Page 11 - Corona

Covid: Mock drill at Delhi govt hospitals on Sunday to check preparedness

Delhi government-run hospitals will conduct a mock drill on Sunday to assess their preparedness to deal with any eventuality in view of rising COVID-19 and seasonal influenza cases. A senior official said an order to this effect was issued to medical superintendents, medical directors and chief district medical officers (CDMOs) by the Delhi health department on Friday. "All the MS/MDs and CDMOs of all the hospitals of Delhi government are hereby requested to hold a mock drill on 26.03.2023 (Sunday) to check the preparedness of health, infrastructure, and logistics including availability of oxygen, so as to prepare for any eventuality, especially in view of increasing COVID-19 and influenza type cases," according to the order. The mock drill must be conducted by all the hospitals of the Delhi government and a report be submitted by March 26 evening or March 27 morning, furnishing details on a list of parameters mentioned in an earlier order dated March 23, it says. Sources said the

Keep close watch on evolving etiologies: Centre issues advisory on Covid

The advisory has also flagged low level of testing by states and UTs and has said that testing levels are insufficient as compared to the standards prescribed by WHO i.e 140 tests per million

Nothing to panic about, take precaution: Doctors on rise in Covid cases

Amid a gradual increase in Covid-19 cases in Delhi in recent days, some medical experts say the new XBB.1.16 variant could be driving the rise in cases but add there's no need to panic and people should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get booster shots if they have not already. They also say this rise could be a result of more people getting themselves tested for Covid as a precaution when they actually get infected with the influenza virus and develop fever and related ailments. Over the past week, Delhi has seen a rise in daily Covid cases amid a sharp increase in H3N2 influenza cases in parts of the country, including the national capital. On Friday, Delhi recorded over 150 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 6.66 per cent. A day before that, it logged 117 cases with a positivity rate of 4.95 per cent. The number of daily Covid cases has nearly doubled since Tuesday when 83 fresh Covid cases were reported with a positivity rate of 5.83 per cent and one fatality. T

CAG report flags non-sharing of Covid expenditure records in Maharashtra

A report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on the functioning of Mumbai's civic body has highlighted the lack of transparency and planning as well as careless use of funds and flagged non-sharing of COVID-19 management expenditure records. The CAG report, which was tabled in the Maharashtra Assembly on Saturday by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, scrutinized expenditure of Rs 12,023.88 crore made by nine departments of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation between November 28, 2019 and October 31, 2022. Several works were awarded without tendering or choosing proper contractors, including one case of an influent pumping station in which, the report said, malafide intentions cannot be ruled out. The CAG report also stated that records relating to the expenditure for the management of COVID-19 pandemic were not produced despite repeated requests to the civic body by the Office of the Accountant General (Audit)-I, Maharashtra. The non-production o

Covid infected people may experience genome structure changes: Study

In addition, the study published in the journal Nature Microbiology found that chemical modifications on chromatin were also altered by SARS-CoV-2

Amid Covid-19 rise, 349 samples of new XBB1.16 variant found in India

A total of 349 samples of COVID-19's XBB.1.16 variant, which might have been behind the recent rise of coronavirus cases in the country, have been detected, according to INSACOG data. These 349 samples of the variant have been found in nine states and Union Territories. The highest number of cases due to this variant has been found in Maharashtra at 105, followed by Telangana 93, Karnataka 61 and Gujarat 54, according to INSACOG data accessed by PTI. XBB 1.16 was first found in January when two samples tested positive for the variant. In February, 140 samples of the XBB 1.16 variant were found. In March, 207 XBB 1.16 variant samples have been found till now, according to INSACOG data. India has been witnessing an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the country recently. On Thursday, India logged 1,300 new coronavirus cases, the highest in 140 days, while the active cases have increased to 7,605. The death toll has increased to 5,30,816 with three deaths. One death each has been reported b

No increase in rate of hospitalisation, death due to Covid: Health Ministry

Amid a gradual rise in daily Covid-19 cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday that the XBB.1.16 subvariant of Omicron might be the dominant virus strain in the country but there has been no reported increase in the rate of hospitalisation or death so far. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 344 samples have tested positive in the last three months January, February and March for XBB.1.16 after whole genome sequencing. The subvariant has been found in states such as Maharashtra (105), Telangana (93), Karnataka (57), Gujarat (54) and Delhi (19). "Omicron and its sub-lineages continue to be the predominant variant. No evidence of an increase in hospitalisation and/or mortality has been reported," Bhushan said. He said XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 are variants of interest and under intense scientific scrutiny but they are not a "cause of immediate concern". India has reported an uptick in daily coronavirus cases over the past week. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka are am

Covid affected access to essential meds for cancer, heart diseases: WHO

The report reviewed the impact of the pandemic on NCD medicines from manufacturing, procurement, and importation to delivery, availability, and affordability

PM advises precaution, maintenance of vigil amid rise of Covid-19 cases

A mock drill was also conducted on December 27, 2022, in 22,000 hospitals, and many remedial measures were taken by hospitals thereafter

New Covid-origins study hints at spillover from animal: Scientists

Besides raccoon dogs, the international team of scientists also found DNA of bamboo rats, palm civets, Malayan porcupine and Amur hedgehog

XBB.1.16 variant could be driving recent rise in Covid case: AIIMS director

As India witnessed the highest number of Covid cases in over four months, former AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria on Wednesday said the new XBB.1.16 variant could be driving the recent rise but emphasised there was no need for panic as long it does not cause severe illness and deaths. New variants will keep coming as the virus keeps on mutating over the time and the XBB 1.16 is sort of a "new kid on the block", Guleria told PTI in an interview. "... As long as they don't lead to severe illness, hospitalisation and deaths, it is alright because it helps in giving some degree of immunity to the population if they have mild illness," the renowned pulmonologist, who was part of the national Covid task force, said. His comments come on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting to review the Covid situation and also took stock of the public health preparedness. India recorded 1,134 new coronavirus cases, the highest in 138 days, while the active cases increased t

As Covid cases crosses 1,000; Kerala on alert, use of masks recommended

In the meeting, which came on the eve of the third anniversary of Kerala announcing a lockdown due to Covid, she said the use of masks when visiting hospitals should be a must

After Covid-induced break, EC restarts review of recognised party status

After the Covid-19 pandemic stopped it, the Election Commission has restarted the process of reviewing the recognised status of political parties based on their performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and has given individual hearings to NCP and CPI, two of the eight recognised national parties. The commission has also heard six recognised state parties based on paras 6A, B and C of the Election Symbol (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. The paragraphs deal with criteria for parties to get national or state party status. After the 2019 parliamentary polls, the EC had issued notices to TMC, CPI and NCP, asking why their status should not be downgraded based on the outcome of the general election. However, the process could not move forward due to the pandemic. In November last year, the poll panel revived the process. On Tuesday, it heard the response of the Nationalist Congress Party and the CPI. EC sources said TMC was also called. "It is a routine exercise. We gave a written

'XBB' Covid variants unlikely to cause new wave, don't create panic: Expert

India on Monday recorded a single-day rise of 918 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours pushing the active cases to 6,350, according to the Union Health Ministry data

Underactive immune response may explain severe Covid in obese: Study

People who are obese may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 because of a poorer inflammatory immune response, according to a study. The research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that following SARS-CoV-2 infection, cells in the lining of the lungs, nasal cells, and immune cells in the blood show a blunted inflammatory response in obese patients, producing suboptimal levels of molecules needed to fight the infection. While some people have very mild -- or even no -- symptoms due to COVID-19, others have much more severe symptoms, including acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring ventilator support. One of the major risk factors for severe COVID-19 is obesity, which is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of over 30, the researchers said. While this link has been shown in numerous epidemiological studies, until now, it has not been clear why obesity should increase an individual's risk of severe COVID-19. "During the pandemi

Don't use antibiotics in Covid till bacterial infection suspected: Govt

Antibiotics should not be used in Covid cases unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection, according to a revised guideline for the treatment of adult coronavirus patients issued by the Centre. The revised guidelines, issued on Sunday amid an uptick in coronavirus cases, stated that drugs such as Lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, Molnupiravir, Favipiravir, Azithromycin and Doxycycline should not be used for the treatment of adult COVID-19 patients in India. The AIIMS/ICMR-COVID-19 National Task Force met on January 5 to revise the clinical guidance protocol. It has also advised doctors not to use convalescent plasma therapy. "Antibiotics should not be used unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. Possibility of co-infection of COVID-19 with other endemic infections must be considered," the guidelines said. Additionally, in moderate or severe diseases at high risk of progression, Remdesivir may be considered for up to five days. It

Maharashtra records 236 new Covid-19 cases, active tally at 1,308

Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 236 new cases of coronavirus that raised the tally of infections to 81,39,737, an official from the state health department said. The toll remained unchanged at 1,48,428, while the count of recoveries reached 79,90,001 after 92 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, the official said. With a fatality rate and recovery rate of 1.82 per cent and 98.16 per cent respectively, the state is now left with 1,308 active cases, he said. Mumbai reported 52 new cases, while 33 persons tested positive for the infection in Thane city, the official said. Mumbai circle reported 109 fresh cases, followed by Pune with 69 Nashik 21, Kolhapur and Akola 13 each, Aurangabad 10 and Nagpur two, he said. At least 3,834 swab samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests conducted to 8,65,46,719, the official said. Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures: New cases: 236, Total: 81,39,737, Fatality: 1,48,428, Tests: 8,65,46,719, Recoveries 79,90,001.

China should share raccoon dog's genetic data in Covid Probe, says WHO

The data could have and should have been shared three years ago, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday at a press conference

Maharashtra records 101 new Covid-19 cases, active tally reaches 551

Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 101 cases of coronavirus that raised the tally of infections to 81,38,437, an official from the state health department said. The toll remained unchanged at 1,48,424, while the count of recoveries reached 79,89,462 after 36 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, the official said. With this, the recovery rate stands at 98.17 per cent and fatality rate in the state is 1.82 per cent, he said. The state now has 551 active cases, the official said. At least 8,922 swab samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests conducted in the state to 8,65,01,776, he said. Mumbai saw 19 new cases on Sunday, which took its tally to 11,54,624, which includes 19,747 casualties. Of the latest infections, 40 were recorded in the Mumbai circle, followed by 25 in Pune, 16 in Nashik, seven in Kolhapur, six each in Latur and Akola circles and one in Nagpur, the official said Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures: Fresh cases: 101,

With H3N2 as predominant subtype, combination of viruses causing infections

Meanwhile, the Covid infection has also reported a spike after four months as daily Covid cases were reported 524 on Sunday