News Analysis India

Tag: COVID19

  • Over 400 Parliament staff members test COVID-19 positive ahead of Budget Session

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Budget Session of the Parliament, more than 400 Parliament staff members were tested positive for COVID-19, according to official sources.

    The officials told ANI that 402 staff members were tested positive out of the 1,409 staff of Parliament for the virus from January 4 to 8 after which their samples were sent for genome sequencing to confirm the variant.

    “Close to 402 staffs were tested positive for COVID-19 from January 4-8 and all samples have been sent to genome sequencing for Omicron variant confirmation,” an official told ANI. According to an internal message from the staff of Parliament, the staff are advised to follow the precautions as per the guidelines of the government.

    “There is a consolidated list of 200 Lok Sabha and 69 from Rajya Sabha and 133 allied staff who have tested positive, but we all need to take proper precautions,” an internal message read. The above list does not include who were tested for COVID outside the Parliament premises.

    Several employees of both the Houses of the Parliament were put in isolation after they came into contact with their infected colleagues during work. Various officials of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are also in isolation.

    A recent order by the DDMA directed all government offices to run under 50 per cent of staff capacity and the rest will work from home. Taking the new variant of COVID-19, Omicron seriously, the Central government also exempted its staff from biometric (daily punching) for attendance.

  • Dress circle: Sari bank brings cheer to women of Gujarat’s Anand district

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: For Bhavna Ben of Bhadran village in Anand district, buying new expensive saris at the wedding function at home was a huge issue last year. The COVID-19 pandemic months saw the family income decline substantially.

    Then somebody suggested they go to a ‘sari bank’ in Bhadran. The bank offers beautiful saris gratis with the only condition that these are cleaned and returned after use. 

    “It was as if all happiness in the family had returned,” said Bhavna as she and others in the family had their pick at the bank. The first-of-its-kind bank is by and for the villagers of Bhadran. It is funded by NRIs for poor, middle-class women. 

    Nehali, who with other women runs the sari bank, says the response has been huge. “Our effort is to help those who have been experiencing financial hardships in the last two years due to the pandemic. It gives all members of the bank immense satisfaction when needy women are able to get special saris for auspicious occasions in their families,” says Nehali.

    This bank gets around 150 saris from abroad and as many from Bhadran. Villagers can take the saris on any auspicious occasion, wear it, dry-clean it and return it.

    In the bank, a sari is credited to the user’s personal account. If the person returns the sari in good condition, the bank promises to give you ‘credit’ for next time. In other words, you get a credit score like a bank. 

    Bhadran village elder Shaileshbhai Patel says when went to the US sometime back, he met Amarbhai Shah, a resident of Palanpur who had settled in America for many years. Amarbhai is a board member of Share & Care in America. “They asked me to set up such a bank in Bhadran. Upon my return from the US, I discussed the idea with villagers. They all agreed,” says Shaileshbhai. 

    The sari donors include NRIs from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. The local contributors are the villagers from Bhadran and surrounding areas. “A woman living anywhere can deposit her sari. We want the needy to avail of the services,” he says.

  • India sees creepy-crawly rate of COVID-related hospitalisations

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW/BHOPAL/CHANDIGARH/JAIPUR: As the third wave of COVID-19 powered by the Omicron variant sends numbers soaring across India, data from government hospitals of the states reveal interesting trends.

    In Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, bed occupancy in hospitals and COVID care centres has increased. Hospitalisation has gone up also in Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar and Gujarat. Weekend and night curfews are in force, the fear is rising.

    Metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru are witnessing a rapid rise in cases and restrictions. There is a feeling that health infrastructure in these places is in for another serious challenge.

    However, percentage of active cases admitted to hospitals has decreased in many parts. In Bihar, it has dipped from 47.72 per cent to 1.9 per cent in about a week. While over 65 per cent of active cases were being treated in hospitals in Rajasthan on December 29, it came down to 2.37 per cent on January 6. Experts believe vaccination has played a part in lowering hospitalisation.

    In keeping with the Union Health Ministry’s recent advise, more and more patients with mild symptoms are in home quarantine. In Maharashtra, where authorities are contemplating a lockdown in mid-January, home isolation went up from about 1.22 lakh on December 25 to 5.85 lakh on January 6. Hospitalisations rose from 905 to 1,368 in this period.

    Delhi has seen cases skyrocket. But hospitalisation rate compared to the number of active cases has decreased, from 6.6 per cent on January 1 to 4.81 per cent to January 7. According to Dr Suresh Kumar, director of Lok Nayak Hospital, mostly those with comorbidities and not vaccinated are getting admitted. “Cases are mild so far and not many patients have required oxygen support,” he said.

    In Uttar Pradesh, the current surge is faster than the second wave but hospitalisation is not that high. “Health department data show the rate of hospitalisation during the second wave was 9 per cent. It’s about 2 per cent now” said a heath department official.

    In Madhya Pradesh, hospitalisation rose by 174 per cent between December 29 and January 6. But this could be misleading, considering that active cases shot up by 706 per cent in this period. On January 6, of the 56,171 hospital beds for COVID patients, 200 (0.36 per cent) were occupied.

    According to Indore-based chest physician Ravi Dosi, there is a marked difference between the second and third waves. “Just 3-5 per cent needed hospitalisation. Of those, only around 1 per cent were on oxygen or other critical care support. In the initial phases of the second wave, almost 30-40 per cent needed oxygen and other support,” he said.

    Cases are soaring in Punjab, but hospitalisation rate with respect to active cases came down from over 6 per cent on December 30 to 1.01 per cent on January 6. The state government had increased bed capacity fearing for worse, but only about 1 per cent of them are occupied.

    “If patients do not require oxygen, we ask them to be in home isolation. We hardly have beds without oxygen. Bed occupancy is low at present but beds have been added keeping in mind the projected caseload,” said Punjab’s COVID-19 nodal officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar.

    Despite a spike in numbers, Rajasthan has seen a drastic fall in hospitalisation. Dr Rateesh Sareen, Consultant, Pathology, and Deputy Director Legal at Jaipur’s Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital, believes Omicron is following the trend noticed in South Africa, UK and US.

    “It’s more contagious but what’s assuring is that ICU admission, oxygen-bed occupancy and hospitalisation have been less so far compared to previous waves. Most are in home isolation,” he said.

    {With inputs from Ramashankar (Patna), Sudhir Suryawanshi (Mumbai), Ejaz Kaiser (Raipur), Pranab Mondal (Kolkata), Dilip Singh Kshatriya (Ahmedabad), Vineet Upadhyay (Dehradun), Anuraag Singh (Madhya Pradesh), Harpreet Bajwa (Punjab and Haryana) and Rajesh Asnani (Rajasthan)}

  • West Bengal in throes of third COVID wave, infections curve may rise more: Experts

    West Bengal like the rest of the country witnessed its first wave in March 2020 and another after elections to the state assembly in May-June last year.

  • Hugh Jackman tests positive for COVID-19, cancels Broadway performances

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Hollywood star Hugh Jackman has said that he has tested positive for coronavirus. The 53-year-old actor took to Instagram on Tuesday to share the news of his diagnosis that has forced him to cancel performances of his Broadway show “The Music Man”.

    “I just wanted you to hear from me that I tested positive this morning for COVID. My symptoms are like a cold, I have a scratchy throat and a bit of a runny nose. But I’m fine and I’m just going to do everything I can to get better ASAP and as soon as I’m cleared I’ll be back on stage heading to River City,” the actor said in a 30-second video.

    Just wanted you to hear it from me. I tested positive for covid. Mild symptoms and as soon as I’m cleared … looking forward to getting back to The Winter Garden! @MusicManBway pic.twitter.com/q1oEAzXX02
    — Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) December 28, 2021
    Shortly after Jackman posted his video, the official Instagram page of “The Music Man” also announced that all performances would be canceled through Saturday. The Broadway musical will resume on January 2, and Jackman will return to the show on January 6.

    Jackman tested positive after his co-star Sutton Foster came down with the coronavirus last week and was replaced by an understudy. Foster will return on January 2.

    In the last two weeks in the US, dozens of Broadway shows, including “Hamilton”, “The Lion King” and “Aladdin”, have been forced to cancel performances as the number of COVID-19 cases surged, despite vaccine mandates for cast, crew and audiences.

  • Seven Omicron cases among 695 fresh COVID-19 infections reported in Maharashtra, 12 deaths recorded

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra recorded 695 new coronavirus cases including seven Omicron infections in the last 24 hours, the state health department said on Friday evening. The tally of Omicron variant infections found in the state thus rose to 17, it said.

    The state also reported 12 new pandemic-related fatalities since Thursday evening. The overall tally of coronavirus cases rose to 66,42,372 and death toll to 1,41,223. On Thursday, Maharashtra had recorded 789 new COVID-19 cases and seven fatalities.

    ALSO READ| Seven new Omicron cases in Mumbai, Pune, Maharashtra total now 17

    The case fatality rate in the state stands at 2.12 per cent. As many as 631 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recoveries to 64,90,936. The recovery rate in the state is 97.72 per cent. As many as 6,66,39,988 coronavirus tests have been conducted so far in the state, including 1,22,665 in the last 24 hours.

    Currently 75,290 people are in home quarantine and 870 are in institutional quarantine.

    The official release said that as per the latest report from the National Institute of Virology, seven new Omicron cases have been reported in Maharashtra — three in Mumbai and four in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation in Pune district. “Due to this, the total of Omicron positive cases in the state increased to 17,” it added.

    The statement said that the three new patients from Mumbai were all male, aged 48, 25 and 37 years with recent history of travel to Tanzania, UK and South Africa-Nairobi, respectively. Four new patients from PCMC limits are contacts of a Nigerian woman who was earlier confirmed as an Omicron case.

    The release said that of the seven new Omicron patients, four were fully vaccinated and one had received a single dose of the coronavirus vaccine. One adult patient was not vaccinated, while another is a three-and-half-year-old child and thus not eligible for inoculation.

    Four of the new patients are asymptomatic while three have only mild symptoms, the official release said. Meanwhile, 11 districts and five civic bodies in Maharashtra did not report any new COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours.

    The Mumbai division, which comprises the city and satellite townships, reported 327 cases and five deaths. The Pune division reported 214 new cases, Nashik division 68, Kolhapur 16, Akola four, Nagpur 10, Latur 33 and the Aurangabad division 23 new cases.

    Nagpur and Aurangabad divisions did not report any fatality during the day. Maharashtra’s coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 66,42,372, fresh cases 695, death toll 1,41,223, recoveries 64,90,936, active cases 6,534, total tests 6,66,39,988.

  • RT-PCR test for all entrants: Uttar Pradesh issues guidelines for all districts on Omicron variant

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has issued guidelines for all districts regarding the Omicron variant of coronavirus, an official statement said on Monday. Apart from conducting RT-PCR tests of all passengers coming to the state, genome tests of all infected patients are also being carried out according to the guidelines, it said.

    Following the confirmation of cases of the new variant in other states of the country, the state government is ensuring strict vigil on the borders and is also emphasising on further improving the health facilities in rural and urban areas, the statement said.

    Medical facilities are rapidly being improved to deal with the virus. In the state’s Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs), 19,000 beds are being increased and 55,000 beds in medical colleges, it added.

    Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed senior officials to make proper arrangements in hospitals for dealing with the new variant. Along with this, the state government is also keeping a close watch on availability of oxygen, beds, laboratories, the statement said.

  • Experts may decide next week on COVID booster shots

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: An expert panel which will decide on recommending COVID-19 booster doses for the most vulnerable people in India could come up with its suggestions as early as next week, sources have told this newspaper.

    Officials in the Union health ministry said the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is scheduled to meet early next week where a possible policy to offer additional Covid-19 shots to the immune-compromised and those with serious comorbidities will be discussed.

    “There is an emerging understanding that quite a sizable chunk of the population may need additional shots even after completing the two-dose schedule. However, only the expert panel can specify who needs the booster shots and how long after having received the second dose,” said an official.

    The development comes amid fresh researches that even though some of the COVID vaccines may be capable of triggering immune response by up to one year or more, antibodies against SARS CoV2 may be dwindling swiftly by six months after the second dose.

    Studies have also shown that the existing COVID vaccines, though potent, are far from being perfect and while they reduce the risks of hospitalisation and severe disease, they do not eliminate them. Globally, 38 countries, including the US, Germany, Austria, Canada and France, are administering booster doses. The booster doses delivered in the US so far are the highest. 

    However, the decision to deliver booster shots has been criticised by the World Health Organization and last week, its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it a “scandal” as poorer countries continue to wait for the first jab.

    “It makes no sense to give boosters to healthy adults or to vaccinate children, when health workers, older people and other high-risk groups around the world are still waiting for their first dose. The exception, as we have said, is immunocompromised individuals,” he had said in a statement.

    In India, there have been reporters of several private hospitals delivering boosters to healthcare workers – who were among the first to receive COVID shots – without registering on CoWIN.

    Rajasthan reports COVID death after three months

    Triggering worry among healthcare workers in Rajashan, the state reported first COVID-related death in over three months. The state has been witnessing a surge in cases recently

  • India records 11,919 fresh cases of COVID-19, 470 more fatalities

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With 11,919 fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally has climbed to 3,44,78,517, while the number of active cases has gone up to 1,28,762, the Union health ministry said on Thursday. The death toll due to the viral disease has shot up to 4,64,623 with 470 more fatalities, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.

    The daily rise in the number of coronavirus cases has been below 20,000 for 41 straight days now and less than 50,000 fresh cases have been reported for 144 consecutive days. The number of active cases of the infection has gone up to 1,28,762, accounting for 0.37 per cent of the total caseload, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.

    The ministry said that 28 per cent, the highest since March 2020. An increase of 207 cases in the active COVID-19 caseload was recorded in a span of 24 hours, it added. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.97 per cent. It has been less than two per cent for 45 consecutive days. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.94 per cent.

    It has been below two per cent for the last 55 days, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has climbed to 3,38,85,132, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.35 per cent.

    The total number of vaccine doses administered in the country under the nationwide COVID inoculation drive has exceeded 114.46 crore. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 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, 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and the one-crore mark on December 19 last year. The country crossed the grim milestone of two crore Covid cases on May 4 this year and the three-crore mark on June 23.

    The 470 fresh fatalities caused by Covid include 388 from Kerala and 32 from Maharashtra.

    Of the 388 fatalities in Kerala, 61 were reported over the last few days and the remaining 327 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and Supreme Court directions, according to a release issued by the state government.

    A total of 4,64,623 deaths due to the viral disease have so far been reported in the country, including 1,40,668 from Maharashtra, 38,161 from Karnataka, 36,475 from Kerala, 36,324 from Tamil Nadu, 25,095 from Delhi, 22,909 from Uttar Pradesh and 19,341 from West Bengal.

    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 a state-wise distribution of the figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

  • Enrolment in government schools high during COVID times, big jump in private tuition takers

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: While more students got enrolled in government schools between 2018 and 2021, there also was a big jump in children taking private tuition, the latest Annual Status of Education Report revealed.

    ASER is a citizen-led household survey by NGO Pratham. Its findings offer insights on the COVID’s impact on education. The survey was conducted in 25 states and three UTs covering 75,234 children in the 5-16 year age group. 

    In rural India, the proportion of students in government schools went up from 64.3 per cent in 2018 to 70.3 per cent in 2021 (see table). The rise was across all grades. “Incidence of private schooling in India has been rising… from 2006 to 2014… After plateauing around 30 per cent for a few years, there has been a significant decline in the pandemic years,” it noted.

    Besides, close to 40 per cent are now dependent on private tuitions as against to about 30 per cent in 2018. Significantly, the largest section of children taking tuition is from the most disadvantaged households.

    “Taking parental education as a proxy for economic status, between 2018 and 2021, the proportion of children with parents in the ‘low’ education category who are taking tuition increased by 12.6 percentage points, as opposed to a 7.2 percentage point increase among children with parents in the ‘high’ education category,” the report said.

    The highest number of kids taking private tuitions is in Bengal – 76.5 per cent – followed by Bihar at 73.5 per cent. In 2020 and 2021, there was an increase in the number of children not enrolled in schools, especially among boys. 

    Dropouts

    While in 2018, 1.4 per cent boys in the 7-10 age group and 2.9 per cent in the 11-14 group were not in school, it jumped to 4.7 per cent and 4.1 per cent in 2020 and 2021