Hyderabad: India's COVID19 response approach was pre-emptive, proactive and graded. India has curated its response keeping in mind the large population size: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan during Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Health.
India has conducted the second-highest number of tests for detection of COVID-19 cases in the world at 11.96 crore with rapid antigen tests comprising 49 per cent and RT-PCR 46 per cent of the total tests done till Tuesday morning, the Union health ministry said.
So far, India has recorded 86,36,012 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 1,27,571 deaths. A total of 80,13,784 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far. There are 4,94,657 active cases in the country as of date, which comprises 5.73 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have reported the highest number of cases.
Delhi
New Delhi: The DDMA has instructed officials to ensure that Chhath Puja this year is not performed at public places, river banks and temples in Delhi in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An order issued by Chief Secretary and Delhi Disaster Management Authority(DDMA) executive committee chairman Vijay Dev on Tuesday issued directions to all district magistrates (DMs) and deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) for strict compliance and to encourage people to celebrate Chhath at their homes during the pandemic.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the AAP government what arrangements it has made for patients suffering from COVID-19 who may be critical and require to be shifted to care homes or centres.
The query was posed to the Delhi government by a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramanium Prasad, during the hearing of a PIL seeking to increase the COVID-19 testing numbers in the city, after the petitioner said he could not get a bed in any private hospital or nursing home near his home and had to be accommodated in a friend's clinic at Dwarka here where he was on oxygen support.
The duration of the third peak of the spread of COVID-19 in the national capital is longer than those of the previous peaks but it may subside in the next few days, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday.
Interacting with reporters, he asserted that the city government has significantly ramped up testing by nearly three times on an average per day compared to the number of tests conducted when the second peak had hit around September 16, when over 4,000 daily cases were being reported.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is waiting for a mobile app, Covin, from the Centre to initiate the process of registering names of healthcare workers for Covid vaccination.
Officials said the app will be ready by late next week following which districts will be asked to start uploading data on healthcare workers, from both public and private hospitals, in their jurisdictions.
West Bengal
Kolkata: Doctors expressed concern over flouting of COVID safety norms in suburban trains that resumed services in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal on Wednesday, warning that the pandemic situation would deteriorate. People jostled at several stations to catch the trains with compartments crammed as services resumed after seven months in the morning. Doctors said that such violations are ideal for the spread of the virus, diminishing the gains made over the past few weeks in the fight against the contagion.
"We can clearly see people are not abiding by the COVID-19 safety protocols and this is definitely a matter of concern for us," said Dr Anirban Dalui, a public health specialist. "The problem is that those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms are travelling on the trains, risking the lives of people who are not taking proper precaution," he said.
Karnataka
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has formulated Standard Operating Procedures to be in place when degree, engineering and diploma colleges in the state reopen from November 17 after a nearly eight-month gap. Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, who holds the higher education portfolio, said in a statement that the SOPs as per UGC guidelines has separate advisories for first, second and final year students, as per which classes would be held.
Gujarat
Gandhinagar: Schools and colleges in Gujarat will re-open post-Diwali on November 23, after nine months being closed since March.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani took a decision in the meeting of the cabinet of ministers Wednesday to re-open secondary and higher secondary classes in schools, postgraduate, medical and paramedical courses along with the final year of undergraduate courses in colleges across the state.
Himachal Pradesh
Dehradun: The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has issued notice to the State Government and also directed it to make submissions with regard to the steps taken for COVID19 management. The Court has listed the matter for November 13.
