No need for lockdown, says Soumya Swaminathan

No need for lockdown, says Soumya Swaminathan

‘There is a better understanding of COVID-19 now’

09/01/2022

Soumya Swaminathan - Music AcademyHANDOUT E MAIL

Special CorrespondentCHENNAI

The World Health Organization’s Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Saturday said lockdowns were not needed since there was a better understanding of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Speaking to presspersons at an event in which a nutrition garden was inaugurated at Thiruvanmiyur by Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, she said, “During the first wave, we did not know much about it, which was why many countries imposed lockdowns.”

The three Cs — close contact, crowds and close settings — were the key to the spread of the disease, she said, urging people to wear masks.

Ms. Swaminathan underscored the need for elders and those with co-morbidities to take the booster dose of the vaccine.

She said COVID-19 was yet another disease like influenza and there was a need to focus on the preventive aspects such as regular walking, exercise, balanced diet and maintaining weight according to height.

The garden was established by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, in collaboration with Rotary Club of Madras East, to improve nutrition literacy among people.

Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation, and M. Nachiappan, Director–Environment, Rotary Club of Madras East, were present on the occasion.

COVID-19 cases cross the 10,000-mark

COVID-19 cases cross the 10,000-mark

A total of 17,34,083 persons were vaccinated at the 18th mega vaccination camp held on Saturday

09/01/2022

Special Correspondent CHENNAI

Fresh COVID-19 infections crossed the 10,000-mark in Tamil Nadu, nearly 46% of which were reported in Chennai. With a total of 10,978 persons testing positive for COVID-19 in the State, the overall positivity rate rose to 7.9%.

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said while cases were rising rapidly, nearly 2,000 being added every day, the situation was not alarming, and the health infrastructure was sufficient.

“At the Government Corona Hospital, there are 260 in-patients. Young persons, who are asymptomatic, are being discharged in a day and advised seven day home isolation, while elderly persons with co-morbidities are being admitted,” he said, and added that a meeting to discuss precautionary measures would be held on January 10. The surge in daily COVID-19 cases pushed the State’s active caseload to 40,260. Of these, Chennai had a total of 20,369 active cases. Daily COVID-19 cases continued to rise across the State, with only Ariyalur reporting fewer than 10 cases. Chennai’s daily tally soared to 5,098. Chengalpattu followed with 1,332 cases, while there were 591 cases in Tiruvallur and 585 cases in Coimbatore. Cases increased in Madurai as 314 persons tested positive, while Kancheepuram had 309 cases. The new cases pushed the State’s overall tally to 27,87,391. The State recorded 10 deaths, taking the toll to 36,843. There were no deaths in 35 districts. A total of 1,525 persons were discharged after treatment. The number of persons who tested positive for Omicron rose to 185 of which 68 had no links with international travellers.

The State’s overall vaccination figures crossed nine crore. At the 18th mega vaccination camp held on Saturday, a total of 17,34,083 persons (5,71,795 first dose and 11,62,288 second dose) received the COVID-19 vaccine, taking the coverage of government vaccination centres to 8,71,97,535.

CPI(M) leader admitted

Veteran CPI(M) leader N. Sankaraiah has been admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government hospital after testing positive. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who inquired about his health, said a separate team had been constituted to monitor the health of Mr. Sankaraiah.

Medical counselling in state likely to begin in two weeks Order Brings Relief To Over 40k Aspirants In Tamil Nadu

 Medical counselling in state likely to begin in two weeks

Order Brings Relief To Over 40k Aspirants In Tamil Nadu

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Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

08.01.2022

Chennai: The Supreme Court's order on Friday allowing resumption of NEET-PG and NEET-UG counselling for all India quota seats by following 27% quota for other backward class (OBC) and 10% quota for economically weaker sections (EWS) has removed the bottleneck for conducting MBBS/BDS admissions in Tamil Nadu.

The counselling for the medical seats under the state quota is likely to begin in two weeks, according to officials from the directorate of medical education.

The order brings the anxious wait of more than 40,000 medical aspirants for the last two months to an end. "After the publication of first-round counselling results for All India Quota (AIQ) seats by the Medical Counselling Commit- tee (MCC) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), we will start MBBS/ BDS counselling in Tamil Nadu. It will take12 to 15 days. We will start our counselling tentatively at the end of the third week or beginning of the fourth week of January," said P Vasanthamani, secretary of the Selection Committee, Directorate of Medical Education.

Citing the pending case regarding EWS quota in PG med- ical admissions in the apex court, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) of Directorate General of Health Services postponed MBBS counselling for AIQ seats as well.

As per the usual practice, TN has been conducting medical admission after the first round of counselling for seats under AIQ is over. "It will give toppers an opportunity to choose seats from AIQ. So, it will give more seats to Tamil Nadu students," officials said.

As many as 40,288 students have applied to the counselling for MBBS/BDS admissions which is 1000 more compared to the previous year. The last date for submitting online applications ended on January 7.

"While 25,511 students applied for government quota seats, 14,777 students have applied for seats under management quota this year," Vasanthamani added.

Last year, 39,223 applications were received for government and management quota seats. This year, 11 new government medical colleges will add 1,450 seats while Government Coimbatore Medical College got permission to add 50 additional seats. Thirty-seven government medical colleges will offer 5,125 seats. There will be 4,356 seats available for state quota counselling after allocating15% of seats for AIQ.

Meanwhile, the apex court, while passing the judgment, stated that the validity of the criteria determined by the committee would prospectively be subject to its final order. The court said it will hear the matter in detail in the third week of March.

More asymptomatic people getting tested at private labs

 More asymptomatic people getting tested at private labs

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Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

08.01.2022

Chennai: As the new variant continues to spread, more asymptomatic people from Chennai are getting tested at private labs.

Due to an all-pervasive concern, people with no symptoms are rushing to g et themselves tested if  a neighbour, a colleague or a relative tests positive. Even when they test negative, people with common flu fearing a false negative go for a second test, said owners of private labs in Chennai.

“On an average, we were collecting 100 to 200 samples per day. In the last one week, this has increased to 300 to 400 tests per day,” said Dr Prasannaa Vignesh, radiologist and director of a private lab in Chennai.

Almost 50 % to 60% undergo tests because of peer pressure, contact exposure (based on doctors' advice) and after or before travelling, he said.

As per the revised Covid-19 protocol, a few Indian states and foreign countries insist on a negative certificate before departure at local airports and inter-state borders. "There is nothing wrong with getting tested as it is better to be 100 percent sure, particularly with elders in our homes," said Mohammed, who was waiting outside a lab in Nungambakkam for his turn.

This increased workload on private labs has, however, delayed the time taken to release the results. The above mentioned lab, which use to deliver test results within four to five hours, now takes one day. Employees here said that each technician collects 20 samples a day, as against eight samples last week. Asenior official from Tamil Nadu Directorate of Public Health said, "People were queuing up in front of private labs unnecessarily because of panic and anxiety. Since cases are expected to rise in the coming days, the tests should be reserved for those who actually need it. ”

Since the treatment and discharge policy remains the same for new variants, it is more than enough if we continue to test those with Influenza like Illness (ILI) symptoms, which includes cold, fever or cough, the official said.

 

Cause of concern: 4,531 new cases in city; 8,981 in TN

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

08.01.2022

Chennai: The state reported more than 2,000 new cases for the third consecutive day on Friday, when Tamil Nadu recorded 8,981 fresh cases. At the end day after the discharge of 984 patients, there were 30,807 patients in isolation compared to 22,818 on Thursday.

Official records show 8,944 patients from within the state, five passengers from UAE, three from Singapore and one from the USA tested positive for the viral infection. In addition, 17 people from West Bengal, five from Bihar, two from Assam and one each from AP, Delhi and Jharkhand tested positive.

Chennai, which reported the sharpest increase, reported 4,531 new cases – the highest in the state – compared to 3,759 on Thursday. During the same time, cases in Chengalpet crossed the four-digit mark to 1,039 cases from 816. Barring Dharmapuri, Namakkal, Vellore and Tenkasi, all other districts reported an increase in fresh cases tally in the last 24 hours. After Chennai and Chengalpet, Tiruvallur (514), Coimbatore (408), Kancheepuram (257) and Vellore (216) reported more than 200 cases each.

Active cases increased by nearly 8,000 on Friday to 30,817. Nearly half the number of patients in isolation were from Chennai. Although only14% of active cases in the city were in hospitals, nearly 34% of non-oxygen beds and 11% of oxygen beds in the city were occupied. Nearly 16% of beds in the city and7% of beds in the state were occupied compared to 4% a month ago.

Director of medical education Dr Narayanababu said the state was doing its best to reserve hospital beds for patients with moderate or severe illness. “While patients with mild or no symptoms are sent to home isolation or covid care centres, those with comorbidities or moderate disease are sent to health centres. Patients with severe disease will be treated at tertiary care hospitals,” he said. Symptomatic patients who aren ot vaccinated are a lso under compulsory institutional care, he said.

The eight deaths in the state took the total toll to 36,833. Of the eight deaths, three were from Chengalpet, two were from Coimbatore and there were one each from Tiruvallur, Tirunelveli and Karur. Chennai reported zero deaths with 31 other districts. On Thursday, 4. 6 lakh people including 3. 3 lakh in the 15-18 years group took the vaccination on Thursday.

Clusters among doctors swamp hospitals Doctors Who Have Tested Positive Wary Of Workload

Clusters among doctors swamp hospitals

Doctors Who Have Tested Positive Wary Of Workload

08.01.2022

Chennai: Just when the Covid-19 third wave has begun, an increasing number of healthcare workers in three out of four tertiary hospitals in Chennai are testing positive.

This has brought to the fore concerns on stress and fatigue among resident doctors, in-house surgeons, general physicians and nursing students who have tested positive.

Following a cluster of 27 students at the Stanley GH’s students men’s and women’s hostel on Thursday, another 15 positive cases were reported at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on Friday, as per the cluster-list shared by the city corporation with TOI. In KMCH, 25 doctors have tested positive since January.

Doctors, who are inisolation, at the RGGGH told TOI that about 50 people are under institutional quarantine in the hospital’s tower 3. These include in-house surgeons and medical students. “It is stressful. . . after we test negative, following a brief period of home-isolation, we may have to return to duty immediately. By mid-January, cases could rise here,” said a doctor in isolation at tower 3, who did not want to be named.

Currently, as per the discharge policy for institutional quarantine, following an RTPCR positive status, if fever is not observed

Omjasvin. MD@timesgroup. com for three consecutive days, the patient is discharged. They are sent for further home-isolation for seven days. All these doctors are mostly asymptomatic and are recovering well. Almost all of them are double-vaccinated too, a doctor said.

Dean of KMCH Dr R Shanthimalar said 14 doctors have been discharged while 11 are under institutional quarantine. “Seventy-five percent of the cases had an S-gene drop, while all are stable and asymptomatic,” she said. While doctors dismissed concerns on manpower shortage, they did not rule out its possibility if cases continue to skyrocket.

“Lately, seven student nurses have tested positive. We are taking all measures on isolation and testing, to ensure the clusters stop and there’s no manpower shortage,” RGGGH Dean Dr E Theranirajan said.

At the Stanley GH, dean of the hospital Dr P Balaji said there was n o manpower shortage as of now, and all the patients are asymptomatic, and are recovering faster. “ Many have got better and we have sent some of them to home quarantine. We have also disinfected their hostel completely,” he said.

While non-O2 bed occupancy is seeing a big rise, ICU bed occupancy still remains very low, indicating that the severity of cases is less.

From 200 non-O2 beds occupied on December 20, the occupancy rose to close to 1,000, while O2 bed occupancy shot up from 200 to 1,000, but saw a dip after January 5.

Meanwhile, less than ten percent of ICU beds are occupied in city hospitals.

 

SC upholds OBC quota, counselling for NEET to begin

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Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

08.01.2022

New Delhi: In a boost to reservation for backward classes in the medical stream and in a big relief for the government, the Supreme Court on Friday put its stamp of approval on the 27% OBC quota in MBBS and MD courses under all India quota (AIQ) seats. It also permitted the Centre to earmark additional 10% seats for economically weaker sections (EWS) for the academic year 2021-22.

The decision would pave the way for resumption of counselling for 15% AIQ seats under NEET-UG (MBBS) and 50% AIQ seats under NEETPG (MD) for 2021-22, which October. Citing official sources, agency reports said the counselling schedule could start from next week.

The bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna did not pen down the detailed reasons for the judgment due to paucity of time. 

Marks not always an indicator of merit, DMK had argued in SC

It accepted the Ajay Bhushan Pandey committee’s recommendation not to tinker with the existing criteria for identification of EWS candidates.

It was notified in Janu- ary 2019 for the admissions to UG and PG medical courses for 2021-22.

The committee’s report passing muster with the court was a boost for the Centre as both the OBC quota in AIQ seats and EWS are major policy-political planks that reach out to major social constituencies.

However, the court said the ₹8 lakh annual income criteria for identifying EWS candidates remained a con- tentious issue and that it would undertake in the third week of March a detailed scrutiny of the existing as well as the tweaked criteria recommended by the Pandey committee, which had submitted its report on December 31 and has since been accepted by the Centre.

DMK, which was in the forefront for 27% OBC reservation in AIQ medical seats, through senior advocate P Wilson, had passionately argued for retaining the OBC quota on the ground that “marks cannot always be an indicator of merit”. Wilson on Friday congratulated the bench for rendering a historic social justice judgment. The Centre through solicitor general Tushar Mehta had informed the court about the pitfalls in changing the EWS criteria at this late stage and assured that the general category candidate interests remain unharmed as the government has increased seats in all medical colleges by 25%.