Page 24 - Coronavirus

Suvendu Adhikari alleges scam in purchase of PPE kits; demand probe

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday wrote to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), alleging a scam in the purchase of PPE kits and other medical equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.Taking to his official handle on social media platform X, Adhikari shared a detailed post informing that he had written to the director, ED, principal director general of the Income Tax Department and secretary, Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, seeking an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits."A huge financial scam was executed in WB during the Covid Pandemic period, with regard to the purchase of PPE kits and other medical equipment by the WB Health Department. Huge funds were provided by the Central Govt at that time to bolster the efforts to fight against the virus collectively," Adhikari posted from his official X handle."I have written a letter to the Director; .

Ex-health official booked for misappropriating Covid testing kits in Pune

The Pune police have registered an offence against a former chief health officer and two others for allegedly misappropriating COVID-19 testing kits, medicines, and sanitisers intended for a civic-run hospital during the pandemic in 2021 and selling them to private laboratories for personal gains, an official said on Friday. The Warje Malwadi police on Thursday registered a case against Dr Ashish Bharti, the former chief health officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation, Dr Aruna Tarde and Dr Rushikesh Gardi under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 465 (forgery) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the official said. The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by Dr Satish Kolsure, who took the matter to court, following which a local court directed the police to register a case, he said. According to the police, the accused allegedly created fake records at Arvind Bartakke Hospital in the Warje Malwadi area between January and Decembe

India records 36 new Covid-19 cases in one day; active cases stands at 215

India saw a single-day rise of 36 fresh COVID-19 infections while the active cases have been recorded at 215, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The country's COVID-19 case tally stands at 4.50 crore (4,50,01,691) and the death toll at 5,33,295, the data updated at 8 am stated. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,68,179 and the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, it stated. The case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.67 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far.

Mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China: Here is what we know so far

The World Health Organisation asked China for detailed information on the increase in the cases of respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children

ICAO Secretary-General hails remarkable resilience of UAE airports

Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary-General of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), underscored the remarkable resilience of UAE airports have rebounded strongly despite Covid 19

Indian researchers find no link between sudden death and Covid-19 shots

"We found no evidence of a positive association of Covid-19 vaccination with unexplained sudden death among young adults," the research group said in a study published

Ex-UK PM Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by science, ex-adviser tells inquiry

Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, struggled to come to grips with much of the science during the coronavirus pandemic, his chief scientific advisor said Monday. In keenly awaited testimony to the country's public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Vallance said he and others faced repeated problems getting Johnson to understand the science. I think I'm right in saying that the prime minister gave up science at 15," he said. I think he'd be the first to admit it wasn't his forte and that he struggled with the concepts and we did need to repeat them often. In extracts from his diary that were relayed to the inquiry, Vallance said Johnson was bamboozled by the graphs and data and that watching him get his head round stats is awful." Vallance said Johnson's struggles were not unique and said many leaders around Europe had problems in understanding the scientific evidence and advice, especially in the first stages of the pandemic in early 2020. I would also sa

Covid warriors of India awarded Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace 2022

The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, 2022, was Sunday awarded jointly to the Indian Medical Association and the Trained Nurses Association of India as representatives of the Covid warriors in the country. Former Vice President M Hamid Ansari presented the award to Sharad Kumar Agarwal, the president of the Indian Medical Association, and Roy K George, the president of the Trained Nurses Association of India. Addressing the award ceremony, the Chairperson of Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, Sonia Gandhi, said the award was for every doctor, nurse, paramedic and worker for their selfless service, unflinching dedication and perseverance in the face of adversity. She said the award instituted in the name of Indira Gandhi, one of the most remarkable leaders of the 20th century, aims at honouring women, men and institutions that have done exemplary work in the service of humanity and the planet Earth. "The prize endeavours to promote the causes that Indiraji herse

MNCs, GCCs lead India office space leasing; to reach 62 mn sq ft by 2025

Number of Global Capability Centres likely to reach 3,000 by 2030, employing more than 3 million people

Dubai International Airport on track to beat pre-Covid passenger figures

Passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport this year will eclipse the pre-pandemic passenger figures in 2019, showing the strong rebound in travel after the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns that grounded aircraft worldwide, a top official said Wednesday. The airport, the world's busiest for international travel and home of the long-haul carrier Emirates, has had 64.5 million passengers pass through its cavernous concourses through the third quarter of this year. That puts it on track to reach 86.8 million passengers for the full year, which would exceed its 2019 figure of 86.3 million passengers. It had 66 million passengers last year. The airport's busiest year was 2018, when it had 89.1 million passengers. We're thrilled but not entirely surprised that DXB is all set to surpass the pre-pandemic milestone well ahead of our initial projections by almost a year," Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said in a statement. Through the third quarter, Dubai's main airport handl

Chinese experts sound alert on relapse of Covid-19 during winter season

Chinese experts have sounded an alert about the relapse of COVID-19 infections during the current winter season and asked elderly and vulnerable populations to get vaccinated. The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese CDC) shows that a total of 209 new severe COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths caused by COVID-19 were reported across the country in October, with the prevalent strains all being XBB variants, official media reported on Monday. China's top respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan warned of a small COVID-19 spike in the winter and reminded the elderly and vulnerable populations to get vaccinated as soon as possible, state-run Global Times reported. The virus is undergoing mutations, while the general population's ability to fight off the disease is declining because their antibody levels are lowering as time passes, Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told the Daily. According to Lu, there may be a rise in COVID-19 cases during t

WHO updates its guidance on treatments for patients with Covid-19

The World Health Organization has updated its guidance on treatments for patients with COVID-19, providing latest, trustworthy advice on the management of the disease to help doctors make better decisions. The new recommendations published by The BMJ are part of a living guideline, developed by the WHO with the methodological support of Norwegian non-profit MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation. The guidance incorporates the latest clinical trial evidence for existing and new COVID-19 therapies and takes account of evidence relating to safety, prognosis, resources, access, and equity issues, as well as patient values and preferences, the WHO said. The update includes distinct risk categories to help doctors more accurately assess whether an individual is at high, moderate, or low risk of hospital admission and tailor treatment accordingly. WHO in the update recommends the use of antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir in patients with non-severe COVID-19 at high and moderate risk of ..

Loss of smell caused by coronavirus takes upto three years to return: Study

More than a quarter of the Covid group still experienced olfactory dysfunction two years after infection, but after three years, the condition wasn't significantly more common than in controls

A grainy picture: Tough to measure Covid's impact on poverty without data

The impact of the pandemic on pov­erty and inequality in India has been a contested issue in the absence of govern­ment data

Byju's in talks to sell US unit Epic for $400 mn to ease financial pressure

Byju's and its creditors are locked in conflict over a missed interest payment on a term loan that the startup had taken out to help finance a global acquisition spree during the pandemic

Covid lockdown delayed to bring down Congress govt in MP: Jairam Ramesh

The Kamal Nath-led government collapsed in March 2020 after several MLAs of his party resigned, paving the way for the return of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government

Nearly 97000 Indians detained trying to enter US illegally in last one year

These intruders primarily hail from Gujarat and Punjab in India and aspire to settle in America

Moderna tempers 2023 Covid vaccine sales forecast on weaker demand

Analysts estimate over $100 million in sales for each of Moderna's new vaccines against RSV and flu, which also has yet to be approved, in 2024, according to LSEG data

Global slowdown may take sheen off gems & jewellery industry in Rajasthan

The overseas demand has also shifted to light-weight stone-studded jewellery, of both precious and non-precious stones

Covid vaccination didn't increase risk of deaths among young adults: Study

COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden deaths among young adults in India, according to a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Factors that did increase such chances included being in the hospital for Covid in the past and certain behaviours like binge drinking and intense physical activity shortly before death, the study said. The study, titled "Factors associated with sudden deaths among adults aged 18-45 years in India -- a multicentric matched case-control study", is under peer review and yet to be published. It was completed earlier this month, official sources said on Monday. Citing the ICMR study, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said at Gujarat's Bhavnagar on Sunday that those who had earlier suffered a severe bout of Covid must not overexert themselves for a year or two to avoid heart attacks and cardiac arrests. Anecdotal reports of sudden deaths among healthy young adults in India led the researchers to conduct the ..