Page 3 - Public Health

New Zealand reverses ground-breaking smoking ban to fund tax cuts

The move has sparked outrage among public health officials and anti-tobacco groups, who are dismayed by the decision to abandon the ban to finance tax cuts

Luxon sworn in as New Zealand prime minister, says economy is top priority

Christopher Luxon was sworn in as New Zealand's prime minister on Monday and said his top priority was to improve the economy. The 53-year-old former businessman leads a conservative coalition after his National Party struck a deal on Friday with two smaller parties following a general election last month. After the swearing-in ceremony, which was presided over by Governor-General Cindy Kiro, Luxon told reporters the job was an awesome responsibility". He said he would hold his first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and look to quickly finalise a 100-day plan. He said he also planned a visit to Australia before Christmas Day. Luxon said he needed to get a Treasury briefing on the state of the government's finances. We are concerned and worried that it's been a deteriorating picture for a number of months now, Luxon said. Under the coalition agreement, Luxon has promised to deliver tax cuts and train 500 more police officers within two years. He has also promised less government bureau

Who is in charge of my 'air'?

Controlling air pollution calls for negotiations that cover airsheds, as air is mobile and beyond artificial legal jurisdictions

6 wks following flooding event critical for public health monitoring: Study

Floods heighten risk of dying in the three to six weeks window following the event, new research in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) says. The risk of deaths in general increased by 2.1 per cent, whereas that in people having heart and lung illnesses increased by 2.6 and 4.9 per cent, respectively, a team of researchers led by those at Australia's Monash University found. This increased risk peaks for around 25 days, but persists for up to 50-60 days after the first day of flooding, they said in their study, having studied deaths in 761 communities from 35 countries that experienced at least one flooding event from 2000 to 2019. In the aftermath of a flood, risk of deaths from natural causes could get enhanced due to contamination of food and water, exposure to disease-causing fungi, bacteria or virus, impaired access to health services, and psychological impairment. These flood-and-death associations varied with local climate type and were stronger in populations with low ...

Alien species threaten food supply, public health, and cost $423 billion

More than 37,000 alien species have been introduced worldwide as a result of human activity - transported from one location to another in ships' ballast water, for instance

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan calls medicos 'pillars' of public health sector

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday extended greetings to medicos on the occasion of National Doctor's Day and described them as 'pillars' of the public health sector. The committed efforts of doctors in maintaining the wellness of our society make them pillars of our public health sector, he tweeted. The CM urged everybody to ensure support for their "exemplary service". "On this #DoctorsDay, let's salute their firm will and resoluteness in providing healthcare and ensure support for their exemplary services," Vijayan added.

Govt reinforcing public health infra to deal with emergency like Covid: KCR

The Telangana government is bolstering the health care facilities by increasing budget allocations to improve public health and to effectively deal with emergencies like Covid-19 should they arise, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Wednesday. In his address after laying the foundation for a new block in state-run Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here, he said the allocation for health sector in the budget was Rs 2,100 crore in 2014 (when the state was formed), while it was over Rs 12,360 crore in 2023-24. Recalling his interaction with a group of entomologists a few years ago, he quoted them as having said that infectious diseases like COVID-19 may surface again in the future. "They told me that losses would be minimal where health systems are strong. Many people would die and the losses would be heavy where the health system is weak. We can understand the importance of the health department from this," he said. "Since then, we have been strengthening this ...

1 in 5 'healthy' adults have glucose metabolism of a prediabetic: Study

About 20 per cent or one in five adults considered healthy by medical standards, have glucose metabolism similar to those with prediabetes, finds an alarming study

Congress questions govt on country's economic health, national security

Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi government of compromising on national security, using politics of hatred for electoral gains, and weakening constitutional values and democratic institutions. The Congress on Friday had said it would hold press conferences, titled 'Nau Saal, Nau Sawaal' (nine years, nine questions), in 35 cities over the next few days to highlight the "failures" of the Central government in the last nine years. Accusing Modi of not addressing important issues, the grand old party asserted that it will continue to play the role of a responsible opposition and hold the government accountable for its actions. Addressing a press conference here, Maken said, As the Modi government completes nine years in power, the Congress has nine questions and we want to know their response. We know that they don't want to address serious issues like unemployment, price rise and will rather try to divert attention to frivolous matters. With .

Be cautious about 'excessive use' of booster Covid doses: Srinath Reddy

Surveillance for new variants of the virus must continue, says distinguished professor at PHFI

US set to end Covid-19 as a public health emergency from Thursday

Ending the Covid-19 public health emergency will impact some benefits, leading to mounting pressure to underinsured or uninsured people

Covid pandemic has not taught the world how to beat the next deadly virus

Even governments that decided against elimination, opting instead to flatten the curve, struggled to persuade people to follow basic control methods

India records 120 new coronavirus cases; active tally increases to 1,916

India saw a single-day rise of 120 fresh COVID-19 cases, while the active cases have increased to 1,916, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll stands at 5,30,761 with one death reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The country's infection tally stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,85,037). The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total cases, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,52,360, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent in the country. According to the ministry's website, 220.63 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India reports 157 new coronavirus cases; active tally increases to 1,862

India logged 157 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 1,862, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll stands at 5,30,757, the data updated at 8 am stated. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,84,659). The daily positivity was recorded at 0.12 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.10 per cent. The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,52,039, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.63 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

India records 96 new coronavirus cases; active tally rise to 1,785

India on Wednesday recorded 96 fresh COVID-19 cases, while the number of active cases increased to 1,785, according to Union health ministry data. With the new cases, the total tally stands at 4.46 crore (4,46,83,639). The death toll increased to 5,30,746 with one death reported from Uttar Pradesh, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.07 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.08 per cent. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,51,108, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.60 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23

India reports 113 new coronavirus cases; active tally rise to 1,817

India logged 113 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases increased to 1,817, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll stands at 5,30,745, the data updated at 8 am stated. The Covid case tally stood at 4.46 crore (4,46,83,363). The daily positivity was recorded at 0.09 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.08 per cent. The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.81 per cent, the ministry said. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,50,801, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.57 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 the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

India logs 111 new Covid infections; active cases increase to 1,783

India's COVID-19 tally rose by 111 in a day while active cases have increased to 1,783, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The death toll stands at 5,30,740 while the tally of Covid cases was recorded at 4.46 crore, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was 0.07 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.07 per cent. Active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,50,372, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.51 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on

India records 80 new Covid-19 infections, active cases rise to 1,848

India saw a single-day rise of 80 coronavirus infections, while the active cases have increased to 1,848, according to Union health ministry data updated on Monday. The total tally of Covid cases is 4.46 crore (4,46,82,719) and the death toll stands at 5,30,740, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 0.11 per cent while the weekly positivity stands at 0.08 per cent, the ministry said. The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry's website. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,41,50,131, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, it said. According to the ministry's website, 220.45 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far.

India records 99 new Covid-19 cases, active count declines to 1,896

India logged 99 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases declined to 1,896, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The Covid case tally was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,82,437). The death toll stands at 5,30,739 with one death reported by Maharashtra, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity was recorded at 0.10 per cent while the weekly positivity was pegged at 0.08 per cent. The active cases now comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 10 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 4,41,49,802, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website 220.36 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. Indi

India reports 132 new coronavirus cases, active tally decline to 1,906

India saw a single-day rise of 132 new coronavirus infections, while active cases declined to 1,906, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The total tally of Covid cases was recorded at 4,46,82,338. The death toll stood at 5,30,738 with one previous death reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.08 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.08 per cent. Active cases now account for 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry website. A decrease of 16 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 4,41,49,694, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 220.35 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the