Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Uttarakhand Class 10 board exams cancelled, Class 12 board exams postponed

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10:39 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Uttarakhand cancels Class 10 board exams, postpones Class 12 exams

 
Under the leadership of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, it has been decided to cancel Class 10 board exams and suspend the Class 12 board exams for the protection and safety of students in view of the coronavirus pandemic, said state education minister Arvind Pandey. He urged people to abide the COVID-19 directions issued by the state and Central governments.

10:28 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Four COVID-19 patients dead in fire at Raipur hospital; probe ordered

 
Authorities have ordered an investigation after four coronavirus patients were killed in a fire at the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Chhattisgarh's Raipur city, police said on Sunday. Raipur Collector Bharathi Dasan has ordered an investigation into the incident. Officials have been directed to conduct safety check at all coronavirus hospitals in the city. The fire broke out at Raipur's Rajdhani hospital on Saturday, police said. "Four persons died in the incident, one from fire injuries and three due to suffocation," a police official said, adding a case of negligence will be registered against the owners of the hospital. The fire broke due to short-circuit in a fan and spread in other wards, police said.
 
PTI

10:22 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Total of 26,65,38,416 samples tested so far, says ICMR

 
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, 26,65,38,416 samples have been tested up to 17 April, with 15,66,394 samples being tested on Saturday. 

10:12 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

Modi to chair meeting at 11 am to review COVID-19 situation in Varanasi

10:05 (IST)

Coronavirus LATEST Updates

India records single-day spike of 2,61,500 new cases and 1,501 deaths

A record single-day rise of 2,61,500 coronavirus infections has taken India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,47,88,109, while active cases have surpassed the 18-lakh mark, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The toll increased to 1,77,150 with a record 1,501 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. Registering a steady increase for the 39th day in a row, the active cases stand at 18,01,316, comprising 12.18 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 86.62 percent, the ministry said.
 
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,28,09,643, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.20 percent, the data stated.
 
PTI

Coronavirus Latest Updates: Under the leadership of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, it has been decided to cancel Class 10 board exams and suspend the Class 12 board exams for the protection and safety of students in view of the coronavirus pandemic, said state education minister Arvind Pandey.

A record single-day rise of 2,61,500 coronavirus infections has taken India's total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,47,88,109, while active cases have surpassed the 18-lakh mark, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. The toll increased to 1,77,150 with a record 1,501 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The country on Saturday recorded a frightening single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with over 2.34 lakh fresh infections, crossing the two lakh-mark for the third straight day, as demands for increased supply of oxygen cylinders, vaccine doses and Remdesivir were raised by 11 states and UTs, including Delhi, where the pandemic situation was described as "worrisome" by the chief minister.

As India's COVID-19 tally inched towards the 1.50 crore-mark and the toll climbed above 1.75 lakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union health Harsh Vardhan held meetings to review measures taken by states for prevention, containment, and management of the recent surge.

In the meeting to review the preparedness of the public health response to the COVID-19 situation, Modi called for close coordination with states to defeat the virus as also for utilization of the entire national capacity to ramp up vaccine production.

Reiterating that there is no substitute to testing, tracking and treatment, Modi said all necessary measures must be taken to ramp up the availability of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, and also asked local administrations to be proactive, sensitive to people's concerns.

He also reviewed the status of supply of Remdesivir and other medicines, and called for speeding up the installation of approved medical oxygen plants.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister also appealed that participation in the ongoing Kumbh Mela be kept symbolic in view of the unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases.

The Hindu religious gathering in Haridwar has been at the centre of controversy amid fears that it could be a super spreader event with lakhs of devotees attending the event without following the COVID-19 protocols.

During the meeting with Vardhan, health ministers of 11 states and Union Territories (UTs) demanded increased supply of medical-grade oxygen cylinders and Remdesivir in hospitals.

The states, including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, which have been reporting an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases, attended the meeting.

Many of them raised the issue of dovetailing the medical oxygen supply lines and capping of prices of essential drugs like Remdesivir which has been sold in the black market at exorbitant prices. The double mutant strain in Maharashtra was a key point of concern.

The Delhi government requested additional beds in Central government hospitals as was done in 2020 to help tide over the emergent health crisis, the ministry said in a statement after the meeting.

The notification of the home ministry, granting permission to states to utilize up to 50 percent of their annual allocation of State Disaster Response Fund, and that of the Union health ministry, allowing utilization of unspent pending balance under National Health Mission as on 1 April, 2021 for COVID management purposes, were reiterated, it said.

Describing the pandemic situation in the National Capital, which reported 24,000 COVID cases on Saturday with positivity rate jumping to the highest-ever 24 percent, as "very serious and worrisome", Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said oxygen stock, and drugs like remdesivir and tocilizumab drugs for patients were in short supply.

He said that the number of beds are also running out fast and the Delhi government is trying to increase beds on a large-scale in the coming days.

"The cases of COVID-19 are rising fast in Delhi. In the last 24 hours, around 24,000 fresh cases have been reported. Within a day, the number has gone up from around 19,500 to around 24,000. So, the situation is very serious and worrisome," Kejriwal said.

This is the highest single-day surge in the National Capital till date.

Kejriwal also instructed all district magistrates to check with laboratories about pendency of samples before giving them more to test, in order to prevent any delay in test report. He said some labs in the city have been taking more samples than their capacity, because of which results are getting delayed by 3-4 days.

According to the Union health ministry, 10 states —Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan — reported 79.32 percent of the new cases.

Sixteen states and UTs — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal — are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases, it said.

The ministry said five states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala — cumulatively account for 65.02 percent of India's total active cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 38.09 percent of the total active caseload of the country.

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of COVID19 vaccine doses administered in the country nearly reached 12 crore on Saturday as part of the world's largest vaccination drive.

The number of active coronavirus cases in the country has surpassed the 16-lakh mark, according to the Union health ministry.

With many states reporting shortage and black marketing of remdesivir injection, used in the treatment of COVID-19, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) said pharmaceutical companies have reduced the price following the government's intervention.

Drug companies like Cadila Healthcare, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Cipla have cut the prices of their respective brands of remdesivir injection (100 mg/vial). The antiviral drug is used in the treatment of COVID-19.

Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Sadananda Gowda hailed the decision taken by the drug companies. In a tweet, he said: "In a huge relief to people in this crucial time, after govt's intervention, the price of Remdesivir is now reduced! I am grateful to pharma companies for standing along with PM Narendra Modi's fight againt Covid."

Many states and UTs also took steps to ensure adequate supply of medical oxygen to their hospitals grappling with demand due to the spurt in the COVID cases. While the Jammu and Kashmir administration constituted a committee to ensure adequate and timely supply of medical oxygen to all hospitals, the Goa government announced a ban on the export of oxygen cylinders and ordered that the stock of this life-saving gas meant for the industry be diverted to health services.

Meanwhile, the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the opposition party, accused the central government of "colossal mismanagement" in the war against the COVID pandemic and cautioned of an "unprecedented catastrophe" unless urgent corrective measures are taken.

Also on Saturday, the global toll from the coronavirus surged past three million people, according to the John Hopkins University.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3sukJ0f
FP Staff

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