COVID-19 can’t spread by touch: panel to HCCourt passes interim order directing airlines to allow passengers to occupy middle seat

COVID-19 can’t spread by touch: panel to HCCourt passes interim order directing airlines to allow passengers to occupy middle seat

06/06/2020, SONAM SAIGAL,MUMBAI

Taking a break: Air India aircraft at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Friday.Prashant NakwePrashant Nakwe

The Bombay High Court on Friday passed an interim order directing flight operators to allow passengers to occupy the middle seat.

A Division Bench of Justices S.J. Kathawalla and S.P. Tavade was hearing a petition filed by Air India pilot Deven Kanani. In his plea, Mr. Kanani said the airline was flouting guidelines by not keeping middle seats vacant in special Vande Bharat flights bringing back Indian citizens stranded abroad.

An expert panel of the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Friday submitted a note to the High Court stating that COVID-19 does not spread by mere touch of a person who is a carrier of the novel coronavirus.

The court on Thursday had asked the panel to issue a clarification. The note said the novel coronavirus virus can be transmitted by touch only under certain circumstances like when an infected person’s droplets from nose or mouth (coughing or sneezing) comes in contact with a surface or clothes and another person comes in contact with the surface and then touches his or her nose, eyes or mouth.

The note added, “If an infected person merely touches a non-infected person the virus will not be transmitted. Transmission has to take place through droplets carrying the virus and the same reaching mouth, nose or eyes of the other person.”

The note said, “If an infected person is wearing a protective gown and a non-infected person is sitting next to him/her, even if the infected person’s clothes have the virus on it, the protective gown would insulate this person and if the neighbouring person inadvertently touches the gown, this person will not be infected as the gown would provide the necessary shield.”

The court had asked the Centre to provide data of passengers who tested negative for COVID-19 when they boarded the flights, but tested positive after arriving in India. On Thursday, Air India filed an affidavit that from May 7 to June 1 they undertook 423 flights with 58,867 passengers, of which 248 had tested positive.

Secretariat employees undergoing screening test for coronavirusDrive follows

Secretariat employees undergoing screening test for coronavirusDrive follows 

one staff member, a Hyderabad returnee, testing positive

06/06/2020, STAFF REPORTER,

VIJAYAWADA

All the Secretariat employees are undergoing COVID-19 test with one of them testing positive for the virus five days ago. The government has made arrangements for the same.

While the employees working in Blocks 1, 2, and 3 had undergone the test, those working in Block 4 underwent the process on Friday.

In all, there are five blocks in the Secretariat, and the drive is expected to be completed in a day or two.

The exercise follows an appeal made by Secretariat Employees’ Association president K. Venkatrami Reddy to screen all the staff members as a precautionary measure. All the 2,500-odd employees (regular, contract and outsourcing) spread over the five blocks will be screened under the drive.

After an employee of the Agriculture Department tested positive on June 1, Blocks 3 and 4 were kept out of bounds for the employees and sanitised. The employees working in the department were asked to work from home.

The employee who had tested positive was among the other employees who returned to Amaravati from Hyderabad on May 27 by one of the specially arranged buses.

The State government, in a GO dated May 18, had made 100% attendance mandatory in all the government offices that were not located in the containment areas. However, pregnant women and employees with high-risk health conditions were permitted to work from home.

Decision on medical exams taken after consultations’Medical Education

Decision on medical exams taken after consultations’Medical Education 

Minister Amit Deshmukh says three alternatives are available for safe conduct of exams

06/06/2020, SHOUMOJIT BANERJEE,PUNE

Amit Deshmukh

The decision to hold undergraduate and postgraduate examinations of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) was taken only after detailed discussions with apex medical bodies, State Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh said on Friday.

He said a detailed programme would be issued soon and assured that adequate arrangements would be made in every district to ensure that students do not have to travel far to appear for these exams.

Mr. Deshmukh, who was in Pune to review the COVID-19 situation, said he met with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who is the Chancellor of all universities in the State, after the Nashik-based MUHS submitted a detailed report on the feasibility of holding the exams after July 15.

Incidentally, the State government’s Technical and Higher Education Ministry had earlier decided not to conduct the exams.

Mr. Deshmukh, however, clarified that there was no hitch in the functioning of the government despite the contradictory stance on the conduct of the exams by the two ministries.

“The curricula of both ministries — Technical and Higher Education, and Medical Education — are different as are their central councils and universities. They are following their own guidelines, while we are adhering to ours,” Mr. Deshmukh said.

In an earlier letter to the Governor, Mr. Deshmukh had said that MUHS has unanimously decided to conduct all its summer examinations as per three alternative plans, depending on the situation, from July 15.

The theory examinations would be held between July 15 and August 15 in a staggered manner if the situation was conducive. In case exams cannot be held as per the first plan, they would be conducted between August 16 and September 15.

If the exams cannot be held as per above plans, the MUSH will take guidance from the Central Medical Council on how to conduct the examinations, including through the online medium.

Meanwhile, Mr. Deshmukh, who met with senior district administration authorities, said there was a decline in the number of active positive cases in Mumbai, Pune and other cities.

He said while the situation in Pune was under control, Mumbai, despite rising cases, was faring better than most other cities in the world.

“Around 80 labs are operating in the State for testing samples at present. More labs are being added. We are trying to standardise protocols and SOPs (standard operating procedures) across hospitals in the State,” he said, adding that he was of the opinion that some form of rating should be given to each hospital so that patients are aware if their infrastructure was up to the mark or not.

Government office protocol announced

Government office protocol announced

06/06/2020,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced the health protocol to be followed at government offices as they inch their way to full functionality from June 9. The public should transact business with the government as far as possible through electronic means. Visitors at the government offices would be screened for flu symptoms. Official drivers from containment zones should not report for work. Official vehicles should be sanitised, and all staff members should mandatorily wear masks.

Rethink staff deployment policy during pandemic: Secretariat Assn.TANSA says all employees are forced to attend office daily

Rethink staff deployment policy during pandemic: Secretariat Assn.TANSA says all employees are forced to attend office daily

06/06/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

With around 25 Secretariat employees testing positive for COVID-19, the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Association (TANSA) has urged Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to rethink the staff deployment policy during the pandemic.

It earlier urged the government to revert to working with 33% staff strength in each department instead of 50%. In a letter to the Chief Minister, TANSA president S. Peter Antonysamy charged that despite orders being issued to departments that staff will have to work on a rotational basis, many employees were being forced to report to work daily.

“In the Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Department, all employees are being forced to come to work daily. In some departments, office assistants, stenographers, personal staff of secretaries are forced to come to work every day. If this continues, the spread of the virus will increase,” he said.

A copy of the TANSA’s letter was released to the media. The TANSA said departments must function as per protocols issued in the Government Order.

Departments must be advised to not force office assistants, stenographers and personal staff of secretaries to come to work daily. It demanded that employees living in coronavirus hotspots should not be deployed till the COVID-19 lockdown ends.

The TANSA requested the government to consider the isolation period of employees who test positive for COVID-19 as Special Casual Leave. The offices in the Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai must be modified to provide ventilation as air conditioners were not allowed.

The TANSA also asked the government to make travel arrangements for employees.

மூன்று மாதம் வாடகை வசூல் கூடாது அரசு உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்க கோரி வழக்கு

மூன்று மாதம் வாடகை வசூல் கூடாது அரசு உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்க கோரி வழக்கு

Added : ஜூன் 04, 2020 00:32

சென்னை 'மூன்று மாதங்களுக்கு வாடகை வசூலிக்கக் கூடாது' என, அரசு உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்க கோரி, சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.

சென்னையை சேர்ந்த, வழக்கறிஞர், சார்லஸ் அலெக்சாண்டர் என்பவர் தாக்கல் செய்த மனு:ஊரடங்கு உத்தர வால், தனியார் நிறுவனங்கள், வணிக நிறுவனங்கள் மூடப்பட்டன. இங்கு பணியாற்றும் ஊழியர்களுக்கும், வேலை இல்லை. அவர்களுக்கு, ஊரடங்கு காலத்தில் சம்பளம் வழங்கப்படவில்லை. அதனால், மாத வாடகை செலுத்த முடியாத நிலையில் உள்ளனர்.வாடகைக்கு இருப்பவர்களிடம், மாத வாடகை வசூலிக்க வேண்டாம் என தெரிவித்தும், வீட்டு உரிமை யாளர்கள் வற்புறுத்துகின்றனர்.

டில்லியில், வாடகைதாரர்களுக்கான வாடகை தொகையை, அம்மாநில அரசே செலுத்துவதாக கூறியது. தமிழகத்தில் அப்படி எந்த சலுகையும் இல்லை.ஒரு மாத வாடகையை வசூலிக்க வேண்டாம் என, மார்ச், 29, 30ல், மத்திய, மாநில அரசுகள் உத்தரவு பிறப்பித்தன. அதன்பின், ஊரடங்கு பலமுறை நீட்டிக்கப்பட்டு விட்டது. ஒரு மாதம் என்பது போதுமானது அல்ல. மூன்று மாதங்கள் வரை நீட்டிக்கப்பட வேண்டும்.அரசு பிறப்பித்த உத்தரவுகள் அமல்படுத்தப்படவில்லை. வாடகை வசூலிப்பு குறித்து புகார்கள் அளித்தும், எந்த நடவடிக்கையும் இல்லை.

மூன்று மாதங்களுக்கு வாடகை வசூலிக்கக் கூடாது என்று உத்தரவிடக்கோரி, அரசுக்கு மனு அனுப்பினேன்; எந்த நடவடிக்கையும் இல்லை.எனவே, ஊரடங்கு உத்தரவு கருதி, மூன்று மாதங்களுக்கு வாடகை வசூலிக்கக் கூடாது என, அரசு உத்தரவு பிறப்பிக்க வேண்டும்.இவ்வாறு, மனுவில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

பொய் செய்தியை நம்பாதீர்கள்:ஆவின் நிர்வாகம் வேண்டுகோள்

பொய் செய்தியை நம்பாதீர்கள்:ஆவின் நிர்வாகம் வேண்டுகோள்

Added : ஜூன் 04, 2020 02:09

சென்னை; தொழில் போட்டியாளர்கள் மற்றும் சமூக விரோதிகள், ஆவின் குறித்து பரப்புகிற பொய் செய்தியை, பொது மக்கள் நம்ப வேண்டாம்' என, ஆவின் நிர்வாகம், வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்து உள்ளது.

ஆவின் நிர்வாகம் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கை:கொரோனா நோய் தொற்றை எதிர்த்து போராடி, மக்களுக்கு தரமான பாலை, ஆவின் நிர்வாகம் வழங்கி வருகிறது. இந்நிலையில், சென்னை, மாதவரம் பால் பண்ணையில், 250 தொழிலாளர்களுக்கு, கொரோனா தொற்று என்ற, பொய்யான செய்தி பரவி வருகிறது. இது, மிகவும் வேதனை அளிக்கிறது.மாதவரம் பால் பண்ணையில் பணிபுரியும், 300 தொழிலாளர்களில், ௧௦ பேருக்கு நோய் தொற்று இருந்தது கண்டறியப்பட்டது. அவர்கள் மருத்துவமனையில் சேர்க்கப்பட்டனர். பலர் குணமடைந்து, பணிக்கு திரும்பி உள்ளனர்; ஒருவர் சிகிச்சை பலனின்றி இறந்தார்.அவர் இறப்பு, மிகப்பெரிய சோகத்தை கொடுத்தாலும், மக்களுக்காக எங்கள் கடமையை செய்து கொண்டிருக்கிறோம்.

அரசு வழிகாட்டுதலை கடைப்பிடித்து, தரமான பாலை, குறிப்பிட்ட நேரத்தில் அளிக்க, முழு மூச்சாக வேலை செய்து வருகிறோம்.எனவே, தொழில் போட்டியாளர்கள் மற்றும் சமூக விரோதிகள் பரப்புகிற பொய் செய்தியை, பொது மக்கள் நம்ப வேண்டாம். தொடர்ந்து ஆவினுக்கு, ஆதரவு அளிக்க வேண்டும்.இவ்வாறு, அதில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.