People in ‘own vehicles’ can enter State from today

06/05/2020, DENNIS S. JESUDASAN,CHENNAI

Natives of Tamil Nadu stranded in other States due to the COVID-19 lockdown would be allowed to return “in their own vehicles” from Wednesday. Those who have registered themselves on the government portal nonresidenttamil.org would be given passes and subjected to medical checks at the State’s borders.

“Those who are asymptomatic [for COVID-19] would be asked to remain under home quarantine,” a senior official told The Hindu.Meanwhile, the outflow of people in their ‘own vehicles’ from Tamil Nadu began on Tuesday. “The government has identified quarantine facilities in various districts for around 70,000 persons, who would be coming into Tamil Nadu,” the official added.

Those who arrive at the inter-State border with symptoms of the disease would be sent to the quarantine facilities. “Medical teams at the border points would decide who should be sent to institutional quarantine. They would check whether the person has Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) or Influenza-like Illnesses (ILL) and decide accordingly,” the official said. “As of now, we are planning to send all international passengers [who are likely to arrive later this week] to institutional quarantine,” he added. When asked about the possibility of special trains or government-arranged vehicles ferrying migrant workers, he said this would be sorted out soon.

Some people from Kota, including students, were allowed to enter Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.

Home isolation is now an option for pre-symptomatic, mild cases

Govt. move comes as hospitals shift asymptomatic patients to quarantine facilities

06/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

Fire station personnel disinfecting a street in Chennai.

In accordance with the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research, patients who have been clinically categorised as having a very mild or pre-symptomatic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) would have the option of home isolation, provided they have the necessary facilities at their residence. They would have to submit an undertaking that they will adhere to self-isolation norms.

Based on a proposal of the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, the government has issued an order, setting out guidelines for home isolation of very mild/pre-symptomatic COVID-19 cases. This comes at a time when hospitals across the city are shifting asymptomatic and stable patients to quarantine facilities to free up beds for those in need of treatment.

Eligibility criteria

People who are suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19 and are awaiting test results, as well as confirmed cases, are currently being isolated and managed in hospitals with the intention of breaking the chain of transmission. During the containment phase, patients should be clinically categorised as cases that are very mild/mild, moderate or severe, and treated accordingly in health facilities, the G.O. said.

The patients should be clinically categorised as very mild cases/pre-symptomatic cases by the treating medical officer. They should have requisite facilities at their residence for self-isolation and quarantining family members, and a well-ventilated single-room, preferably with an attached/separate toilet.

A caregiver should be available 24x7, and a communication link between the caregiver and the hospital is a prerequisite for the entire duration of home isolation. The caregiver and all close contacts should take hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis as per protocol and as prescribed by the treating medical officer. The patient and the caregiver should be given a course of zinc and vitamin C/multivitamin tablets for 10 days, apart from the herbal concoctions nilavembu kudineer and kabasura kudineer.

They should download the Aarogya Setu mobile app, which should remain active at all times through bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The patient should agree to monitor his/her health and inform the District Surveillance Officer/Deputy Director of Health Services about his/her condition for follow-up action, and give an undertaking on adherence to self-isolation and home quarantine guidelines.

Patients should self-monitor their health with daily temperature checks, and report promptly in case of any deterioration of symptoms. They should use a triple-layer medical mask at all times, and discard it after eight hours of use, or earlier if it becomes wet or visibly soiled. Masks should be discarded only after being disinfected.

Patients should stay in the identified rooms and away from others residing in their homes, especially the elderly and those with co-morbid conditions like hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and renal disease. They should follow respiratory etiquette and wash their hands often with soap and water. Their clothes and other linen should be washed and dried separately. Surfaces should be cleaned with disinfectants.

They should restrict their movement within their house, and should not attend any social/religious gatherings. The caregivers too should wear a triple-layer medical mask while in the same room as the patients, and use disposable gloves. They should follow hand hygiene and self-monitor their health.

Both the patient and the caregiver should seek immediate medical attention if they develop the following signs and symptoms — persistent cough/continuous fever of above 102°F/difficulty in breathing, persistent pain/pressure in the chest, mental confusion, inability to arouse the patient, somnolence and poor feeding in children, seizures, decreased urine output, persistent or worsening of initial symptoms beyond 72 hours, and developing bluish discolouration of lips/face.

The home isolation will come to an end once the symptoms are clinically resolved and a medical officer certifies that the patient is free of infection after laboratory testing.

‘Schedule for filling up of PG seats extended’

State tells HC that COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the move

06/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER ,MADURAI

The State government on Tuesday informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that due to COVID-19 pandemic, the schedule for filling up postgraduate medical seats under its quota had been extended.

The court was hearing the petition filed by B. Abimathi, who completed her MBBS in 2018. She participated in the PG NEET 2020, and secured a seat in Obstetrics and Gynaecology under the all India quota.

However, she wanted to get admission under the State quota that included non-government institutions. As per a condition to participate in counselling, she had to forfeit the all India quota seat.

She said that the selection committee had not included management seats in private/non-government medical institutions in the notification issued for counselling under the State quota.

She sought a direction to the Directorate of Medical Education to conduct the counselling of PG medical seats in private/non-governmental medical institutions along with the State government quota seats for the academic year 2020-21.

The selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education informed Justice P.D. Audikesavalu that a communication was sent to the Centre – The Director General of Health Services – to allow counselling for management seats in self-financing medical colleges.

The court was also informed that the communication also sought extension of the date of resignation from respective colleges for those candidates who had joined all India quota seats in Round 1 of the counselling from May 8 till May 13.

Taking into account the submission, the court directed the Centre to consider the same and pass orders on merits. The decision taken must be communicated and uploaded on the official website. The exercise must be completed by 4 P.M. on Wednesday and a compliance report sent to the Registrar (Judicial) within an hour. In the event of non-compliance, the case should be listed on May 7.

Indians returning on Navy ships may have to pay up

07/05/2020

“Yes, There will a charge [for passengers on the INS ships], as has been mentioned in the PIB press release,” an official said. “But it will be a reasonable amount.” Another official said the “exact amount has not yet been decided”, but was under discussion at present.

This is the first time such a charge will be levied for naval rescue operations that have in the past brought back thousands of Indians from the war zones in Yemen (2015), Libya (2011), Lebanon (2006) and Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War (1990).

“This is not an evacuation effort because this is not a government-sponsored operation,” an MEA official said on Tuesday. “However, this is coordinated by the MEA and our missions worldwide,” the official clarified, adding that returning passengers would also be charged for “mandatory institutional quarantine” facilities and any hospitalisation costs.

The naval operations for repatriation of Indians from the Maldives and the UAE have already begun, with INS Jalashwa and INS Magar headed to the Maldives, while INS Shardul and INS Airavat are heading to the UAE. Indian missions in Male and Dubai/Abu Dhabi have opened up booking counters and online registrations. The ships will ply in addition to 64 aircraft in the first week beginning May 7, which will accommodate 14,800 stranded Indians returning from 12 countries, including the UAE.

The UAE is likely to see the largest repatriation effort thus far, with about 2,00,000 Indians registering to return. Among them are tourists, business travellers, and thousands of expatriate workers and professionals who have been laid off or completed their contracts. The naval operation from the Maldives will see 700-1,000 Indians return in the first round, estimate officials, who said between 3,000-4,000 Indians working and travelling in various atolls have registered to return.

‘Institutions should adhere to govt.-fixed price cap’

07/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER,COIMBATORE

With messages about a private hospital in Coimbatore demanding exorbitant rates for COVID-19 tests doing the rounds on social media platforms, the district administration and the Health Department have clarified that all private hospitals and laboratories approved by the government for COVID-19 management and testing should follow the price cap fixed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The government had capped the price of tests at ₹4,500, which private facilities were supposed to comply with, District Collector K. Rajamani said.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had, in March, said that private facilities which charge higher amounts would face legal action. The price cap of ₹4,500 included ₹1,500 for a screening test for suspect cases and ₹3,000 for a confirmatory test.

Besides those with symptoms of the disease who seek treatment, the tests are carried out on patients who undergo non-emergency surgical procedures.

However, according to Mr. Rajamani, it would be difficult to check whether private hospitals were charging excess fees for the treatment of COVID-19 patients and those with suspected symptoms of the disease. Treatment-related expenses also differ among hospitals, he noted.

The Joint Director of Health Services was supposed to monitor the operations of private hospitals, he added.

While the cost of treatment is borne by the State in government hospitals, the patients have to foot the bill in private hospitals.

P. Krishna, Joint Director of Health Services, Coimbatore district, said the Department would check if any private facility was violating the price cap.

Tasmac outlet decorated for reopening ordered closed

07/05/2020, STAFF REPORTER

A Tasmac outlet, near Perur, which was spotted with traditional decorations to celebrate its reopening was ordered to shut down by revenue officials on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday.

According to sources in the Revenue Department, Perur Tahsildar K. Radhakrishnan was in his morning rounds on Wednesday when he spotted the outlet no. 1773 sporting banana trees and thoranam (string of mango leaves) at its entrance. The decorations were purportedly made to ‘celebrate’ the reopening of the outlet after a gap of over 40 days due to the lockdown.

Upon seeing the decorations, Mr. Radhakrishnan immediately ordered the village administrative officers of Thondamuthur and Kalikkanaicken Palayam to remove the decorations and to not allow the outlet to open on Thursday. The VAOs and revenue inspectors inspected the outlet in the afternoon, sources added. Meanwhile, images of the decorations went viral on social media platforms.

Although all Tasmac outlets were asked to clean and disinfect their premises as they remained closed for over 40 days, these kinds of celebratory decorations cannot be allowed, sources said. Disciplinary action will be initiated against the salesperson of the outlet, sources said.

Confusion over circulars, says survey

Respondents were not sure what was allowed as part of the graded lockdown exit

07/05/2020, NISTULA HEBBAR,NEW DELHI

Shutters down: Some liquor stores remained closed in New Delhi on Wednesday.R.V. MoorthyR.V. Moorthy

The lockdown has been extended till May 17, but with a graded exit for various zones. Surveys have indicated that very few people understood the government circulars on what is allowed and what is not.

Less than 25% of the over 16,358 responses polled from 12,410 people across 277 districts surveyed by Local Circles (a community platform) indicated understanding of the circulars — a fact borne out by the large number of clarifications issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after the announcement of the lockdown extension.

Of the respondents, 66% were men and the rest women. 42% of the respondents hailed from Tier 1 cities, 36% from Tier 2, and 22% from Tier 3 and 4 and rural areas.

The survey also reveals that 74% of those polled wanted no relaxations to the lockdown in districts that showed a high virus load (out of the 277 districts polled, 27 had high virus load).

Another survey was taken just after alcohol was allowed to be sold from standalone stores. It showed that 52% of around 8,078 respondents across 250 districts were of the view that home delivery of alcoholic beverages should be attempted by State governments to prevent infection spread through crowding at stores.

Around 16% of the respondents said that the shop opening time should be extended, while 23% were in favour of heavy police presence to ensure social distancing. Several States have increased the prices of liquor with a “corona cess”, but the lines have remained long and the shops crowded.

While home delivery is not explicitly disallowed or allowed by State excise laws, Chattisgarh has allowed online booking and sale of liquor, for up to 5 litres of alcohol per customer and a delivery charge of ₹120.

Of the over 8,000 respondents, 69% were men and 31% women, with 45% of them from Tier 1 cities, 35% from Tier 2, and the rest from Tiers 3, 4 and rural areas.