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- Published: September 15, 2020 20:29
New Delhi: With more than 79,000 recoveries in last 24 hours, the recovery rate has now reached to 78.28%. A total of 79,292 COVID patients recovered and were discharged from the hospitals during the last 24 hours. The total number of recoveries has reached 38,59,399.
The Health Ministry said that constant increase in recoveries has ensured that actual caseload of the country is on the decline and currently comprises only 20.08% of total positive cases.
‘Test,Track and Treat’ strategy has helped ensure lower fatality as well as higher recoveries. Currently, India’s Case Fatality Rate is at 1.64 per cent.
Recovery rate crosses 78%, 60% of total cases in 5 states
India continues to post very high number of daily recoveries. The continuous upward trajectory of India’s Recovery Rate has touched 78.28% today. 79,292 have recovered and discharged in the last 24 hours. The total recovered cases stand at 38,59,399. The gap between Recovered cases and Active cases has crossed 28 lakh today (28,69,338). The total number of active cases in the country stands at 9,90,061 as on date. Close to half (48.8%) of the Active Cases are concentrated in 3 States: Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Kerala and Telangana contribute close to a quarter (24.4%) of the Active Cases. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu contribute 60.35% of the total Active Cases and are also reporting close to 60% (59.42%) of the total recovered cases.1,054 case fatalities have been reported in the past 24 hours. Of the total deaths, nearly 69% are concentrated in five State/UTs of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. More than 37% of deaths reported are from Maharashtra (29,894 deaths).The State reported 34.44% of the deaths in the last 24 hours (363 deaths).
PM Modi inaugurates projects under ‘NamamiGange’ yojana and ‘AMRUT’ yojana in Bihar
Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi inaugurated various projects under ‘NamamiGange’ Yojana and ‘AMRUT’ Yojana in Bihar. Four schemes inaugurated today include sewerage treatment plants at Beur and Karam-Leechak in Patna city, as well as water-related projects in Siwan and Chhapra under the ‘AMRUT’ Yojana. Apart from this, foundation stones were laid today for water supply projects in Munger and Jamalpur and River Front Development Scheme under NamamiGange in Muzaffarpur. The Prime Minister said that even during the times of Corona, the work on various development projects progressed uninterrupted in Bihar. The Prime Minister lauded the contribution of the Engineers to the development of the country on the occasion of Engineer’s Day, which is celebrated in the memory of India’s pioneering modern civil engineer, Sir M. Visvesvaraya. Shri Modi said Bihar also significantly contributed towards development of the country by producing millions of engineers.
Union Cabinet approves establishment of new AIIMS at Darbhanga, Bihar
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri NarendraModi has approved establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Darbhanga, Bihar. This will be established under the Pradhan Mantri SwasthyaSurakshaYojana (PMSSY). The total cost will be Rs.1264 crore and is likely to be completed within a period of 48 months from the date of the approval of Government of India. New AIIMS will add 100 UG (MBBS) seats and 60 B.Sc (Nursing) seats andwill have 15-20 Super Specialty Departments. As per data of current functional AIIMS, it is expected that each new AIIMS will cater to around 2000 OPD patients per day and around 1000 IPD patients per month.
COVID-19 Fatalities amongst Healthcare Workers
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare provided guideline on Infection Prevention and Control practices to the State Governments. Training was conducted for all the States in the month of March 2020. Training on Infection Prevention and Control was also made available for all categories of healthcare workers on the iGoT platform.An advisory for managing health care workers working in COVID and Non-COVID areas of the hospital was issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 18th June, 2020.Guidelines on rational use of PPEs for hospital and community settings were issued on 24.03.2020. These guidelines followed a risk based approach and recommended type of PPE that needs to be used in high and low risk areas.The healthcare workers were provided with hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis and prevention of infection.The package of Rs 15000 crores (USD 2 Billion) under “India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package” has been approved by the Cabinet on 22nd April, 2020. The States were supported with 9.81 Crore tablets of HCQ and 28,476 ventilators supplied to States/UTs.States/UTs were provided with 3.05 crore N-95 masks and 1.2 Crore PPE kits.Total 155 Health workers died due to COVID-19 as per PMGKP: Insurance Scheme.The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
India’s graded approach helped contain Covid-19, Minister tells House
India would be following a scenario based approach for the following possible scenarios: (i) Travel related case reported in India, (ii) Local transmission of COVID-19, (iii) Large outbreaks amenable to containment, (iv) Wide-spread community Transmission of COVID-19 disease and (v) India becomes endemic for COVID-19. Currently many areas are experiencing large outbreaks amenable to containment. Hence a containment strategy is being followed by Government of India. Government has succeeded to a great extent in controlling the aggressive progression of COVID-19 in the country. India has recorded 3,328 cases and 55 deaths per million population, which is one of the lowest in the world as compared to similarly affected countries. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India followed a graded approach for expanding COVID-19 dedicated hospital infrastructure. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabha today.
New Healthcare Scheme for Covid-19 Victims
There is provision made under ‘Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Package’ for Health Workers fighting COVID-19. This is a Central Sector scheme. The scheme provides an insurance cover of Rs. 50 lakh to healthcare providers, including community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact and care of COVID-19 patients and who may be at risk of being impacted by this. It will also include accidental loss of life on account of contracting COVID-19. The scheme also covers private hospital staff/ retired/volunteer/ local urban bodies/contract/daily wage/ ad-hoc/outsourced staff requisitioned by States/ Central hospitals/autonomous hospitals of Central/States/UTs, AIIMS & INIs/ hospitals of Central Ministries drafted for COVID-19 related responsibilities. The insurance provided under this scheme would be over and above any other insurance cover being availed of by the beneficiary. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabha today.
Mental Health issues witness jump during Covid-19 pandemic
Realizing the impact that COVID-19 may have on the mental health of the people, including children, the Government has taken a number of initiatives to provide psychosocial support during COVID-19. These initiatives include: Setting up of a 24/7 helpline to provide psychosocial support, by mental health professionals, to the entire affected population, divided into different target groups viz children, adult, elderly, women and healthcare workers, issuance of guidelines/ advisories on management of mental health issues, catering to different segments of the society, advocacy through various media platforms in the form of creative and audio-visual materials on managing stress and anxiety, and promoting an environment of support and care for all, Issuance of detailed guidelines by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru- “Mental Health in the times of COVID-19 Pandemic – Guidance for General Medical and Specialized Mental Health Care Settings’and online capacity building of health workers by NIMHANS in providing psychosocial support and training through (iGOT)-Diksha platform. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabha today.
Homeopathy education to get a revamp
With the passage of two important bills of the Ministry of AYUSH by the Parliament, the country is all set to bring revolutionary reforms in the medical education of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy. The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2020 and the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill 2020 were passed in LokSabha on 14th September 2020. These twin bills seek to replace the existing Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 and the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. Getting the approval of the Parliament for these bills is a landmark achievement in the history of AYUSH. The enactment of the said Bills will revamp the existing Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) and Central Council of Homoeopathy.
Minister briefs Parliament about status of COVID Vaccine development in India
While the Govt. and Industry are trying their best to make available a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 at the earliest, it is difficult to comment on the exact timelines in view of various complex pathways involved in vaccine development.The Government has constituted a high-level National Expert Group on vaccine administration for COVID-19. The committee is addressing issues related to vaccine delivery, selection of suitable vaccines, procurement, prioritization of groups, logistics: Cold chain requirements, finance and National/International equity.Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has granted test license permission for manufacture of COVID-19 Vaccine for preclinical test, examination and analysis to seven manufacturers in India.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Health Research, has informed that a number of companies are conducting clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines in India. The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), ShAshwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the RajyaSabha today.
World Bank disbursed $2.5 billion loan to Govt for Corona fight
The World Bank has so far provided three loans worth $2.5 billion to Government of India to support Government of India’s response to COVID-19 pandemic situation for health ($1 billion), for social protection ($0.75 billion) and for economic stimulus ($0.75 billion), the benefits of which have accrued to all States and UTs. This was stated by Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs in a written reply to a question in RajyaSabha today.
Centre looked after migrants during lockdown and their essential needs
Central Government was fully conscious that during the period of an inevitable lockdown, people should not be deprived of essential supplies. The situation was closely monitored 24*7 through Control Rooms at national level. With a view to provide food, health care and shelter to homeless people including migrant workers, Central Government on 28.03.2020, allowed the State Governments to use State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for this purpose.Data on the number of persons who died on road while trying to reach their home State during COVID-19 lockdown is not centrally maintained. However, all necessary steps were taken by Central Government to facilitate the movement of migrant workers. This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri NityanandRai in a written reply to question in the Lok Sabha today.
