Tag: Second Wave

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-Top News COVID-19 India News

8 states cautioned as second wave not yet over


He was checking the steps taken by state governments to avoid the spread of Covid-19 in hill stations and tourist locations…reports Asian Lite News.

Sounding a note of caution, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Saturday asked eight states having tourist destinations and hill stations to follow strict Covid appropriate behaviour to avoid spread of the virus.

Emphasising that “second wave of Covid-19 is not yet over”, Bhalla, while chairing a meeting here, directed the states to ensure strict adherence to the protocols prescribed in respect of wearing of masks, social distancing and other safe behaviour.

He was checking the steps taken by state governments to avoid the spread of Covid-19 in hill stations and tourist locations.

During the meeting, the overall management of Covid-19 situation and the vaccination status in respect of the states of Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal was discussed.

The Home Secretary sounded a note of caution in view of media reports showing blatant disregard of Covid appropriate behaviour in hill stations and other tourist locations.

It was observed that the decline of the second wave is at variable stages in the different states or Union Territories (UTs) in the country, and that while the overall case positivity rate may be declining, the case positivity rate in certain districts of Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh is over 10 per cent, which is a cause for concern.

States were also asked to follow the five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and Covid appropriate behaviour, as has been laid out in Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order dated June 29 this year, said the Home Ministry.

Adequate health infrastructure preparedness (especially in rural, peri-urban and tribal areas) was also advised, with a view to tackle any potential future surge in cases.

The Member (Health), NITI Aayog, Dr. Vinod K. Paul addressing a press conference on the actions taken, preparedness and updates on COVID-19 (Including Vaccination), in New Delhi on July 09, 2021. The Principal Director General (M&C), Press Information Bureau, Shri Jaideep Bhatnagar and the Joint Secretary, MoHFW, Shri Lav Agarwal are also seen. ( PIB)

The meeting was attended by Dr. V.K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog; Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Director General, Indian Council for Medical Research; and Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police and Principal Secretaries (Health) of the eight States.

Three days ago, Bhalla held similar meeting and directed all northeastern states to ensure strict containment measures as per extant guidelines while noting that out of 73 districts in the country with Case Positivity Rate (CPR) above 10 per cent, 46 are in these states.

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Spend ‘second wave’ for reading

The year 2020 brought about a paradigm shift in everyone’s lives — people began thinking, eating, living and reading differently…writes Siddhi Jain.

Getting some free time will be a great relief for some people at least to enjoy themselves with favourite hobbies. Over the last year, the pandemic has led people to spend most of their time indoors as they maintain social distance. As India now reels under an alarming second wave, many parts of the country have tightened stay-at-home protocols — making consumers opt for activities that reduce their need to step out — a key pastime being ‘reading’.

According to homegrown e-commerce platform Flipkart, the Books category has witnessed a growth of 1.5 times in the number of units sold in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year.

“With people finding comfort in books, it’s curious to see how reading habits and genre preferences can change during unprecedented times. We pride ourselves in being close to consumers, while deeply understanding their needs and expectations across the country and work continuously towards providing them with the best selection, through our sellers.

In the case of books, overall, two-third of the demand for books on the platform came from tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the past quarter, where we witnessed increasing searches from cities such as Jamshedpur, Azamgarh, Faizabad, Deoria, Guwahati, Gorakhpur and Bhubaneswar,” Nishant Gupta, Head — Beauty, General Merchandise, Home and Furniture, Flipkart told.

With competitive exams around the corner coupled with time in hand, people are upskilling, leading to a growing demand for academic books, reference books, general knowledge books and English books such as Word Power Made Easy and Oxford Student Atlas. Owing to children spending their time at home, activity books, picture and colouring books have also seen a clear spike.

The year 2020 brought about a paradigm shift in everyone’s lives — people began thinking, eating, living and reading differently.

Books that deal with weight loss, diets and other ‘how to’ books saw great demand. Self-help and soul-searching books boomed more than usual, as people turned to books as a way of understanding their old and new lives, making books such as ‘Ikigai’, ‘Think Like a Monk’, ‘Death’, ‘Power of Subconscious Mind’, ‘Attitude is Everything’, ‘Life’s Amazing Secret feature in the Top 100 books sold on Flipkart. Additionally, books by celebrity writers such as Sonu Sood, Tahira Kashyap and Priyanka Chopra made it to the bestseller list on the platform, learnt.

In order to encourage book readers further, Flipkart has also launched its digital property for its books category — Flipkart #NowReading on Instagram, which hosts digital launches of new books, discussions with bestselling authors, reviews and suggestions. It has hosted Amish Tripathi, Rujuta Diwekar, Sonu Sood, Durjoy Dutta, Tahira Kashyap and Chetan Bhagat, among others.

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Categories
-Top News COVID-19 India News

COVID-19: India sees highest-ever single day surge

India has reported 1,45,384 new Covid-19 cases and 794 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

India is now the fourth-worst Covid-hit country worldwide after the number of active cases rose to 10,46,631. The death toll stood at 1,68,436 the Health Ministry said.

A total of 77,567 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries to 1,19,90,859 with a recovery rate of 90.80 per cent.

Health worker collect swab sample testing for Covid-19 at CP in New Delhi. (Photo:Wasim Sarvar/IANS)

The Health Ministry said that a total of 11,73,219 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. So far, 25,52,14,803 samples have been tested.

A total of 34,15,055 people were vaccinated in the last 24 hours taking the total vaccination count to 9,80,75,160.

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RSS chief tests positive

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat has tested Covid-19 positive and is undergoing treatment in a private hospital here.

According to an RSS functionary, he was suffering from some minor cough and cold issues and underwent an RT-PCR test.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat

After the report came Covid-19 positive, he was admitted to the Kingsway Hospital on Friday.

Incidentally, the 70-year-old Bhagwat – who had taken his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on March 7 – is responding well to the treatment and his condition is described as stable.

Currently, Nagpur – the state’s second capital is amongst the worst-hit Corona hotspots in the state besides Mumbai and Pune in the ongoing ferocious second wave of the pandemic.

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Test, track and treat

Amid the spike in the number of Covid-19 cases across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised on the ‘test track & treat’ mantra, besides stressing on following Covid appropriate behaviour and effective Covid management measures to check the spread of the virus.

The Prime Minister held a virtual meeting with all the Chief Ministers to review the Covid situation in the country on Thursday, his second interaction with the CMs within a month.

The Prime Minister pointed out that to contain the spread of the virus, testing and tracking play an effective role.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacting with the Chief Ministers on COVID-19 and vaccination programme through video conferencing, in New Delhi on April 08, 2021.

Observing that every single positive case has the potential to spread the virus to others in the absence of adequate preventive measures, the Prime Minister said that at least 30 contacts of a positive case must be traced, tested and quarantined, preferably within the first 72 hours.

“There should not be any relaxation in our efforts due to Covid fatigue,” Modi said.

He also asked for adherence to the SoPs issued by the Health Ministry, especially in the containment zones.

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The Prime Minister emphasised on the need to have comprehensive data on Covid deaths with detailed analysis.

He also asked the states to join the webinars on Covid-19 organised by AIIMs every Tuesday and Friday, besides appealing to the states to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of 45-plus population in the high focus districts.

The Prime Minister called for a ‘Teeka Utsav’ (vaccination festival) between April 11, the birth anniversary of Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, and April 14, the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacting with the Chief Ministers on COVID-19 and vaccination programme through video conferencing, in New Delhi on April 08, 2021.

“Effort should be made to vaccinate the maximum number of people during the vaccination festival,” he said.

Modi also called upon the youth to help in getting everyone above 45 years of age vaccinated.

Cautioning against carelessness, Modi said, “We have to keep in mind that despite vaccination, there should not be lowering of guard and proper precautions should be continued to be taken.”

During the meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah outlined the efforts undertaken by the government in the battle against Covid-19.