Page 84 - Coronavirus

BF.7 is Omicron with mutations, won't lead to severe disease, say experts

The current Covid surge in many countries including China is believed to be driven by Omicron sub-variant BF.7. India has also so far reported four cases of this variant

New Covid variant a threat to Pakistan, country fully prepared: NCOC

The new coronavirus variant spreading in China is a threat to Pakistan, the country's National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said on Saturday, according to a report by Geo News

Singapore registers 1,017 fresh Covid-19 cases; zero casualties so far

Singapore has reported 1,017 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total tally to 2,195,980

China claims 'adequate' medical supplies for Covid amid reports of shortage

Amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they have "expanded production capacity" of medical supplies amid reports of a shortage of fever and cold drugs

Expect close to 100 mn Covid-19 cases, 1 mn deaths in China: Doctor

Doctors are expecting approximately 100 million Covid-19 and one million deaths in China amid the recent rise in infection

Nepal health ministry issues alert on new Covid-19 variant BF.7

It added that fever measurement, antigen testing and genetic testing of suspected travellers coming from international checkpoints and airports are currently being carried out in Nepal

Hold mock drills at health facilities: Govt to states as Covid cases rise

To ensure the readiness of the COVID-19 health facilities to meet the increase in clinical care needs due to any spurt in cases, the Union health ministry has asked the states and Union territories to hold mock drills at all health facilities on Tuesday. In view of a surge in the Covid trajectory in many countries, it is necessary that the requisite public health measures are put in place in all the states to meet any exigencies, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said in a letter to the states on Saturday. The preparedness of the Covid health facilities is crucial to ensure that all the districts are in a state of readiness to meet the increase in clinical care needs due to any spurt in cases, Bhushan said. "It has therefore been decided to hold mock drill at all health facilities (including identified COVID dedicated health facilities) across the country on Tuesday, 27th December," he said in the letter. "The objective of this exercise is to ensure operational readiness of the

UP CM to provide Rs 5.3 cr aid for kin of journalists who died due to Covid

It is noteworthy that earlier in the month of July, the Uttar Pradesh government had provided about Rs 10 lakh each as an aid for the kin of about 50 journalists who passed away due to coronavirus

Packed ICUs, crowded crematoriums: Coronavirus roils Chinese towns

Yao Ruyan paced frantically outside the fever clinic of a county hospital in China's industrial Hebei province, 70 kilometres (43 miles) southwest of Beijing. Her mother-in-law had COVID-19 and needed urgent medical care, but all hospitals nearby were full. They say there's no beds here, she barked into her phone. As China grapples with its first-ever national COVID-19 wave, emergency wards in small cities and towns southwest of Beijing are overwhelmed. Intensive care units are turning away ambulances, relatives of sick people are searching for open beds, and patients are slumped on benches in hospital corridors and lying on floors for a lack of beds. Yao's elderly mother-in-law had fallen ill a week ago. They went first to a local hospital, where lung scans showed signs of pneumonia. But the hospital couldn't handle COVID-19 cases, Yao was told. She was told to go to hospitals in adjacent counties. As Yao and her husband drove from hospital to hospital, they found all the wards

Arunachal Pradesh gears up operational readiness as Covid-19 cases rise

With sudden spurt of COVID-19 cases in several countries, the Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to gear up operational readiness in the state and maintain strict vigil by enhancing surveillance activities including, early detection, isolation, testing and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases. Chief Secretary Dharmendra in a notification has directed all districts to prioritize detection and containment of outbreaks of new SARs-CoV-2 variant and micro containment measures as and where needed. The district health authorities were directed to review preparedness in terms of incident command centres, Covid health facilities, oxygen beds, ICUs including paediatric care units, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, testing kits, rapid response teams, access to ambulances and stock of essential medicines. The order also directed the districts to ensure samples of all positive cases are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) that are mapped to

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Covid-19: Karnataka CM says no need to panic, but follow safety norms

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday appealed to the people not to panic but exercise caution, amid rise in COVID-19 cases in certain countries and said his government has taken adequate measures to manage the situation. Speaking to reporters here, Bommai said, We will continuously monitor the situation, but there is no need to panic. Only thing is that people should be cautious. The government, people, organisations and the society have to face COVID together. The CM said he recently held a meeting to review the COVID situation and gave directions to officials concerned to implement the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state as well. The health department officials have been directed to increase the booster dose coverage and organize camps at Taluk and district level to administer doses and ramp up testing for COVID-19. All the Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases should be tested and wearing masks in

Centre asks States to ensure availability of oxygen, life support equipment

With some countries witnessing a surge in Covid cases, the Centre on Saturday urged states and union territories to ensure the availability of Liquid Medical Oxygen, adequate inventory of cylinders and functional life support equipment such as ventilators at hospitals to face any challenge. The health ministry asked them to ensure Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generating plants are kept fully functional and regular mock drills are conducted to check them. In a letter to all states and UTs, Health Ministry Additional Secretary Manohar Agnani said the operationalisation and maintenance of these medical infrastructure is of utmost importance to meet any eventuality even though the number of cases in the country is low now. He said medical oxygen is an important and vital resource in all clinical settings, particularly during pandemic management and that reliable oxygen supply is critical for saving lives during patient care and COVID-19 management.

RT-PCR to be mandatory for passengers from 5 countries, says Mandaviya

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said RT-PCR test for the detection of COVID-19 would be made mandatory for passengers from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand for their travel to India. Any passenger from these countries found symptomatic or testing positive for coronavirus would be quarantined, he said. "Passengers from China, Japan, Singapore and Bangkok (Thailand) are being monitored through the 'Air Suvidha' portal," Mandaviya told reporters. In view of the pandemic situation, passengers of flights from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Bangkok are required to upload their RT-PCR report in advance. Even after landing in India, they will undergo thermal screening, he said. "We have issued an order for them to be quarantined in the country if found positive or with fever," the minister said. With China and other countries witnessing a surge in Covid cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday cautioned against complacency, called for

Himachal tourism sector expects over 90% occupancy on Christmas, New Year

The tourism industry in Himachal Pradesh is hopeful of high footfall during Christmas and New Year despite a fresh Covid scare. With both Christmas and New Year on weekends, hotel occupancy is expected to be over 90 per cent, people associated with the tourism industry said and added that tourist influx would also increase as many would come to enjoy snowfall. There is a possibility of light snowfall in the state's upper areas and Lahaul and Spiti on Christmas and Shimla, Manali and the higher reaches on December 29 and 30, said Shimla Meteorological Centre Director Surender Paul. Weekend occupancy in Shimla is near 70 to 80 per cent and, with Christmas and New Year both on weekends, the hotels will be packed to capacity, Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association Vice-President Prince Kukreja told PTI. Hotels are receiving online bookings in large numbers and the snowfall will be an added advantage, he said and added that the new Covid variant was, however, a cause for concern. With

Two Chinese cities reveal Covid cases that far exceed national tally

These local estimates show a huge discrepancy with the official tally of only 4,103 cases reported for China for Dec 23

India doesn't need to ban int'l flights, impose lockdown right now: Experts

India's present Covid scenario does not warrant restricting international flights or imposing a lockdown, but there is a need for strengthened surveillance and vigilance in view of the rise in cases in some countries, experts have said. They also said that a fresh outbreak of severe Covid cases and hospitalisation is unlikely as people in India have the advantage of 'hybrid immunity' i.e. natural immunity due to infection reinforced by vaccination. "Overall, there is no increase in Covid caseload and India currently is in a comfortable situation. Under present circumstances, there is no need to restrict international flights or impose a lockdown," Dr Randeep Guleria, a former AIIMS director, told PTI on Friday. Past experiences show that banning flights is not effective in halting the transmission of infection, he said. "Moreover, data suggests that the Omicron sub-variant BF.7, which is driving the surge in China, has already been found in our country." Asked whether a lockdown .

Random Covid testing of int'l arriving passengers begins at Delhi airport

The random coronavirus testing of international arriving passengers started at Delhi airport on Saturday as the authorities step up measures to prevent possible spread of the infection in the country. Two per cent of passengers arriving in each international flight will be subject to random coronavirus testing at airports from Saturday. Such travellers in each flight shall be identified by the airlines concerned and after submitting the sample, passengers will be allowed to leave the airport. Thermal screening will be done for all passengers at the point of entry and those found to be symptomatic during screening will be immediately isolated. The testing of the international arriving passengers started in the morning, according to an airport official. "We are Ready! Your safety is our priority. 2% random sampling for international arriving passengers will commence today from 10 AM at T3, at no cost to the passengers," Delhi airport said in a tweet in the morning. It also urged ..

Beijing Covid 'peaked' but China months away from tsunami of infections

BF.7 is by far the most transmissible variant with a reproductive number of between 10 to 18.6 in Beijing, according to scientists

India records 201 new Covid-19 infections; active cases rise to 3,397

) India reported 201 new coronavirus infections, raising the tally to 4.46 crore, while the active cases increased to 3,397, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. The death toll stands at 5,30,691 with one fatality reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am by the ministry stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 0.15 per cent and the weekly positivity at 0.14 per cent. A total of 90.97 crore tests for detection of COVID-19 have been conducted so far, with 1,36,315 tests being conducted in the last 24 hours, the ministry said. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, it said. An increase of 17 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,42,791, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. India has so far recorded at 4.46 crore ( .