News Analysis India

Tag: COVID19

  • Uttarakhand tourism industry seeks relief package to tide over COVID-19 crisis

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: The coronavirus battered tourism industry of Uttarakhand is pinning its hope on a relief package for hoteliers, owners of roadside eateries, tour and travel operators and people connected with adventure tourism who are facing a livelihood crisis.

    It is estimated that the tourism industry of the state has suffered losses worth Rs 1600 crore in 2020 due to the pandemic. “We have submitted a proposal to the chief minister seeking a relief package to inject life into our embattled tourism industry,” Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj said on Friday

    “Tourism is our bread and butter and it has suffered at multiple levels due to the pandemic. A relief package at this stage will do a world of good to people in the sector,” Maharaj told PTI in an interview. Citing the findings of a study conducted by IIM, Kashipur, the minister said Covid caused losses worth Rs 1600 crore to the tourism industry of Uttarakhand in 2020 besides rendering around 23000 people jobless.

    He said that the losses caused by the second wave of corona this year have not been estimated yet.

    The relief package has been sought for hoteliers, owners of roadside eateries, tour and travel operators and people connected with adventure tourism like rafting and trekking who are facing a livelihood crisis with no tourists arriving due to the pandemic.

    “While Kumbh had to be scaled down for people’s safety due to a raging second wave, the Chardham yatra has been hit hard by the COVID induced restrictions for the second consecutive year. It has been a big blow to the tourism industry,” the minister said.

    Hotels in tourist hubs like Nainital and Mussoorie have suffered bulk cancellation of bookings in recent months due to the second wave of the pandemic which had shown signs of abating in February-March. Tour and travel operators have also suffered with no tourists around.

    Covid curfew has been in force in Uttarakhand for several weeks now and vehicle operators are almost off the roads, he said.

    “A relief package for the tourism industry at this hour will give it the much needed shot in the arm,” Maharaj said adding that the chief minister has also been asked to include folk artistes as beneficiaries of the relief package as they do not get a chance to perform and earn with no cultural programmes being held by the tourism and culture department for more than a year.

    Maharaj said he has also requested the chief minister to go for a phased opening of the Chardham Yatra after the Covid curfew is lifted in the state. Although the famous Himalayan temples of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are open for daily prayers, they have been kept out of bounds for pilgrims in view of COVID.

    Pilgrimage to the Himalayan temples faced similar hurdles last year and opened finally with mandatory restrictions like a negative RT-PCR test report which limited the footfall of devotees to around 3.5 lakh only during the entire yatra season.

    However, the minister said the tourism scenario though bleak should not lead to despair. “COVID is a global crisis. Many tourist hubs in the world have battled it and overcome the challenges. We should draw inspiration from them and look forward with hope,” he said citing the instance of Dubai where the tourism industry is already showing signs of recovery.

  • India records 1.32 lakh fresh cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours, 2,713 deaths reported

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India reported 1,32,364 new coronavirus infections taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,85,74,350, while the recovery rate crossed 93 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

    The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 3,40,702 with 2,713 fresh deaths, while the active cases were recorded below 20 lakh for the fourth consecutive day, the data updated at 8 am showed. A total of 20,75,428 tests were conducted on Thursday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of COVID-19 in the country to 35,74,33,846.

    The daily positivity was recorded at 6.38 per cent. It has been less than 10 per cent for 11 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate has declined to 7.27 per cent.

    India recorded 1,32,364 fresh #COVID19 cases and 2,713 fatalities in a single-day. pic.twitter.com/Ce1TXvtVQa
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) June 4, 2021

    The active cases have reduced to 16,35,993 comprising 5.73 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 93.08 per cent. A net decline of 77,420 cases has been recorded in the COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

    Recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for 22 consecutive days. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,65,97,655, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, the data stated.

    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. The 2,713 new fatalities include 643 from Maharashtra, 514 from Karnataka, 460 from Tamil Nadu, 153 from Kerala, 108 each from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

    A total of 3,40,702 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 97,394 from Maharashtra, 30,531 from Karnataka, 25,665 from Tamil Nadu, 24,447 from Delhi, 20,895 from Uttar Pradesh, 15,921 from West Bengal, 14,840 from Punjab and 13,139 from Chhattisgarh.

    The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • COVID-19, West Bengal politics on agenda as top functionaries of RSS meet in Delhi

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Top functionaries of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday when into a huddle in the national capital to brainstorm on a range of issues, including the Centre’s response to the pandemic, the party defeat in West Bengal, and the post-election violence in the state.

    The meeting is being chaired by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. One of the functionaries, who is attending the deliberations, told The New Indian Express that it is a routine event and internal to the RSS. However, the meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the second wave of the COVID-19.

    One of the functionaries said the RSS will be discussing the impact of the pandemic and the future course of actions, considering that there could potentially be a third wave of the virus this year. The general secretary of the RSS Dattareya Hosbole, and senior functionaries Manmohan Vaidya and Krishna Gopal will be taking part in the deliberations.

    Incidentally, Hosbole had been in Lucknow recently, where the BJP’s central leadership is holding meetings with the state ministers to find ways to improve the relationship between the state government and the party organisation, which is said to have been strained in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19. 

    RSS leaders have expressed concerns about the political cost of the second wave of the pandemic, which has led to scores of people dying in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.

    With the RSS having closely followed the West Bengal elections, sources say the discussions may also focus on the reasons for the saffron’s camp below-par performance. The RSS had thrown its weight behind the BJP’s attempt to wrest power in the state.

  • COVID-19 vaccination comes to halt for 18-plus age group in Rajasthan

    Express News Service
    JAIPUR: Vaccination has stopped in Rajasthan for the 18-plus group due to shortage of doses. On May 29, 1.25 lakh vaccines were bought for this age group. But that has been spent already. The quota from any other age group category has not been diverted to the group, government sources said.

    Officials said that it might be difficult to get anyone vaccinated for the next six days in the 18-plus category as there is no information from either the manufacturing companies or the Central government on the supply of the vaccine.

    Dr Raghuraj Singh, Project Director of the Vaccination Campaign in Rajasthan, said the government had already used more doses than it received for the 18-plus age group. “Vaccination has stopped at all places. Today in Jaipur, vaccination of this age group could not take place at any government center. We have urged manufacturers to provide doses as soon as possible,” he said.

    Uttarakhand way behind vaccination target

    Uttarakhand is way behind in fully vaccinating its 18-plus population by December 2021, the national objective. To vaccinate an estimated 66 lakh population in the 18-plus category, Uttarakhand needs to administer at least 49,000 doses per day.

    Anoop Nautiyal of the Social Development for Communities Foundation, an organization that has been collating Covid data since March 15, 2020, said: “The state has achieved an average of 21,402 doses per day starting January 16. The state needs a total of 1.32 crore doses.”

  • India in talks with manufacturers abroad for local production of COVID vaccines: Foreign Secretary

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that India was in talks with manufacturers abroad for local manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and that the Ministry of External Affairs is making all efforts to increase supplies, especially from the US.

    “We are also part of the discussions with major vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna about sourcing and possible local manufacturing of their vaccines in India. We have also helped expedite the introduction of Sputnik V vaccines,” Shringla said during an address at the WHO’s South-East Asia Regional Health Partners’ Forum.

    Saying that India was fighting an exceptional second wave of the pandemic, the foreign secretary said that MEA has been working to ease regulatory disruptions to the supply chains. India’s vaccine manufacturing hit a hurdle after the US in February last year invoked the Defence Production Act for vaccine ingredients.

    According to the act, all the resources in the US must be prioritised for Americans first. India has been demanding easier access to raw materials necessary for vaccine production.

    Shringla also said India would create global scale capacities needed to tackle the pandemic. “A number of serious global conversations are underway on this in platforms such as the G7, G20, Quad, BRICS, the UN and the WTO itself,” he said.

    Meanwhile, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India is engaged with the US administration to ensure that necessary components and raw materials for vaccine production in the country are readily available.

    “This was taken up recently during the External Affairs Minister’s US visit,” he said. India was also awaiting US allocations from its surplus stockpile of 80 million Astra Zeneca vaccines, he added.

  • Preparing systematically for COVID-19 in kids, guidelines to be out soon: Centre

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Centre is set to issue guidelines for Covid-19 management in kids and also to prepare hospital infrastructure to support a large number of kids in case the infectious disease hits them with more intensity in the coming months, authorities announced on Tuesday.

    The announcement comes amid concerns that children may be among the worst hit with Covid-19 if there is a fresh wave of the viral disease. But many experts, apart from government officials, have said this may not be a valid apprehension based on the scientific evidence so far.

    VK Paul, member (health) Niti Aayog and chairman of the national Covid19 task force who is a paediatrician himself said in a press briefing on Tuesday that so far, only 2-3 % of the kids with Covid-19 need hospital care and the scientific evidence suggest that children are less susceptible for severe disease.

    He however added that preparations will be made keeping 2.5 to 3 times that number in mind to tackle any future exigency.

    “The paediatric population is generally asymptomatic. They often get infections but their symptoms are minimal or nil. If they do get Covid, the infection has not taken serious shape in children and the need to hospitalise is very less,” Paul said.

    “But the virus may change its behaviour in the paediatric population and there may be changes in epidemiological dynamics. The impact of Covid-19 may increase in children…The data has shown that a low number of children are being admitted to hospitals. We are pushing preparedness by the day,” he added.

    Paul also stressed that the government is working very systematically, comprehensively to address the problem of paediatric Covid disease for now as well as in the future.

    “We will strengthen our facilities as required and do an audit of what is required and what might be required in a worst-case scenario,” he also said adding that in some children post Covid19 complications are seen 2-6 weeks after the actual infection and these complications may be totally different than the ones reported in adults. 

    The debate that the children could be the worst affected in future waves of Covid19 pandemic started driven by the logic that they may be completely left out of the vaccination coverage against coronavirus.

    Most experts however say that these concerns may be unfounded. “Serosurveys in many countries including India have shown that prevalence of infection was similar across all age groups so a large number of kids may have been affected already,” pointed out public health expert Chandrakant Lahariya.

    He added that despite a high number of infections, not many kids reported severe disease or needed hospitalisation because of the fact that children due to a smaller number of ACE 2 receptors—used by coronavirus to enter the human cells—as compared to adults.

    “Therefore, I do not see the reason why there should be undue anxieties about a larger number of falling sick due to Covid19 in the coming weeks or months,” he said.

    Some doctors have also advocated that flu shots for kids may be a tool to prevent coronavirus infection but a senior paediatrician in AIIMS, Delhi indicated that it may not be suitable for India.

    “The flu shots available in the private market are often prepared for influenza virus strains prevalent in the peak season in Europe and are often not very effective against preventing seasonal flu in India so I am not sure how such flu shots can help against SARS CoV 2 which is a completely new virus,” he said.

    ALSO WATCH | Is highly infectious B.1.617 variant spreading at a frightening speed?

  • 117 districts classified as ‘aspirational’ show poor performance in fighting Covid

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  With greater focus on health, nutrition and education among others, 117 districts labeled aspirational in 2018 were supposed to set the benchmark for other districts “by competing with and learning from others”.

    Conventional wisdom dictated that these aspirational districts would have weathered the COVID-19 storm better than others, but a data analysis shows they have performed as poorly, if not worse, than any other in the country during the pandemic.

    Take for instance Virudhunagar and Ramanathpuram in Tamil Nadu, ranked first and second by Niti Aayog, the institution that is driving the programme.

    Virudhunagar accounted for 388 deaths whereas 18 other districts in the state saw fewer deaths. YSR Kadappa, with health rank seven, reported 542 deaths in Andhra Pradesh.

    Nandurbar in Maharashtra was ranked 95 among the aspirational districts. It reported 818 Covid deaths. Osmanabad, also in Maharashtra, saw 1,320 deaths. The district is ranked 20th.

    Their poor show is perhaps why on the seventh anniversary of the NDA at the Centre, two of the big slogans, aspirational districts and New India, are missing from the celebrations’ lexicon. Launched by Modi in January 2018, the drive was in line with the “New India vision by 2022.”

    Health was listed as the first in a number of priority areas for the programme. “Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development, and basic infrastructure are this programme’s core area of focus,” says NITI Aayog in its website.

    Mandarins in the government and the think-tank had made such tall claims about these districts that there was a clamour among MPs for inclusion of their constituencies in the list.

    The largest concentration of aspirational districts is in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as the Centre had included a number of “left wing extremism” affected districts to showcase developmental approach against the Maoist violence.

    Gaya, an LWE-affected district in Bihar, reported 185 COVID deaths whereas there were 20 districts in the state with fewer casualties. Among the non-LWE aspirational district in Bihar, Begusarai reported 125 deaths due to pandemic.

    The aspirational district tale is no different in UP, where Bahraich, Balrampur and Siddharnthnagar are reporting high deaths. In Jharkhand, with 19 aspirational districts, the programme made no difference in mitigating the hardships of the people as Ranchi and East Singhbhum are reporting huge COVID death figures.

    Ironically, the Aayog gives 30 per cent weightage to health and nutrition while ranking the aspirational districts. It also lists big corporate names as partners for the programme.

  • India reports 1.52 lakh fresh cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours, lowest daily tally in 50 days

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India reported the lowest daily new coronavirus infections in 50 days with 1,52,734 cases, taking India’s total tally to 2,80,47,534, while the active caseload further declined to 20,26,092, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

    The data updated at 8 am showed that the death toll climbed to 3,29,100 with 3,128 daily deaths. Recoveries continued to outnumber the daily new cases for the 18th consecutive day. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,56,92,342, with 2,38,022 patients having recovered in a span of 24 hours, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.17 per cent, the data stated.

    Also, 16,83,135 tests were conducted on Sunday, taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far in the country to 34,48,66,883, while the daily positivity was recorded at 9.07 per cent. The ministry said that it has been less than 10 per cent for seven consecutive days.

    India reports lowest daily new #COVID19 cases of 1.52 Lakh in 50 days, weekly test positivity rate 9.07 %.Also, active cases down by 88,416 in 24 hours.@NewIndianXpress #CovidIndia
    — Sumi Dutta (@SumiSukanya) May 31, 2021

    Weekly positivity rate has declined to 9.04 per cent. The active cases have further reduced to 20,26,092, comprising 7.22 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 91.60 per cent.

    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. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 21.31 crore. A total of 21,31,54,129 doses have been administered through 30,28,295 sessions, according to the provisional report till 7 am on Monday.

    WATCH:

    The 3,128 new fatalities include 814 from Maharashtra, 493 from Tamil Nadu, 381 from Karnataka, 186 from Kerala, 142 from West Bengal, 138 from Uttar Pradesh and 127 from Punjab.

    A total of 3,29,100 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 94,844 from Maharashtra, 28,679 from Karnataka, 24,151 from Delhi, 23,754 from Tamil Nadu, 20,346 from Uttar Pradesh, 15,410 from West Bengal, 14,432 from Punjab and 13,016 from Chhattisgarh.

    The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • Supreme Court slams Centre over COVID vaccine-procurement policy

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday posed searching questions to the Centre on the COVID-19 vaccine procurement policy and need for mandatory registration on the CoWIN app for people to get vaccinated without keeping in mind the real ‘digital India’ situation, observing that the policy makers must have an ear to the ground.

    A special bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, L N Rao and S Ravindrabhat said that since the Centre has made CoWIN registration mandatory for vaccination, how is it going to address the issue of digital divide facing the country.

    “You keep on saying the situation is dynamic but policy makers must have their ears on ground. You keep on saying digital India, digital India but the situation is actually different in rural areas. How will an illiterate labourer, from Jharkhand get registered in Rajasthan? Tell us how you will address this digital divide,” the bench sought to know from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

    It said, “You must smell the coffee and see what is happening across the country. You must know the ground situation and change the policy accordingly. If we had to do it, we would have done it 15-20 days back.”

    Mehta replied that registration is mandatory as a person needs to be traced for a second dose and as far as rural areas there are community centres where a person can get registered for vaccination. The bench questioned Mehta whether the government thinks that this process is viable and asked him to place the policy document on record.

    The top court was hearing a suo motu case on management of COVID situation in the country.

    At the outset, it asked the Centre about the vaccine procurement policy of the Centre by referring to the fact that states like Punjab and Delhi are in the process of issuing global tenders to procure foreign vaccines for COVID-19.

    The bench said that even Municipal Corporation like Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received bids.

    “Is this the policy of the central government that the state or municipal corporation can procure the vaccine or the Union Government is going to procure for them like a nodal agency? We want clarity on this and rationale behind this policy,” the bench said.

    In the meantime, the Centre said the entire eligible population would be vaccinated by the end of 2021 and moreover, the government is in talks with companies like Pfizer and if it succeeds then timeline for completing the vaccination would change, the law officer said.

    The hearing in the matter is continuing.

    Earlier, the top court had constituted a 12-member National Task Force to formulate a methodology for the scientific allocation of Oxygen to states and UTs for saving lives of COVID patients and to facilitate a public health response to the pandemic.

  • Centre to take decision within two days on class 12 board exams: Attorney general to SC

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government will take a final decision within the next two days on whether to conduct class 12 board exams amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court was informed on Monday.

    Attorney General KK Venugopal told this to a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari which said if the Centre decides to depart from the last year’s policy, wherein the remaining board exams were cancelled due to the pandemic, then it must give “tangible reasons” for it.

    “No issue. You take the decision. You are entitled to it. If you are departing from the policy of last year, then you must give tangible reasons for it,” the bench told Venugopal. Observing that the last year’s decision was taken after deliberations, the apex court said, “If you are departing from that policy, please give us good reasons so that we can examine it.”

    The bench was hearing a plea seeking directions to cancel the class 12 exams of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) amid the pandemic situation.

    The apex court on June 26, 2020 had approved the schemes of the CBSE and CISCE for cancellations of remaining board examinations scheduled from July 1 to 15 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also approved their formula for assessment of examinees.

    During the hearing conducted through video-conferencing on Monday, the Attorney General told the bench, “The government will take a final decision within the next two days. We are hoping that your lordships will give us time till Thursday (June 3) so that we can come back with the final decision.”

    Venugopal said that last year, board exams for some papers were over before the COVID-19 induced national lockdown was imposed in March 2020.

    “We don’t want to go into the nitty-gritty at this stage. You take the decision. Hope has been expressed by the petitioner that policy adopted last year can be adopted this year too. If you are departing from that, you must have tangible reasons for it,” the bench observed.

    To this, Venugopal said, “We will keep this in mind what you (bench) have said.” The bench said, “We have no difficulty. You take the decision on what should be appropriate given the situation we are in.”

    During the hearing, petitioner Mamta Sharma raised the issue of difficulty which students, who wish to study abroad after class 12, might face in case the results are delayed. “Let them take the decision. Depending on that, we will see. We will consider this on Thursday when the in-principle decision is placed before us,” the bench said.

    “List on Thursday (June 3) as requested by the attorney general as the competent authority is examining all the aspects of the matter and is likely to take in-principle decision which will be placed before the court,” the bench said.

    On May 28, the apex court had said it would hear on May 31 the petition which has also sought directions to devise an “objective methodology” to declare the result of class 12 within a specific time frame.

    The top court had permitted the petitioner to serve advance copy of the plea on the standing counsel for the respondents — central agency, CBSE, ICSE — and also on the office of the Attorney General. The petition has arrayed the Centre, the CBSE and the CISCE as respondents in the matter.

    The CBSE had on April 14 announced cancellation of class 10 exams and postponement of class 12 exams in view of the surge in coronavirus cases. The Ministry of Education had recently sought detailed suggestions from the states and Union Territories till May 25 on the proposals discussed in a high-level meeting held on the issue.

    The CBSE had proposed conducting the exams between July 15-August 26 and the result to be declared in September. The board had also proposed two options: conducting regular exams for 19 major subjects at notified centres or conducting shorter duration exams at respective schools where students are enrolled.

    The plea filed in the apex court has contended that due to the unprecedented health emergency and surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, it is not possible to conduct the examination and any further delay would cause irreparable loss to the future of students.

    “In view of the unprecedented health emergency and rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, the conduct of examination (either offline/online/blended) in upcoming weeks is not possible and delay in examination will cause irreparable loss to the students as time is the essence in taking admission in higher education courses in foreign universities,” the plea said.

    It has also sought setting aside of the notifications, issued last months by the CBSE and the CISCE, only in respect of the clauses dealing with postponement of class 12 examinations. The petition said it is the utmost duty of the state to take care of the health and safety of students and at the same time, not to hamper their higher education and career prospects.

    It said the COVID-19 situation is more severe in comparison to last year and the respondents should adopt the same criteria of assessing the grading/marks of class 12 students as done last year.

    It said that the apex court may exercise its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to direct the respondents to implement the same methodology as being adopted for class 10 to declare the result and cancel the class 12 exam.