Page 83 - Coronavirus

States start mock drills, get the beds and O2 ready to take on Covid

The airport tests are aimed at a 2 per cent sample of all incoming international travellers

It's safe to wear masks in crowded places: Tamil Nadu Health Minister

Tamil Nadu never announced any relaxation in following COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and it is safe to wear a mask in crowded places, state Health Minister Ma Subramanian said on Sunday amid a surge in coronavirus infections overseas. The minister said health department officials have been instructed to mandatorily take RT-PCR tests of all the passengers at the international airport who arrive from countries where the spread of infection has been high. Beginning Saturday, Tamil Nadu has resumed random testing of international passengers arriving at the airports in the state. "Wearing a mask, hand hygiene are already covered under COVID-19 protocols. We have not announced any kind of relaxation. All the COVID-19 standard operating procedures still remain. It is safe to wear a mask in crowded places like malls, air conditioned environments," he told reporters here. "Instead of discussing whether it is mandatory or not, it is safe to wear a mask to protect ourselves," he said. The .

China's Covid-19 surge is infecting 37 million people a day: Report

Some 37 million people in China may have been infected with C-19 on a single day this week, as Beijing discontinued restrictions that had contained the virus since the start of the pandemic

China stops publishing daily Covid-19 cases amid fresh surge: Report

China's National Health Commission, which used to issue the country's Covid-19 case figures on a daily basis, starting Sunday stopped publishing the update, according to The Global Times

UP govt gives Rs 10 lakh each to kin of journalists who died of Covid-19

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday gave Rs 10 lakh each to the families of 53 journalists who died of COVID-19 and saluted their courage. In a programme held at his residence here on the Good Governance Day, Adityanath said that the manner in which journalists spread awareness and exposed the shortcomings of the system with a positive spirit, even in the middle of a severe pandemic, is commendable. Adityanath disbursed Rs 5.30 crore in all to the families of 53 journalists who died during the pandemic. In July last year, families of 50 other journalists were provided an assistance of Rs 10 lakh each, the UP government said in a statement issued here. "As many as 103 journalists in the state died untimely due to Corona infection. It is an emotional moment. The state government stands with every family in this hour of grief. Today every family is being given assistance of Rs 10 lakh as a support. "Apart from this, pension will be provided to destitute women as pe

Steps taken to prevent Covid, people should follow precautions: Haryana Min

Haryana Home and Health Minister Anil Vij on Sunday said that adequate arrangements have been made to prevent a Covid-19 surge in the State

Surge in Covid-19 cases in China raises odds of new coronavirus mutant

Could the COVID-19 surge in China unleash a new coronavirus mutant on the world? Scientists don't know but worry that might happen. It could be similar to omicron variants circulating there now. It could be a combination of strains. Or something entirely different, they say. China has a population that is very large and there's limited immunity. And that seems to be the setting in which we may see an explosion of a new variant," said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University. Every new infection offers a chance for the coronavirus to mutate, and the virus is spreading rapidly in China. The country of 1.4 billion has largely abandoned its zero COVID policy. Though overall reported vaccination rates are high, booster levels are lower, especially among older people. Domestic vaccines have proven less effective against serious infection than Western-made messenger RNA versions. Many were given more than a year ago, meaning immunity has waned. The

Travellers in a fix over govt announcement of mandatory RT-PCR testing

The rule applies to passengers arriving from five nations and calls for quarantine of infected/symptomatic flyers; travellers fear list may soon include more countries

Genestrings ramps up manpower at Delhi airport for Covid-19 tests

Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, which is conducting coronavirus tests at Delhi airport, on Sunday said it has increased the number of lab technicians at the facility to ensure timely reporting of test results. The company conducted around 110 coronavirus tests at the airport on Saturday, the day when the random testing of two per cent of arriving international passengers commenced amid a spurt in infections in various countries. After submitting samples for random testing, travellers can leave the airport. In a statement on Sunday, Genestrings said that on an average, 25,000 travellers arrive at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here and out of them, 500 random passengers are being tested. By the end of the first day on Saturday, Genestrings had conducted approximately 110 tests. "We have increased the manpower of lab technicians at the facility to ensure availability and timely reporting along with being fully prepared for COVID management," Gauri Agarwal, Founder of .

Covid concerns fail to dampen Christmas spirit, people go out in Delhi

Hundreds thronged churches across the national capital for Christmas festivities on Sunday after two years of muted celebrations in the shadow of the Covid pandemic with people seeking to find a balance between rituals and precautions. Colourful lights, Christmas trees, buntings and balloons decked up street corners, markets and public areas as people from all religions and cultures celebrated the festival with food and music. Christmas this year comes amid a low number of Covid cases. However, church-goers exercised caution considering the surge in infections in some countries. Most churches urged the people to wear masks and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. "It (crowd) was double the number we witnessed last year. There are no harsher curbs like the previous two years. So, the number has obviously gone up," a spokesperson of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi said. "However, we urged people to wear masks and maintain social distance considering cases are rising in some .

Amid Covid concerns, random post-arrival testing begins at Delhi Airport

Following the advisory issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has commenced random post-arrival testing for International arrivals at Delhi Airport

International passengers tested for Covid at Andhra's Gannavapuram airport

Alerted by the new BF.7 Covid-19 variant, the officials at the Gannavaram airport here in Andhra Pradesh conducted Corona tests for international travellers.The arrangements were made by the District Medical Officers at the airport on the orders of the Central and State Governments.As per Centre's guidelines, two per cent of international passengers arriving at Indian airports are to be tested.Airport Director Lakshmi Kanta Reddy has revealed that they are organising the Covid tests at Gannavaram Airport and will continue at Gannavaram Airport as per the orders of the Central and State Governments."An Air India flight arrived at Gannavaram Airport with 140 passengers from Sharjah. Four passengers from Sharjah have been tested for Covid at Gannavaram International Airport," said Reddy."Nobody is afraid of corona. We have taken booster dose and we have to put on mask for our safety," said a passenger.Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has already held a meeting with top officials ..

FPIs invest Rs 11,557 crore in equities during Dec; Covid to drive flows

Foreign investors have infused a net Rs 11,557 crore in Indian equities in December so far despite a market correction and increasing concerns over re-emergence of COVID in China and some other parts of the world. Going ahead, macro data from the US and COVID news will drive FPI flows and the markets in the near term, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. According to data with the depositories, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) invested a net sum of Rs 11,557 crore in equities during December 1-23. This comes following a net investment of over Rs 36,200 crore in November primarily due to weakening of the US dollar index and positivity about overall macroeconomic trends. Prior to this, foreign investors pulled out Rs 8 crore in October and Rs 7,624 crore in September, data with the depositories showed. "Despite correction in the markets, increasing concerns over re-emergence of COVID in some parts of the world and recession worries in the

Restaurants pull out the masks and gloves to keep new Covid wave at bay

Sanitisers find their way back at entry points; Christmas and New Year bookings sold out, no cancellations so far

Bihar on alert, daily testing on large scale: CM Nitish Kumar on Covid-19

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said that every day almost 45,000-50,000 COVID-19 tests are being conducted in the state.While talking to the media, Kumar said, "We are conducting COVID tests and administering vaccines. Every day almost 45,000-50,000 tests are being conducted."Bihar is on alert, and patients are being provided treatment. The Centre is also careful. We have to be careful with those coming from outside," he added.Earlier on Saturday, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) wrote to all the States and Union Territories of the country and directed them to ensure a functional and regular supply of medical oxygen for Covid-19 pandemic management.In its letter, the Ministry emphasised the importance of medical oxygen and vital resource in all clinical settings, particularly during the pandemic.A reliable oxygen supply is critical for saving lives during patient care and COVID-19 management, it said.Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on ...

Delhi authorities to check hospitals' readiness, increase Covid testing

In view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in some countries, officials will physically visit all government hospitals in Delhi and ascertain their preparedness to deal with any eventuality, authorities said on Sunday. In pursuance of the central government's directions, a mock drill will be conducted across all city government hospitals on Tuesday. Delhi Health Secretary Amit Singla chaired a meeting with all district magistrates on Sunday morning and directed them to visit all hospitals and prepare an inventory of beds and equipment available there, a district official said. "From Monday onwards, we are going to physically assess the situation at the government hospitals with regard to the availability of beds, oxygen cylinders, ventilators etc. These details will be available on a Delhi government portal for public viewing from Tuesday," another official said. The Delhi government's coronavirus dashboard was last updated on December 12. "Real-time data will be available on the portal

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110 international passengers randomly tested for Covid-19 at Delhi airport

The recent 'Guidelines for International Arrivals' were followed accordingly, and 110 international passengers were tested randomly on day 1 at the Delhi IGI, Genestrings Diagnostic Centre said

India has developed herd immunity; BF.7 variant may not be serious: CCMB

The severity of BF.7 variant of coronavirus in India may not be as serious as it is currently prevailing in China as Indian have already developed "herd immunity" a top official of CSIR- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here said. Vinay K Nandicoori, Director CCMB, stressing the need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour, said there is always a concern that all these variants have the ability to escape the immunity and can infect people who are vaccinated and even sometimes infected with the previous variants of Omicron. "The severity of the infection is not as much as they used to be with Delta. That's because of the fact that we do have herd immunity to an extent. Actually we have herd immunity because we are exposed to the other viruses," he told PTI. Media reports indicate that India reported four cases of BF.7 variant of coronavirus. "We (India) have seen the Delta wave which is a big one. Then we have got vaccination done. And then the Omicron wave came and we

India reports 227 fresh Covid-19 cases; active tally rises to 3,424

) India recorded 227 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 3,424, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,77,106) . The death toll stands at 5,30,693 with two fatalities with one reconciled by Kerala and one death reported in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the ministry. An increase of 27 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,42,989, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.05 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed