Covid-19 | Regulatory body nudges insurers to facilitate policyholders’ vaccination

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IRDAI has asked insurers to make special arrangements to facilitate eligible category among their policyholders to get vaccinated as a group or individually.

Nudging insurance companies to join the COVID-19 vaccination drive and create awareness among policyholders, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on Friday directed them to make special arrangements to facilitate inoculation of the eligible people at government or private hospitals.

IRDAI had sent instructions to the insurers on March 3. However, it communicated to them again on Friday (March 19 ) through a press release on its website.

The government’s national programme for vaccination against COVID-19 for 60 years old and above and those above 45 years of age with comorbidities started on March 1, 2021.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued guidelines for vaccination of eligible citizens.

All the insurers are requested to join this national effort, IRDAI said in a communication to all the insurance companies.

IRDAI had issued instructions to insurers to facilitate vaccination programme for their policyholders through a communication on March 3, 2021.

In the letter, IRDAI asked them to make special arrangements to facilitate eligible category among their policyholders to get vaccinated as a group or individually either at a government facility of private facilities as per the option of the policyholders.

“First, insurers may create awareness about vaccination among the policyholders through effective communication via SMS or email. Secondly, they may assist the policyholder as a group to get vaccinated in an orderly manner by assisting them and making advance arrangement through pre booking slots,” the letter said.

Thirdly, the policyholders may be reminded for the second shot of vaccine in time, it added.

IRDAI has also asked the insurers to give adequate publicity on the process of registration for vaccination programme and special arrangements made if any for policyholders so that maximum number of people can be immunised.

Further, similar arrangements may be made for all the employees of the insurer and also all the agents so that they can be made immune to COVID-19 infection, IRDAI said.

The regulator has asked the insurance companies to inform it at the earliest about the action taken in this matter.

Those visiting government hospitals for the immunisation are provided the vaccine free of cost. While the designated private hospitals charge it at a rate specified by the government.

The instructions do not apply on AIC and ECGC — the two specialised government owned insurance firms that cater to crop insurance and export credit insurance, respectively.

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Coronavirus live upates | Centre’s move to stop vaccine exports might affect U.K.: Adar Poonawalla

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Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab together account for 76.4% of active COVID-19 cases currently, with Maharashtra alone contributing nearly 60%, said data released by the Health Ministry on Wednesday.

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:

Karnataka

Three new COVID-19 clusters emerge in Yelahanka zone in Bengaluru

Three new clusters have been detected in Yelahanka zone, taking the total number of active clusters to five. However, contact tracing is proving to be a nightmare as one family visited a temple despite being asked to remain in home isolation.

Among the new clusters, seven residents of an apartment in Vidyaranyapura ward have tested positive for COVID-19. The first positive case was detected on March 8 after a person returned from Kerala and developed symptoms. As a precautionary measure, BBMP health officials had advised other residents to stay indoors, even though they all initially tested negative.

However, one family went to ISKCON temple on March 9. The four family members developed symptoms on March 14 and tested positive the next day. On March 17, two more residents tested positive.

“We have intimated our counterparts in West zone. They will have to inform ISKCON authorities. It is very difficult to trace the secondary contacts, who may have visited the temple the same day as the family,” a health officer said.

Maharashtra

‘Rising cases may lead RBI to delay liquidity normalisation’

India’s central bank may have to delay the start of monetary policy normalisation by three months amid rising COVID-19 cases, but barring the return of stringent lockdowns there is no significant threat to the economy’s recovery, analysts say.

Having seen a peak of daily cases of almost 1,00,000 in late September, infections had been on a steady decline but have now started rising again over the last month.

“Even as the increase in the current caseload points to the risk of a second wave, more localised and less stringent restrictions will help contain the economic impact versus the initial wave,” said Radhika Rao, an economist with DBS Bank.

DBS has retained its assumptions for a stronger pick-up in March quarter growth versus the December 2020 quarter.

Karnataka

Karnataka govt. hospitals to ready 1,000 beds soon

With a second wave of COVID-19 outbreak imminent and three more clusters detected in Bengaluru on Thursday, the Karnataka government is gearing up to keep hospitals equipped.

As many as 1,000 COVID-19 beds will be readied in government hospitals and government medical colleges in the next 15 days, Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar said.

Addressing presspersons on Thursday after a meeting with senior health officials and heads of government hospitals and medical colleges, the Minister said he had asked all hospitals to keep beds ready on a mission mode. This apart, nearly 1,000 beds would also become functional from Monday in three COVID-19 care centres being set up in Bengaluru.

Gujarat

Amid rise in cases, Gujarat imposes additional curbs

The Gujarat government on Thursday imposed additional restrictions, including shutting down of schools and colleges, cancelling exams scheduled for college students and also shutting down malls/ shopping plazas and multiplexes on the weekends amidst rising COVID-19 cases in the second wave.

The State on Thursday recorded 1,276 cases and three deaths as the second wave of pandemic has struck, with alarming numbers of new infections in cities like Ahmedabad and Surat.

In Ahmedabad and Surat, the civic bodies have also increased the timing of night curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. while public transport bus services have been halted and all public parks, gardens and gyms have been shut in order to prevent people from gathering as the infection is surging.

New Delhi

Over 3.89 cr. vaccine doses administered so far: Centre

The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 3.89 crore on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

A total of 3,89,20,259 vaccine doses have been given, as per the provisional report till 7 p.m. on Thursday.

They include 76,19,786 to Health Care Workers (HCWs) who have taken the first dose and 46,92,962 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 78,11,126 Frontline Workers (FLWs) (first dose), 21,50,198 FLWs (second dose), 1,39,18,245 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 27,27,942 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific co-morbidities.

A total of 17,83,303 vaccine doses have been given till 7 p.m. on Thursday, the 62nd day of nation-wide vaccination.

Tamil Nadu

Govt. hospitals get ready for surge in cases

With the number of fresh COVID-19 infections steadily rising in the city, the government hospitals are in a state of preparedness.

The infrastructure created was in place and the hospitals are gearing up to add more facilities and manpower in case of a surge.

The major government medical college hospitals set up exclusive COVID-19 facilities last year. As the number of fresh cases started to decline, the hospitals resumed their regular activities such as elective surgeries and outpatient services since October 2020.

In the last 10 days, the number of cases had been rising in Chennai. However, hospital authorities said the treatment facilities were intact.

The Netherlands

EU drug regulator backs AstraZeneca vaccine after safety investigation

The EU’s drug watchdog said on March 18 it is still convinced the benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks following an investigation into reports of blood disorders that prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend its use.

The news came as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) director Emer Cooke said the agency could not definitively rule out a link to blood clot incidents and the vaccine in its investigation into 30 cases of a rare blood clotting condition. It will however update its guidance to include an explanation about the potential risks for doctors and the public, she said.

The agency has been under growing pressure to clear up safety concerns after a small number of reports in recent weeks of bleeding, blood clots and low platelet counts in people who have received the shot.

Telangana

File status report on COVID-19 measures by April 6, HC tells Telangana

Telangana High Court on Thursday sought to know what steps had the State government taken to keep a tab on incidence of COVID-19 in the recently opened schools and colleges.

Observing that these places witness huge gatherings in classes and students would be appearing for exams in coming days, a bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy said that it was imperative that the State focused on this aspect. “We keep hearing that second wave of coronavirus had hit many countries and we don’t want our State to go that way,” the bench noted.

The Bench wanted to know what measures the State government had initiated to screen passengers entering Telangana from neighbouring States of Maharashtra and Karnataka which witnessed a spike in COVID-19 cases. Those entering the State through bus stations, railway stations and airport were having the potential to spread the virus.

Karnataka

Centre says no to vaccination points in old age homes, care facilities

The Centre has ruled out the possibility of COVID-19 vaccination centres (CVCs) in old age homes and long-term care facilities, as CVCs have to meet certain requirements to provide safe vaccination. This has irked authorities of old age homes and other long-term care facilities.

The Centre’s “No” follows a request from Karnataka seeking permission to set up CVCs beyond health facilities (such as old age homes, long-term care facilities, apartment complexes and identified polling booths) to ramp up vaccination coverage among the elderly.

In a letter dated March 17 addressed to Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary (Health and Family Welfare), Vandana Gurnani, Union Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM), has said that CVCs should have adequate space for vaccination, adequate cold chain arrangements for vaccine storage, arrangements for management of Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI).

“These facilities would then also need to be registered on CoWIN to enable session planning, reporting of AEFI and allocation of vaccines. Based on the analysis done from Co-WIN, it is observed that out of 460 private health facilities empanelled under Ayushman Bharat – Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) in the State, only 55 are registered on Co-WIN,” the letter stated.

France

France announces soft new virus restrictions in Paris region

The French government backed off from ordering a tough lockdown for Paris and several other regions despite an increasingly alarming situation at hospitals with a rise in the numbers of COVID-19 patients.

Instead, the Prime Minister on March 18 announced a patchwork of new restrictions while reducing the national curfew by one hour.

Getting large doses of fresh air is being encouraged, meaning that people living in the Paris region and in the north of the country can walk as long as they like in a day, but within a 10-kilometre (6-mile) radius of their homes and with a paper authorising the stroll.

Stores, however, will feel the pinch with all non-essential outlets — but not bookshops — closing down. And travel between regions is forbidden without a compelling reason.

Maharashtra

Centre’s move to stop vaccine exports might affect United Kingdom

With India, and particularly Maharashtra, witnessing a renewed surge in COVID-19 cases, the United Kingdom’s vaccination programme could hit a roadblock as the Indian government is temporarily staying exports to address the increased domestic vaccination demands.

Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Serum Institute of India (SII) which is manufacturing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper that the situation was solely dependent on the Indian government and had nothing to do with the SII.

“It is solely dependent on India and it has nothing to do with the SII. It is to do with the Indian government allowing more doses to the U.K.,” Mr. Poonawalla told The Telegraph.

According to the paper, Mr. Poonawalla confirmed that five million doses of the Oxford vaccine had already been delivered to the U.K. early this month.

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Chip shortage forces Ford to build trucks without computers

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The move is the latest ripple from the global semiconductor shortage, which earlier this week forced Honda and Toyota to announce production cuts at some North American factories.

A global semiconductor shortage and a February winter storm have combined to force Ford to build F-150 pickup trucks without some computers.

The company says the pickups will be held at factories for “a number of weeks”, then shipped to dealers once computers are available and quality checks are done.

The move is the latest ripple from the global semiconductor shortage, which earlier this week forced Honda and Toyota to announce production cuts at some North American factories. General Motors also has been forced to build pickups without some computers and install them later.

Ford’s move is likely to tighten inventory of F-Series pickups, the top-selling vehicles in America. Inventories already are tight due to high demand and production losses due to last year’s coronavirus-related factory shutdowns.

Ford also said it will build the Edge SUV without computers and ship them later, and it will cancel some shifts on March 18 and 19 at an assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky, where the Ford Escape SUV is made.

Automakers have said they don’t expect the chip shortage to get any better before the third quarter of the year. Ford has said the shortage could cut its pretax earnings by $1 billion to $2.5 billion, even if it makes up for some of the lost production in the second half of the year.

On March 18, Nissan too announced it would temporarily cancel production at factories in Smyrna, Tennessee; Canton, Mississippi; and in Aguascalientes, Mexico, due to the chip shortage. Some U.S. production lines will be down from March 19 through 22, while others will be idled just for the weekend. Aguascalientes Plant 1 will stop production through March 23.

Affected models include the Murano, Rogue, Maxima, Leaf, Altima, NV Vans, Kicks, Versa and March.

In addition, Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) also say they have been affected by the shortage and forced to delay production of some models in order to keep other factories running.

Industry officials say semiconductor companies diverted production to consumer electronics during the worst of the COVID-19 slowdown in auto sales last spring. Global automakers were forced to close plants to prevent the spread of the virus. When automakers recovered, there weren’t enough chips as demand for personal electronics boomed.

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Coronavirus updates | March 14, 2021

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India reported its biggest daily rise this year of 25,320 Covid-19 cases on Sunday. This is the fourth day that cases have consistently risen over 20,000 infections. Until March, only twice had cases crossed 20,000 in January.

So far India has reported 11.36 million cases of which 2,07,703 cases are active infections.

The rise in infections were led by the Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh who accounted for 87.73% of new cases. Maharashtra accounted for the highest number of cases at 15,602.

India’s Covid deaths increased by 161 to 158,607 over the last 24 hours, a notable spike considering an average of about a 100 daily deaths since February.

Close to 30 million vaccine doses have been administered since the beginning of the drive on January 16 with around 1.5 million of those given between Saturday and Sunday morning, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health. About 1.4 million of those doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

The maximum deaths were also recorded in the States with the rising caseload with Maharashtra registering 88 fatalities followed by Punjab with 22 deaths and Kerala with 12 deaths.

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:

Chhattisgarh

C’garh govt plans to allow use of Covaxin in state: Minister

The Chhattisgarh government is considering allowing the use of Covaxin, a vaccine against COVID-19, in the state after the Centre dropped its ‘clinical trial mode’ tag, state Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo said on Sunday.

In January, Mr. Singh Deo had requested Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to halt the supply of Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, to the state until its phase-3 trials are completed and results are made available.

The Serum Institute of India (SII)-made vaccine Covishield is being used in the state as part of the vaccination drive.

Talking to PTI, Singh Deo said, “We are considering allowing Covaxin for those who wish to opt for it after the Government of India dropped the vaccine from clinical trial mode, even though the complete data of its third phase of trials is yet to be published.” The data (of phase-2 trials) of Covaxin published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has indicated that its safety is not in question so now the only question pending is about its efficacy, he said.

Telangana

Telangana staying alert as cases surge in neighbouring States

Telangana Health teams in districts bordering neighbouring States are taking COVID-19 sample collection kits to people’s doorstep. Other measures such as fever survey and home isolation are being enforced to contain the resurgence of the virus.

District Medical and Health Officers (DMHO) in Kamareddy, Adilabad, and other districts said they have set up check posts, and are sending medical teams to villages as well as testing contacts of coronavirus-positive patients.

Health Minister Eatala Rajender directed officials on Friday to stay alert as COVID cases are seeing a spurt in neighbouring States.

Health officials use ICU admission of COVID-19 patients as a yardstick to measure the resurgence. ICU admissions in government and private hospitals has been hovering between 340 and 360 a day from March 1 to 12.

New Delhi

JNU to reopen reading rooms, eating joints

As part of phased reopening, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Saturday said that reading rooms at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Central Library and in various centres and schools, and two of the eating joints on the campus will be permitted to reopen.

A notification dated March 12 issued by the university administration read, “The reopening of ground floor reading rooms inside the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Central Library is allowed in a phased manner. Librarian may devise standard operating preventive (SOP) measures such as mandatory wearing of the face mask and maintaining social distancing norms on library premises.”

“NSS student volunteers may be engaged to create awareness in the campus, including library premises for maintaining social distancing and wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the university campus,” the notice added.

Odisha

Odisha may promote students to next class

With the number of COVID-19 cases showing an upward trend in some parts of the country, the Odisha government is contemplating promoting all students from Classes 1 to 8 to the next higher classes this year.

If promoted, it will be the second consecutive class promotions for students without physically appearing for their examinations.

Last year, the State government had shut down schools due to the pandemic while the students were in the middle of the examinations.

School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Das expressed apprehension that there is remote chance of conducting physical classes for Classes 1 to 8 this year in view of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country.

New Delhi

Delhi CM gives ₹1-crore compensation to family of deceased ‘corona warrior’

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday provided financial assistance of ₹1 crore to the family of COVID warrior Rakesh Jain, a lab technician at Hindu Rao Hospital.

Jain, who would have retired in 2022, contracted COVID-19 on June 17 last year and succumbed to it the next day. Mr. Kejriwal commended Jain for continuing to serve the people till his last breath.

“Mr. Jain got infected while on duty. He was shifted to Metro Hospital, but died later. He was a martyr who served the people of Delhi till his last breath,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

Mr. Jain was a resident of Delhi and had joined service in 1988. He is survived by his mother Madan Shri Jain, wife Sangeeta Jain and two children.

U.K.

India’s role as world’s pharmacy phenomenal, says U.K. Minister

The role that India has played during the course of the coronavirus pandemic as the pharmacy of the world has been phenomenal, U.K. Minister Lord Tariq Ahmad said as he prepared for a five-day, five-city tour of India starting on Monday.

Lord Ahmad, the Minister for South Asia in the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), highlighted the close collaboration between the two countries on ensuring supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, which benefits countries across the globe through the United Nations-led COVAX facility.

“Our relationship with India is not just one of bilateral importance, it’s also about how these two countries are working together and there’s no better illustration than the current COVID-19 pandemic which grips us. The strong collaboration we have seen between the U.K. and India in responding across the world, including through the COVAX facility which is helping the more vulnerable countries in the world,” he said.

Karnataka

‘Duo with new strain of virus doing well’

Two persons from Ballari who tested positive for the South African strain of COVID-19 on Thursday are doing well.

Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner of Ballari Pavan Kumar Malapati said that both the patients were healthy and doing well.

“This is just another strain of COVID-19. All the protocols meant for handling the pandemic are strictly followed. Both the patients are healthy and doing well. As soon as they got the confirmation of being infected with the new strain, they got isolated. We are going to send their throat swab samples for repeated test to get the negativity of the disease confirmed,” he said.

Karnataka

Surge in new cases not uniform

Even though the number of new COVID-19 infections in Karnataka last week showed an increase of 1,000 cases compared to the previous week, the surge does not appear to be uniform across the State.

While Bengaluru Urban accounted for 639 cases out of the increase of 1,000 cases in the State during the week ending March 11, according to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, 10 districts reported a decline in number of cases during the week compared to the previous week while the numbers remained constant in five others.

However, 15 out of the 30 districts in the State have shown an increase in the week-on-week COVID-19 tally amid signs of an unmistakable surge in infections across the State.

The cases have shown an upward trend in Tumakuru, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Udupi, Kolar, Ballari, Dharwad, Bidar, Uttara Kannada, Bengaluru Rural, Bagalkot, Dakshina Kannada, Gadag, and Chikkmagaluru, apart from Bengaluru Urban.

Punjab

Punjab shuts all anganwadi centres due to rising cases

Punjab Minister Aruna Chaudhary on Saturday instructed that all anganwadi centres be closed till further orders in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases in the State.

The social security, women and child development minister said ration and other material will be distributed door to door through anganwadi workers and helpers, so that nutritional support to beneficiaries is not affected.

Thirty-four more fatalities due to COVID-19 were reported in Punjab on Friday, taking the death toll to 6,030, while the infection count climbed to 1,94,753 with 1,414 new coronavirus cases in the state.

New Delhi

Ambient air pollutants contribute to spread, virulence of SARS-CoV-2 infections, says Harsh Vardhan

There is emerging evidence to suggest that exposure to ambient air pollutants, especially PM2.5 and NO2, contribute to the spread and virulence SARS-CoV-2 infections, said Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday, while inaugurated the new green campus of Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH), at Bhopal.

“Furthermore, ambient air pollution is a known risk factor for multiple adverse health outcomes, including chronic cardio-respiratory morbidities, and the presence of said morbidities renders the affected population more vulnerable to COVID-19,” said the Health Minister.

To worsen matters, he added, closed indoor spaces provide ideal environments for viral transmission due to the lack of ventilation preventing the dilution of viral particles, and the absence of ultraviolet rays which can potentially inactivate the virus.

 

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Actress strips at Cesar Awards to protest France’s COVID-19 strategy

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The ceremony took place at a theatre as anger and frustration grows amongst actors, musicians and artists at the government’s unwillingness to set a date for the reopening of cultural centres.

French actress Corinne Masiero stripped naked on stage during a scaled-back Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris to protest the government’s months-long closure of theatres and cinemas during the coronavirus pandemic.

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She had “no culture no future” written on her chest and”give us art back Jean” on her back, in a message to Prime Minister Jean Castex.

Masiero, 57, was on stage to present the award for best costume, wearing a donkey outfit and a blood-stained dress before she stripped before the audience.

Masiero, 57, was on stage to present the award for best costume, wearing a donkey outfit and a blood-stained dress before she stripped before the audience.

Masiero, 57, was on stage to present the award for best costume, wearing a donkey outfit and a blood-stained dress before she stripped before the audience.
 
| Photo Credit: AP

France’s answer to the Oscars, the ceremony is in normal times the biggest night on the French cinema calendar but on Friday there were no flashbulbs on the red carpet and no partners on the arms of award nominees.

The ceremony took place at a theatre as anger and frustration grows amongst actors, musicians and artists at the government’s unwillingness to set a date for the reopening of museums, galleries, concert halls and movie houses.

Marina Fois, one of France’s best known comedians, took aim at the government’s months-long closure of theatres and cinemas during the coronavirus pandemic in a searing speech to open the ceremony.

Fois, who hosted the night, took a swipe at Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot for finding time to write a book during the COVID-19 crisis and said: “I’m losing confidence in you.”

Nor did she hold back from attacking the French government’s broader strategy to counter the COVID-19 crisis, as cases in the country topped 4 million.

“They cooped up our youngsters, closed our cinemas and theatres and banned concerts so that they could open churches, because we’re a secular country, so that old people could go to church,” she said. The majority of French people are Roman Catholic.

Across the capital, several dozen protesters were occupying the Odeon Theatre for an eighth night demanding cultural venues be reopened and more financial support.

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Coronavirus | Ranbir Kapoor tests positive for COVID-19

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The Bollywood star’s mother, actor Neetu Kapoor, revealed the news on social media

Actor Ranbir Kapoor has tested positive for COVID-19 and is under self quarantine, his actor-mother Neetu Kapoor said on Tuesday.

In an Instagram post, the veteran actor said Ranbir was recovering well.

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“Thank you for your concern and your good wishes Ranbir has tested positive for COVID-19. He is on medication and recovering well. He is in self quarantine at home and following all precautions,” she wrote.

Last month, Ranbir, 38, was shooting for his upcoming film “Brahmastra” along with co-star Alia Bhatt.

Neetu, 62, had also tested positive for COVID-19 last year while shooting for her film “Jug Jugg Jeeyo” in Chandigarh.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai increased by over 1,000 for the sixth consecutive day on Monday, taking its tally to 3,34,572, an official said.

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Coronavirus | Kerala’s delayed approach towards herd immunity

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Unlike the rest of India, Kerala has maintained the same level of daily testing despite a reduction in number of cases

From mid-February, a spike in daily new cases was reported from a few States including Maharashtra. For days on end, the Health Ministry kept repeating the message that Kerala too was “witnessing an upsurge of daily new cases”. Even as recently as March 6, the Health Ministry wrongly implicated Kerala for the surge in cases when it said “Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka continue to report a surge in the COVID-19 daily new cases.”

Kerala continues to contribute a high number of cases on a daily basis. However, there has not been any surge or spike in daily cases, as seen in other States. In reality, Kerala has been witnessing a steady decline in daily cases since end-January.

“From a second peak of 6,078 seven-day moving average of daily cases as on January 23, we have been seeing a steady decline in cases in Kerala. There has been a 50% decline in the seven-day moving average of daily cases from the fourth week of January to March 4,” says Dr. Rijo John, Health Economist and Consultant based in Kochi, Kerala. “The seven-day moving average of daily cases in Kerala as on March 4 was 2,996. The absolute number of daily cases on March 4 was 2,616.”

While other States have reduced the number of daily tests in recent months, Kerala has been continuing with the same number of daily tests. “The seven-day average daily tests conducted was over 60,000 when the test positivity rate was 15% during the peak in the first half of October last year. Now, even when the test positivity rate is under 5% seven-day average, the average testing has increased to 70,000 since the first week of February,” says Dr. John.

“Keeping daily testing at high levels even when daily cases are declining inspires more confidence that the decline in daily cases is real and is not due to reduced testing,” Dr. John adds. Maharashtra and Gujarat have not increased testing despite reporting more cases on a daily basis.

While the rest of the country witnessed a peak in mid-September when the daily fresh cases touched nearly 98,000 on September 16, Kerala witnessed a peak a month later in mid-October. Unlike other States that witnessed a steady decline in daily cases, there were a reduced number of daily cases in Kerala since mid-October, but the numbers continued to stay high and did not steadily decline to low levels.

First wave

“The first wave is yet to decline in Kerala. The daily cases have plateaued in the State for a long time and are now seeing a decline,” says Dr. Raman Gangakhedkar, former chief epidemiologist of ICMR who was a part of the national COVID-19 task force till he retired in June last year. “There has not been any resurgence of cases lately [in Kerala].”

According to Dr. Giridhara Babu, epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India, Bengaluru, the decline in cases since late January could be due to high infection rate that is close to herd immunity needed for the decline to begin.

As on March 5, over 0.8 million people have been vaccinated in the State. “It is too early to say that vaccination could have contributed much to the decline. The number of people vaccinated is not large enough to have significantly contributed to the decline,” says Dr. Babu.

“If the seven-day average test positivity rate stays below 5% for a few weeks it indicates that the pandemic is under control,” says Dr. Gautam Menon, Professor of Physics and Biology at Ashoka University and co-author of COVID-19 modelling studies. Dr. Menon attributes the decline in daily cases to the long duration of background seroprevalence across the State, and so new infections are only expected to decline.

“The long plateauing of cases has ensured a good fraction of people have experienced an infection. In the circumstances, one can expect a decline in daily numbers across the State. But the only way to check this is through serosurvey,” Dr. Menon adds. “My guess is that about 40% of the population would have been infected. This is just my guess.” Based on anecdotal evidence, Dr. Menon says aggressive tracing and quarantining would have contributed to the decline in cases. “Unlike Kerala, other States have not been able to pick up a steady increase in cases in the rural areas,” he says.

Herd immunity?

Refuting the possibility of widespread infection in the population taking it close to herd immunity contributing to the decline in cases, Kerala Health Secretary Dr. Rajan N. Khobragade says that as per the third countrywide serosurvey conducted by the ICMR between December 17, 2020 and January 8, 2021, the seropositivity in the State was only about 11.5%. “So nearly 82% of the population in the State have not got infected,” Dr. Khobragade says.

Dr. Khobragade’s assertion of low seroprevalence in the State is supported by Dr. Anurag Agrawal, Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), a CSIR lab in Delhi. “The second serosurvey carried out across CSIR labs found Kerala had the lowest seropositivity,” says Dr. Agrawal.

“The State has managed to stretch the curve such that the new infections are spread out over a longer period of time. The State also continues to undertake more testing and reporting,” Dr. Agrawal says.

“For the first six months, the outbreak was minimal in the State. We have been undertaking active case finding in the State. Anyone with influenza-like illness is tested for coronavirus infection,” Dr. Khobragade says.

Dr. Khobragade also cites 30-40% bed occupancy for patients with COVID-19 as proof that the State did not experience large-scale spread of the virus in the population. “Our healthcare system was never overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. There has been not one instance when COVID-19 patients have been denied admission in a hospital due to bed shortage,” he says.

Talking about the pioneering efforts undertaken by the State, Dr. Khobragade cites the post-COVID-19 care and management provided to people experiencing problems after recovering from COVID-19 disease. “Kerala is the only State to provide post-COVID care and management to people. As a result, we have collected sufficient post-COVID-19 data,” Dr. Khobragade asserts. There are 1,284 post-COVID-19 clinics at primary health centres, taluk and general hospitals and medical colleges.

Genome sequencing

Kerala in collaboration with IGIB was the first to begin sequencing the genome of samples collected from all the 14 districts to identify any variants/escape mutants. “We began discussion with the State government in September, and the programme became operational in December,” says Dr. Agrawal. “They collect 25 samples from each district per week from people with high viral load, extract the RNA and ship the samples at low temperature. This really helps the operations as we can begin sequencing immediately on getting the samples. Their support is outstanding.”

Over 1,000 samples sent from Kerala have been sequenced so far. “This is the largest number sequenced from any State,” adds Dr. Agrawal. “We did not find anything of concern, in terms of variants/mutations in the genomes we sequenced from Kerala.”

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Germany to Extend Coronavirus Lockdown Until March 28, While Easing Some Restrictions: Report

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Merkel is due to discuss lockdown and easing options with the 16 state heads on Wednesday.

  • Reuters
  • Last Updated:March 02, 2021, 18:21 IST
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BERLIN: Germany plans to extend its coronavirus lockdown until March 28 while easing some restrictions from next week, a draft document to be discussed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and federal state leaders showed on Tuesday.

Merkel is due to discuss lockdown and easing options with the 16 state heads on Wednesday, as coronavirus cases in Germany hit more than 2.4 million and public frustration mounts over restrictive measures and a sluggish vaccine roll-out.

The draft document, seen by Reuters, states that starting from March 8 a maximum of five people from two households, excluding children younger than 14, will be allowed to meet, up from a maximum of two people under current rules.

Flower and book stores, garden centres, tatoo and nail parlours as well as massage salons will also be allowed to reopen.

Merkel and state leaders will have to decide at which 7-day incidence rate per 100,000 residents measures could be either toughened or eased. The document cited 35 and 50 as two likely possibilities.

With Easter approaching, the draft agreement also appeals to Germans to avoid domestic and foreign travel, adding, however, that limited visits to relatives will be allowed over the festive days.

(Writing by Joseph Nasr)



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