News Analysis India

Tag: COVID19

  • Nothing but empty talk: Congress slams PM Modi’s address to nation on COVID-19 situation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Congress lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday after he addressed the nation on the coronavirus situation and advised states against clamping lockdown, and said he has chosen to relinquish his responsibilities and put the onus of saving India on NGOs, children and the youth.

    The Congress said that the prime minister has left the people to fend for themselves in fighting the pandemic and described his address to the nation as “nothing but empty talk”. “PM Modi’s address to the nation was again today nothing but empty talk,” Congress senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said in a statement.

    He said the nation is going through an unprecedented and deadly crisis and it is taking days to first get the tests conducted and there are no beds in hospitals, and those hospitalized are not able to get life saving drugs or something as basic as oxygen.

    “The PM was expected to tell the nation as to what has the govt done in terms of increasing beds in hospitals, increasing oxygen output and streamlining supplies, making drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab available, increasing the number of Ventilators and enhancing vaccination. “However, he chose to relinquish all his responsibilities and put the onus of saving India on NGOs, Youth and Baal Mitras,” Maken said.

    He said the prime minister has put the onus of doing whatever little possible on state governments and that also by practically advising them to not implement lockdown.

    Amid a staggering surge in COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said a lockdown should be the “last resort” to deal with the raging pandemic and asked states to convince migrant workers to stay put at their places of work with a guarantee for their lives and livelihood.

    The Congress leader said migrant labourers are yet again forced into reverse migration as state after state is being left with no option but imposing a lockdown. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “The crux of today’s lesson by Prime Minister at 8:45 PM is — nothing is in my hands. People should take care of their lives themselves.”

    “Sub text of PM’s speech: Guys you are on kind of on your own. If you are able to finally make it to the other side we will definitely meet again in some Utsav or Mahatsov. Until then all the best. May God be with you,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said on Twitter.

    Another Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said, “The Crux of PM statement is —  You are on your Own. Photo Credit is Mine and Crisis Management is Yours; Entire monologue was loaded with hollow sermons instead of sound strategy to come out of current tailspin.”

    He said the prime minister should have answered one simple question: “Why didn’t GOI prepare for the second wave?”

  • Bengal polls 2021: CM Mamata Banerjee terms PM Modi’s government as ‘monumental incompetence’

    By PTI
    BHAGAWANGOLA/ SAGARDIGHI/ FARAKKA: Calling the Narendra Modi-led dispensation a government of “monumental incopetence’, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allowed open market sale of coronavirus vaccines after shipments made by him to foreign shores have depleted stocks in India.

    Banerjee also hinted that election schedules were being drawn up to assist BJP, while voicing her displeasure at the rejection of her proposal to club elections in the remaining three phases.

    Addressing an election meeting at Bhagwangola in Murshidabad district, the Trinamool Congress supremo said the prime minister had exported vaccines to other countries to boost his image while states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan and West Bengal have struggled to get doses they required to combat the Covid pandemic.

    “Yesterday the PM said the medicine (vaccine) will be available in open market. Where is the open market, where is the availability? You have already shipped out the majority of stock to foreign destinations,” she alleged.

    The central government had gifted COVID vaccines to a number of countries including neighbouring nation and allowed export to many more including to Brazil and South Africa earlier this year. Terming the Narendra Modi-led NDA government as a “government of monumental incompetence”, Banerjee said “We are facing a huge deficit in vaccines due to the faulty planning.”

    The TMC supremo said more that COVID cases are being reported from Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and Asansol belt and the state government is trying to manage the crisis from a limited stock. “For six months the Central leadership did not bother to plan, they were busy plotting electoral battles in Bengal,” Banerjee alleged.

    Turning her guns on BJP, she claimed the party brought in “lakhs of people from outside the state to help in campaigning and many of these people were infected with COVID-19”. “These people will leave but they have spread the virus and the onus to manage the new crisis will be on us. Bengal’s Covid situation was firmly under control but now the rate of infection is rising again,” she said.

    However, she advised people not to panic, adding, “We will again bring it (pandemic) under a tight leash.”

    Stating that she had learnt that elections to two assembly seats in Murshidabad, which were countermanded due to the deaths of candidates, may be held on May 13, Banerjee said “If Eid takes place on May 13, the EC should decide on a voting date keeping in mind the need of voters to celebrate the festival.

    Referring to erosion of Ganges river in Murshidabad and Malda districts, Banerjee said, “Only Central (policies) can stop the erosion. Under the terms of the Indo-Bangla water treaty, Bangladesh was given Ganges water, but as the Centre did not dredge the Farakka barrage, it has silted. This has caused regular flooding in Bihar, Murshidabad and Malda whenever there are heavy rains in Bihar. The Centre should carry out dredging of Farakka on an urgent basis,” she said.

    The Trinamool Congress supremo said, “We need to have a Ganga Erosion Board to work on war footing.” Urging the electorate to see Bengal doesn’t fall into the hands of “rioters”, the chief minister alleged she had reports that there were plots to engineer riots on Ram Navami. “Please be on guard. Don’t fall prey to any bid to pit Hindus against Muslims,” she said.

    Banerjee also urged the people “not to vote for the Left, Congress or other Sanjukta Morcha candidates who are the other face of BJP”.

    At another rally in Farakka also in Murshidabad district, the chief minister accused BJP of opposing her proposal to club the remaining three phases of polling in view of a spike in COVID cases. She also hinted that the poll schedules were drawn up to help the BJP. “Some candidates were infected with COVID, two died…The EC fixes the schedule to help Modibabu (Narendra Modi),” she alleged.

    “If election takes place, there has to be campaigning. One day voting would have reduced the spread of infection and helped people, Banerjee reasoned,” she added.

    Elaborating on her claims about secret understanding between parties of Sanjukta Morcha and BJP, she said at Sagardighi, “Iit is nothing but another morcha with BJP’s blessings.”

  • Number of COVID patients requiring critical care, oxygen down from two days ago: Harsh Vardhan

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The percentage of COVID-19 patients requiring critical care and oxygen support has gone down as compared to two days ago, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday after a review meeting with some premier hospitals in the country.

    He said that as compared to the figures two days ago, the percentage of COVID-19 patients in ICU is down from 1.93 per cent to 1.75 per cent, those on ventilators down from 0.43 per cent to 0.40 per cent, and those requiring oxygen down from 4.29 per cent to 4.03 per cent.

    According to a Health Ministry statement, he said these figures do not diminish the fact that there is anxiety in the general population about availability of beds. It is also important for the nation as a commune to access the best medical facilities at all places.

    Vardhan, who chaired a meeting with the Directors of 10 AIIMS, PGIMER-Chandigarh and JIPMER-Puducherry to discuss the public health response to the pandemic, said, “We are the fastest globally to vaccinate. The fatality rate of 1.18 per cent is one of the lowest in the word and is continuously dipping. The present indicators tell us about the significant control we still have on the emerging situation.”

    ALSO READ| COVID vaccine liberalisation to fasten drive, incentivise manufacturers for capacity: Harsh Vardhan

    The statement stated that he requested the directors to ensure that those who need hospital care are provided thus and those who are in need of oxygen/ventilators are also tended to. He also asked the officials to explore avenues to monitor patients who may not need hospitalisation through telephonic counselling to re-assure them out of their helplessness.

    In this regard, he also said, “AIIMS have a special responsibility towards providing quality healthcare. You have to ensure that all the hospital facilities are functional. The present capacities can be augmented by re-purposing non-COVID infrastructure to COVID facilities, such that non-COVID healthcare is not unduly affected.”

    He reminded them that the Union Health Secretary had advised for the strengthening of the hospital infrastructure after careful review. Vardhan observed that all the institutes combined have increased 879 general beds and 219 ICU beds.

    In this regard, he also spoke of the recent attempt by DRDO to open a 500-bed facility in Delhi and the Council Of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Building Research Institute (CSIR–CBRI)’s attempts to make temporary but durable hospital blocks at the Safdarjung Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College to house more patients, the statement said.

    ALSO READ| States should focus on micro containment zones, consider lockdown as last option: PM Modi

    He informed that the AIIMS National Institute of Cancer (NIC) in Jhajjar had added 100 beds to its COVID Block while approximately 80 beds were added at JPNATC, AIIMS New Delhi at his request. Asserting that the recent COVID-19 surge is spreading fast and needs immediate attention, Vardhan detailed efforts to tackle the pandemic so far.

    “In the shortest possible time, we ramped up testing from 1 lab to 2467 labs today with a capacity of more than 15 lakh tests per day, set up hospital infrastructure including COVID Care Centres, COVID hospitals with oxygen beds and ventilator bed. More than 12,000 quarantine centres were established. We also overcame the need for PPE kits, N95 masks. This helped to tide over the pandemic last year,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

    Regarding the shortage in hands at the hospitals, Vardhan said, “We have to develop our manpower and human resources. Those who are in other departments and units can be used for COVID care with building their skills and capacities with training for a very short duration. Everyone is looking at AIIMS for inspiration and your guidance and support. People respect AIIMS for their professional expertise.”

    Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan laid out his suggestions to the directors of the different institutes.

    In view of the need to increase oxygen beds and ICU beds in the possibility of a surge, the Union government has already written to the states for supporting the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in their jurisdiction.

    He suggested that the unutilised hostel blocks, AUYSH block, hostel beds can be used for additional bed capacity to tide over the crisis.

  • Chandigarh administration announces one-day lockdown on Wednesday

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Chandigarh administration announced a one-day lockdown in the city on Ram Navami on Wednesday. The administration also extended the night curfew and weekend lockdown by two hours.

    Currently, the night curfew is being imposed from 10 pm to 5 am. A proposal regarding a seven-day lockdown will be taken up on Friday. The decisions were taken by UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore during a coronavirus review meeting with senior officials and experts, said an official spokesperson.

    The joint capital of Punjab and Haryana has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in the past a few days. On Tuesday, the city had reported 602 cases, taking the infection tally to 35,148 in the UT, which has reported 421 deaths from the disease so far.

    According to an order issued by the deputy commissioner, home delivery of essential commodities such as food, groceries, vegetables and medicines will be allowed. Non-essential movement shall be prohibited, it said.

    The order said that there shall be no curb on inter-state movement of essential and non-essential goods. The administration announced that the weekend lockdown will start now from 8 pm on April 23 till 5 am on April 26.

    The last weekend lockdown on April 16 had started from 10 pm. The proposal regarding the seven-day lockdown will be considered in the next meeting slated for Friday, it said, adding a decision will be taken after taking into account the number of virus cases in the city.

    Badnore directed the police authorities to strictly enforce the lockdown and the night curfew. All violators must be strictly dealt with, he directed. If necessary, vehicles should be seized and heavy fine should be imposed on those indulging in non-essential travel or those violating the virus protocol, he said.

    Badnore, who is also the Punjab Governor, appealed to residents not to crowd the hospitals. “Only critical cases should be admitted as per medical advice and coronavirus patients with mild symptoms should opt for home isolation,” he said.

    In the meeting, Bipin Kausal from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) said they are procuring additional stock of critical medicines like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab.

    The doctors at the meeting mentioned about an alarming development, in which many patients were found to have been infected with the infection even after receiving the first dose of anti-virus vaccine.

    The statement said that this is possibly due to negligence and non-adherence to the COVID protocol. The Administrator advised them to examine the matter at the highest-level and find the best solution.

    While expressing concern about rising cases, he directed all medical institutions to enhance their bed capacity and store adequate quantity of medicines and equipment to handle the increasing number of patients.

    He directed the PGIMER authorities to convert a “sarai” into a temporary hospital, where at least patients with moderate symptoms could be kept and treated.

    The Administrator appealed to retired doctors, medical staff and members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to come forward and coordinate with the health authorities in the fight against coronavirus.

  • PM Modi interacts with COVID vaccine manufacturers, urges them to scale up production capacity

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with vaccine manufacturers in the country via video conferencing and urged them to continuously scale up the production capacity to vaccinate people in the shortest possible time.

    He applauded the vaccine manufacturers for their achievements and professionalism and said the biggest strength of country’s vaccine industry is its ‘Samarthya, Sansadhan and Seva Bhaav’ and these attributes makes them a vaccine leader in the world.

    He said the government has now allowed the vaccination programme for every adult starting May 1 believing in the ability of the vaccine manufacturers. According to a PMO release, he also appreciated the efforts and studies being conducted by scientists in development of new vaccines.

    ALSO READ| States should focus on micro containment zones: PM Modi

    He said the government ensured that all the vaccine manufacturers not only get all possible help and logistic support, but also the process of vaccine approval is speedy and scientific. He also assured that all possible support and smooth approval process for the vaccine candidates which are currently under trial phase.

    The Prime Minister credited the manufacturers for developing and manufacturing vaccines in record time. Noting that vaccines manufactured India are the cheapest, PM Modi said the world’s largest vaccine programme is underway in the country.

    The Prime Minister said that throughout the process of developing and manufacturing vaccines, the country has constantly worked with the spirit of public-private partnership under the ‘Mission Covid Suraksha’ and created an end-to-end vaccine development ecosystem.

    He said the health infrastructure of the country’s private sector has played a big role in the country’s fight against COVID-19 and in the coming days, the private sector will play an even more active role in the vaccination drive.

    He said that this will require better coordination between hospitals and industry. The release said that the vaccine manufacturers thanked the Prime Minister for the government’s decision of allowing vaccination for everyone above the age of 18 and various steps taken to give more incentives and flexibility.

    They also appreciated the Prime Minister’s leadership for the support they have received from the Centre throughout the process of vaccine development and production. They also discussed their plans to ramp up production, upcoming vaccine candidates and research on the new variants.

  • Maharashtra to import COVID-19 vaccines, divert funds for large-scale inoculation

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Maharashtra will import vaccines from other countries and funds will be diverted from all the departments to carry out an extensive inoculation drive on the lines of the UK, the state government said on Tuesday.

    The state is worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the country with more than 50,000 cases being reported daily in the last two weeks.

    ALSO READ| City’s COVID-19 mortality rate at 0.03 per cent: Brihanmumbai Municipal commissioner Iqbal S Chahal

    Welcoming the Union government’s decision to vaccinate the entire adult population of the country, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said the state cabinet on Tuesday decided to carry out an “exemplary vaccination drive”. “If required, we will cut the funds of all the other departments to ensure availability of vaccines for people,” he said after a cabinet meeting.

    Tope had earlier said the state wanted to vaccinate seven lakh persons every day but restrictions imposed by the Centre and supply constraints made it possible to inoculate only about three lakh. The state would like to follow the example of the United Kingdom which had witnessed a severe spike in COVID-19 cases last year, he said.

    “Today, 60 per cent of UK’s population is vaccinated. Very few new cases are being detected, while the death toll is in single digits. The entire country was kept under lockdown for three months and the vaccination drive was carried out on a massive scale,” he said.

    “We have decided to cut the expenses of all the departments and divert the funds for vaccine procurement. We will not limit our plans only to the two vaccines that are manufactured in the country (Covishield and Covaxin) ,” he said.

    ALSO READ| COVID-19: ‘Strict lockdown’ likely in Maharashtra, Class X board exams cancelled

    The minister said that the state government will bid for vaccines made abroad such as Sputnik-V, Pfizer and Moderna if they are available. “The state’s vaccination drive will cover people in the age group of 18 to 45, while people above 45 will be covered under the Centre’s drive for which doses will be supplied by the Centre,” he said.

    Tope said that the cabinet also asked the state chief secretary and principal secretaries of finance, health and medical education departments to expedite the procurement of medical equipment to tackle the pandemic.

  • All educational institutions in Sikkim to remain closed till April 30: CM Prem Singh Tamang

    By PTI

    GANGTOK: Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said on Tuesday that all educational institutions in the state will remain closed till April 30 to curb the spread of COVID-19 cases. It has been decided to close down all schools and colleges in Sikkim till April 30 in order to curb the further spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the state, he said at a function here.

    Tamang said that the state government has further decided that all government offices will function with 50 per cent capacity from April 22. The chief minister also urged the people to not undertake unnecessary travel out of Sikkim and strictly abide by COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in order to keep the disease at bay.

    The Himalayan state has so far recorded over 6,700 COVID-19 cases.

  • Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar rules out coronavirus lockdown in state

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday reached out to migrant workers, ruling out the imposition of a coronavirus lockdown in the state and told them to continue with their work without worrying about it.

    Their assurance has come amid apprehensions that the state government may impose a lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus. “We have said we will not impose a lockdown. We want to assure them on this,” Khattar said in his televised address to the people of the state.

    The chief minister said if migrant workers head home on the basis of mere “apprehensions”, they will lose work and a new phase of difficulties will start for them. “So, they should not entertain any worry and continue with their work,” he said.

    Meanwhile interacting with reporters, Vij reiterated that the state is not imposing any lockdown. He asked migrant workers not to pay heed to “any propaganda” and said they should continue to work like before. “I have asked the industry to run at full capacity. I have told them that COVID protocols should be followed in factories,” said Vij.

    ALSO READ| Protesting farmers to be tested, vaccinated against COVID-19 in Haryana, says Anil Vij

    A migrant worker in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh, who along with few others was going to catch a bus to UP, told reporters that many workers were apprehending the imposition of a lockdown like Delhi. “As Delhi has imposed a lockdown, what if Haryana follows suit? If that happens, we will lose work. In that situation, we are better off at our homes,” he said.

    Vij said that Haryana’s three districts–Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat–were contributing half of active cases in the state. With Gurgaon witnessing a sharp rise in coronavirus cases this month, Vij said 800 additional beds are being provided in the district so that people do not face any difficulty, he said on Tuesday.

    To a question, Vij said many patients from Delhi could be seeking treatment in Haryana’s NCR districts and added that they will treat every patient coming to the state. Vij reiterated that he has ordered testing and vaccination of all farmers sitting on Haryana’s borders with Delhi.

    “Today, I spoke to deputy commissioners of Sonipat and Jhajjar to talk to farmer leaders in this regard so that this process could be speeded up,” said Vij, who is also the state’s Health Minister. Meanwhile, on the prevailing COVID situation, Khattar said, “We are passing through a difficult phase.”

    Various departments are putting in best efforts to ensure people do not face any problem, he said, assuring people on the availability of beds, oxygen, ventilators and medicines. To further augment oxygen availability, we are taking steps, he said.

    ALSO READ| Haryana to test pilgrims from Haridwar Kumbh, protesting farmers for COVID-19

    He said that of 2,131 oxygen beds, 731 are occupied by coronavirus patients while of 1,080 ventilators available, 131 are in use. He further said 526 COVID centres having 45,000 beds are currently available. There is no need to panic, he stressed and urged people to follow all COVID-related guidelines.

    Khattar informed that the state has arrangements for conducting 40,000 tests per day, which it intends to scale up to 70,000 tests a day soon. Private hospitals will charge Rs 500 for testing and Rs 600 for the collection of samples from home, he informed.

  • COVID vaccine liberalisation to fasten drive, incentivise manufacturers for capacity: Harsh Vardhan

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Liberalisation of the COVID-19 vaccine programme will accelerate pace of the drive and also incentivise manufacturers to set up capacity, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday.

    Speaking at an event organised by local industry lobby IMC, Vardhan admitted that these are trying times, adding that the government policies are shaped by the evolving situation. He credited “collaborative efforts” of all stakeholders for the world’s largest vaccine drive progressing at a “rapid pace”, claiming that India has been the fastest country to touch 12 crore jabs.

    The minister said at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday it was decided to liberalise the procurement, pricing and administering of COVID-19 vaccines, wherein all citizens above the age of 18 shall be eligible to get vaccinated from May 1.

    “This will further accelerate the pace of our vaccine drive while incentivising and existing and new players to ramp up production in the country. These are trying times for our country, keeping in view the unprecedented surge in COVID cases. The situation seems overwhelming once again, but this time we are better informed about the threat we are dealing with. We’ve the tools to tackle it,” Vardhan said.

    The health minister further said the crisis “shook us to the core”, but it has also emboldened the resolve to rise up to the challenge together. “Today, India is reporting another spike of COVID-19 in many states. It is an extremely challenging task to contain a virus as contagious as this in a country like ours which has a very high population density in big cities and towns,” he said.

    However, the minister said the government is much better prepared than it was in 2020 and is doing everything it can to bring the crisis under control with timely steps to break the chain of transmission and to expend the vaccination drive.

    Vardhan also welcomed a suggestion to build a ‘statue of immunity’ and also a centre for studies in immunity. He said affordability, accessibility and equity are the key pillars in the healthcare rendering strategy, and acknowledged that a lot of work would not have been possible without technological advancements.

    The minister also lauded the role played by the healthcare workers over the last 14 months at a high physical, emotional and mental cost, adding that the country shall always be indebted to them.

  • Need strict action against comedian Sunil Pal for ‘obnoxious’ remark: AIIMS doctors to Amit Shah

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding the strictest steps for the “derogatory and obnoxious” comments by comedian Sunil Pal in an entertainment channel against doctors working in COVID management and treatment.

    Terming Pal’s comments “blunt lies”, the doctors’ body said that dissemination of those will be extremely dangerous in these times and relegate the faith of patients in the healthcare system.

    In the letter, the RDA said that frontline healthcare workers and other countrymen are facing the wrath of COVID-19 and everyone is trying their best to alleviate the suffering caused by the recent surge of infections.

    “It breaks the heart of all those who have endeared so much, doctors and non-doctors alike when their intentions are questioned and maleficence is spread by denigrating words. The recent monologue by comedian Sunil Pal circulated on NBT entertainment channel has pinched the weary nerves of all doctors who have jumped back into this war, often selflessly, and is definitely bound to affect their morale and grit,” the RDA said.

    The doctor’s association termed the comedian’s monologue “nefarious, ill-hearted and ill-conceived”. “His blatant accusations of fraudulent deeds of doctors, comparing doctors to evil creatures of the society and spreading lies about COVID-19 when the whole country is fighting against it, is beyond logic,” it said.

    Describing doctors as “soldiers” in this battle against the pandemic, the RDA said, “His action warrant the strongest punishment so that we understand that our country is with us as we face this COVID-19 war. The government should ensure that such provocative videos propagating falsified information should be admonished.”

    “On behalf of the medical fraternity, and all healthcare and frontline workers we demand strongly that strictest steps be taken against his inappropriate conduct at the earliest to prevent unrest amongst doctors and anxiety amongst the affected patients and their family,” the RDA letter stated.