News Analysis India

Tag: Pandemic

  • COVID-19: Schools to remain shut in Bengal, Kerala

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  With Delhi joining states cautiously reopening schools despite the Covid-19 pandemic, there are a few states where educational institutes will remain shut in September. The states and UTs where the local administration is yet to decide on this iclude Kerala, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa and Puducherry. Other than Kerala, where the Covid situation is the worst in the country, it is more or less stable in other states.

    In other states, students have either been called or are being called back to classrooms from the first week of next month, although attendance in places where schools started in July and August have remained low. In most states, a cap of 50% attendance has been imposed and schools have also been instructed to offer a choice of online or offline mode.

    While a majority of the states have decided to open only secondary and senior secondary schools, Andhra Pradesh has allowed opening of schools at all levels including nursery. Experts have opined that young kids are particularly less susceptible to serious disease. The Centre, while stressing on vaccination of school teachers and other support staff, has promised a supply of two crore vaccine doses for them.

    The announcement by the Delhi government, meanwhile, comes a day after NK Arora, chief of Centre’s working group on Covid-19, insisted that the time has come for schools to resume classes in a phased manner. He also suggested that teachers, non-teaching staff as well as drivers associated with schools should be vaccinated to create a protective ring around the students, reiterating that “children don’t get very sick with Covid-19”.

    On Friday, over 50 doctors, public health experts, academicians and scientists also issued an open letter saying that school closure is “no longer tenable, especially for our younger children who are at the least risk from Covid-19 and face the highest cost due to school closure”.

  • Five ‘invisible’ Covid orphan siblings in Madhya Pradesh

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL:   Three months after Madhya Pradesh became the first state in the country to announce a slew of welfare measures for Covid orphans, five little Scheduled Caste siblings — three girls and two boys — in Amaha village of Bhind district are still awaiting assistance for want of paperwork. They were completely invisible to the administration till the local MLA spotted them recently.

    Their rickshaw driver father Raghvendra Valmiki succumbed to Covid in January, while mother Girija died two months later. Panchayat officials claim both possibly died due to Covid, but there is no documentation yet.

    At seven, the eldest is a girl who is now shouldering the responsibility of a parent because the granddad they live with doesn’t care. Her youngest sibling is an eight-month-old boy. They live in a partially damaged hut near the village’s cremation ground and are surviving on food and milk offered by villagers.  “Our parents died during the Corona wave. We request the government to provide us a house, food, a safe drinking water connection and education,” said the eldest.

    It was local Congress MLA Dr Govind Singh who spotted them during a recent visit to the village. He immediately offered Rs 2,000 to the orphans and asked the village sarpanch and secretary to pool in Rs 10,000 each. Singh also granted them Rs 20,000 from his Local Area Development Fund, but since they do not have a bank account, the money is yet to reach them. 

    Grandfather counselled, welfare steps expedited

    Pancha yatat secretary Ashok Parasar admitted to their lapse. “We didn’t act in time. The orphans don’t have any valid ID/residential proof. We’ve now got them Aadhaar cards. Other paperwork is on. Singh has assured to get the children all benefits under the Below Poverty Line schemes as soon as all documents are ready,” Parasar said.

    Bhind district collector Satish Kumar S said a team from the women and child development department has already visited the village and completed the social and family survey of the children. “We’re also trying to shift the kids to a proper children home. Evidence is being collected to figure out whether they are eligible for the Covid orphans scheme,” he said. The collector added that the children’s grandfather, who was not taking their proper care, was counselled.

    “Our parents died during the pandemic. We have nothing to eat and are completely dependent on the largesse of the villagers,” said the eldest of the five siblings. In May last, Madhya Pradesh had announced a slew of measures for the welfare of the Covid orphaned children, saying that the surviving parent/guardian/relatives tasked with taking the children’s care will be disbursed interest-free loans to start a business for their survival and upkeep.

    Welfare assistance in MPIn May this year, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced Rs 5,000 monthly pension to each Covid orphan, besides free education and free monthly ration supply. The action came after The New Indian Express ran a nationwide series on Covid orphans, starting with that of twin sisters in Bhopal

  • Government panel recommends emergency use authorisation to Zydus Cadila’s 3-dose Covid vaccine

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: An expert panel of India’s central drug authority has recommended granting emergency use authorisation to Zydus Cadila’s three-dose COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D, sources said.

    The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) deliberated on the application given by Zydus Cadila on Thursday and recommended granting emergency use authorisation to its three-dose coronavirus vaccine.

    The recommendations have been sent to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for final approval.

    The Ahmedabad-based pharma major had on July 1 applied for emergency use authorisation (EUA) with the DCGI for the vaccine.

    The company said it has conducted the largest clinical trial for the vaccine in India in over 50 centres so far.

    If approved, ZyCoV-D will be the world’s first DNA vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection, developed by an Indian company and become the sixth vaccine which has been approved for use in the country after Serum Institute’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Russia’s Sputnik V and the US-made Moderna and Johnson and Johnson.

    Plasmid DNA-based ZyCoV-D is to be administered intradermally using a needle-free injector.

    Sharvil Patel, managing director, Cadila Healthcare had said that the vaccine, when approved, would help not only adults but also adolescents in the 12 to 18 years age group.

  • Centre wants states to say there were no deaths due to oxygen shortage: Sisodia

    #39;Then how will states tell? #39; he asked. #39;That means the Centre wants us to give in writing that no death occurred due to the shortage of oxygen. It will be a big lie, #39; Sisodia said.

  • Gujarat government suspends COVID-19 vaccination on Aug 22 for Raksha Bandhan

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government on Friday announced that the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive will be suspended on August 22, on account of Raksha Bandhan festival.

    In a statement, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who handles health portfolio, said the decision to take a day’s break on Sunday (August 22) was taken so that women health workers involved in the inoculation drive can celebrate Raksha Bandhan with their families. Till Thursday, over 4.19 crore persons in Gujarat have been given COVID-19 vaccines by the government.

    Gujarat on Thursday recorded 19 fresh cases of coronavirus, which took its tally of infections to 8,25,255, of which 10,078 people have died of the infection so far.

  • Breakthrough infections in India show high proportion of Delta variant of SARS-CoV2

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Breakthrough infections of coronavirus cases comprise a very high proportion of the Delta variant, the INSACOG, a genome sequencing government consortium of laboratories, has said.

    The continuing COVID-19 outbreaks across India are attributable to the Delta variant, a susceptible population and reduced vaccine effectiveness in blocking transmission, the INSACOG added.

    However, vaccination continues to be very effective in reducing severe disease and death, and public health measures to reduce transmission and inoculation remain critical, the INSACOG stressed in its latest bulletin dated August 16.

    ALSO READ: Active COVID-19 cases lowest in 150 days as India logs 36,571 new infections, 540 deaths 

    “As of now, sequencing of vaccination breakthroughs in India is also showing a very high proportion of Delta variant. Investigations for any new variants are ongoing,” the INSACOG said.

    Of the 30,230 samples of Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest sequenced by the INSACOG, 20,324 were of Delta, it said.

    The Delta variant is currently driving the pandemic across several countries with China and Korea seeing new highs. Korea has reported that the new surge is due to Delta plus K417N mutation.

    The Delta variant resulted in a deadly second wave in the country between March to May that wreaked havoc on the health infrastructure, overwhelming hospitals.

    It infected lakhs and killed thousands. In India, new cases of AY. 1, AY. 2, AY. 3 (Delta Plus) are being seen in July samples from Maharashtra at a frequency of about 1 per cent.

    ALSO READ: India must up Covid vaccine cover, or deal with mutations

    However, at this time none of these sub-lineages has been found to have a growth advantage over the Delta parent lineage, it noted.

    According to INSACOG (the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Consortium), 61 samples of Delta Plus variants have been detected in the country so far.

    “Delta variant is the major VOC in India at this time. Continuing outbreaks across India are attributable to Delta, a susceptible population, reduced vaccine effectiveness in blocking transmission, and opportunities for transmission,” the INSACOG said.

    ALSO SEE:

    Daily coronavirus cases have seen a significant plunge since the second wave which peaked in May. The active cases have declined to 3,63,605, the lowest in 150 days, and comprise 1.12 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

    Over 57 crore jabs have been administered in the country so far, the Health Ministry added. The R Value, or the Reproduction rate in the country has also dipped to 0.89 from August 14-16. But country continues to post over 25,000 cases everyday.

    There has been a concern whether an increasing vaccination breakthroughs in India are because of a new variant, the INSACOG said. It also cited an example of the UK. With a population of about 6.7 crore, the UK has reported about 18 lakh cases and 1.2 lakh vaccination breakthroughs with Delta since April 2021.

    “Thus, vaccination breakthroughs are common during Delta outbreaks and are expected in India as well,” it said.

  • Centre prepared to tackle possible third wave of COVID-19: Anurag Thakur

    By PTI

    SHIMLA: The Centre is fully ready to tackle a possible third wave of COVID-19 and a provision of Rs 23,123 has been made for this purpose, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday.

    He said special emphasis is being given to strengthening paediatric care amid apprehension that the third wave may affect children more than others.

    Thakur, who is on a five-day ‘Jan Ashirwaad Yatra’ in his home state Himachal Pradesh, was speaking to reporters here.

    This is his maiden visit to the state since being sworn in as a Union Cabinet minister last month. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is fully ready to tackle a possible third wave of COVID-19.

    A provision of Rs 23,123 has been made to deal with it, said Thakur, who is also the minister for youth affairs and sports.

    Special emphasis is being given to strengthening paediatric care as experts fear that the third wave may affect children more than others. The Centre has also set aside Rs 35,000 crore for free Covid vaccination, he said.

    Some experts have warned that the third wave of COVID-19 may affect children more while others have said there is little reason to believe this theory. However, experts concur that there is a need to improve paediatric Covid services in the country.

    So far, India has reported 3,23,58,829 COVID-19 cases and 4,33,589 deaths due to the disease, according to the Union health ministry. Thakur said when the second wave of the pandemic hit the country, no one knew oxygen cylinders would be needed.

    Now, there are plenty of oxygen cylinders in the country. He said he is lucky to have had the opportunity to work under a visionary leader like PM Modi.

    He said he was among the three-four people who used to attend meetings with Modi on handling the Covid situation in the country and witnessed the PM’s relentless efforts to deal with the pandemic.

    India faced a brutal second wave of COVID-19 in April-May. During this period, the country reported a large number of daily deaths, while overstretched hospitals scrambled to maintain a steady supply of oxygen for patients.

    Thakur started his ‘Jan Ashirwaad Yatra’ from Parwanoo in Solan district on Thursday. He will cover a distance of 623 km across four Lok Sabha constituencies and 37 assembly segments in eight districts in the hill state.

    Accompanied by state minister Suresh Bhardwaj and Shimla MP Suresh Kashyap, Thakur said that a total of Rs 4,200 crore will be spent on various health sector projects in Himachal Pradesh.

    He said Rs 437 crore will also be spent on the PGI Satellite Centre in Una. Sharing his vision for Himachal Pradesh, Thakur said over the next 10 years, the art and culture of the state will be promoted not just in India but also abroad.

    There is a need to promote and showcase the art and culture of Himachal Pradesh which varies from Kinnaur’s kettle to Chamba’s ‘thaal’ and handkerchief and from Kangra’s paintings to ‘natis’ (dances) of different areas, he said.

    As far as the folklore of the hill state is concerned, its melodious music has a special significance, he added.

    Replying to a question about building a sports stadium in Shimla, Thakur said stadiums will be built at all those places where land is available for the purpose.

    He said he wants to build stadiums that can not only be used for sports but will also be tourist attractions.

    He said the cricket stadium built in Dharamshala during his tenure as BCCI president is an added attraction for tourists.

    “At least five lakh people visit the Dharamshala cricket stadium every year and the number of tourists visiting Dharamshala has also increased a lot after the construction of the stadium,” the minister said.

    Replying to a question, Thakur took a dig at the Congress, saying, “I hope Congress will elect its president by 2024.” Asked about plans to join state politics, he said he is happy with his current responsibility and that he will do whatever he can for Himachal Pradesh while discharging his duty as a Union minister. Earlier in the day, Thakur flagged off the ‘Fit India Run” at Peterhoff here. The event was organised by Nehru Yuva Kendra.

  • Continuing COVID-19 outbreaks attributable to Delta variant: INSACOG

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Continuing COVID-19 outbreaks across India are attributable to the Delta variant, a susceptible population and reduced vaccine effectiveness in blocking transmission, the INSACOG, a genome sequencing government consortium of laboratories, has said.

    However, vaccination continues to be very effective in reducing severe disease and death, and public health measures to reduce transmission and inoculation remain critical, the INSACOG stressed in its latest bulletin dated August 16.

    As of now sequencing of vaccination breakthroughs in India is also showing a very high proportion of Delta variant, the INSACOG said.

    ALSO READ: Active COVID-19 cases lowest in 150 days as India logs 36,571 new infections, 540 deaths 

    Of the 30,230 samples of Variants of Concern and Variants of Interest sequenced by the INSACOG, 20,324 were of Delta.

    In India, new cases of AY.1, AY.2, AY.3 (Delta Plus) are being seen in July samples from Maharashtra at a frequency of about 1 per cent.

    However, at this time none of these sub-lineages has been found to have a growth advantage over the Delta parent lineage, it noted.

    According to INSACOG (the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Consortium), 61 samples of Delta Plus variants have been detected in the country so far.

    ALSO READ: India must up Covid vaccine cover, or deal with mutations

    “Delta variant is the major VOC in India at this time. Continuing outbreaks across India are attributable to Delta, a susceptible population, reduced vaccine effectiveness in blocking transmission, and opportunities for transmission,” the INSACOG said.

    Daily coronavirus cases have seen a significant plunge since the second wave which peaked in May. The active cases have declined to 3,63,605, the lowest in 150 days, and comprise 1.12 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

    Over 57 crore jabs have been administered in the country so far, the Health Ministry added. The R Value, or the Reproduction rate in the country has also dipped to 0.9 from August 14-16.

    But country continues to post over 25,000 cases everyday. There has been a concern whether an increasing vaccination breakthroughs in India are because of a new variant, the INSACOG said.

    ALSO SEE:

    It also cited an example of the UK. With a population of about 6.7 crore, the UK has reported about 18 lakh cases and 1.2 lakh vaccination breakthroughs with Delta since April 2021.

    “Thus, vaccination breakthroughs are common during Delta outbreaks and are expected in India as well,” it said.”As of now sequencing of vaccination breakthroughs in India is also showing a very high proportion of Delta variant. Investigations for any new variants are ongoing,” it added.

  • Take suo-moto cognizance without waiting for judicial intervention: Parliamentary panel to labour ministry on migrant exodus

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary panel has asked the labour ministry to take note of any unprecedent situation, like the migrant workers’ exodus during the pandemic, rather than waiting for the judiciary to intervene on the issue.

    “Committee. exhort the Ministry to take suo-moto cognizance of such unprecedented crisis without waiting for the judiciary to intervene and leverage their monitoring and coordination mechanism with the State/UT Governments to effectively implement the advisories/guidelines issued at the Central level to ensure statutory compliance by all the stakeholders for providing the much needed help to the migrant workers and empower them to deal with the pandemic,” stated the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour in its 25th report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

    The panel noted that total number of migrant workers who returned to their home states during the lockdown in the first wave of COVID-19 was 1,14,30,968 During the second wave lockdown, 5,15,363 migrant workers returned to their home states.

    It found that in compliance to a Supreme Court order on June 9, 2020, Union Labour Secretary wrote a letter on June 19, 2020 to the chief secretaries/ administrators of all states/UTs to collect and maintain details of all migrant labours who returned to their native places alongwith their skill, nature of employment etc to facilitate the administration to extend benefit of different schemes to them.

    It also noted that regular review and coordination meetings of the ministry are being held with states/UTs with a view to ensuring food security, health safety and transport facilities to the migrant workers.

    “When the entire nation was witnessing a heart-rending sight of lakhs of migrant workers walking back to their native places helplessly without anything to fall back on, the Committee find it surprising that the Ministry waited for as long as two months i.e.until June 2020 to write to the State Governments and that too after goaded by the Supreme Court, to collect the much needed detailed data of the migrant workers,” the report stated.

    It speaks volumes of the inaction/delayed action on the part of the ministry at that specific point of the crisis, notwithstanding a number of appreciable and pro-active measures undertaken by the central and state governments subsequently to provide food, shelter, transport and health facilities to the migrant workers, the panel stated in the report.

    The consequential effects of loss of jobs, rising unemployment and indebtedness of unorganised workers and their family members have the potential to cast a long shadow and irreparable damage, it noted.

    The committee further said the government both at the central and state levels should encourage and introduce entrepreneurial opportunities as means of sustenance which would help in reducing unemployment and supporting recovery.

    Further, it suggested that in order to enhance the skills/expertise of the vulnerable and marginalised population, focussed attention should be paid towards creating a large number of skill development programmes which would ensure availability of quality manpower to cater to the needs of the economy.

    It opined that leveraging investments into traditional sectors, strengthening the Make in India mission and intensifying further infusion of technology into various sectors would certainly provide enhanced local and pan-India employment opportunities.

    Noting that the COVID crisis in India has come in the backdrop of pre-existing high and rising unemployment, it said a comprehensive roadmap is required to address the deteriorating condition of employment and widening disparities in the job market in the organised Sector.

    Offering another round of income support to the poor to compensate for loss of jobs would go a long way in mitigating their woes, it added.

    Further, fund allocation to ramp up health infrastructure should be increased and universal health care for all should be made a legal obligation of the government.

    International coordination on stimulus packages and debt relief measures especially for MSMEs will prove to be very critical to the multi-pronged approach towards effective and sustainable recovery, it pointed out.

    It also asked the ministry to take up the matter with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for timely completion of surveys, besides taking into cognisance the research carried out by other credible institutions so that requisite corrective action can be taken to address rising unemployment due to the pandemic.

    It found that four states — Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Assam and West Bengal — are yet to integrate with the ONORC (One Nation One Ration Card) plan.

    In view of the crucial role played by ONORC during the pandemic, it urged the ministry to take up the matter with the four states.

    Also, a performance assessment of the 32 states/UTs which have already been enrolled under the ONORC should be carried out, it stated.

    The report also pitched for mandatory health insurance for all MGNREGA workers by suitably amending the payment schedule.

    There is an imperative need for putting in place an Employment Guarantee Programme for the urban workforce in line with MGNREGA, it added.

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  • Tamil Nadu: Devotees banned from visiting temples from August 1 to 3

    By PTI
    CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department has disallowed entry of devotees to temples dedicated to Lord Murugan and Amman (Sakthi) for three days from tomorrow as a measure to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The department on Saturday ordered there will be no darshan for devotees from August 1 to 3 – the first three days of the Tamil month of Aadi, beginning tomorrow, during which scores of devotees throng the temples dedicated to Lord Muruga and Amman. The daily pujas will however be performed by the temple priests as per schedule.

    The Aadi month usually draws several thousands of devotees to the shrines spread across the state and it marks a string of religious events. And among the days, Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays are considered very special.

    Aadi Krithigai – the nakshatram (star) day which falls on August 2 this year, is celebrated with religious fervour in all the temples of Murugan, son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi.

    Aadi Chevvai (Tuesday), which falls on August 3, is considered very auspicious to visit Amman temples and offer prayers. The month is of great significance to Shakti worshippers.

    After being on the decline for many days, daily new covid cases in the state have witnessed a marginal increase in the last two days, with Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday asking local authorities and police officials to strictly enforce covid-19 guidelines.

    They could themselves decide on shutting down specific areas in case of continuous overcrowding, he had said.