TheUnion Health Ministry has said that COVID-19 supplies received from the Global Community have been effectively allocated to States and Union Territories by the Centre.
   
The Ministry said that the Government of India has been receiving international donations of COVID-19 relief medical supplies and equipment since the  27th of last month from different countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Romania, Russia, UAE, USA, Taiwan, Kuwait, France, Thailand, Germany, Uzbekistan, Belgium and Italy. It added that from the  27th of April to the 4th of this month,  1764 Oxygen Concentrators, 1760 Oxygen Cylinders, seven  Oxygen Generation Plants, 450 ventilators, over  1.35 lakh  Remdesivir vials and  1.20 lakh  Favipiravir strips were delivered.
 
The Health Ministry said, a streamlined and systematic mechanism for allocation of the support supplies received by India has been put into place by the centre for effective distribution of the medical and other relief and support material. Besides, a dedicated Coordination Cell has been created in the Ministry to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign COVID relief material as grants, aid and donations.
 
The Ministry said, all these relief medical supplies and equipment are being allocated in a timely manner to the 38 medical institutions across 31 States and union territories, so far in the first tranche. This will help to supplement the medical infrastructure of these Institutions and strengthen their clinical management capacities for prompt and effective clinical management of the hospitalised COVID-19 patients. The cargo clearance and deliveries are facilitated without delay in coordination with agencies concerned.

India has administered over 16 crore 24 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine in the country so far. Over 94 lakh 79 thousand Healthcare Workers  have taken the 1st dose while more than 63 lakh Health care workers have taken the 2nd dose. Over one crore 36 lakh Frontline Workers have taken the 1st dose while more than 74 lakh front line workers have taken the 2nd dose.
 
The Union Health Ministry said, more than 18 lakh 90 thousand beneficiaries were inoculated with COVID-19 vaccine doses till 8 PM yesterday. Out of these more than eight lakh 66 thousand beneficiaries were vaccinated for the 1st dose and more than 10 lakh beneficiaries received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
 
The Ministry said, two lakh 30 thousand 305 beneficiaries in the age group of 18 to 44 years received their first dose of COVID vaccine yesterday and cumulatively over nine lakh across 12 States and Union Territories. 
 
The Ministry said, the vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.

The Government has said that 12 States and Union Territories are showing early signs of reduction in COVID-19 cases. These States and Union Territories include Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Ladakh. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Lav Agarwal said, around 2.4 per cent day on day growth in COVID cases has been noticed. He said, 12 States and Union Territories have more than one lakh active cases. The states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana. 

Mr Agarwal said, seven states have 50 thousand to one lakh active cases, while 17 states have less than 50 thousand active cases. He said, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana have reported more COVID-19 deaths.

Principal Scientific Advisor, K Vijay Raghavan said, vaccines are effective against current variants. He said, new variants will arise all over the world and in India too but variants that increase transmission will likely plateau. He said, this is a critical time and it is important for all of us to work together and ensure India and the world get out of this Pandemic. He said, mask and social distancing are critical and most effective in containing COVID-19.

In a democratic society some people will vote for the party which is in power and some will vote for opposition parties. This is a simple rule in democracy. But what has been happening in West Bengal after 2 May 2021 is highly deplorable, sad and heart wrenching as a State with all “Bhadraloks” have proved that many of them can go at any level of violence i.e. killing, arson, assault etc. irrespective of any political party.  It is pertinent to mention that same time along with few other states elections were held in Assam. But not a single violence took place in Assam, a neighbouring State so “Bhadraloks” of West Bengal should learn. Few years ago I visited across West Bengal for academic woks and I observed huge unemployment. Many educated youths were literally crying as there were no employment opportunities. Many told​ me ​ educated​ ​​youths  were working as security personnel by getting paltry amounts.  Also it is interesting to mention here that many were proud of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, ​ Sri Aurobindo, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and many others as they were from Bengal. I highly praise this theory ‘but one should also do his or her good activities’. Anyway, West Bengal was once an economically prosperous state  ​now stands at low level in terms of development. During the 1960s many people used to go to West Bengal in general and Kolkata/Calcutta in particular for work. Against this backdrop, Labour Migration from the State in recent years is high as job opportunities are less. ​A​ccording to the Census 2011​, West Bengal ranks fourth among the states from where people migrate for work and employment. “Between 2001 and 2011, nearly 5.8 lakh people migrated from​ West​ Bengal looking for work, which is only after Uttar Pradesh (37.3 lakh), Bihar (22.6 lakh) and Rajasthan (6.6 lakh)” (The Times of India, 3/11/2019).  

​  ​A few data about post poll violence may be presented here.  According to the Times of India dated May 4, 2021 “11 killed in Bengal post-poll violence”. This is highly deplorable in a so-called   “Bhadralok” State. Killing of any person irrespective of party supporter, religion, caste language etc never can be supported, rather very very deplorable.  By quoting India Today dated 5/5/2021, it may be mentioned that “as post-poll violence grips West Bengal following the announcement of the assembly poll results, hundreds of BJP karyakartas and family members reportedly fled the state and have now taken shelter in Assam by crossing the inter-state border. Senior minister in the Assam government, Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that around 300-400 BJP karyakartas and family members have crossed over to Dhubri in Assam after post-poll violence in West Bengal. The Assam minister further added that the state government is providing food and shelter to the party workers who have fled West Bengal”.

My fervent request to Didi as you are CM kindly saves the lives and properties of all. Because in school days read, “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent”

Dr Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad, Dt 5 May 2021

Complete lockdown has been imposed in Bihar and Odisha to contain spread of Coronavirus. Bihar government has imposed complete lockdown in the state till 15th of this month to contain the spread of Corona. Vaccination centres, banks and essential services will remain functional during the lockdown.
 
As per new guidelines, government offices and public corporations will remain closed. All educational institution, private and commercial establishments will also remain closed. Cinema halls, Shopping Mall, Gyms, stadium and parks have also been closed. Movement of public transport except train and flights has been stopped. Transport of emergency services has been allowed.
 
However, ration shops, dairy, vegetables and meat shops will remain open between 7 am and 11 am.
 
Home delivery from restaurants will be allowed from 9 am to 9 pm. All places of worship and religious gatherings will also be closed. The concerned authorities have been instructed to encourage home delivery to minimize the movement of individuals outside their homes.
 
Marriage ceremony with a limit of 50 persons has been allowed. For marriage ceremony permission has to be taken three days in advance from the concerned police station. Only 20 persons will be permitted in funeral processions. 
 
Odisha government has also imposed a state-wide lockdown for 14 days beginning today. The lockdown will be effective till 19th of this month. State’s Covid active caseload has jumped to 73,548 with the detection of 8,216 new cases yesterday. AIR correspondent reports, the state that used to report a peak of 4 to 5 thousand infections per day, during the first wave of the pandemic last year, has suddenly been confronted with daily highs of 8 to 10 thousand new cases. The 14 days’ statewide lockdown that aims at an early arrest of the virus, has spared certain essential activities including health services, covid test, vaccination and movement of goods, among others. Certain utility services like petrol pumps, cooking gas, ATM and postal service have also been exempted from the lockdown.
 
People will be allowed to walk down to the nearest roadside or street corner shops within 500 metres of their residence to purchase food items on all week days only between 6 in the morning to 12 noon. While marriage functions with a cap of  50 participants and funeral related rituals with a maximum of 20 participants will be allowed with prior approval and with full adherence to covid 19 protocols, all sorts of socio, religious , political, cultural, sports and entertainment related congregations  will remain barred during the period.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has issued advisory for COVID-19 testing during the second wave of the pandemic. It said, at present, the laboratories are facing challenges to meet the expected testing target due to extraordinary case load and staff getting infected with COVID-19. In view of this situation, it is imperative to optimize the RTPCR testing and simultaneously increase the access and availability of testing to all citizens of the country. In its advisory, the ICMR has recommended measures to optimize RTPCR testing. It said, RTPCR test must not be repeated in any individual who has tested positive once either by RAT or RTPCR. No testing is required for COVID-19 recovered individuals at the time of hospital discharge in accordance with the discharge policy of the Union Health Ministry.
 
Besides, the need for RTPCR test in healthy individuals undertaking inter-state domestic travel may be completely removed to reduce the load on laboratories. Non-essential travel and interstate travel of symptomatic individuals should be essentially avoided to reduce the risk of infection. All asymptomatic individuals undertaking essential travel must follow COVID appropriate behaviour. The ICMR said, mobile testing laboratories are now available on GeM portal and States are encouraged to augment RTPCR testing through mobile systems.
 
With regard to measures to ramp up testing through Rapid antigen test (RAT), the ICMR said, RAT may be allowed at all available Government and private healthcare facilities. Dedicated RAT booths should be set up in cities, towns and villages to offer testing to people. It said, testing booths may be set up at multiple locations including healthcare facilities, RWA, offices, schools, colleges, community centers and other available vacant spaces. These booths should be operational round the clock to improve access and availability of testing. It has also suggested that  stringent measures must be instituted to avoid overcrowding at RAT testing facilities.
 
The ICMR said, all states are advised to ensure full utilization of the available RTPCR testing capacity, both in public and private laboratories.
 
Symptomatic individuals identified positive by RAT should not be re-tested and advised to go through home-based care as per ICMR guidelines. It said, symptomatic individuals identified negative by RAT should be linked with RTPCR test facility and in the meantime be urged to follow home isolation and treatment. It said, all RTPCR and RAT test results should be uploaded on ICMR portal. It also said that the vaccination status of all individuals tested for COVID-19 must be entered into the Sample Referral Form (SRF) in the RTPCR app both for individuals tested by RTPCR and RAT as this information is of critical importance.

Government has identified 581 sites for setting up additional Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) medical oxygen plants in various states. In a series of tweets, Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will be the nodal agency for executing civil and electrical work for these plants and will complete them on war footing.

He said, our engineers will work with the doctors to ensure oxygen supply to needy patients. The Minister said, like record speed in roads, NHAI will construct infrastructure in record speed to save life of every Indian.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson have adopted an ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’ to elevate bilateral ties to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. The Roadmap will pave the way for a deeper and stronger engagement over the next ten years in the areas of people to people contacts, trade and economy, defence and security, climate action and health.
 
In a Virtual Summit held yesterday, the two leaders discussed the Covid19 situation and ongoing cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, including the successful partnership on vaccines. Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Johnson for the prompt medical assistance provided by the UK in the wake of the severe second wave of Covid19 in India. Prime Minister Johnson appreciated India’s role in extending assistance to the UK and other countries over the last year, including by way of supply of pharmaceuticals and vaccines.
 
The two Prime Ministers launched an ‘Enhanced Trade Partnership’ to unleash the trade potential  by setting an ambitious target of more than doubling bilateral trade by 2030. As part of the ETP, India and the UK agreed on a roadmap to negotiate a comprehensive and balanced FTA, including consideration of an Interim Trade Agreement for delivering early gains. The enhanced trade partnership will generate several thousands of direct and indirect jobs in both the countries.
 
A new India-UK ‘Global Innovation Partnership’ was announced at the Virtual Summit that aims to support the transfer of inclusive Indian innovations to select developing countries, starting with Africa. Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation on new and emerging technologies, including Digital and ICT products, and work on supply chain resilience. They also agreed to strengthen defence and security ties, including in the maritime, counter-terrorism and cyberspace domains.
 
Both Prime Ministers also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and G7. They reiterated commitment to climate action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and agreed to closely engage in the run up to CoP26 hosted by the UK later this year.
 
India and the UK also launched a comprehensive partnership on migration and mobility that will facilitate greater opportunities for the mobility of students and professionals between the two countries.

The number of total active cases of COVID-19 in the country further swelled up today to comprise nearly 17 percent of the total reported cases. The Health Ministry has informed that currently over 34 lakh 47 thousand people are reported to be suffering from the viral pandemic and are either hospitalised or are under home isolation.

In the last 24 hours, the nation registered 3 lakh 57 thousand 229 new COVID cases. With this the recovery rate has further slipped to stand at 81.91 per cent.

Since yesterday over 3 lakh 20 thousand people have been discharged from Hospitals or are reported to have been completely cured. So far, over 1 crore 66 lakh people have recovered from the COVID-19 infection in the country. Ten States including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat & Kerala continue to be the major hotspots of the viral pandemic. Nearly 75 per cent of the new cases are reported from these 10 states. The Health Ministry has informed that three thousand 449 COVID related deaths were reported in the last 24 hours taking the cumulative toll to 2 lakh 22 thousand 408.

With a special focus on the 5-point principle of  ‘Test, Track, Treat, Isolate & Vaccinate’, the number of cumulative COVID-19 testing reported by Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR has surpassed the figure of 29 crore 33 lakh. The apex medical research body has informed that in the past 24 hours more than 16 lakh 63 thousand samples were tested in the country. As of today, two thousand 506 laboratories are engaged in the work of testing COVID samples across the country which includes one thousand 241 government and one thousand 265 private labs. 

Union Education Ministry has written to all centrally funded institutions to postpone their offline examinations scheduled in the month of May this year in view of COVID surge. In a letter addressed to all the heads of centrally funded institutions, Secretary, Higher Education Amit Khare has urged the Institutions to postpone all offline examinations scheduled in the month of May. The Online examinations may however continue as scheduled.
 
The letter also stated that the decision will be reviewed in the first week of June. All Institutions have been asked to encourage everyone eligible to get vaccinated and also ensure all possible help in every regard.

In a major relief, Centre has waived off IGST on the import of COVID related medical supplies including Remdesivir Injection/API, Medical Oxygen, O2 Concentrators, Cryogenic tanks & COVID Vaccines among others. The exemption has been granted till 30th June for free distribution of these medical supplies.
 
Earlier the Centre had waived the import duty & health cess on such medical supplies.
 
This exemption will enable import of the COVID relief supply imported free of cost for free distribution without payment of IGST. State Governments have been asked to appoint a nodal authority to facilitate the importers to avail the relief exemption.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the growing need of human resources required for dealing with the crisis of Covid-19 situation in the country.

Many important decisions have been taken during the review meeting which will significantly boost availability of medical personnel required for treatment of Covid patients.
 
Among the many decisions, a decision has been taken to postpone NEET-Post Graduate exam for at least four months.
 
This will ensure the availability of qualified doctors for Covid duties.
 
The exam will not be held before 31st of August of this year and students will be given at least one month of time after the announcement of the exam.
 
It has also been decided to allow deployment of medical interns in the Covid management duties under the supervision of their faculty.
 
The services of final year MBBS students can be utilized for providing services like tele-consultation and monitoring of mild COVID cases.
 
The services of final year post graduate students as residents may continue to be utilized.
 
It has further been decided that services of B.Sc. and General Nursing and Midwifery nurses may be utilized in Covid nursing duties under the supervision of Senior Doctors and Nurses.
 
In a major decision, it has been decided that the individuals providing services in COVID management will be given priority in forthcoming regular government recruitments after they complete a minimum of 100 days of COVID duties.
 
The medical students and professionals sought to be engaged in COVID related work will be suitably vaccinated.
 
Engaged Health professionals will be covered under the Insurance Scheme of Government.
 
All such professionals will be given the Prime Minister’s Distinguished COVID National Service Samman after completion of their 100 days of COVID duties.
 
The States and Union Territories have been requested to consider the above incentives to maximise the availability of manpower to provide relief to the Covid patients.

Government has said 84 thousand 599 beneficiaries of the age group 18 to 44 years received their first dose of COVID vaccine yesterday. The Liberalised and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 Vaccination came into force yesterday. The registration for the newly eligible population groups has commenced on 28th of last month.

Union Health Ministry said, the total vaccination across the country has crossed more than 15 crore 66 lakh mark. These include over 94 lakh 28 thousand Healthcare Workers who have taken the 1st dose and more than 62 lakh Health care workers who have taken the 2nd dose. Over one crore 26 lakh Frontline Workers have taken the 1st dose and more than 68 lakh front line workers have taken the 2nd dose.

The Ministry said, the country has administered more than 16 lakh vaccine doses till 8 pm yesterday. Out of which around ten lakh beneficiaries were vaccinated for 1st dose and six lakh 58 thousand beneficiaries received 2nd dose of the vaccine.

The Central Government has advised the States and Union Territories to set up Help Desks with the aid of Volunteer Groups, NGOs, and Civil Society Organisations. The Help Desk Team set up at the hospitals can support in managing the patients being admitted in the hospital effectively and facilitate better interaction between hospital staff and patients’ attendants.

They may also help in increasing awareness about the necessary safety precautions and appropriate COVID-19 behavior amongst patients. Similarly, NGOs can also help in other activities at hospitals that facilitate the attendants’ grievance redressal and in logistic requirements such as helping with discharging, liasoning with cremation grounds and burial grounds.

The Central Government along with States and UTs through a ‘Whole of Government’ approach has embarked on a five-point strategy for prevention, containment, and management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Vaccination forms an integral component of the five-point strategy including Test, Track, Treat, and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.