News Analysis India

Tag: Pandemic

  • Over 2.47 lakh calls registered by govt’s helpline for women from Apr-Jun 2020

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Over 2.47 lakh phone calls were registered by the government’s women helpline from April to June last year when the country was under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Women and Child Development Ministry said on Thursday.

    From March 25, 2020, till May 31, 2020, the country was under complete lockdown due to COVID-19, and the unlock procedure was started from June 2020.

    In a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said the scheme of ‘Universalisation of Women Helpline (WHL)’ through toll free number 181 is operational in 33 states and Union Territories.

    “As per the information received from states/UTs, during the period between April 2020 to June 2020, over 2.47 lakh calls were registered in WHLs,” she said.

    The helpline aims to provide emergency and non-emergency referral and information service to women affected by violence and in distress.

    The WHLs work in coordination with the One-Stop Centres (OSC) established in 700 districts across the country.

    These OSCs facilitate a range of integrated services under one roof such as police facilitation, providing legal aid and legal counselling, medical aid, psycho-social counselling and temporary shelter.

    In response to another question, Irani said the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) received 354 complaints through the POCSO e-Box during the last three years, i.e., 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and the current year 2020-21 (till January 31, 2021).

  • Goa to host two carnival parades amid COVID-19 pandemic

    By PTI
    PANAJI: Goa will host only two carnival float parades instead of six this year in light of the COVID- 19 pandemic, a senior official said on Thursday.

    The parades will be held on February 13 and 14 in Panaji and Margao in South Goa respectively due to curbs imposed to contain the spread of infection, said Nikhil Desai, managing director of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation.

    The tourism department usually hosts parades at six cities across the state, and this would be the first time in the history of the coastal state’s tourism that only two parades will be held, he said.

    Mythological character King Momo will be heralding the colourful float parades.

    All COVID-19 restrictions will be in place during the parade, which will be attended by thousands of people, the official added.

  • Around 60 paramedical staff of Delhi prisons dept vaccinated against COVID-19 so far

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Around 60 paramedical staff of the Delhi prisons department have been inoculated so far during the COVID-19 vaccination drive, officials said on Sunday.

    The vaccination drive began in the national capital on January 16 and the healthcare workers, who were at the forefront of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, got the first shots of the vaccine.

    “Around 60 paramedical staff of the prisons department have been vaccinated so far. They were vaccinated on different dates at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.

    The vaccination will help boost the morale of the jail officials and security forces personnel, who were at a high risk of catching the virus due to the nature of their job,” Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said.

    According to a senior jail official, the prisons department has around 200 paramedical staff.

    The department had asked around 3,600 staff members, including security personnel, to enroll themselves for receiving the coronavirus vaccine shots.

    Around 1,600 jail staff, 1,000 Tamil Nadu Special Police personnel who carry out security duty at the Tihar Jail and 1,000 personnel of paramilitary forces have been enrolled for the purpose.

    A total of 292 prisons staff had contracted the infection till Saturday, officials said, adding that only two are still under treatment while 290 have recuperated.

    Of the 118 jail inmates who have tested positive for the viral disease so far, 116 have recovered while two have died, they said.

    Among the three prisons in the national capital, the first COVID-19 case was reported in the Rohini Jail on May 13 last year.

    Two COVID-positive inmates of the Mandoli Jail — both senior citizens — died on June 15 and July 4 last year.

    Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, the prisons department has remained vigilant and instructed its staff to not only maintain hygiene and social distancing, but also spread awareness among the inmates in the three jail complexes, officials said.

  • COVID-19 vaccination drive underway on first day in Arunachal Pradesh

    By PTI
    ITANAGAR: The COVID-19 vaccination drive is underway in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday with a government hospital doctor receiving the first shot, a senior health official said here.

    Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated the state-wide launch of the COVID-19 inoculation exercise at the K D S District Hospital in Tawang earlier in the day.

    Dr Deka, an associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) in Naharlagun near here was the first person in the state to receive the vaccine, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

    When the vaccination began, Home Minister Bamang Felix was present at TRIHMS. On the first day, the vaccine will be administered to a total of 900 people, 100 each at nine session sites, Jampa said.

    “The vaccination drive will continue in the rest of the districts and blocks from Sunday as per the session planning in the CoWin portal,” Jampa said.

    A list of 23,505 healthcare professionals, including 3,867 vaccinators and 483 health workers from Indo-Tibetan Border Police, has been uploaded on CoWin, a digital platform for monitoring the inoculation exercise, he said.

    Around 28,000 frontline workers also registered their names at the portal. The state received a total 32,000 doses of Covishield vaccine from the Centre till now, he said adding that the vaccines have been allocated to all districts.

    The state has 195 cold chain points for storage of COVID-19 vaccines, the official said.

  • Goa records 83 fresh cases of COVID-19; three more deaths

    By PTI
    PANAJI: Goa’s COVID-19 tally reached 52,345, after 83 more people tested positive for the infection on Saturday, an official from the health department said.

    As many as 69 patients were discharged from various treatment facilities, while three died of the infection during the day, the official said.

    With this, the toll in the coastal state stands at 756 and the count of recoveries has reached 50,712, he said. There are currently 877 active cases in the coastal state, the official said.

    With the addition of 670 new samples tested in the day, the total number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 4,26,703, he added.

    Goa’s COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 52,345, new cases 83, death toll 756, discharged 50,712, active cases 877, samples tested till date 4,26,703.