Tag: lockdown

By PTI

THANE: With the addition of six new coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 7,08,796, an official said on Sunday.

These new cases were reported on Saturday. With no fresh fatality, the COVID-19 death toll in the district remained 11,883. The mortality rate is 1.67 per cent, the official added.

In neighboring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count is 1,63,591 while the death toll is 3,407, an official from Palghar said.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India has one of the “lowest” 374 COVID-19 deaths per million population, according to the World Health Organisation, compared to similarly affected countries like the USA, Brazil, Russia and Mexico, the government said on Tuesday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha that at times, certain reports have speculated excess deaths, that is, higher than the official number of COVID-19 fatalities reported by India.

“These reports have mostly relied on unvalidated methodologies, or data sources used to derive ‘estimates’ are not reliable. In most of these studies, the results have been obtained using mathematical modelling techniques from a limited sample of small sub-population subgroups which is extrapolated to the entire country,” she said.

The minister was responding to a question on recent reports showing India having the highest number of deaths during the Covid pandemic and whether the official death toll does not match the data on the civil registration system.

“According to the data available with World Health Organisation (WHO), India has one of the lowest deaths per million (374 deaths per million population) which is much lower compared to similarly affected countries like the United States of America (2,920 deaths per million population), Brazil (3,092 deaths per million population), Russia (2,506 deaths per million population) and Mexico (2,498 deaths per million population),” she mentioned in her reply.

In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union health ministry to all states and Union territories (UTs).

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) had on May 10, 2020 issued ‘Guidance for appropriate recording of COVID-19 related deaths in India’.

Accordingly, all states/UTs report cases and deaths to the health ministry and the same is also put in public domain on a regular basis.

A large number of states have regularly reconciled their death numbers and have reported arrear deaths in a broadly transparent manner, Pawar said.

Furthermore, it must be noted that there is a monetary incentive in India to report COVID-19 deaths as they are entitled to ex-gratia compensation.

India has a robust Civil Registration System (CRS) and Sample Registration System (SRS) which predates the COVID-19 pandemic and covers all states/UTs.

The registration of deaths in the country is done under the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969 by functionaries appointed by the state government, she added.

Over 69 lakh (69,99,528) vaccine doses have so far been administered to the beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group, according to the ministry's data.

By PTI

NEW DELHI: In view of a decline in COVID-19 cases, the Centre on Wednesday asked states to follow a risk assessment-based approach on the opening of economic and social activities.

The Union Health Ministry, however, suggested necessary curbs in areas reporting over 10 per cent positivity rate or 40 per cent occupancy in either oxygen-supported or ICU beds.

The government stressed for continued focus on the five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour, while stating that a sustained and significant decline in the number of cases has been observed since the last couple of months.

In a letter to states and union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan asked them to ensure sufficient availability of dedicated Covid health infrastructure as per the ongoing case trajectory and also directed them to fully operationalise non-Covid health services in all health facilities.

He also underlined the need to follow the home isolation protocol for asymptomatic and mild cases, and asked to continue specific monitoring of high-risk cases.

Bhushan said gatherings and congregations — social, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious, festival-related and others — may be resumed, provided that Covid Appropriate Behaviour is duly adhered to.

Offline classes can be resumed in academic institutions without any restrictions. However, the academic institutions may also leverage a hybrid model of education, he said.

Bhushan further said marriages and last rites may be allowed and all shopping complexes, cinema halls, restaurants and bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming pools, and religious places may be allowed to operate at full capacity.

Public transport (railways, metros, buses, cabs) can operate without any capacity restrictions. Also, there shall be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement, including transportation of essential goods.

Further, all offices — government and private — may function without any capacity restrictions, and all industrial and scientific establishments may be allowed, he stated in the letter.

“While allowing all such activities, it is imperative that the adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour, including use of mask and physical distancing, shall be followed in all public places,” Bhushan said, adding such decisions by the states and union territories must be linked to the local epidemiological situation based on a sustained critical level of testing and monitoring.

He also asked states to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of all eligible age-groups with a particular focus on covering the left-out beneficiaries.

Administration of precaution doses and vaccination amongst young adolescents (12 years and above) should also be taken up for all eligible people.

Services should be resumed while promoting 100 per cent vaccination of the eligible staff members, he said.

“Taking into account the sustained and steep decline in the COVID-19 cases across the country, the states and union territories have been undertaking various measures to reopen economic and social activities. There is a need to follow a risk assessment-based approach on the opening of economic and social activities without losing the gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic,” Bhushan said .

At the district level, there should be a constant review of emerging data of new cases based on a sustained and critical level of testing to facilitate evidence-based decision for restrictions and relaxation, he said.

“States need to watch the trajectory of cases in particular geographies to ensure that the areas reporting positivity rate above 10 per cent and bed occupancy more than 40 per cent on either oxygen supported or ICU beds should undertake required enforcement, containment, and restriction measures,” his letter read.

As the case trajectory may vary from state to state and there would be variation in the spread of infection within states, too, there is a need to take decisions with respect to containment and restriction measures primarily at the local/sub national level by the state and the district administration concerned, he said.

Bhushan also stressed on adequate testing and monitoring of Influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections in all health facilities on a regular basis for early warning signals.

He also underlined the need for a continued focus on genomic sequencing of prescribed samples of international passengers, collection of samples from sentinel sites (identified health facilities) and local clusters of cases, duly following the guidelines laid by the ministry to capture early warning signals on variants.

Over 2.2 crore (2,20,04,536) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) and those aged 60 years and above.