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The Centre wants the judiciary to keep its hands off the management of the COVID-19 crisis and its “waves/surges”.
The latest 218-page affidavit filed by the Centre in the Supreme Court on May 9 informs the judiciary in no uncertain terms that “though it [Centre] is duty-bound to fully assist this Honourable Court… the policy, strategy and steps taken by the Executive, based on expert medical and scientific advice, have to be appreciated in the context of the medical crisis”. It said decisions were taken after “detailed deliberations at the highest Executive level”. Hence, no “interference” is called for in judicial proceedings.
Supreme Court forms National Task Force for transparent oxygen allocation
In other words, the Centre has asked the courts — Supreme Court and the High Courts — to “leave it open” for the government to discharge its functions in “larger interests”.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Oxygen status
Home Ministry Additional Secretary Piyush Goyal gives status of oxygen supplies: Oxygen generation plants have been set up and liquid oxygen also being imported.
Nitrogen and Argon tankers are being converted to facilitate oxygen transportation, tankers are also being imported and manufactured domestically. rail and air transportation of tankers will reduce turn-around time. The availability of cryogenic tanks at hospitals also being enhanced..oxygen being allocated rationally, oxygen digital tracking system being used for real time monitoring. virtual central control room for 24*7 real time monitoring.
Oxygen production capacity has increased from 6,817 tons to 7,314 tons now.
There has been seven fold increase in supply of liquid medical oxygen from 1,320 MT in March to 8,943 MT on May 9
How is Mumbai containing COVID-19?
Recently Mumbai earned praise of Supreme Court for managing the COVID-19 crisis. Health Ministry spokesperson Lav Agarwal explains the Mumbai Model.
In Mumbai, central war room was abolished to create a decentralised citizen communication approach. Test results shared with administration to communicate the results to the citizens and guide. At the ward level, war rooms were set up, BMC acted as a hub for receiving close to 10,000 test results every day from 55 labs and sorting them based on wards. These results were then shared with respective war rooms. This led to a reduction of caseload on each war room. each war room was equipped with 30 telephone lines and 10 dashboards highlighting info regarding availability of beds. Medical staff were invited to work in war rooms and were offerred a stipend and hotel accommodation. 800 SUVS were refurbished and turned into makeshift ambulances. A software platform was created with Uber’s help to track and manage these ambulances. A centralised dashboard of 172 hospitals and Covid facilities was created to keep a tab on available resources.
Pune case analysis
After April 27, the case positivity has declined from 19% to 18% for the country, says Health Ministry spokesperson Lav Agarwal.
About 17.01 crore vaccine doses provided for free by GOI to States, which people have already got. In collaboration with the States, 25.59 lakh doses given to the 18-44 age group, he says.
Case analysis of Pune revealed that when about 69.7 case positivity was recorded in the week beginning March 1, at the time curbing measures like night curfew was implemented. Subsequently, more stringent step was implemented for 15 days, there was a decline in growth trajectory, containment measures for next 15 days, we noticed benefit in terms of decline in positivity from 41.8% to 23.4%.
Night curfew coupled with restrictions on mass gathering and non essential activities for a limited period is critical to ensure reduction in infection spread, he says.
18 States show decrease in new cases
Union government is in discussion with States to contain the spread of covid-19, says Health Ministry spokesperson Lav Agarwal.
State wise, the most number of active cases are in Maharashtra (5,93,150); followed by Karnataka (5,71,026), then Kerala (4,20,076), UP (2,25,271), Rajasthan (2,03,017), Andhra Pradesh (1,89,367), and Tamil Nadu (1,52,389).
In 13 States, there are more than 1 lakh cases, in six States, there are 50,000 to 1 lakh active cases and in 17 States, there are less than 50,000 cases.
In 26 States, positivity is over 15%, in six States the positivity is from 5 to 15%, in four States it is below 5%. In 10 States, the positivity ranges from 20 to 25%.
18 States/UTs showing continued plateauing/decrease in daily new cases, they include Maharashtra, UP, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Telangana, Chandigarh, Ladakh, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Andaman Nicobar
Lockdown in Telangana from tomorrow
Telangana has imposed lockdown from tomorrow. The State Cabinet, which met this afternoon, decided to impose lockdown for 10 days from 10 a.m. on Wednesday. There will be relaxation from lockdown everyday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Madhya Pradesh
Cases declining in Madhya Pradesh: Minister
The graph of COVID-19 infections in Madhya Pradesh is on the decline, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, a day after the daily infections dropped to 9,715.
“It is a matter of relief to see that the new cases fell to four digits from the five digits. Since last three to four days, cases are showing a downward trend in the state,” Mr. Mishra, also a spokesperson of the state government, told reporters.
He said Madhya Pradesh recorded 9,715 new cases on Monday while more than 8,400 people recovered from the viral infection on the same day.
“The infection is declining in cities. Infection continues in rural areas but it is being brought under control thanks to the efforts undertaken by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” Mr. Mishra said.
The State Home Minister further said 150 doses of COVID-19 vaccine wasted because members from the age group of 18 to 44 years who had booked slots didn’t turn up for inoculation.
He didn’t mention the date and location of the vaccine wastage incident.
“I appeal to youths with folded hands that they should come for vaccination after booking a slot. I also request to those people who wrote letters syaing that 100 slots in the initial phase (of the evaccination drive) are very less, to appeal to youths to ensure that no jab is wasted in the state,” Mishra said in a veiled reference to the Congress.
These people should tweet to encourage the younger lot instead of criticising the government on the issue, he added.
Mr. Mishra alleged the Congress did nothing to help people in the pandemic except tweeting.
“This disease has spread from Congress-ruled states like Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Rajasthan to other states,” he said.
National
Rahul slams PM Modi
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Covid situation in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, said he should remove his rose tinted glasses through which he can see nothing but the Central Vista project.
The Congress has been demanding that the project, including a new Parliament building and a new residence for the Prime Minister, be dropped and the money be used on improving medical facilities and infrastructure in the country. “Countless dead bodies flowing in the rivers. Miles of lines in hospitals. Robbed people of their right to life. PM, take off those rose tinted glasses through which nothing is seen except the Central Vista,” Mr. Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
The former Congress president also asked people to join the ‘SpeakUpToSaveLives’ campaign to strengthen the fight against COVID-19, and urged them to provide a helping hand to the needy in “these distressing times.
Vaccine
Biocon chief expresses concern over vaccine shortage
Biocon Executive Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has expressed concern over shortage of COVID-19 vaccines and sought better transparency from the government regarding their availability so that citizens could patiently wait for their turn.
India has announced expansion of its COVID-19 vaccination drive by allowing its large population aged over 18 to get inoculated from May 1.
“Very concerned about why vaccines are in such short supply. Can we please know where the 70 million doses are being deployed every month? @MoHFW_INDIA We need better transparency to avoid the suspense. If a timetable of supplies is made public people can patiently wait their turn,” Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw said in a tweet on Tuesday while tagging the Health Ministry.
National
India records 3.29 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases, 3,876 fatalities
The single day rise in new coronavirus infections in India fell to 3.29 lakh after 14 days taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,29,92,517, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.
A total of 3,29,942 infections were reported in a span of 24 hours, while the death toll climbed to 2,49,992 with 3,876 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. After registering a steady rise for two months, the active cases have reduced to 37,15,221 comprising 16.16 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 82.75 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,90,27,304, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.09 per cent, the data stated.
Bihar
Bodies of suspected victims retrieved from Ganga
Videos of several bodies of suspected COVID-19 victims floating at the Mahadeo ghat (bank) of the Ganga at Chausa village in Bihar, have gone viral on social media, sparking outrage and shock. Officials who visited the site said the bodies might have floated in from adjoining districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Chausa is about 10 kms from the headquarters of the border district of Buxar, adjoining eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Dubai
Hindu temple ships oxygen aid to crisis-hit India
As India’s government scrambles for supplies of oxygen and other emergency aid to control the raging coronavirus outbreak, donors around the world have come to the rescue — including a Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, volunteers from the country’s Hindu community gathered at the Jebel Ali Port, here at the northern end of Dubai, to haul hundreds of cylinders of liquid oxygen and massive containers of compressed oxygen onto a ship, where it will head to crisis-wracked India.
Karnataka
Vaccination for 18-44 group sees good turnout at centres
Vaccination for those between 18 and 44 years, that began in all major government hospitals and medical colleges from Monday, saw a good turnout with many who had not registered on the CoWIN portal also turning up at the centres.
In Bengaluru, the vaccination for this group was held at K.C. General Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital, government medical colleges, ESI hospital and NIMHANS. The demand was so high that the slots got filled up in a jiffy. Nodal officers of the vaccination centres said the slots for the next day got booked in a few minutes soon after the site was open for registration. According to the data from the Health Department, 10,300 beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group took the jab till 8.30 p.m.
WHO
India variant is of global concern: WHO
The World Health Organziation said on Monday that the B.1.617 variant first identified in India last year was being classified as a variant of global concern. “We classify it as a variant of concern at a global level,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, told a briefing. “There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility.”
Indian coronavirus infections and deaths held close to record daily highs on Monday, increasing calls for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lock down the world’s second-most populous country.
National
Vaccine production gradually ramped up, says Centre
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the production capacity of COVID-19 vaccines had been “gradually ramped up” in the light of the immunisation drive.
“In times of grave and unprecedented crisis when the nation is fighting a disaster of unprecedented magnitude, the executive functioning of the government needs discretion to formulate policy in larger interest. It is submitted that in view of the unprecedented and peculiar circumstances under which vaccination drive is devised as an executive policy, the wisdom of the executive should be trusted,” it noted.
Tamil Nadu
Got 5.16 lakh vaccine doses for 18-44 age group: TN govt.
The State government on Monday told the Madras High Court that it had received 5.16 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines for inoculating people in the 18-44 age group.
Stating that it had paid 100% advance amount to two domestic vaccine manufacturers for procuring 13.85 lakh doses allotted by the Centre in the first phase, the government said it was yet to receive the rest of the 8.68 lakh doses.
USA
U.S. authorises Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12 to 15
U.S. regulators on Monday authorised Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12, widening the country’s inoculation program as vaccination rates have slowed significantly.
The vaccine has been available under an emergency use authorisation (EUA) to people as young as 16 in the United States. The vaccine makers said they had started the process for full approval for those ages last week. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was amending the EUA to include the millions of children aged 12 to 15.
Railways
1,952 employees have died due to COVID-19: Railways
As many as 1,952 employees of the Indian Railways have died due to COVID-19 since March 2020, and nearly 1,000 are getting infected daily on an average, Railway Board Chairman and CEO Suneet Sharma said on Monday.
“It [the COVID-19 situation] is a challenge. Railways are no different from any other State or territory…we also have COVID cases…We are in the business of transportation. We need to run trains to transport essential items, passengers as well as freight,” Mr. Sharma said during a press conference. The Railways are one of the country’s largest employer with around 12 lakh employees.
(With inputs from our Correspondents and agencies)
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