Page 81 - Coronavirus

Chinese public displays mixed emotions on sudden ending of Covid Zero

The restrictions became too much for many in China to bear in late November, when protests erupted in dozens of cities - the most widespread unrest the Asian nation has seen in decades

Youth suicide rate up in South Korea; Covid-19 remains top reason of death

Youth suicide rate in S Korea increased in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic to remain as their No. 1 cause of death, in yet another sign of a chronic problem that has plagued the country for years

Delhi hospitals to conduct mock drills today to check Covid readiness

Hospitals across Delhi will conduct mock drills on Tuesday to assess their preparedness, including availability of beds and manpower, to deal with any increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. The Centre issued an advisory to this effect on Monday amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in some countries. In the national capital, the drill will take place at Delhi government-run facilities like LNJP Hospital and private hospitals. Following the Centre's directions, a mock drill will be held in all hospitals on Tuesday to check their readiness for Covid management, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the health portfolio. Any gaps would be addressed immediately by the health department officials, he said. The mock drill will assess bed availability, manpower, referral resources, testing capacity, medical logistics, telemedicine services and medical oxygen availability, among other things. Real-time data on the availability of beds, oxygen cylinders and ventilators will be

Spike in Covid cases in China's Zhejiang renews supply chain concerns

Aside from Apple suppliers, Zhejiang is home to Japanese automaker Nidec and a slew of other foreign manufacturers

'Living with Covid': UK to stop publishing data, China back to work

The data is considered "no longer necessary" as the country moves to a phase of living with the virus with the help of vaccines and medicines

Covid concerns: Working on 26 aspects to tackle any situation, says BMC

Amid the fear of a surge in COVID-19 cases, Mumbai's civic body on Monday said it was gearing up by creating special wards and replenishing medicine stocks as well as oxygen facilities. Nations like China, Japan and the United States of America are seeing a spike in cases, believed to be caused by BF.7, a sub variant of Omicron. A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation statement said it was working on 26 different aspects to tackle any emergency. "These include preparation of oxygen beds, ventilators, medicines, ICU beds, training of nurses and paramedical staff and maintaining sufficient stock of medicines," it said. "There are more than 2,100 beds ready in government and private hospitals where COVID-19 patients can be treated immediately. These include 1,049 ventilator beds and 579 ICU beds. There are 3,245 doctors, 5,784 nurses and nearly 200 ambulances as well," it said.

Jinping says China faces 'new Covid situation', calls for targeted measures

President Xi Jinping on Monday said China faced a "new Covid situation," as he urged healthcare officials to take targeted measures to deal with the sudden surge in infections, the first time that he has spoken about the grim healthcare situation in the country. In his fresh directive, Xi said that more targeted patriotic health campaigns should be conducted as the country's COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control faces new situations and new tasks. As China continues to reel under a wave of Omicron variants, Xi demanded more efforts in guiding the public to acquire health knowledge and skills, maintain good personal hygiene and form a healthy lifestyle to build a defence line against the epidemic for the whole society, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Monday. This is the first time that the Chinese president has commented on the grim Covid situation in the country after his government overnight relaxed the stringent zero-covid policy earlier this month following mass ...

Beijing to distribute Pfizer antiviral drug amid unprecedented Covid wave

Beijing will begin distributing Pfizers Covid 19 drug Paxlovid to the citys community health centres in the coming days, state media reported on Monday

Covid under control in Rajasthan as cases spike in world, says CM Gehlot

Although Covid cases have increased in many countries, the situation in Rajasthan is stable as immunity against Covid and vaccination rate is quite high here, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Monday

Let govt hospitals, labs do genomic sequencing of Covid samples: Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday directed private hospitals and labs across the State to send COVID-19-positive samples to government lab for whole genomic sequencing (WGS) to monitor existing variants and detect newer variants. With the spurt in cases in countries such as Japan, the United States of America, Korea, Brazil, and China, it is essential to gear up the WGS of positive samples to track the variants through the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network, said the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam. In his latest directive to the private hospitals and private labs approved for conducting COVID-19 RT-PCR test to send the samples to the government labs for WGS, he said, "Such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking of requisite public health measures for the same." With focus on 5-fold strategy of test, track, treat, vaccination and ...

Mandaviya interacts with IMA doctors, asks them to join fight against Covid

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday virtually interacted with about 100 doctors from across the country and members of the Indian Medical Association

Karnataka makes masks mandatory in public places, increases Covid testing

State govt tells revellers to end New Year celebrations before 1 am; Centre readies for mock drills today

Crucial to prevent infodemic and share only verified information: Mandaviya

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday stressed on the importance of preventing an infodemic and sharing only authentic and verified information on COVID-19, and urged doctors to educate the public on various aspects of the disease and its prevention and management. While it is important to be on the alert and follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour including wearing of masks, it is equally important to prevent an infodemic and share only authentic and verified information on the disease, he said during a virtual interaction about 100 doctors and members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) from across the country. "The Union Ministry of Health has been sharing information on various aspects of Covid prevention and management. I urge everyone to access and share only verified information and encourage others to also do so," he said. He urged the doctors to continue to spread authentic information about COVID- 19, according to a health ministry statement. "You have been

Delhi schools teachers to be deployed at IGI Airport to enforce Covid norms

Several Delhi government school teachers during the coming winter vacation will be deployed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport to ensure people there follow COVID-appropriate protocols, officials said on Monday. The order was issued by the District Magistrate (West) on behalf of the District Disaster Management Authority. At least 85 teachers of various government schools of Delhi will be on duty from December 31 to January 15, the order said. Government schools will remain closed in Delhi from January 1 to January 15 for winter vacation. Delhi authorities on Monday began physically visiting all government hospitals here to ascertain their preparedness to deal with any eventuality in view of the surge in Covid cases in some countries. Last week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the new Omicron sub-variant BF.7 of the coronavirus, which is causing a surge in cases in some countries, had not till then been detected in Delhi and that his government was fully gear

NPS partial withdrawal rule changing for these subscribers from Jan 1

PFRDA had launched the online partial withdrawal facility in January 2021 to help subscribers cope with the Covid-19 pandemic

Pakistan ill-prepared for another Covid-19 wave, says local media report

At the country's airports, no protective measures like rapid testing and screening of inbound travellers have been put in place to detect Covid-19 cases, the Dawn reported

Amid Covid surge in China, here's what you need to know about BF.7 variant

So far, scientists have found that symptoms shown by a person infected with BF.7 are not different than those shown by other Omicron subvariants

Factories forced to close in China as workers fall sick amid Covid surge

Many factories have been forced to shut down for weeks because of sick workers and lack of orders, according to Chinese media

Delhi govt sanctions Rs 104 cr for hospitals to procure general medicines

The Delhi government on Monday approved a budget of Rs 104 crore for hospitals to procure general medicines as part of preparations to deal with emergency situations amid a surge in Covid cases in some countries. At a review meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia directed the heads of government hospitals to share details of beds, ventilators, ICUs, human resources, oxygen plants, and medical logistics with the Health department by the evening. "The surge in Covid cases globally is a matter of concern for everyone. Delhi hospitals have been asked to prepare well in advance and stay vigilant. "An amount of Rs 104 crore has been approved to ensure that there is no shortage of any medicines at government hospitals and they are well prepared to deal with any situation," a statement quoted Sisodia as saying. A mock drill will be organised at all the hospitals on Tuesday to ensure the health facilities' readiness for the management of Covid following the Centre's directions, the .

China hands daily Covid data duty to local CDC as nations seek transparency

China's National Health Commission (NHC) has stopped publishing daily Covid-19 case data, handing over the charge to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)