Age no bar: 93-year-old with hypertension beats Covid

Age no bar: 93-year-old with hypertension beats Covid

Mumbai:13.05.2020

A 93-year-old woman from Mazagaon became one of the oldest in the city to recover from Covid-19 and go home. The woman, who has hypertension, beat challenges posed by her age and fought the infection with minimal oxygen support.

She was admitted to Saifee Hospital, Charni Road, on April 17 and discharged about 10 days later. “We hope her story gives hope to other patients,” said director Dr Vernon Desa.

The nonagenarian, in a video circulated on social messaging groups, said, “What helped me pull through was faith and inner strength, besides care and support of doctors and nurses.”

Intensivist Dr Deepesh Aggarwal said that her recovery has shown how it’s not chronological age that matters, rather biological age. “She’s the second patient above 80 to recover and go home,” he said, adding that even people with co-morbid conditions shouldn’t think of Covid as a death sentence. “With timely care, most patients can go home as mortality rate is just about 5%,” he said.

In another successful recovery, the BMC also released a video of a Covid-19 patient from Dharavi who recovered from Nair Hospital. “Doctors gave me confidence that I recovered despite my condition being so bad. I urge those in slums to maintain social distancing and ensure hygiene,” said the patient. TNN

First train from city to Delhi in 51 days: Some reach stn 7 hours early

First train from city to Delhi in 51 days: Some reach stn 7 hours early

ManthanK.Mehta@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 13.05.2020

The brows were furrowed, but there was a hint of a smile on their faces. After all, they were headed home. In fact, such was their eagerness to board the first train to roll out of the city since the lockdown began that a few of the 1,100 passengers going to Delhi turned up at Mumbai Central station as early as 9am for the 5.30pm departure.

While the early birds were accommodated in the reservation area adjacent to the station, there were several from outside the city who arrived breathless, after having had to struggle to find road transport to reach the station.

The passengers all had their faces covered with masks or handkerchiefs. The exception was a woman from Airoli who was dressed in a complete PPE suit. She was clearly taking no chances.

Inside the station premises, the railways had drawn squares to ensure social distancing among the passengers.

The passengers underwent thermal screening at Mumbai Central

84,000 leave city, most to UP, Bihar

Mumbai police have received 3 lakh applications from migrants to return to their home states and districts. Around 84,000 of them have left by train, bus or in private vehicles. “At least 40,000 took Shramik trains” said a cop, adding that most of them left for UP and Bihar. P 4

First special train: Woman in PPE suit visiting pregnant daughter in Gurgaon

The passengers had queued up—first to get their body temperature checked through thermal screening, and then to board the train. Unlike other AC services, there are no curtains, linen or blankets on these special trains. There is no catering either.

Western Railway’s chief public relations officer Ravinder Bhakar said, “The first train from Mumbai Central for New Delhi departed at 5.30pm. It had 1,487 passengers on board, including 1,107 from Mumbai Central, 97 from Surat, 83 from Vadodara, 23 from Ratlam and 177 from Kota stations.”

Indian Railways has decided to gradually restart services. As part of this plan, 15 pairs of services are being operated from various parts of the country to and from New Delhi. Mumbai Central is one of the 15 destinations.

Meanwhile, several passengers said New Delhi was not their final stop. They intend to travel to other states. Puneet Singh said, “I will continue my journey to Haridwar from Delhi. I had registered for an e-pass for the purpose.” Kapil K, who lost his job with a private firm, said he would travel to Ghaziabad from Delhi. “I want to be with my family. Here expenses are rising.” Sahib Singh plans to travel to Punjab from Delhi.

Airoli’s Mamta Khatri, who came wearing a PPE suit, said, “I had ordered the PPE kit online to keep myself and others safe. I am visiting my pregnant daughter for her delivery in Gurgaon. I had to ask my relatives to log into the IRCTC site from multiple locations as booking the tickets was challenging.”

New Delhi-based Farah Khan said, “My sister, a cancer patient, died on March 18 and I could not travel back home due to the lockdown. My husband booked the tickets for me and our two children.”

“There are 20 coaches in this train, including 11 third AC, five second AC and one first AC sections, two power cars and a pantry car,” said a railway official. The fares start at Rs 1,850 for third AC.

While the railway had suspended regular services since the lockdown, from May 1, it had been operating Shramik Specials for migrants.

Special train passenger Mamta Khatri from Airoli ordered the PPE kit online “to keep myself and others safe”

SevenHills hospital discharges its 1,000th coronavirus patient

Mumbai:

BMC on Tuesday discharged the 1,000th patient from its SevenHills hospital in Marol, which is being used for Covid-19 patients. Civic officials said 1,006 patients have been discharged from there so far. Hospital staff cheered them as they headed out after battling the virus and their luggage was sanitized. The patients thanked the staff too.

The hospital has 898 beds, which BMC plans to increase to 1,300 by month-end. Mumbai has been reporting hundreds of cases daily. TNN

› All 30 trains booked for a week, to ferry 1.7L, P 5

Flying safest to avoid virus, says Airbus

Flying safest to avoid virus, says Airbus

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 13.05.2020

When flights resume and you take to the skies again, do not panic when someone on the rows ahead or behind you sneezes or coughs.

There is minimal risk of the dreaded coronavirus — assuming the person sneezing or coughing is an undiagnosed infected and is wearing a mask — finding its way to you by transmission through air inside the cabin, according to European aerospace major Airbus. The aircraft manufacturer says its cabin airflow and filtration systems virtually rule out airborne transmission of contaminants like coronavirus on flights. To be sure while airborne transmission has been ruled out, Airbus reiterates everyone onboard must follow heightened norms of hygiene like disinfecting hands and wearing masks, decontamination of surfaces and controlled boarding to ensure that the virus does not spread through surfaces of common touchpoints.

“The air inside an aircraft is extremely clean due to filtration by hepa filters and is recycled every two to three minutes. Moreover, the airflow happens only from top to bottom and air is sucked out at the bottom of the floor which does not happen on any mode of surface transport. These three factors make air inside the cabin clean and safe,” said Anand Stanley, Airbus (India and South Asia) president and MD, to TOI.

Full report on www.toi.in

2 die of cardiac arrest in Shramik Special trains

2 die of cardiac arrest in Shramik Special trains

Satna/Betul (MP):

Two passengers of Shramik Special trains died of cardiac arrest in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

Amigrant worker travelling to Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district and another person returning to Bihar's Aurangabad district died in special trains in the last two days, an official said.

Akhilesh Kumar Rana, who worked at a hotel in Pune, was returning to his hometown in Gonda district, when he fell ill and was disembarked at Majhgawa railway station in Satna district on Monday, he said. Doctors declared him dead and initial investigations revealed that he had suffered a cardiac arrest, he said.

In a similar incident, a man travelling from Tamil Nadu to Bihar's Aurangabad district was declared dead at Aamla Railway station in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district.Nandkumar Pandey (62), who was travelling with his wife and daughter, had boarded a special train to Bihar from Kathpadi in Tamil Nadu, Aamla's tehsildar Neeraj Kalmegh said. However, he suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday night after the train left Nagpur and he was disembarked at Aamla railway station, where doctors declared him dead.

The deceased's wife Indu said they were in Tamil Nadu for her husband's treatment, but were stranded there because of the Covid-19 lockdown and had decided to head home after special trains were announced. AGENCIES

A migrant worker travelling to UP’s Gonda district and another person returning to Bihar’s Aurangabad district died in special trains in the last two days, an official said

State govt sweats over AC trains

State govt sweats over AC trains

Says Travellers Face Risk Of Virus Infection

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram:  13.05.2020

The state government has expressed concern over operating air-conditioned trains between New Delhi and Kerala. Carrying large numbers of people in AC trains will increase the risk of Covid-19 transmission, it pointed out.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state government has written to the Union railway ministry urging it to operate only sleeper coaches. “There is a high risk of transmitting the disease in air-conditioned compartments and several such instances have been reported in the country. Hence we have requested that AC compartments be avoided,’’ the CM said.

In Punjab, of the 4,198 people who travelled in AC buses,1,217 contracted the virus. The transmission occurred during the travel. Hence, it is most advisable to avoid travel in AC coaches, he said.

The state government, in its letter to the railway minister, said 29,366 guest labourers were sent to different states in 26 trains. All the trains were sleeper coaches and till date there has been no report of any transmission of the disease among them.

Social security mission director Dr Mohammed Asheel said that transporting people from highly infected zones in AC compartments involves a big risk. “They will be in the coaches for more than a day and this increases the chance of an asymptomatic carrier infecting fellow travellers,’’ he added.

The state government also expressed concern over persons being allowed to board the Rajdhani Express without any testing. There is every risk the state will have to face the consequences of a mass outbreak. It asked the railway ministry to ensure that enough precautions are taken by passengers and maximum social distancing is ensured in trains.

Meanwhile, the government has also asked the Centre to allow stops at all major stations in the state. At present, Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram are the only designated stops.

“A person from Kasaragod will have to disembark at Mangaluru and travel by road to reach home. This has to be avoided. Hence the train should stop at all the major stations,’’ the chief minister said.

A man sprays disinfectant on a train before it rolls out of New Delhi station on Tuesday

This Telugu surgeon globetrots flying jet to deliver med supplies

This Telugu surgeon globetrots flying jet to deliver med supplies

Uttara.Varma@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad  13.05.2020

: On the frontline of the pandemic, Dr Venkataramana Vijay has his battles cut out both in the ICU and in the cockpit. The New Yorkbased surgeon and pilot has been delivering medicines from across the globe as cases continue to rise in the US.

The Telugu-American heart surgeon now pilots a Boeing-747 jumbo jet. “Earlier I used to spend half the month flying and half in the operation theatre. But now, I have been travelling to China, Japan and Malaysia to help get medical requirements for the country to help during the pandemic,” says Vijay.

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) currently regulates cargo operations which includes the operations of Sky Lease Cargo, for whom Vijay works. He has so far flown over 500 tonnes of medical gear such as masks, gloves, PPE equipment, testing kits and ventilator parts to the US.“In China, we land in Changsha and Zheng Zhou, very close to Wuhan, because central China is the manufacturing hub even for medical supplies,” said Vijay, adding that even if one person falls sick, all four pilots would be quarantined.

For Vijay, coming to the US was a forgone conclusion in 1989, considering the opportunities and his family’s academic background. Being a doctor, was a result of not being great at maths, he laughs. But being a pilot was a passion — as his class 2 teacher wrote in his report card — which he pursued after establishing himself as surgeon.

Vijay says seeing hospitals such as Mount Sinai, where he works, teeming with patients reminds him of trauma following 9/11. “I treated patients suffering from asbestos inhalation at that time. As a healthcare provider you realise that the physical wounds can be treated, but one has to hand hold a patient through mental trauma.”

Aspirants allege irregularities in PG seat allotment

Aspirants allege irregularities in PG seat allotment

Question Why GO550 In Force All Of A Sudden

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad: 13.05.2020

Postgraduate (PG) medical aspirants, after protesting the fee hike of medical seats in private colleges, are now alleging that there are irregularities in seat allotment in the first phase of counselling.

While students claimed seats in various specialities in the open category are not allotted, the medical university officials said the seats, which are left vacant in this phase, will be filled in the second phase by taking GO 550 into consideration.

PG aspirants claimed that allotment is not carried out according to the reservation matrix released by the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), the medical university which is conducting counselling on behalf of the state.

“Initially, KNRUHS released a seat matrix. Later, it was modified according to high court orders on diploma seats. However, the seat allotment is not done according to either of these matrices,” said Bharath, a PG aspirant.

He also questioned why GO 550, which was not implemented last year, is being implemented this year.

“The said GO can be implemented for those seats, which are not allocated. What about those open category seats, which are already converted to reserved category,” questioned another aspirant.

The Telangana Doctors Federation said that the varsity should look into these allegations and address the issue. “Higher officials should look into the matter and do the needful,” said PS Vijayender, state convener of the federation.

As per GO 550, open category seats have to be filled based on merit irrespective of reservation category. Later, reserved seats are to be filled as per norms. In case a reserved candidate secures seat in the open category on merit basis and leaves it for better chances in the reserved quota, that vacant seat has to be filled up with a candidate from the same reserved category on merit basis.

“Students have no reason to worry. Seats are not going anywhere and will be filled up following all norms. In the second phase, vacant seats will be filled by taking the said GO into consideration,” said B Karunakar Reddy, vicechancellor, KNRUHS.