, one or two died. If 200 people get COVID-19 maybe one or two die. Today’s virus is much less lethal than the other two,” added Dr Rath while speaking on the topic The Next Epidemic: What Will We Do? at The New Indian Express’ online event COVID Think Tank that aired on June 14, 2021.

    Dr Satyajit Rath

    Speaking about the second difference, the Visiting Faculty at IISER, Pune said, “Research groups around the world began to make a vaccine when the other two viruses came into being. Scientifically speaking, making vaccines against these viruses are not as difficult compared to making one for TB or HIV. They began finding all the preliminary data, but in that time, we discovered the other difference — those two didn’t spread as much. Simply maintaining distance wherever there were outbreaks nipped them in the bud and transmission stopped.”

  • India records 70,421 fresh cases of COVID-19, active cases fall below 10 lakh-mark after two months

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India recorded a single-day rise of 70,421 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest in 74 days, taking the country’s infection tally to 2,95,10,410, while the count of active cases fell below 10 lakhs after over two months, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    The COVID-19 death toll in the country climbed to 3,74,305, with 3,921 fatalities recorded in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. The count of active cases has further declined to 9,73,158 which is 3.30 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.43 per cent.

    A net decline of 53,001 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data showed. Also, 14,92,152 COVID-19 tests were conducted on Sunday, taking the total number of such examinations in the country so far to 37,96,24,626, it stated, adding that the daily positivity rate was recorded 4.72 per cent.

    It has stayed below 10 per cent for 21 consecutive days, the ministry said. The weekly positivity rate has also reduced and stands at 4.54 per cent. Recoveries outnumbered daily new cases for the 32nd consecutive day in the country.

    The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 2,81,62,947, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.27 per cent, the data stated. Cumulatively, 25,48,49,301 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far under nationwide vaccination drive.

    India’s COVID-19 infection tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5, 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and one crore on December 19.

    India crossed the grim milestone of two crore cases on May 4.

    ALSO WATCH |

  • Centre invites bids for delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to remote areas by drones

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government has invited bids for delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs to remote areas and those with difficult terrains in select locations of the country by drones to ensure last-mile coverage.

    The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted a successful feasibility study in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and has developed a standard protocol for the delivery of vaccines using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), according to the bid document.

    On behalf of the ICMR, the HLL Infra Tech Services Limited (Procurement Support Agency) has invited expression of interest (EOI) through the Central Public Procurement Portal from experienced Indian agencies for the delivery of medical supplies (vaccines/drugs) by UAVs.

    According to the tender criteria, the ICMR shall engage UAV operators who are able to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in fixed pre-defined flight paths, deliver medical supplies payload at select locations in India and return to the command station.

    During the prevailing pandemic, different agencies are helping the government prevent and control the transmission of COVID-19. The bid document stated that to strengthen the delivery of vaccines, the ICMR successfully conducted a feasibility study to deliver vaccines through UAVs in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur.

    “Based on the preliminary results of the study, the ICMR has developed a standard protocol for the successful delivery of vaccines using a UAV. “Now, based on the experience gained in the feasibility study, the ICMR is keen to develop a model for vaccine delivery by UAV in the field practice area to reach areas to cover last-mile coverage at difficult terrain in selected locations,” it said.

    “The main objective of the proposed work is to develop a medical supplies delivery model and its feasibility in the field practice area by using UAVs in remote inaccessible (hard to reach) areas in selected locations in India,” it added.

    According to the specifications, UAVs should be able to cover a minimum aerial distance of 35 km, able to take off vertically and carry a minimum payload of 4 kg and should be capable of returning to command station after delivering the payload.

    Initially, the tenure of engagement shall be 90 days. This can be extended further depending upon the performance of the UAV operator and the need of the program.

  • Madhya Pradesh: BJP Yuva Morcha leader fined Rs 10,000 for flouting COVID-19 norms

    By ANI
    KATNI: The Katni administration on Sunday imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Yuva Morcha district president Mridul Dwivedi for flouting COVID-19 norms during his birthday celebration here.

    According to Katni’s Tehsildar, the action was taken after a video went viral of Dwivedi celebrating his birthday flouting COVID-19 norms and many people were seen in the viral video.

    “A video went viral on social media where a public representative was seen celebrating his birthday flouting COVID-19 norms. We took cognizance of the matter and a team was set up. The public representative was sent notice. He also submitted the fine of Rs 10,000 over the matter,” Katni’s Tehsildar Sandeep Srivastava said.

    Srivastava also said that the people present at the event have been instructed to stay in home isolation for 7 days. In the viral video, BJP Yuva Morcha district president Mridul Dwivedi along with his guests were seen without masks in public and was not following the social distancing norms.

    According to the official data, there are 4251 active cases of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, while the death toll due to COVID has reached 8552.

  • Gyms reopen with COVID protocols in Haryana’s Ambala as part of phased unlock

    By ANI
    AMBALA: After the Haryana government announced some relaxation in lockdown curbs, gyms were reopened in Ambala at 50 per cent capacity from 6 am to 8 pm, as part of phased un-lock in the state. “It is a good decision by the government. After a gap of 1.5 months, trainers will be employed. We have resumed with all COVID-appropriate protocols,” said a gym trainer.

    The Haryana government on Sunday extended the ongoing lockdown till 5 am on June 21, but considering a sharp decline in Covid positivity rate and the number of new positive cases, it allowed more relaxations in the rules.

    As per the notification, under the rules, gyms are allowed to open from 6 am to 8 pm with 50 per cent capacity after adopting requisite social distancing norms, regular sanitisation and COVID appropriate behavioural norms. “However, spas shall remain closed,” the notification added.

    All production units, establishments, and industries are permitted to function in Haryana now adhering to COVID norms. Sports complexes and stadiums are also allowed to open only for sports activities and spectators will not be allowed.

    All colleges, coaching institutions, libraries, and training institutes, whether government or private, will remain closed till further orders. The government order directed the deputy commissioners of the districts to work out the modalities of implementing the relaxations strictly.

  • COVID-19 vaccine allocation found inversely proportional to population of many cities

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Amid reports of people who fail to get vaccination slots in major cities, travelling to nearby districts and satellite towns for jabs, an interesting correlation of several smaller districts near big urban centres/state capitals being allocated an unusually high percentage of vaccination doses has emerged.

    Extensive CoWin app data analysis by The New Indian Express threw up this interesting phenomenon, but there are no clear answers as to why there is an allocation skew, though several officials confirmed the pattern of people from bigger urban centres going to satellite cities to get vaccinated.

    For instance, Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Hooghly and Howrah in West Bengal, Pune in Maharashtra, Alwar in Rajasthan and Panipat in Haryana received more doses than districts with higher population in their respective states. In Meerut, a tier-2 city located 100 kms from Delhi and considered a part of the National Capital Region (NCR), 7.35 lakh doses were administered in a population of 34.43 lakh. However, there are at least 20 districts in UP with higher population that received lesser allocation. Take Sultanpur and Hardoi for example. The two districts have significantly larger population, but received only a third of the doses allocated to Meerut.

    Authorities say the situation is similar in Bulandshahr, another UP district adjoining Delhi. According to Bulandshahar district immunisation officer Dr Rohitash Yadav, the trend is most visible in vaccination centres at Khurja, Sikandarabad and Anupshahr. “Almost 15-20 per cent of the beneficiaries in these three towns are actually residents of Delhi, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar. Owing to shortage of slots in areas they live, they are booking slots here,” Yadav said.

    The status is similar in Alwar, falling within the NCR. It reported over 11 lakh vaccinations, which is the second highest in Rajasthan after Jaipur. And Alwar is not the most populous of Rajasthan’s 33 districts. 

    Vaccine distribution disparity: People struggle for jab

    Another example of this disparity was recorded in Pune district. The district received 33 lakh doses against a population of nearly 94 lakh, but bigger agglomerates like Thane (over 1.1 crore population) received only 19.21 lakh doses.

    West Bengal also showed a similarly skewed distribution pattern. In Kolkata, 24.64 lakh doses were given among a population of 44.96 lakh. In Hooghly, 50 kms from the capital and home to 48.50 lakh people, 11.52 lakh doses were given. But many districts like South Paraganas (with a population of 81.61 lakh) or Murshidabad (71 lakh) received far fewer doses.

    In Hooghly, adjacent to Kolkata and home to 55 lakh, 8.84 lakh vaccinations were carried out, which was much more than vaccinations carried out in districts such as Nadia, Purba Medinapore with similar populations. Budhadeb Roy, a resident of Sinthee in Kolkata, was struggling to get a slot. “I went to a health centre in Hooghly and got vaccinated on May 5,” he said.

    Patna got nearly 12.61 lakh doses for a population of 51.38 lakh. Saran district received 5.21 lakh doses against a population of 39.51 lakh. However, districts such as Gaya, Muzaffarpur and Samastipur, with a far higher population, received a fraction of the doses administered in Patna and Saran.

    (With inputs from Rajesh Asnani, Pranob Mondal, Anurag Thakur, Rajesh Thakur & Sudhir Suryavanshi)

  • No contact details found for 8,000 people tested for COVID-19 in Bihar

    Express News Service
    PATNA: After landing in a row over doctored COVID-19 death count, Bihar has now reported fudging in testing figures. At many health centres in Muzaffarpur district, the numbers have been found to be inflated, prompting the government to launch a probe. 

    At a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Bochhaha, 3,550 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits were supplied by the government between March 1 and May 31, but the number of tests carried out in the same period was recorded to be 6,470.

    Similarly, 5,500 RAT kits were provided to the Saraiya Community Health Centre (CHC) between March 1 and May 31, but official records showed 6,581 persons had been tested. The irregularities continued at the Saraiya PHC also, where a total of 8,250 kits were supplied but the number of people tested was recorded to be 8,755.

    At Motipur CHC, only 7,400 RAT kits were supplied but records showed that a total of 8,325 people were tested while Muraul CHC received 7,875 test kits but 8,325 tests were shown to be carried out in official records. At Sakara Referral Hospital, a total number of 8,450 kits were supplied but 8,668 people were shown to have undergone the rapid antigen test.

    The irregularities were detected when many people received messages of negative test reports on their mobile phones though they had not gone for testing. Interestingly, the data sheets at 18 CHCs and PHCs showed the entry in the column for mobile phone numbers against 8,231 people as ‘0000000000’.

    The initial probe confirmed the irregularities. Muzaffarpur DM Pranab Kumar could not be contacted butthe spokesperson for the district administration, Kamal Kumar, said an FIR had been lodged against the guilty health officials and investigation was still on to ascertain the reasons behind fudging the data.

  • Rajasthan government announces financial package for children orphaned, women widowed by COVID

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government has devised a major scheme to provide financial help to COVID orphans and women who have been widowed due to the pandemic. The Rajasthan government has announced a financial relief package on Saturday for children who lost their parents to the coronavirus.

    Under this special package, announced by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a provision of Rs 1 lakh has been made as immediate grant for children who lost their parents to COVID .

    In addition, COVID orphans will be provided a monthly assistance of Rs 2500 till these children reach the age of 18 years. Also a one-time  assistance of Rs 5 lakhs will be given to COVID orphans on completion of 18 years and they will be given free education till higher secondary besides other benefits under the Mukhyamantri Corona Bal Kalyan Yojna.

    Significantly, women who lost their husbands to the Corona infection will be given an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh and a pension of Rs 1500  per month under this financial relief package. In addition, children of these COVID-19 widows will be given a monthly assistance of one thousand rupees per child and 2,000 rupees a month for school books and dress will also be provided.

    The Rajasthan government will conduct a special survey in all 33 districts of the state to identify COVID orphans and widows. Additional director of the Child Rights department Reena Sharma remarked, “The NCPCR has asked for all information about such children to be put up on the Bal Swaraj portal. Through information from all districts, entries of over 700 COVID orphans have already been uploaded. In addition, we have information that there are another 3,000 children who have lost one parent to the COVID pandemic.”

    Over the past few months, The New Indian Express has been reflecting many stories about COVID orphans and there are several such stories from Rajasthan.

    Among the countless orphans of COVID-19 are Supriya (16) and Bindiya (13) who lost their father and mother in the space of just three days in April this year. COVID-19 first struck their 45-year old father Vijay Joshi on April 24. Three days later, their mother Ranjana’s condition also took a turn for the worse. After wailing endlessly for a few days, the sisters are now being taken care of by their uncle and Vijay’s elder brother Munna Joshi.

    The announcement of the package has brought great relief to Munna, who asserted, “This package has come as a huge relief for our family. It has ended nearly 50 per cent of our tension. Both girls were studying in a private English-medium school and we can now continue to educate them in the same school. Once they become 18 and get the additional 5 lakhs, it would be useful for their higher studies,” said Munna  who also thanked the TNIE report on COVID orphans for highlighting the issue.

    Child rights activist Vijay Goyal was also delighted over the package. He remarked, “Many states have provided help for COVID orphans but the Rajasthan package is really much better as it will take care of all needs of such unfortunate children till they turn adults.”

    “In addition, the help for COVID widows and their children is a most welcome initiative and will greatly help families who have lost their earning members to COVID crisis,” he added.

  • Rajasthan government announces financial package for children orphaned, women widowed by COVID

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government has devised a major scheme to provide financial help to COVID orphans and women who have been widowed due to the pandemic. The Rajasthan government has announced a financial relief package on Saturday for children who lost their parents to the coronavirus.

    Under this special package, announced by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a provision of Rs 1 lakh has been made as immediate grant for children who lost their parents to COVID .

    In addition, COVID orphans will be provided a monthly assistance of Rs 2500 till these children reach the age of 18 years. Also a one-time  assistance of Rs 5 lakhs will be given to COVID orphans on completion of 18 years and they will be given free education till higher secondary besides other benefits under the Mukhyamantri Corona Bal Kalyan Yojna.

    Significantly, women who lost their husbands to the Corona infection will be given an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh and a pension of Rs 1500  per month under this financial relief package. In addition, children of these COVID-19 widows will be given a monthly assistance of one thousand rupees per child and 2,000 rupees a month for school books and dress will also be provided.

    The Rajasthan government will conduct a special survey in all 33 districts of the state to identify COVID orphans and widows. Additional director of the Child Rights department Reena Sharma remarked, “The NCPCR has asked for all information about such children to be put up on the Bal Swaraj portal. Through information from all districts, entries of over 700 COVID orphans have already been uploaded. In addition, we have information that there are another 3,000 children who have lost one parent to the COVID pandemic.”

    Over the past few months, The New Indian Express has been reflecting many stories about COVID orphans and there are several such stories from Rajasthan.

    Among the countless orphans of COVID-19 are Supriya (16) and Bindiya (13) who lost their father and mother in the space of just three days in April this year. COVID-19 first struck their 45-year old father Vijay Joshi on April 24. Three days later, their mother Ranjana’s condition also took a turn for the worse. After wailing endlessly for a few days, the sisters are now being taken care of by their uncle and Vijay’s elder brother Munna Joshi.

    The announcement of the package has brought great relief to Munna, who asserted, “This package has come as a huge relief for our family. It has ended nearly 50 per cent of our tension. Both girls were studying in a private English-medium school and we can now continue to educate them in the same school. Once they become 18 and get the additional 5 lakhs, it would be useful for their higher studies,” said Munna  who also thanked the TNIE report on COVID orphans for highlighting the issue.

    Child rights activist Vijay Goyal was also delighted over the package. He remarked, “Many states have provided help for COVID orphans but the Rajasthan package is really much better as it will take care of all needs of such unfortunate children till they turn adults.”

    “In addition, the help for COVID widows and their children is a most welcome initiative and will greatly help families who have lost their earning members to COVID crisis,” he added.