Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Home Blog Page 1162

Over 5 crore Covid tests conducted in India till date

corona
(File/Representational image)

New Delhi (NVI): India has scaled another peak today as the cumulative test for COVID-19 has surpassed five crore, Union Health Ministry said.

Aggressive and widespread testing have essayed an important role in India’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

India has come a long way from conducting just one test from the lab at National Institute of Virology, Pune in January to 5,06,50,128 as on date with 10,98,621 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours testifying the enlarged testing capacity in the country, the statement added.

“The average daily tests conducted (week-wise) are demonstrating a consistent increase. This has registered a 3.2 times expansion from third week of July (3,26,971) to first week of September (10,46,470),” the ministry said.

Moreover, the average Tests Per Million per day have increased from 237 in the second week of July to 758 in the first week of September, it informed.

The statement further stated, in its Guidance Note on “Public Health Criteria to Adjust Public Health and Social Measures in the Context of COVID-19”, the WHO has advised countries to conduct 140 tests per day per million population for comprehensive surveillance for suspect cases. The average week-on-week data for India shows a rising improvement on this front. Expanding network of diagnostic labs has given a boost to tests per million.

“The TPM have seen a sharp rise from 6,396 on July 1 to 36,703 as of today,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the testing lab network in the country has also strengthened which as on today consists of 1,668 labs across the country. Out of those 1,035 labs are in the government sector and 633 private labs, it added.

-RJV

IMD predicts heavy rains in Karnataka, Kerala, Mahe till 11 Sept

New Delhi (NVI): Heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places in Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe till September 11, while rainfall is likely to be below normal over central and adjoining East India, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The Met Office has said that a low pressure area lies over east central Arabian Sea off Karnataka coast with the associated cyclonic circulation extending upto 3.1 km above mean sea level.

It is very likely to weaken over the same region today. An east west shear zone runs roughly along 13°N across the cyclonic circulation associated with the above low pressure area at 3.1 km above mean sea level, it said.

It is very likely to persist during the next 3-4 days. Under its influence, fairly widespread to widespread rainfall and thunderstorm & lightning very likely over Peninsular India during next 4-5 days, as per IMD report.

Heavy rainfall is also very likely at isolated places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal till September 9.

Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is also very likely over Coastal Karnataka on 9 and 10 September and over Kerala and Mahe on 8 September, the weatherman predicted.

The western end of monsoon trough at mean sea level lies near normal position and its eastern end lie north of its normal position, as per IMD. The eastern end of monsoon trough is likely to be north of its normal position or along the foothills of Himalayas during next 5 days.

Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with thunderstorm and lightning and heavy rainfall at isolated places over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim and northeastern states is expected till 11 September.

Apart from that, overall, rainfall is very likely to be above normal over most parts of Peninsular India and normal to above normal over Indo-Gangetic plains (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal).

Development of features for monsoon withdrawal from western parts of Rajasthan is likely during the week.

-ARK

“Hunar Haat” to restart from October with the theme of ‘Local to Global’

(File photo)

New Delhi (NVI): After a gap of six months due to COVID-19 pandemic, “Hunar Haat”, a crafts fair organised by Ministry of Minority Affairs, will restart from October 9 with the theme of “Local to Global”.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said that every corner of the country has a traditional and ancestral legacy of indigenous toys made with wood, brass, bamboo, glass, cloth, paper, clay etc. “Hunar Haat will be an enormous platform providing market and opportunities to master artisans who prepare these indigenous exquisite toys,” he added.

“This legacy, which was on the verge of extinction, has got a boon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for “Swadeshi Toys”. The Indian toy industry has got tremendous boost after the call for Vocal for Local Toys,” the minister said in a statement.

However, the appeal to get vocal for local toys will help the Indian toy industry to again get its dominance in the toy market, Naqvi said, adding that, “Hunar Haat”, which will restart from October 9, will be organised with the theme of “Local to Global”.

The next “Hunar Haat” will be organised at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh from October 9 to 18. More than 30 per cent stalls will be for artisans who prepare indigenous toys, they will also be extended help through various institutions for attractive packaging of swadeshi toys, he added.

Naqvi further said that Hunar Haat, which has provided employment and employment opportunities to more than 5 lakh Indian artisans, craftsmen, culinary experts and other people associated with them in the last 5 years, have become popular among the people.

“It also provides market and opportunity to master artisans and craftsmen from remote areas of the country and has become a credible brand of rare exquisite indigenous handmade products,” he added.

So far, the Minority Affairs Ministry has organised more than 2 dozen Hunar Haat across the country where lakhs of artisans, craftsmen have been provided employment and employment opportunities.

In the coming days, Hunar Haat will be organised at Jaipur, Chandigarh, Indore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, India Gate, New Delhi, Ranchi, Kota, Surat/Ahmedabad and other places.

Naqvi also stated, this time, people will also be able to buy Hunar Haat products digital and online also. The ministry is registering these artisans and their indigenous products on GeM (Government e Marketplace).

In addition to this, several export promotion councils have also shown interest to provide international markets at large scale for handmade indigenous products of these artisans and craftsmen, he added in a statement.

Int’l Literacy Day: Significance and theme of UNESCO designated day

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): At the 14th session of UNESCO’s general conference in 1966, the first ever International Literacy Day was declared and since then it has been celebrated annually on September 8, in an effort to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals and communities around the world.

According to recent consensus, about 775 million adults lack the minimum education that is required to be literate and of those, 60.7 million children are out of school or are rare attendees.

According to the UNESCO’s ‘Global Monitoring Report on Education for All’ (2006), South Asia has the lowest regional adult literacy rate, at 58.6 per cent and the causes for this illiteracy range from severe poverty and the prejudice against women.

Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.

International Literacy Day (ILD) 2020 will focus on ‘Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond’ with a focus on the role of educators and changing pedagogies.

Through the course of the years, the United Nations (UN) has given this day special themes keeping in line with the current environment. Ranging from ‘Literacy and Health’, ‘Literacy and Epidemics’, which focused on communicable diseases such as HIV, to ‘Literacy and Empowerment’ and ‘Literacy and Peace’ a few years later.

The recent Covid-19 crisis has been a stark reminder of the existing gap between policy discourse and reality: a gap that already existed in the pre-Covid-19 era and is negatively affecting the learning of youth and adults who have no or low literacy skills and therefore tend to face multiple disadvantages.

During Covid-19, in many countries, adult literacy programmes were absent in the initial education response plans, so the majority of adult literacy programmes that did exist were suspended with just a few courses continuing virtually, through TV and radio, or in open air spaces.

Most classes and lectures are being conducted online and though that does make a difference, the question of what the future holds in terms of the process of education in unknown.

For the celebration of this  Day, the UN is organising online seminars and talks that go over these pertinent questions. There will be two meetings held, one about the ‘Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond: the role of educators and changing pedagogies’ and another on ‘The Laureates of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2020’.

-CHK

Cobra snake rescued from President’s Estate

New Delhi (NVI): Security personnel at President’s Estate were surprised by an unusual visitor- a cobra snake that slithered into the security cabin at Gate number 8 and when spotted, went into hiding under the furniture.

The reptile was spotted at the gate of Rashtrapati Bhavan last evening. After seeing the cobra, the security personnel immediately alerted the Police Control Room who in turn contacted the Wildlife SOS Rapid Response Unit on the hotline, requesting a team to be urgently dispatched to the President’s Estate.

A Rapid Response Unit form the NGO came armed with protective equipment and gear to carry out the rescue operation. The team found the cobra snake after some searching under the chairs.

Following this, the Wildlife SOS team used extreme dexterity and caution to gently and carefully extricate the snake while ensuring the animal was not stressed and kept calm. Following observation and checkup, the snake was released in a safe natural habitat.

Kartick Satyanarayan, CEO & Co-founder of Wildlife SOS, said “Thanks to the alertness of the security personnel at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the cobra snake was detected in time. We are grateful to the Delhi Police for alerting Wildlife SOS to this emergency call. Despite widespread fear and ignorance regarding reptiles in the country, over the years the Wildlife

SOS hotline receives hundreds of calls, thus confirming that awareness regarding reptiles is increasing. This is a positive change.”

Wasim Akram, Deputy Director – Special Projects, Wildlife SOS, said, “At any given time, the most number of snakes rescued by Wildlife SOS are Cobras. These rescues are dangerous and risky, hence the necessity of having trained rescuers carry out such sensitive operations, in the interest of public safety and protection of urban wildlife.”

India is home to over 270 species of snakes, most of which are non-venomous and harmless. Snakes are misunderstood due to superstitions and myths and are often perceived as dangerous, whereas the reality is that snakes are the friends of farmers and help protect their crops from rodents. Reptiles are met with fear and hostility due to ignorance and it is time we give snakes the credit they deserve, the Wildlife SOS said in a statement.

COVID-19 is not the last pandemic, prepare for next: WHO chief

patent

New Delhi (NVI): World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that coronavirus is not the last pandemic and that the world must be better prepared when the next one hits.

The WHO chief has called upon countries to invest in public health. Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, Tedros said, “History teaches us that outbreaks and pandemics are a fact of life. But when the next pandemic comes, the world must be ready more ready than it was this time.”

The WHO chief statement comes after the overall tally of global coronavirus cases surpassed 27 million mark, while the deaths have increased to over 882,000.

Moreover, the WHO review committee established to assess the performance of its International Health Regulations during the global coronavirus pandemic will begin its work on September 8, Tedros said.

“The review committee of the International Health Regulations will begin its work. The International Health Regulation is the most important legal instrument in global health security. As a reminder, the review committee will evaluate the functioning of the IHR during the pandemic so far and recommend any changes it believes are necessary,” he added.

Tedros further said, “It will review the convening of the Emergency Committee, the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, the role and functioning of international IHR focal points, and will examine the progress made in implementing the recommendations of previous International Health Regulation review committees.”

Earlier, the WHO chief had warned against COVID-19 ‘vaccine nationalism’, calling on countries around the world to join forces to tackle the deadly virus.

“In our inter-connected world, if people in low and middle-income countries miss out on vaccines, the virus will continue to kill and the economic recovery globally will be delayed. So, using vaccines as a global public good is in the national interest of each and every country. Vaccine nationalism will prolong the pandemic, not shorten it,” Tedros said.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the GAVI vaccine alliance are leading the COVAX facility, aimed at helping buy and distribute vaccination shots fairly around the world.

-RJV

State-wise details of Covid-19 cases in India

New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India has reached 42,80,423, after 75,809 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, according to Union Health Ministry data.

The country’s death toll has gone up to 72,775 after 1,133 new fatalities were reported in the country during this period.

In worst-hit Maharashtra, the COVID-19 cases climbed to 9,23,641, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 5,06,4931 cases, and Tamil Nadu with 4,69,256 cases.

Total positive cases in States/UTs:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 3,359

Andhra Pradesh- 5,06,493

Arunachal Pradesh- 5,180

Assam- 1,28,244

Bihar- 1,49,027

Chandigarh- 5,995

Chhattisgarh- 47,280

Dadra Nagar Haveli & Diu – 2,590

Delhi- 1,93,526

Gujarat- 1,05,509

Goa- 21,173

Haryana– 78,773

Himachal Pradesh- 7,660

Jammu and Kashmir- 44,570

Jharkhand- 52,620

Karnataka- 4,04,324

Kerala- 89,489

Ladakh- 3,064

Madhya Pradesh- 75,459

Maharashtra- 9,23,641

Manipur- 7,1006

Meghalaya- 3,034

Mizoram- 1,114

Nagaland- 4,220

Odisha- 1,27,892

Puducherry- 17,316

Punjab- 65,583

Rajasthan- 92,536

Sikkim- 1,939

Tamil Nadu- 4,69,256

Telangana- 1,45,163

Tripura- 16,135

Uttarakhand- 25,436

Uttar Pradesh- 2,71,851

West Bengal– 1,83,865

State/UT wise total death toll:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 50

Andhra Pradesh- 4,487

Arunachal Pradesh- 8

Assam- 370

Bihar- 761

Chandigarh- 74

Chhattisgarh- 395

Dadra and Nagar Haveli- 2

Delhi- 4,599

Goa- 245

Gujarat- 3,120

Haryana- 829

Himachal Pradesh- 56

Jammu and Kashmir- 801

Jharkhand- 482

Karnataka- 6,534

Kerala- 359

Ladakh- 35

Madhya Pradesh- 1,589

Maharashtra- 27,027

Manipur- 38

Meghalaya- 17

Nagaland- 10

Odisha- 556

Puducherry- 325

Punjab- 1,9232

Rajasthan- 1,151

Sikkim- 5

Tamil Nadu- 7,925

Telangana- 906

Tripura- 152

Uttarakhand- 348

Uttar Pradesh- 3,976

West Bengal- 3,620

However, a total of 33,23,950 people have been cured or discharged. Total active cases stand at 8,83,697.

-CHK

 

Senior SP leader dies of Covid-19

SRS Yadav

New Delhi (NVI): Senior Samajwadi Party leader and Member of Legislative Council SRS Yadav, passes away late night yesterday, who recently tested positive for novel coronavirus.

Yadav, 87, tested positive for coronavirus on September 1 and breathed his last at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow.

Samajwadi Party condoled the demise of the leader and said, the demise of the senior and respected leader of Samajwadi Party, SRS Yadav ‘Babu Ji’ is the end of an ‘era’.

“Heart wrenching and irreparable damage! Condolences to the bereaved family and prayers for the departed soul’s peace! Tributes to the departed soul,” the party said.

Yadav, who worked as an administrative officer till 1992, joined the Samajwadi Party (SP) after his retirement. He becomes third Uttar Pradesh leader to succumb to coronavirus.

The news of MLC’s death came hours after IAS officer Sushil Kumar Marua, passed away at the same hospital after being tested positive for COVID-19.

Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also condoled the demise of the senior party member and said, “Shocked at the demise of senior SP leader, MLC and in-charge of the party office, Shri SRS Yadav Ji from COVID-19. The State has lost a dedicated socialist today. Tributes to him,” Yadav tweeted in Hindi.

-RJV

Russia releases first batch of Covid vaccine Sputnik V into public

Expert panel recommends Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for restricted emergency use
Representational/File image

New Delhi (NVI): Amid widespread criticism from global experts citing safety concerns, the first batch of the Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19, developed by Russia has been released into civil circulation, regional deliveries are planned in the nearest future, the Russian health ministry informed.

The vaccine is developed by Russia’s Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

“The first batch of the ‘Gam-COVID-Vac’ [Sputnik V] vaccine for the prevention of the new coronavirus infection, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, has passed the necessary quality tests in the laboratories of Roszdravnadzor [medical device regulator] and has been released into civil circulation,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the health ministry, the delivery of the first batches of the Russian vaccine to the country’s regions is planned in the nearest future.

The Russian health ministry registered the first vaccine against Covid-19, named Sputnik V, on August 11.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko had announced that vaccination against COVID-19 among volunteers under phase 3 of clinical trials will start this week.

Meanwhile, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), on Monday confirmed that the clinical trial of the Sputnik V vaccine will begin this month in countries, including India.

Russia had said that at least 20 countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Philippines, Mexico, Brazil and India, have expressed their interest in obtaining the vaccine following registration.

-CHK

J&K: DC office in Poonch closed as 15 employees test COVID positive

Abid Bashir

Srinagar (NVI): The district administration in Jammu’s Poonch district today ordered closure of the Deputy Commissioner office in Poonch after 15 employees tested positive for the deadly coronavirus contagion.

A few days ago, COVID tests were conducted for employees and the reports of 15 officials from various sections came back as positive for coronavirus.

Officials in the DC office said that as a precautionary measure, the office has been closed and sanitization has been started. “All offices in the DC office Poonch shall remain closed till sanitization is completed,” the officials said.

The DC Poonch, Rahul Yadav, appealed people not to visit office for the next few days and to contact him and other officials on phone in case of any emergency.

“Some 15 officials in my office have tested positive and their contact tracing is on. People are requested not to visit my office for a few days till complete sanitization is done. I urge people to contact me and other officials over the phone in case of any urgent matter. The step has been taken to ensure safety of people,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention that over the past four days, Jammu has been leading with the Covid positive cases.

Yesterday, over 600 positive cases were reported from Jammu region while over 400 were recorded in Kashmir.

Officials in the J&K administration said that Covid has set its foot in the Jammu region as cases have swelled over the past few days. “Massive contact tracing is on and robust testing is being done,” they said.

-CHK

1...1,1611,1621,163...1,732Page 1,162 of 1,732

MUST READ