Archives for 2020

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,167 and the number of cases climbed to 1,45,380 in the country, registering an increase of 146 deaths and 6,535 cases since Monday 8 am, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases climbed to 80,722, while 60,490 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

“Thus, around 41.61 per cent patients have recovered so far,” a senior health ministry official said. The total confirmed cases includes foreigners.

Of the 146 deaths reported since Monday morning, 60 were in Maharashtra, 30 in Gujarat, 15 in Delhi,10 from Madhya Pradesh, seven from Tamil Nadu, six from West Bengal, four each from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, three from Telangana, two each from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka and one in Kerala.

New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Monday “strongly advised” students “stranded and residing” in its hostels to return to their native places as special trains and some intrastate bus services have started following relaxations in the COVID-19 lockdown.

The advisory led to a fresh confrontation between the students’ union and the administration. The Students’ Union opposed the circular, saying the university was deliberately putting students’ lives and safety at risk.

However, the university said some “self-proclaimed” student leaders always make it a point to oppose any advisory that comes from the administration and give an ideological colour to it.

In a circular, the Dean of Students, Professor Sudheer Pratap Singh said the university had issued communications in March too, informing students about the closure of the institute and advising them to return home.

“However, many students requested to stay back in hostels at that time due to non-availability of public transport during the lockdown,” the circular said.

It stated that the Railways has now begun running some special trains and around 200 more trains will be made operational from June 1.

Intra-state bus and taxi services have also been started by state governments, it said. Moreover, some state governments have made transport arrangements for the return of students, it said.

“Further, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi government guidelines issued from time to time, the university has announced that students can return to the campus on or after June 25 and till then all academic activities are closed.

“This is to underline that the Government of India updates daily about the COVID-19 pandemic situation. At present, the number of cases in Delhi is increasing swiftly day by day,” the circular said.

“Keeping the facts in view, all students who are stranded and residing in the hostels are, hereby, strongly advised to return to their hometown and come back after the opening of the university,” it added.

The students’ union condemned the move in a statement.

“Students who have stayed back on the campus have weighed the risk of staying on the campus versus travelling. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic must unite us all, these moves of the administration are clearly jeopardizing not only the safety of students but the fight against COVID-19 itself,” they said.

The university said its advisories are always depicted as “diktats” by the habitual student opponents.

“It also needs emphasis that it is reprehensible and inexcusable to discourage willing students who would like to go home,” it said.

In addition, when the administration has begun to install CCTVs at public places, including the hostel gates, yet again disruption has been organised by a handful of self-motivated student leaders, it added.

It is extremely important to monitor outsiders coming into hostel premises for the safety of the students and the campus life. But the “old bogey of privacy” is being raised even though the CCTVs are being installed at the gates and not the interior of the hostels, it added.

The students’ union has also been opposed to the installation of CCTV cameras calling it a violation of their privacy.

Many domestic flights from and to Mangaluru Airport, canceled on Monday

Mangaluru: No flyers for domestic flights that resumed in the country amidst the Corona lockdown has forced carriers to cancel their scheduled flights from Mangaluru International Airport.

According to the reports, Indigo and SpiceJet have cancelled their arriving and departing flights from the Mangaluru Airport. The reports further added that flight departing for Mumbai and Chennai from Mangaluru Airport and arriving from Bengaluru by SpiceJet and Indigo have been cancelled for Monday.

SpiceJet’s flight from Bengaluru to Mangaluru which was scheduled to land at 10 am was cancelled while flight to Bengaluru that was scheduled to depart at 10:20 am was also cancelled. SpiceJet flight arriving from Mumbai at 8:35 am and departing for Mumbai and 9:05 am were also cancelled.

SpiceJet added that a call will be taken later in the evening on Bengaluru’s evening flight from Mangaluru.

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Thiruvananthapuram: About 100 people, including a Magistrate and some police personnel, have been asked to go into quarantine after an accused, who was produced before a lower court here following his arrest, later tested positive, officials said on Monday.

The accused, who was arrested along with two others in connection with a case relating to illicit liquor transportation two days ago, had been shifted to the Poojappura central jail after he was remanded to judicial custody.

With his sample testing positive on Sunday, theman has been sent to a designated COVID-19 hospital.

The Nedumangad court magistrate, before whom he was produced, 34 police personnel, including a circle inspector, who were on duty at the Venjaramoodu police station when the accused was brought after his arrest, some employees of a government hospital where his swab sample was taken and 12 officials of the Poojappura central jail have gone into quarantine, police sources said.

Meanwhile, Malayalam film actor Suraj Venjaramoodu and Vamanapuram MLA D K Murali (CPI) are under self-imposed quarantine as they had attended a function in which the circle inspector had taken part.

Two days ago, a car in which illicit liquor was being transported had hit a policeman and sped away, but people managed to stop the vehicle and the three accused, who were in an inebriated state, were arrested, sources said.PTI UD BN

Passengers must compulsorily walk through a thermal screening zone before entering the airport terminal building and all have to have the Aarogya Setu app on their mobiles.

Passengers will be allowed into the terminal building if their flights are within four hours

New rules making physical distancing, the Aarogya Setu app on mobiles and thermal screening a must for entering airports were announced today, a day after the government announced that domestic flights, stopped due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Passengers must compulsorily walk through a thermal screening zone before entering the airport terminal building and all have to have the Aarogya Setu app on their mobiles. The app will not be needed for children below 14.

Some of the new SOPs to be followed at airports are:

• Passengers have to be thermal screened and must have Aarogya Setu on their mobiles, except children below 14. If they don’t show “green” or do not have the government contact tracing app, they will not be allowed in
• Passengers should reach the airport two hours before departure
• Passengers will be allowed into the terminal building if their flights are within four hours
• State governments and administrations have to ensure public transport and private taxis for passengers and airline crew
• Only personal vehicles or select cab services will be allowed to take passengers and staff to the airport or from it.
• All passengers have to wear masks and gloves
• For physical distancing in passenger seating areas, chairs to be taped off or marked
• All staff should have hand sanitisers and Personal Protective Equipment as directed by the home ministry
• Trolleys will not be allowed in the arrival or departure sections, except for special cases, for which they will be disinfected.
• Airport operators should make arrangements for sanitizing baggage before entry
• All entry gates of the terminal will be opened to avoid crowding
• Social distancing marks or stickers at a distance of at least a metre will be provided at the entry gates, screening zones and terminals.
• Mats or carpets soaked with bleach will be placed at the entrance to disinfect shoes
• Counters with Plexiglas or face shields for staff wherever there is interaction with passengers
• Newspapers or magazines will not be provided in the terminal buildings or lounges
• Employees with high fever, difficulty in breathing or cough will not be allowed entry into the airport
• When flights land, passengers will be allowed to leave the plane in batches, sequentially

Yesterday, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted that domestic passenger flights would resume “in a calibrated manner”.

Flights were stopped in late March, when the country went into lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The government has not indicated when international travel will restart.

Most airports are already functional as cargo flights, those for medical evacuation and special flights to repatriate Indians stranded abroad have been operating during the lockdown.

-Manohar Yadavatti

When the whole world is embroiled and perplexed with the challenges entangled in combating the deadly China originated Coronavirus pandemic the country is now faced with the woes of relaxing lockdown stipulations. Interestingly these measures are being thought of when there is a gradual surge in the number of infections and fatalities connected with the Covid-19!
Thanks to multidimensional adversities as a result of the lockdown, the Government sources put forth their pathetic plight due to unseen and unheard recession, economic slowdown and shutting down of all manufacturing units paving way to total loss of regular resources while on the other hand exhausting available funds for the welfare of less privileged citizens.

However, this desperate situation on the part of the government leading to relaxation of complete lockdown measures has also given rise to a paradoxical condition which the health experts foresee bound to culminate into a much more worsening state of affairs.
But what one is not able to understand is the reluctance of people who have a travel history of visiting places. The government doesn’t charge any alarming price while by and large it happens to be free or at a meagre rate.
Even assuming that one is symptomatic or found with infections it is again the government which is taking the entire responsibility of taking complete care of the treatment until recovery and till discharge of the said person.
Yet it continues to be a big wonder as to why people are so scared and running away from undergoing these tests and relevant examinations to confirm or nullify the pandemic. But what is worrying and cannot be easily gauzed is the tendency of people by and large least bothered about the lockdown measures and moving around freely as if nothing has happened at all? Perhaps it looks to be an interesting subject for the Psychologists to ponder about.
Dr Ganga Yenagi, Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Dharwad is of the opinion that there could be several reasons for such public behaviour. People belonging to different economic strata have multiple explanations to give to the authorities but the real intentions could be something else?
To view it in a different perspective the fact can be interpreted to the overconfidence level of the countrymen. They might be under an impression or illusion that their immunity level is far better than the foreigners who are becoming an easy prey to the Covid-19, she says.
Probably, it is quite possible that the middle class people might have got bored sitting at home for days and weeks continuously which has not been heard or experienced of so far. On the contrary some of them may be moving around to buy essential commodities whereas in the case of less fortunate beings, they might be on the lookout of jobs, she feels.
Dr Anirudha R Podder, Consultant and Head of Gynaec-oncology Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, Patna has a caution on the gradual relaxation of lockdown norms as he says: The third phase of India’s lockdown began on 04 May and will last till coming 17. But already certain restrictions have been eased out during this period and unfortunately in the first six days of this period the number of people with Covid-19 has increased from 40,000 to 60,000. Talking purely from the standpoint of the containment of the disease, what are the concerns as India prepares for the removal of the lockdown in a phased manner, he ponders over.
He deals with the issue in detail: Firstly, there would be spurt in the number of cases, as indicated in the data over the last one week. Lockdown mainly serves the purpose of flattening the curve, which means that it will ensure that there is no sudden spurt, or a deluge in the number of cases being reported, which would make it impossible for the healthcare system to handle the load. One must not forget that there are many asymptomatic carriers who will quietly recover from the infection but might transmit the infection to others…
…Secondly, there are reports of policemen, paramilitary forces, and health care workers who are involved in the imposition of the lockdown and the care of patients themselves testing positive. The (temporary) loss of manpower in these sectors which are paramount in the country’s fight against the pandemic is definitely a matter of great concern…

…Thirdly, for how long can do medical fraternity procrastinate the treatment of other medical conditions like cancers, heart disease, kidney disease, neurological conditions etc. One can postpone surgery for cataracts, joint replacement etc. for couple of months. But it is not possible to postpone procedures like radiation, chemotherapy, dialysis for more than a week or two without disastrous consequences. Deliveries which are due will also have to be conducted as indicated, he points out in defence of his statement.
Dr Anirudha R Podder also warns: Considering all these factors, it is not merely the number of infected persons, or the speed with which the infection is spreading within the community that is to be considered, but how severely affected are the infected persons, and how quickly are the infected persons recovering; and how effectively are the home quarantine measures being implemented. This would hold the key to India’s battle against pandemic.
So should we be lifting the lockdown in the coming days, when we have actually seen the cases surge, seeing record increase in the number of new cases each passing day?
The answer may not be straightforward, not a simple yes or no. Given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, for which we do not have any past references, any instances of successful or unsuccessful handling of the situation to guide us, the best way forward is to remove the lockdown in small instalments and autocorrect according to the response, he stresses.
We have seen countries like Singapore which had successfully contained the spread of infection now face a second surge. After bringing back stranded workers from abroad, states like Kerala are gearing up for the second wave. As mentioned before, it is not the number of infected persons which should be worrying us. There already might be lakhs of asymptomatic carriers in the community; if the majority of the infected are going to be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic then this is reassuring. We should be able to identify the vulnerable groups and protect them. 
We should know how to protect healthcare workers, police and the paramilitary forces. They are the last people who can afford to fall sick points out Dr Anirudha R Podder.

He also says: Places where large number of people congregate- places of worship, malls, parks and gardens, Cinemas should remain closed since there is nothing emergency or ‘essential for life’ about them.
Speaking purely as a medical person, everything else should slowly be reopened with strict monitoring. Medical personnel also have an additional responsibility when it comes to identifying cases. Unexpected deaths are always happening to a variety of reasons ranging from pre-existing conditions like heart disease, diabetes etc. to complications arising due to surgery, he reminds.
He mixes no words in mentioning: It is very important to detect every Covid patient even retrospectively. Convincing public across all communities to overcome their fears about testing and quarantine, and providing guidelines to medical personnel regarding recording and identifying all cases is essential as we prepare to remove the lockdown in a phased manner…
…This is important since new guidelines will have to be prepared and dispatched to all the Healthcare providers depending on the changing trends. One has to balance overreaction and over cautiousness from ‘sleeping over the issue’. No matter how long the lockdown is imposed, there is bound to be a surge when the lockdown is lifted.
In conclusion, strict monitoring and quick identification of any loophole and its rectification is the key as we prepare to come out of the lockdown, he concludes.