Archives for May 2021

NEW DELHI:  The Centre on Wednesday came up with a grim warning that a third Covid-19 wave in India was inevitable and admitted for the first time that B.1.617, an Indian mutant of the virus, could be fuelling the massive surge in the country. “A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of the circulating virus, but it is not clear on what time scale this will occur. We should prepare for new waves,” said K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Centre said on Wednesday.

Amid clamour for stricter measures to contain the spread of the fierce wave, Niti Aayog member (health), V K Paul, who also heads the national Covid-19 task force, did not rule out the possibility of a national lockdown to break the chain of the virus.  Listing the Centre’s guidelines like night curfews and restrictions in districts with over 10% test positivity rate and more than 60% ICU bed occupancy, Paul said: “In that direction there is a clear balanced advisory. At the same time, if anything more is required, those options are always being discussed, and decisions, as required, will be taken.” 

Meanwhile, data shared during the briefing marked the B.1.617 variant – also known as double mutant – as a “variant of concern”  for the first time.  Samples collected from at least 18 states, which underwent genomic surveillance, showed the presence of the variant. This variant, along with E484Q and L452R mutants, was first identified in February. Its spread has been exponential, overtaking several other local variants, including  N440K and B.1.618, suggesting that it was more transmissible.

Data from  other countries suggest that while E484Q can escape antibody neutralisation, L452R increases infectivity. According to the WHO, this Indian strain has been detected in at least 17 countries, including the UK, US and Singapore. Sources said that following a request by the UK government, India has agreed to send samples of B.1.617 for examining  the efficacy of the available vaccines against it.  Renu Swarup, secretary of department of biotechnology, said initial data has shown that vaccines in India effectively neutralised the variants in circulation. More work is underway to fully establish the findings, she added.

Lockdown-like situation already in many states

Maharashtra: Lockdown-like curbs imposed since April 5
Odisha: Two-week lockdown since May 5
Andhra Pradesh: Two-week noon-to-6 am curfew starting May 5
Kerala: Mini-lockdown till May 9, night curfew
Telangana: Only night curfew so far
Tamil Nadu: Shops selling essential commodities can function till 12 noon
Karnataka: Corona Curfew extended till May 12
West Bengal: Shops to open from 7 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 7 pm
Jharkhand: Lockdown since April 22
Madhya Pradesh: Staggered Janta Curfew in various districts
Uttar Pradesh: Corona Curfew till May 10 morning
Bihar: 11-day lockdown starting Wednesday
Punjab: Non-essential shops shut till May 15
Haryana: Lockdown from May 3-10
Rajasthan: Virtual lockdown from April 19 to May 3
Chhattisgarh: Lockdown extended till May 15
J&K: Corona curfew in 14 districts till Thursday morning; four districts under curfew till May 10
Northeast: Almost all states have clamped night curfew; complete lockdown in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district

The plea requested the court to give order to Maharashtra government and Pune Police Commissioner to file an FIR in the matter based on the petitioner’s complaint which he has already submitted.

MUMBAI: A writ petition on Wednesday has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking Z plus security for Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla and his family. The petitioner has said Poonawalla should be given Z plus security for himself and his family, and his assets should be protected keeping the threats which were made to Poonawallah as per media reports.

The plea requested the court to give order to Maharashtra government and Pune Police Commissioner to file an FIR in the matter based on the petitioner’s complaint which he has already submitted.

He also requested that by the time the order on his petition comes, Poonawalla and his family should be given ample police protection and there should be police deployment at Serum institute and other properties of Poonawalla.

On May 2 Poonawalla had complained of receiving threats from politicians and “powerful men” demanding quick delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine that his firm has been producing.

Poonawalla had also complained of being “vilified and blamed”, and hinted at starting a new vaccine production unit in the United Kingdom. He had said he had received calls from “some of the most powerful men in India”, including “Chief Ministers, heads of business conglomerates and others”.

BENGALURU: Popular mobile game PUBG will be re-launched in India as Battlegrounds Mobile India, South Korean game developer Krafton announced on Thursday. PUBG was banned in India along with more than 100 other Chinese apps last year following increased geo-political tensions with the neighbouring country.

Amidst increasing concerns of data privacy/storage flagged by India’s electronics and information technology ministry, Krafton said that it will be working with partners to ensure data protection and security, at each stage. “This will ensure privacy rights are respected and all data collection and storage will be in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in India and for players here,” the company said.

After the popular mobile game was banned in India in September last year over its ties with Chinese internet giant Tencent, the game developer had said that it will take on all publishing responsibilities within the country. “As the company explores ways to provide its own PUBG experience for India in the near future, it is committed to doing so by sustaining a localized and healthy gameplay environment for its fans,” the company earlier said.

Krafton has also revealed the logo of Battlegrounds Mobile India, with a striking India tricolor flag cover, while adding that data security and privacy will be its top concerns. “Battlegrounds Mobile India, a battle royale experience, will have a period of pre-registration before the launch. The game will be available to play only in India. Krafton will collaborate with partners to build an esports ecosystem while bringing in-game content regularly, starting with a series of India specific in-game events at launch, to be announced later,” the company said.

India was the top overseas market for the PUBG app outside China, accounting for 28.8% of the total 644 million downloads, as of September 2020, data sourced from Sensor Tower indicated.

Udupi: Winner of the Kendra Sahitya Academy award, renowned rational literary figure, Udupi’s Dr. Bhaskar Mayya passed away early on Thursday morning after experiencing a cardiac arrest, sources at the hospital revealed. He was 70 years old. 

Reportedly, he had been receiving treatment at the Pranav Hospital in Brahmavar.

Dr. G. Bhaskar Mayya has served as the Hindi professor at the Bhandarkars College in Kundapur. In the field of rational and progressive literature, he has written more than 50 books and his passing, has left the literary world in a state of sorrow.

He has translated several popular pieces of Hindi literature into the Kannada language. Dr. G. Bhaskar Mayya, who possessed a mastery over Hindi literature, was honoured with the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award for his rational writing in 2004 by the Central government.

Dr. Bhaskar Mayya is survived by a multitude of relatives and friends.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Thursday announced a complete lockdown in the state from May 8 morning in view of the severe COVID-19 surge in the second wave of the pandemic.

The 9-day-lockdown would come into force on May 8 morning and extend up to May 16, according to official sources.

Strict lockdown-like restrictions are already in place in the southern stateand the Pinarayi Vijayan government decided to clamp the complete shutdown in the wake of severe spike in the positive cases.

Kerala had reported the highest ever single day spurt in positive cases on Wednesday adding 41,953 infections.

New Delhi: In one of the steepest increase since daily price revision was started, petrol price on Thursday was hiked by 25 paise per litre and diesel by 30 paise as oil companies raised rates for the third straight day

to pass on to consumers the increase in international oil prices.

Petrol price in Delhi was increased to Rs 90.99 per litre from Rs 90.74 while diesel rates went up to Rs 81.42 a litre from Rs 81.12, according to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the local incidence of taxation (VAT).

This is the third straight day of increase in petrol and diesel prices since state-owned fuel retailers ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

In three days, petrol price has increased by 59 paise per litre and diesel by 69 paise – neutralising most of the reduction that came between March 24 and April 15.

After raising petrol price by a record Rs 21.58 per litre and diesel by Rs 19.18 since the government raised excise duty to an all-time high in March last year, state-owned fuel retailers, IOC, BPCL and HPCL had reduced petrol price by 67 paise a litre and diesel by 74 paise per litre effected between March 24 and April 15.

Oil companies, who have in recent months resorted to unexplained freeze in rate revision, had hit a pause button after cutting prices marginally on April 15. This coincided with electioneering hitting peak to elect new governments in five states including West Bengal.

No sooner had voting ended, oil companies indicated an impending increase in retail prices in view of firming trends in international oil markets.

Despite the concerns about rising COVID-19 cases in India denting demand, crude oil prices in the international market have risen primarily on account of strong US demand recovery and a weak dollar.

Prices have been on a continuous uptrend since April 27, an industry official said adding crude oil prices are near USD 70 per barrel mark.

Central and state taxes make up for 60 per cent of the retail selling price of petrol and over 54 per cent of diesel. The union government levies Rs 32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 31.80 on diesel.

In Mumbai, the petrol price was hiked to Rs 97.34 a litre on Thursday from Rs 97.12, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 88.49 from Rs 88.19, the price notification showed.

United Nations: The tragic” COVID-19 situation in India should raise the alarm bells for all of us and there will be reverberations across the region and the world in terms of virus-related deaths, virus mutations and supply delays unless the world steps up and helps the country now, the head of the UN children’s agency has said.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has sent additional critical lifesaving supplies to India, including 2 million face shields and 200,000 surgical masks.

The tragic situation in India should raise alarm bells for all of us, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said on Tuesday.

Unless the world steps up and helps India now, there will be reverberations across the region and the world in terms of virus-related deaths, virus mutations and supply delays.”

India is in the midst of a raging second wave of COVID-19 and is recording over 300,000 daily coronavirus infections and over 3,000 deaths.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India has a total of 20.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 226,000 deaths.

Countries across the South Asia region are witnessing rises in infections, with India accounting for over 90 per cent of both cases and deaths in the region, according to the World Health Organisation.

India also accounted for 46 per cent of global cases and 25 per cent of global deaths reported in the past week, WHO added.

UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia George Laryea-Adjei said in a statement that urgent action and steadfast leadership are indispensable to stop the catastrophe.

Governments must do everything within their power to stop the devastation, and partners that can send assistance must do so immediately. The international community must step up without delay, Laryea-Adjei said.

This is not just a moral imperative. The deadly new surge in South Asia threatens us all. It has the potential to reverse hard-earned global gains against the pandemic if not halted as soon as possible, Laryea-Adjei added.

UNICEF said the scenes we are witnessing in South Asia are unlike anything the region has seen before.

Family members of patients are pleading for help as the region reels under an acute shortage of medical-grade oxygen. Exhausted health workers are being pushed to the brink of collapse. We are faced with a real possibility that our health systems will be strained to a breaking point – leading to even more loss of life.

Laryea-Adjei said the very low levels of vaccination in South Asia magnify the likelihood of the virus spiralling even further out of control.

In almost all countries in the region, except for the Maldives and Bhutan, fewer than 1 in 10 people have been vaccinated.

Now more than ever, we must ensure vaccines equitably reach all populations. Manufacturing must be ramped up, technology transferred, and doses equitably shared. None of us is safe until all of us are safe, Laryea-Adjei said.

Laryea-Adjei said the first wave of the pandemic caused drastic cuts in the availability and use of essential public health services in South Asia, costing the lives of an estimated 228,000 children and 11,000 mothers.

We simply cannot let this happen again. We must do everything within our power to keep essential health, immunization and nutrition services running – and make sure women and children everywhere feel safe to use them. Viruses know no borders. We must come together now as a global community to stop the devastation and protect our children.

The UN agency said it has provided oxygen concentrators and other critically needed emergency equipment to support the immediate response in the country, while also supporting resilience-building against recurrent shocks and stresses to the health system that leave children and their families at risk.

UNICEF has supplied 85 COVID-19 testing machines, which form a crucial part of the Government of India’s response to the pandemic.

Additionally, UNICEF is supporting the procurement and installation of 25 oxygen plants for hospitals in the Northeast and Maharashtra, and the installation of more than 70 thermal scanners at various ports of entry countrywide.

Since the start of the pandemic, UNICEF has also been working with the government and partners in India to help stop the spread of COVID-19, sharing information with more than 660 million people on how to stay safe from the coronavirus.

It has consistently worked to counter misinformation and promote COVID-19 protective practices, including wearing masks, physical distancing, and handwashing.

UNICEF said it needs USD 21 million for the urgent delivery of additional testing equipment, supplies and oxygen products in India, and more than USD 50 million for lifesaving COVID-19 interventions across sectors.

UNICEF said end-to-end logistics support from DP World helped the equipment was dispatched from UNICEF’s warehouse in Dubai to New Delhi to help India battle the deadly wave of COVID-19.

DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the company partnered with UNICEF because dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic is humanity’s biggest logistics challenge in living memory.”

“This emergency shipment of medical supplies is just one of many operations DP World will be supporting worldwide. The UAE and India have strong ties, and we stand by India through this devastating pandemic, he said.

New Delhi: New coronavirus cases and deaths in India hit a record daily high with 4,12,262 new infections and 3,980 fatalities being reported, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,10,77,410 and the death toll to 2,30,168, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

Registering a steady increase, the active cases have increased to 35,66,398 comprising 16.92 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 81.99 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,72,80,844, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.09 per cent, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.

According to the ICMR, 29,67,75,209 samples have been tested up to May 5 with 19,23,131 samples being tested on Wednesday.

New Delhi: Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ajit Singh passed away at a Gurgaon hospital on Thursday morning battling COVID-19, his family said.

He was 82.

Singh, the son of former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, was diagnosed positive for COVID-19 on April 20, the family said in a statement.

“Chaudhary Ajit Singh ji was diagnosed as COVID+ on the 20th April. He battled his condition till the very end and breathed his last today morning, the 6th of May, 2021,” his son Jayant Chowdhury tweeted.

“Throughout his life journey, Chaudhary Sahib was loved and respected by many. He, in turn cherished this bond with all of you and gave his best consideration and efforts for your welfare,” he said.

“As our Nation confronts the horrific pandemic, it is our humble request to all those who wish to pay their respects, to please stay at home as far as possible. We must observe all safety protocols to keep ourselves and everyone around us healthy and safe. This would be the best way to honour Chaudhary Sahib as well as all those COVID warriors who are working night and day to protect us,” he said.

“We pray for solace for all those families that have been ravaged by this brutal disease,” the message posted by Jayant on behalf of the family said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and others have condoled the death of the leader.