COVID-19 | Policies, Initiatives and advisors

News Updates

India registers over 17,000 Covid-19 daily cases for first time; death toll crosses 15,000 mark

The number of Covid-19 cases in India increased by a record 17,296 in 24 hours for the first time on Friday pushing the total tally to 4,90,401, over half of which have been reported from 10 cities and districts, according to Union Health Ministry data.  The death toll climbed to 15,301 with 407 new fatalities. This was the seventh day in a row that India registered over 14,000 cases. Delhi, Chennai, Thane, Mumbai, Palghar, Pune, Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Ahmedabad and Faridabad are 10 districts and cities that reported a larger number of Covid-19 cases between June 19 and June 25, contributing to 54.47 per cent of the total caseload, a health ministry official said.

Hard work of UP Govt. saved 85,000 lives during Covid-19: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that looking at the hard work done by Uttar Pradesh government during COVID-19 pandemic; it has managed to save 85,000 lives. Speaking at the launch of "Atma Nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rojgar Abhiyan", through video conference, Prime Minister Modi said, "UP is bigger than many countries of the world. Looking at the hard work done by Uttar Pradesh govt. during Covid-19 pandemic, we can say that it has managed to save 85,000 lives." "In the corona virus crisis, Uttar Pradesh has shown courage and temperament. It has achieved success and the way it fought corona virus and handled the situation, it is phenomenal," the Prime Minister said.

No Covid-19 death in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim so far: Health Ministry

No Covid-19 death has been reported from Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim so far, and the number of cases in the northeastern region was comparatively lower than the rest of the country, the government said on Friday. It also said that lack of testing facilities and dedicated Covid-19 hospitals had initially hampered the fight against the dreaded virus in the eight northeastern states, but the infrastructure has been bolstered since then. As on date, the number of recoveries at 5,715 exceeds the active cases which stand at 3,731. The death toll in the entire region is 12, the Union health ministry said.

 

Centre Advisories / Policies / Updates

ICMR invites applications to validate rapid antigen test for Covid-19

The Indian Council of Medical Research on Thursday invited applications for validation of rapid antigen detection tests for Covid-19. So far, it has validated and approved only one rapid antigen detection assay from SD Biosensor. The test allows faster diagnosis of samples and results are available within 30 minutes. The ICMR said that there is an urgent requirement for reliable and convenient rapid point of care antigen detection assays with high sensitivity and specificity.According to the apex health research body, it is important to scale up testing capacity to the maximum possible levels in view of upsurge in cases of Covid-19.

Store COVID Positive Samples for 30 Days: Research Body ICMR to Government Labs 

The ICMR on Thursday advised government laboratories to retain all samples testing positive for corona virus infection for a minimum of 30 days before destroying them. In its ''Guidelines for storage of respiratory specimens collected for COVID-19 diagnosis by RT-PCR platforms in government laboratories'', the top health research body said appropriate procedures to disinfect all samples prior to disposal must be followed and the labs should keep a record of the destruction. According to the guidelines, all samples being stored for a long-term must be appropriately labelled indicating laboratory identifiers, date of collection and must be kept in properly functioning -80 degree Celsius deep freezers. A proper inventory (preferably electronic) of stored samples should be essentially maintained.

 

Global Advisories/Policies/Updates

Resurgence of virus in Europe as restrictions go, warns WHO 

Europe has seen a surge of corona virus (COVID-19) cases since countries began easing restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the potentially fatal virus, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. “Last week, Europe saw an increase in weekly cases for the first time in months,” the WHO’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge told reporters. He said more than two dozen countries in Europe had seen resurgences of the deadly virus. “Thirty countries have seen increases in new cumulative cases over the past two weeks. In 11 of these countries, accelerated transmission has led to very significant resurgence that if left unchecked will push health systems to the brink once again in Europe,” he warned.

Vaccine against COVID-19 not certain, maybe in a year –WHO

It is not certain that scientists will be able to create an effective vaccine against the corona virus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, but it could take a year before one were to be invented, the head of the World Health Organization said. Speaking by video-conference to deputies from the European Parliament's health committee, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that if such a vaccine became a reality, it should become a public good available to all. "It would be very difficult to say for sure that we will have a vaccine," Tedros said. "We never had a vaccine for a corona virus. So this will be, when discovered, hoping that it will be discovered, it will be the first one," he said.

 

States Advisories / Policies / Updates

Delhi: All COVID-19 patients do not need to visit government centre, govt revokes order

All coronavirus patients in Delhi do not need to go to quarantine centre, the Centre said today. The decision comes a day after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the Centre to withdraw the existing order mandating every individual diagnosed COVID-19 positive through a swab test to be taken to a COVID care centre (CCC) for clinical assessment of symptoms. Only those who do not require hospitalisation and do not have adequate facilities for home isolation would be required to undergo institutional isolation, Baijal said today.“SDMA approved modification of SOP for home isolation for Covid patients to meet the twin objectives of containment of local spread & provision of timely medical care for Covid positive cases to save precious lives," Delhi LG’s official handle said on Twitter.  Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 3,390 fresh coronavirus cases today, taking the COVID-19 tally in the city to 73,780. With 64 deaths linked to the highly contagious virus over the past 24 hours, the fatalities in the national capital stood at 2,175, government data said.As many as 44,765 patients have recovered, been discharged or migrated so far, while there are 26,586 active cases, it said. Since last Thursday, the case count in the city has either touched or breached the 3,000-mark on six out of seven days.

3,509 fresh Covid cases in Tamil Nadu, 1,834 in Chennai, authorities blame it on tests

Fresh cases of Covid-19 infection in Tamil Nadu touched 3,509 on Thursday with authorities claiming increased testing had pushed up the numbers. The state’s case tally has now reached 70,997, though the number of people still under treatment is 30,064. The 45 deaths reported took the official toll to 911.With 1,834 cases Chennai remained the hotspot and its three neighbouring districts, Chengalpet (191), Kancheepuram (98) and Tiruvallur (170), together logged 459 cases. However, three other districts registered three-digit spikes in fresh cases Madurai (203), which also under intense lockdown like Chennai and its three neighbours, Vellore (168) and Ramanathapuram (140). The state is ramping up medical infrastructure in these districts.

No lockdown in Bengaluru, improving economy is equally important: Karnataka Govt.

All efforts will be made to control the spread of corona virus in the city and there will be no fresh lockdown, the Karnataka government said on Friday as it asserted that it wants to carry on the developmental activities and Covid-19 management hand-in-hand. The assertion from the government came as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa chaired a meeting with MLAs, MLCs and MPs of all parties from Bengaluru to discuss measures to control the virus, in the backdrop of spike in the number of cases. "No lockdown, please put an end to such speculation. Government is in no mood for lock down. We want developmental works to happen along with the Covid management, as we don't know when the pandemic will end," Revenue Minister R Ashoka, who is also the in-charge of Covid management in the city, said.

UP records 750 fresh Covid-19 cases, 19 more deaths

Uttar Pradesh on Friday reported 19 novel corona virus fatalities and 750 infections, as the state's virus count neared 21,000 while the death toll rose to 630, a senior official said. The fresh cases pushed the tally to 20,943 in Uttar Pradesh, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said here. He said 13,583 people have so far been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the infection, leaving 6,730 active Covid-19 cases in the state.

 

Industry Updates 

‘India to have say in Covid vaccine distribution’

India’s Covid diplomacy has moved beyond HCQ and paracetamol to ensure that the country can leverage its position as the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer to be part of the search and distribution of the Covid vaccine. After sustained conversations with their counterparts in key countries, the government has zeroed in on the Indo-Pacific group to cooperate on looking for a vaccine. The key players have been foreign minister S Jaishankar and foreign secretary Harsh Shringla as well as the Prime Minister’s principal scientific adviser Dr K Vijayaraghavan and the government’s department of biotechnology.

Government mulls lifting ban on PPE export

India is likely to open up next week the export of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), five months after the ban on exports was put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The textiles ministry, which has asked industry to prepare for international certifications to be able to begin exports, said it has a disposable surplus of 50 lakh PPEs which can be exported. PPEs are specialized protective suits, which is critical for medical personnel dealing with Covid-19 cases. The textiles ministry has sent proposals in this regard to the ministries of commerce and industry, and finance.

Takeda India contributes ₹1.2 Crores to COVID-19 PM Cares Fund

Takeda India, part of the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, a global values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader, has announced a donation of INR 1.2 Crores to the PM Cares Fund to support India's fight against the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19. The contribution to the PM Cares Fund aims to support patients and the Government to contain the spread of the disease. Bringing innovative therapies to patients, supporting them through their disease journeys, and playing its part in helping to strengthen healthcare systems is fundamental to Takeda's operating model, especially in Emerging Markets like India.

 

Source: PIB

Prepared by Impact Health Research Team

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