Positive samples of foreign travellers to be tested for Omicron

Positive samples of foreign travellers to be tested for Omicron

Directorate of Public Health designates 12 laboratories to do the test

30/11/2021

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian and Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan at a genome sequencing lab.B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

Special CorrespondentCHENNAI

The samples collected from all foreign travellers who test positive for COVID-19 shall be subjected to genomic sequencing, the Directorate of Public Health has said.

The tests will be done at 12 designated government RT-PCR laboratories that are equipped with the World Health Organisation-recommended Thermo TaqPath RT-PCR testing kits to identify the new variant, Omicron, designated as B.1.1.529. According to the Directorate’s notice issued on Monday, most diagnostic tests could detect the variant.

The variant exhibits a deletion of certain spike protein positions, similar to the Alpha variant. The laboratories have been instructed to prioritise such specimens for sequencing to confirm the presence of Omicron. A proxy test for the variant, known as Thermo Fischer TaqPath Assay, could be used, pending genome sequencing confirmation, the notice said.

The government laboratories identified for the assay include the State Public Health laboratory; the King Institute of Preventive Medicine; Madras Medical College; Kilpauk and Stanley Medical Colleges in Chennai; Coimbatore Medical College; and ESI Medical College, Coimbatore; and the Government Medical Colleges in Tiruchi, Salem, Madurai, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari. Eight categories of samples have been identified for testing.

The samples of the following segments should be subjected to genome-sequencing, if they have tested positive for COVID-19. They are international travellers since October 15; reinfected persons; those infected after vaccination; those who are part of community clusters or an unusual transmission event; those who are part of family clusters; children testing positive; and young adults with severe lung involvement or an unexpected disease or severe illness.

Under the new guidelines, all positive samples referred from government and private RT-PCR laboratories should be sent to the State Public Health Laboratory in the city for genomic sequencing. The Deputy Director of Health Services in the districts should coordinate the process through their epidemiologists and microbiologists.

The protocol should be followed for all inbound international travellers with symptoms of influenza-like illness.

The samples will be screened for S gene dropout using the Thermo TaqPath kit by the government RT-PCR laboratories, Director of Public Health T.S. Selvavinayagam has said.

The Health Department will appoint assistant project officers at the four international airports in the State to oversee the sample collection, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian has said.

“On Wednesday, senior health officials will accompany me to Madurai where we will inspect the airport. Later, we will travel to Tiruchi and Coimbatore. We will also apprise the officials of the procedures to be followed on arrival of passengers. Along with Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, I will be supervising how the instructions are carried out,” the Minister said, after inspecting the genome sequencing unit on the Directorate of Medical Services premises here on Monday.

According to him, 95% of the COVID-19 samples tested at the sequencing unit had returned positive for the Delta variant.

At a review meeting, Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu asked officials to follow the WHO guidelines for tackling the new variant and directed the Collectors to drive home the point among people that vaccination was the only defence against the severity of the disease.

Bodies of 2 COVID-19 victims found in mortuary after a year

Bodies of 2 COVID-19 victims found in mortuary after a year

Their families were told that bodies had been cremated

30/11/2021

Special Correspondent Bengaluru

In a shocking incident, the decomposed bodies of two COVID-19 patients, who died during the first wave in 2020, were found in the mortuary of the ESIC Model Hospital in Rajajinagar here.

The bodies were found on Friday evening when the housekeeping staff went there for cleaning.

The families of the victims, who were earlier told that the bodies had been cremated, are stunned at the turn of events.

Sources in the hospital said the bodies were identified as that of Durga S., 40, a resident of Chamarajpet, and Muniraju, 35, a resident of KP Agrahara in Bengaluru, with the help of tags. They were admitted to the ESIC Model hospital for COVID-19 treatment in July 2020. After their death, their bodies were shifted to the mortuary to be handed over to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for cremation.

As per COVID-19 protocols then, the civic body had the responsibility of cremating the bodies of the victims and the bodies were not given to the families.

Sources in the hospital said the two bodies were “forgotten” in the mortuary as the hospital authorities were under the impression that the BBMP personnel had taken away the bodies.

V. Vijayanath, Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at ESI Hospital, refused to comment.

Protest held

However, Hospital Dean and Director Jithendra Kumar said he had ordered an internal enquiry. “The bodies were handed over to the police. The families of both deceased were called to the Rajajinagar police station on Monday to hand over the bodies,” he said.

The negligence has evoked sharp criticism. A group of organisations staged a protest in front of the hospital on Monday.

"How could they not notice the bodies? This is shocking,” a family member of Muniraju said.

Omicron poses very high global risk: WHO

Omicron poses very high global risk: WHO

It urges nations to boost health systems

30/11/2021

Medical staff wait for people at a vaccination centre in Rome on Monday.APAP

Reuters Geneva

The heavily mutated Omicron coronavirus variant is likely to spread internationally and poses a very high risk of infection surges that could have “severe consequences” in some places, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

No Omicron-linked deaths had yet been reported, though further research was needed to assess its potential to escape protection against immunity induced by vaccines and previous infections, it added.

In anticipation of increased case numbers as the variant, first reported last week in South Africa, spreads, the UN agency urged its 194 member states to accelerate vaccination of high-priority groups and ensure plans were in place to maintain health services.

“Omicron has an unprecedented number of spike mutations, some of which are concerning for their potential impact on the trajectory of the pandemic,” it said.

“The overall global risk related to the new variant ... is assessed as very high.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, sounded the alarm at the start of an assembly of Health Ministers that is expected to launch negotiations on an international agreement on preventing future pandemics.

“The emergence of the highly mutated Omicron variant underlines just how perilous and precarious our situation is,” he said.

5 Apps to Customise YOUR ANDROID PHONE

TECHTONIC

5 Apps to Customise YOUR ANDROID PHONE

29.11.2021

All Android handsets run a customised version of the stock user interface. That said, you always have the choice to install a third-party ‘launcher’ from the Play Store to customise the home screen, its appearance, the way apps are launched, or just switch to a minimalistic UI. Ashutosh Desai recommends five Android launchers you should check out.

NOVA LAUNCHER | This app lets you choose how many apps can be fitted on the homescreen by adjusting the grid size, icon style, size, font, and more. You also get a ‘scrollable dock’, so you can have app shortcuts within your thumb’s reach without adding more homescreen pages. A backup option in Nova Launcher lets you save your customisations to a memory card or a preferred location. With this config file, you will be able to port your settings to a new phone easily.

Nova Launcher also has a paid version that unlocks features like the ability to hide apps, create folders within the app drawer and assign swipe actions for certain apps.

APEX LAUNCHER | Apex offers a similar set of features like the ability to customise the homescreen grid and adjust animation speed. However, its user interface is more intuitive. On first launch, it launches a wizard to help you set up basic features where you can choose how you prefer to browse the app drawer (horizontal or vertical), select the number of apps that should appear on the screen, and change UI transitions.

Apex Launcher also lets you create styles for app folders to help you differentiate them by colour. Its free version also includes the option to lock apps with a PIN or pattern. You also get a backup/restore option, so you don’t lose your Apex Launcher preferences.

MICROSOFT LAUNCHER | Instead of the usual Google apps and services, this launcher brings the Microsoft suite of products up front. If you are an Android phone owner who relies on Microsoft’s range of productivity apps — Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, etc — then you should give this launcher a whirl. You can even opt for a daily wallpaper, courtesy Bing.

If you sign in with your Microsoft ID then this launcher will sync with your calendar, email and documents to your phone. Even if you do not want to sign in, you can use the launcher while enjoying the benefits of being connected to select Microsoft services.

SQUARE HOME | Microsoft’s Windows Phone was discontinued but its user interface lives on. Square Home mimics the simple tiled Metro UI: You get one homescreen with shortcuts to frequently-used apps. They appear as large resizeable blocks that are easy to access and read. This makes it suitable for folk who find the Android UI cluttered or confusing.

Each tile can be configured to respond differently to a single tap or long-press, and display notifications like a ‘live tile’. Other options include colour themes, assign actions to the stock home keys, and more.

LAWNCHAIR 2 | Lawnchair 2 sports a clean, near-stock Android appearance but also packs in a number of features. You can use third-party icon packs from the Play Store, pick default colour accents, customise the app drawer — adjust opacity, icon size, column count, etc — and hide apps from plain view.

You can configure the dock to start web searches and access basic info like weather, time, battery status with a quick glance. It also includes gesture support, with the option to install plug-ins to create new shortcuts.

Note: You can always revert to the original launcher. Open Settings > App Management (or Apps) > Default Apps. Select “Home app” and choose the launcher you want to use. Removing a third-party launcher is as easy as uninstalling an app from the Play Store.

Jio joins Voda Idea & Airtel in raising tariffs

Jio joins Voda Idea & Airtel in raising tariffs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:29.11.2021

Consumer tariffs for over 90% of mobile customers in India will go up with Reliance Jio, the country’s largest operator, joining rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea in increasing rates.

The upward revision in consumer tariffs is happening after a period of nearly two years and comes as companies now prepare for the launch of 5G services, which will see massive investments into network, spectrum and new technologies.

Jio announced a hike of up to 21% in tariffs, a little lower to the changes made by its rivals and maintaining price competitiveness of its plans. Its entry plan will now cost Rs 91 against Rs 75 previously, but will still be Rs 8 cheaper than the price of Airtel and Vodafone.

“These plans will provide the best value in the industry (and) uphold the Jio promise of providing the best-quality service at the lowest price globally,” the company said while announcing that price revisions effective December 1.

The price hikes by telecom companies come nearly two months after the government had handed out a bailout-cum-revival package to the industry, aimed at improving financials and business fundamentals.

Airtel was the first to announce the change when on November 22 it spoke about raising tariffs across almost all the pre-paid price packs. Airtel had said the measure will help it improve profitability per customer, which is known as average revenue per user (ARPU) in telecom industry parlance.

“Airtel has always maintained that the mobile ARPU needs to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs 300, so as to provide a reasonable return on capital that allows for a financially-healthy business model. We also believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in networks and spectrum,” the company had said.

Airtel’s ARPU was at Rs 153 in the second quarter, while Jio had an ARPU of Rs 144 in the same period, and Vodafone Idea Rs 109.

NEET-UG 2021 : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Plea Alleging Rigging Of OMR Sheets, Discrepancy In Final Results

NEET-UG 2021 : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Plea Alleging Rigging Of OMR Sheets, Discrepancy In Final Results: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice in a writ petition preferred by 6 NEET-UG candidates who allege rigging of their OMR sheets after the publication of the answer keys by the National...

KGMU resident docs take out candle march in protest

KGMU resident docs take out candle march in protest

29.11.2021

Lucknow:

The members of Resident Doctors Association of King George’s Medical University on Sunday took out a candle march and announced to hold a demonstration on Monday, which may impact the OPD services. The RDA demanded to to conduct NEET counselling for admission to postgraduate courses at the earliest. RDA President, Dr Kaveri Dande said, “The delay in admissions has delayed appointment of fresh residents, resulting in huge workload on the senior residents. The protest is a part of the all India agitation call given by the Federation of Resident Doctors Association.” TNN