News Analysis India

Tag: Pandemic

  • Rs 40,000 crore approved to deal with COVID-19 pandemic, to ramp up of health infrastructure

    By PTI
    NEW DELIH: The Centre has approved nearly Rs 40,000 crore for the prevention of COVID-19 and ramping up health infrastructure, in addition to funds allocated under the National Health Mission.

    This was informed by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in Lok Sabha while replying to a written question of BJP members Dilip Saikia and Ramesh Chander Kaushik.

    Rai said as informed by the health ministry, the central government has been providing required technical and financial assistance to all states and Union Territories (UTs) for strengthening their healthcare system, including management of the COVID-19 public health challenge, from time to time, and the financial assistance to states and UTs is provided under the National Health Mission (NHM).

    During 2019-20, funds to the tune of Rs 1113.21 crore were released to states and UTs towards management of COVID -19, over and above their normal resource envelope under the NHM, he said.

    Further, the central government has approved the ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’ and Rs 15,000 crore was provided under it in April 2020 with an objective to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19.

    The minister said under this package, during 2020-21, funds to the tune of Rs 8,257.88 crore were also released to states and UTs to aid management and control of COVID-19.

    In addition, the ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package: Phase-II’ has also been approved by the government for an amount of Rs 23,123 crore — with Rs 15,000 crore as central share and Rs 8,123 crore as state share — for the period July 2021 to March 2022.

    It includes support to states and UTs for ramping up health infrastructure, including in rural, tribal and peri-urban areas closer to the community, providing support for procurement of drugs and diagnostics to enhance service delivery at district and sub-district levels for management of COVID-19 cases, including paediatric care.

    It also gives support for maintaining a buffer of drugs, IT Interventions such as implementation of hospital management information system and expanding access tele-consultations in all districts, and capacity building and training for all aspects of management of COVID-19.

  • Delta variant 40-60% more transmissible than Alpha: Top official

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: A top government official has now said that the Delta variant of coronavirus is 40-60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant.

    NK Arora, co-chair of INSACOG, a government initiative for Covid genomic surveillance in India, however, added that it has not yet been conclusively established whether this variant, which first emerged in Maharashtra and has now reached over 80 countries, can cause more severe disease.

    B.1.617.2, a variant of SARSCoV2 was first identified in October 2020 in India and was primarily responsible for the second wave in the country. It now accounts for over 80%t of new Covid cases.

    ALSO READ: Delta variant largely responsible for infections during second Covid wave: ICMR study

    This variant has mutations in its spike protein, which helps it bind to the ACE2 receptors present on the surface of the cells more firmly, making it more transmissible and capable of evading the body’s immunity.

    “It is around 40-60% more transmissible than its predecessor (Alpha variant) and has already spread to more than 80 countries, including the UK, the USA, Singapore, and so on,” said Arora in a statement on Monday. 

    There have been studies that show on invading a human cell, this variant replicates faster which leads to a strong inflammatory response in organs like the lungs.

    ALSO READ: Covaxin potent against beta, delta variants of coronavirus

    “However, it is difficult to say that disease due to the Delta variant is more severe. The age profile and the deaths during the second wave in India were quite similar to that seen during the first wave,” Arora said.

    On Delta Plus variant — AY.1 and AY.2 — whose 55-60 cases across 11 states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh have been detected so far, Arora said that the variant is still being studied for its transmissibility, virulence, and vaccine escape characteristics.

    ALSO READ: Delta 8 times less sensitive to vaccine antibodies

    On the continued rise in cases in some states in India, including northeastern states and Kerala, the official said that most of these cases could be due to the Delta variant.

    On future Covid waves in the country, Arora said that the cases may go up if a new, more infectious variant comes.

    “Any future waves will be controlled and delayed if more and more people get vaccinated and most importantly, people follow Covid-appropriate behaviour effectively, especially till a substantial part of our population gets vaccinated,” he said.

  • Hospitals have become like huge real estate industries instead of serving humanity: SC

    #39;These hospitals have become like a huge real estate industry instead of serving the cause of humanity in the face of human tragedy. #39;

  • UP prohibits gatherings of over 50, animal sacrifice at public places on Bakrid

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday issued fresh directives ahead of Bakrid, prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people at any place to celebrate the festival, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The government also issued orders against animal sacrifice at public places in the state. Charing a meeting with senior officials to review the COVID-19 situation in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed them to make all necessary arrangements in view of the festival, an official spokesperson said here.

    In view of Covid, not more than 50 people should gather at any place at a given time for any event related to Bakrid, the official said.

    It should also be ensured that no cow, camel or any other banned animal is sacrificed anywhere. Only designated places or private premises should be used for animal sacrifices, he said. Special care should be taken for cleanliness, the official added. The festival is scheduled to be celebrated later this week.

  • Delta variant accounts for 80 per cent of new Covid cases: Government expert panel chief

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Delta variant was primarily responsible for the second wave of COVID-19 in the country, accounting for over 80 per cent of new cases, Dr N K Arora, co-chair of Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium said, underlining that the cases may go up if a new, more infectious variant comes.

    The variant is also around 40-60 percent more transmissible than its predecessor, Alpha variant, and has already spread to more than 80 countries, including the UK, the US and Singapore.

    ALSO READ: Delta variant largely responsible for infections during second Covid wave: ICMR study

    The Delta Plus variant “AY.1 and AY.2” has so far been detected in 55-60 cases across 11 states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh and is still being studied for its transmissibility, virulence, and vaccine escape characteristics, Dr Arora said, according to a Union Health Ministry statement.

    The Delta variant has mutations in its spike protein, which helps it bind to the ACE2 receptors present on the surface of the cells more firmly, making it more transmissible and capable of evading the body’s immunity, Dr Arora said.

    “The B.1.617.2, a variant of COVID-19 known as the Delta variant, was first identified in October 2020 in India, and was primarily responsible for the second wave in the country, today accounting for over 80 percent of new COVID-19 cases,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Covaxin potent against beta, delta variants of coronavirus

    It emerged in Maharashtra and travelled northwards along the western states of the country before entering the central and the eastern states.

    On whether it causes more severe disease as compared to other variants, Dr Arora said there are studies that show that there are some mutations in this variant that promote syncytium formation.

    “Besides, on invading a human cell, it replicates faster. It leads to a strong inflammatory response in organs like the lungs. However it is difficult to say that disease due to delta variant is more severe. The age profile and the deaths during the second wave in India were quite similar to that seen during first wave,” he stated.

    “The Delta Plus variant ‘AY.1 and AY.2’has so far been detected in 55-60 cases across 11 states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh. AY.1 is also found in countries like Nepal, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Japan but AY.2 is less prevalent. The variant is still being studied for its transmissibility, virulence, and vaccines escape characteristics,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Delta 8 times less sensitive to vaccine antibodies

    Dr Arora said current vaccines are effective against Delta variant as per the studies undertaken by ICMR on the issue.

    On some parts of the country still witnessing a spurt in the number of cases, he said, though there is a significant dip in the number of cases in most parts of the country, some regions are witnessing a high-Test Positivity Rate (TPR) particularly in the north-eastern part and several districts in the southern states, most of these cases could be due to the Delta variant.

    On whether future waves could be prevented, Dr Arora said a virus begins infecting a part of the population, which is most susceptible and also exposed to the infection.

    It diminishes after it successfully infects a large proportion of the population and strikes back when the immunity developed in the people post-natural infection fades.

    “The cases may go up if a new, more infectious variant comes. In other words, next wave will be driven by a virus variant to which significant proportion of population is susceptible,” he said.

    The second wave is still going on. Any future waves will be controlled and delayed if more and more people get vaccinated and most importantly, people follow COVID-Appropriate Behaviour effectively, especially till a substantial part of our population gets vaccinated, he stressed.

    People need to focus on vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour to manage COVID-19, he added.

    There is a need to keep a strict vigil on the emergence of variants of concern and outbreaks so that they can be contained before they spread to a larger region.

    The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), established in December 2020, was a consortium of 10 laboratories. Recently 18 more laboratories became part of it, he Dr Arora said.

    The INSACOG is a consortium of 28 laboratories for whole-genome sequencing in the context of COVID-19 pandemic and was established on December 26, 2020.

    The idea is to have a strong network of laboratories to do genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 and correlate whole genomics sequencing (WGS) data with clinical and epidemiological data to see whether or not a variant is more transmissible, causes more severe disease, escaping immunity or causing breakthrough infections, affecting vaccine efficacy, and diagnosed by current diagnostic tests, he said.

    The National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) analyses this data. The entire country has been divided into geographical regions and each lab is given the responsibility of one particular region.

    “We have formed 180-190 clusters with around four districts in each cluster. Regular random swab samples and samples of patients who develop severe illness, vaccine breakthrough infections, and other atypical clinical presentations, are collected and sent to regional laboratories for sequencing. The current capacity of the country is to sequence over 50,000 samples per month; earlier it was approximately 30,000 samples,” he said.

    The new mutations/variants of concern are cultured and scientific studies are undertaken to see the impact on infectiousness, virulence, vaccine efficacy and immune escape properties.

  • Due to ‘vaccine for all, free vaccine’ campaign, in 24 days coverage touched 30-40 crore: Mandaviya

    #39;The world #39;s largest and fastest vaccination campaign under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is continuously creating new dimensions, #39; Mandaviya said in a tweet in Hindi.

  • Gujarat: Over 200 people attend religious event; FIR against organisers for COVID-19 norms violation

    By PTI
    BHAVNAGAR: Over 200 people gathered for a religious function at a temple in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar city following which police registered an FIR against its organisers for alleged violation of COVID-19 guidelines, an official said on Monday.

    Notably, the state government in a recent notification said all social, political and religious functions will be allowed with a maximum of 200 people in an open area and in case of closed space, a maximum 50 per cent capacity and not exceeding 200 attendees would be allowed.

    Acting on an information, the police reached the Dada Saheb Jain Temple in Kalanala area here on Sunday afternoon and found more than 200 people gathered at a hall in the premises, an official from Nilambagh police station said.

    The police also found that the programme organisers had not taken permission for the event from competent authority, he said.

    “Despite the possibility of spread of COVID-19 infection, they brought together more than 200 devotees at the Derasar to participate in a religious function without permission from the authorities, thereby violating COVID-19 norms and putting people’s lives at risk,” the official said.

    An FIR was registered against four organisers of the event on Sunday night under Indian Penal Code Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread the infection of a disease dangerous to life), and provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, he said.

    On Sunday, Gujarat reported 33 COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to 8,24,493, while one death in Ahmedabad took the toll to 10,076, as per official data.

  • European nations impose incentives, penalties to boost shots

    By PTI
    ATHENS: European nations are scrambling to ramp up vaccination drives, using a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade the reluctant to get their shots as the more transmissible delta variant drives a surge in infections.

    Greece became the latest to enact new restrictions on Friday, requiring proof of vaccination or recent recovery from COVID-19 for access to indoor restaurants, cafes, bars and movie theatres. Children can enter with negative tests.

    The measure, part of a package of government incentives, had little immediate effect as virtually all public life moves outdoors during Greece’s hot, dry summers. Sidewalk cafes and restaurants and open-air movie theaters remain accessible to all.

    “At the moment it’s the middle of summer, people prefer being outside, under the trees, and people don’t want to sit indoors,” said Sprios Bairaktaris, owner of a popular Greek taverna in the tourist district of Athens that has both indoor and outdoor areas.

    Nevertheless, he was still implementing the government measure, only allowing customers with COVID-19 certificates to be seated inside.

    “We adhere to all the measures with total safety. Whatever the doctors or scientists advise,” he said.

    Outdoor clubs and music venues in Greece will also be accessible only to the fully vaccinated or recently recovered, with capacity capped at 85% and no standing customers.

    But just as the measure came into effect in Greece, the Russian capital repealed a similar one introduced last month.

    Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the requirement for restaurants to only admit customers with proof of vaccination or a negative test ends Monday as the pace of contagion has slowed.

    The restrictions had badly hurt restaurant owners, already reeling from the pandemic’s impact, forcing many to close.

    Some European countries have also introduced mandatory vaccinations for certain professions.

    Italy made vaccinations obligatory in April for health care workers and pharmacists.

    France and Greece announced mandatory vaccines this week for health care workers and care home staff, with France extending the requirement to those caring for an elderly or sick person at home.

    France also announced mandatory COVID-19 passes for access to restaurants, bars, shopping malls and many tourist spots, as well as trains and planes, as of July 21.

    The passes are available to anyone fully vaccinated, recently recovered or who has a recent negative test. The regulations have sparked protests, with thousands protesting Wednesday in Greek and French cities. More demonstrations are planned Saturday in France.

    But the incentives appear to work for some people. “On Tuesday, we realized that everything will be closed for us if we are not vaccinated so we started to look for an appointment,” said 15-year-old Parisian Chloe Dril, waiting with her mother to get vaccinated.

    “We noticed that for train tickets it was much more complicated if we are not vaccinated, if we want to go abroad it will be more complicated, so it really pushed us to get vaccinated.” Some business owners are uncomfortable with having to enforce the rules.

    “It’s a shame that we got to the point where we have to create these incentives for people to get vaccinated,” said Clément Léon, owner of Le Picoti bar in Paris.

    “On the other hand, forcing bar owners to play the part of border police officers asking for their clients’ papers is also an issue. From a legal standpoint, it bothers me.” Greece has seen a surge in new infections driven by the delta variant, although the rate of new hospitalizations has been slower.

    Vaccines have been available to anyone 18 or over for several weeks and became available this week to those over 15.

    Incentives to get vaccinated have included 150 euros ($180) credit to spend on entertainment and travel for anyone under 26 who gets a shot.

    Cyprus has also seen an alarming increase in infections, prompting the government on Friday to announce new regulations.

    They include proof of COVID-19 status for access to public transport, banks, state services, businesses and to visit care homes. Dance clubs will only be open to the vaccinated and recently recovered.

    Britain is also making vaccinations mandatory this fall for nursing home workers and the government has been considering extending that to National Health Service employees.

    Parliament approved the measure despite strong opposition from some lawmakers and warnings from nursing homes that it could worsen staff shortages.

    ‘You’d expect this in a communist country,’ commented Conservative legislator William Wragg. England plans to lift its remaining coronavirus restrictions on Monday.

    The Conservative government says it expects bars and nightclubs to check customers’ COVID-19 status, but it won’t be a legal requirement. Many businesses say they just won’t do it.

    Music Venue Trust chief executive Mark Davyd said vaccine passports were “a complete non-starter at the moment.”

    “Very, very few venues are going to do this,” he said, noting that fake vaccine passports were already available online for eager parishioners.

  • Six fresh Covid cases reported in Ladakh; tally reaches 20,240

    By PTI
    LEH: The Union Territory of Ladakh on Saturday recorded six fresh coronavirus cases, taking the overall tally to 20,240, while nine more patients were cured of the disease.

    The total number of recoveries in the region rose to 19,929, officials said. Among the new COVID-19 cases, two persons tested positive for the virus in Leh district and four in Kargil district, they said.

    A total of 2,799 sample reports — 1,337 in Leh and 1,462 in Kargil — were found negative for the infection, they said. There was no death from COVID-19 in Ladakh in the past 24 hours, officials said.

    The Union territory has so far recorded 206 coronavirus-related deaths, with the worst-hit Leh accounting for 148 fatalities followed by 58 in Kargil, they said.

    A total of nine patients — five in Leh and four in Kargil — were cured and subsequently discharged from hospitals, officials said.

    The number of COVID-19 active cases in Ladakh as of now is 105 — 79 in Leh and 26 in Kargil, they added. 

  • Mizoram reimposes total lockdown in AMC area as COVID-19 cases rise

    By PTI
    AIZWAL: The Mizoram government has reimposed a seven-day complete lockdown in Aizawl Municipal Corporation area in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases, over two weeks after easing restrictions, officials said.

    The shutdown will be in force from July 18 till the midnight of July 24, an official order said. Lockdown or other stringent restrictions may be imposed in other parts of the state by deputy commissioners depending on the coronavirus situation, it said.

    The Mizoram government had eased restrictions in the AMC area from June 30. The order said the trajectory of positive cases continues to rise with the daily average of new infections growing steadily from 55 in April to 202 in May to 381 in the first fortnight of July.

    With the majority of fresh cases being reported from the AMC area, the imposition of total lockdown is necessary to curtail a further surge, it said.

    Only essential services including water and electricity, healthcare and LPG distribution will function, the notification said.

    All shops will be closed in the AMC area except those dealing with essential commodities, it added.