Lockdown blues: Pay full rent, students told in Chennai

Despite many students not availing hostel facilities during the lockdown, they are being told to pay the full rent.

Published: 20th April 2020 05:33 AM 

By OMJASVIN M D

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Despite many students not availing hostel facilities during the lockdown, they are being told to pay the full rent. Vishnu Prasad, a college student, said his hostel owner in Sholinganallur has demanded full rent for April even though he left for his native Vellore on March 21. “I got a call from the manager asking to pay the full amount of `4,500. Ruing that the rent included charges for food, electricity and water which he is not availing, Vishnu said, “After some argument, the manager said I could pay when I return.’’

However, hostel and paying guest owners association leaders said the students have ‘misinterpreted’ the Government Order giving relief to tenants. “They argue with us citing the GO. Hostels are not included in the GO and everyone registered with us have to pay,’’ said G Jagannathan, President of South Chennai Paying Guest and Hostel Owners Association.

Meanwhile, some students said hostel owners had threatened to deduct rent from advance money if they fail to pay for March and April. “My hostel owner said I will have to vacate if I don’t pay the full amount,’’ said H Hariharan, an engineering student in Chennai currently staying at his house in Madurai.

Jagannathan said all hostels have to pay commercial tax. “We can pay the tax only from the rent. Hostel associations have been told to collect just rent without charging for food and electricity,’’ he said.

Salem GH scales up testing facilities for COVID-19

20/04/2020, VIGNESH VIJAYAKUMAR

Authorities have scaled up facilities at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital here to increase the pace of testing and provide results of COVID-19 test samples at the earliest.

Govt. approved lab

The viral research and diagnostic laboratory at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital is one of the Government laboratories in the State approved to conduct Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction tests on COVID-19 samples.

Capacity increased

R. Balajinathan, Dean of the hospital said, “the capacity of the lab here has been increased three-fold. The equipment required for conducting the tests has been doubled and thrice the strength has been deployed for conducting the tests here. The lab, which was earlier conducting testing of 150 samples can now test up to 540 samples.

Also, under a professor and assistant professor, 18 post-graduate students and 24 lab technicians have been posted at the lab and they would be working across three shifts here.

“Through this, we would be able to know results of RT-PCR tests in six-eight hours,” he said.

According to authorities, as on Saturday, 2,760 samples have been tested here.

COVID-19: 10-day-old baby tests positive

Swab samples collected from nearly 40 people in Pollachi

20/04/2020, STAFF REPORTER

Five persons, including a newborn, tested positive for COVID-19 in Coimbatore on Sunday.

Of the five persons, three including a 10-day-old baby were from Pollachi while two other cases were from Sirumugai.

Health Department had collected swab samples from nearly 40 people from Pollachi and more than 20 persons from Sirumugai and results of five persons returned positive.

Neighbour

The two persons from Sirumugai who tested positive contracted the disease through a neighbour, who had returned from Delhi after attending a religious conference last month.

Similarly, a six-year-old boy from Pollachi who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday also contracted the disease through a neighbour who attended the religious conference.

The boy had visited the neighbour’s house before and after he tested positive for the disease.

Swab samples were collected from several post-graduate medical students and house surgeons of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.

This was after two PG students of the hospital, who did duty in the CIOVID-19 ward at the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, Coimbatore, tested positive for the disease last week.

Sale of cotton masks picks up in Erode

20/04/2020, STAFF REPORTER,ERODE

Increase in the awareness level among people in Erode helped improve the sale of masks. M. GOVARTHAN M_GOVARTHAN

With the district administration making it mandatory to wear mask, sale of mask, particularly cotton mask that can be washed and reused, has picked up here.

As people are allowed to venture out of their homes to purchase essential commodities, their movement on roads has increased in the past one week.

Hence, Collector C. Kathiravan urged them to wear mask while in public places.

E.V. Jagadeeshwaran, who runs a garment manufacturing unit, said that sale of cotton and pine masks had picked up in the past one week and attributed the reason to the increase in the awareness level among people.

Since these masks, each sold at ₹ 10, could be washed and reused, people preferred them, he said and added that pharmacies, wholesalers, traders and shopkeepers had placed bulk orders in the last two days.

Also, the number of traders selling masks at markets and on arterial roads has gone up.

A manufacturer said the cost of manufacturing a mask was less than ₹ 2 while it was sold at ₹ 10 to the public. “Some traders want to earn quick money,” he said and wanted the price brought down to make it affordable for the poor.

TNAU designates scientists as nodal officers to work with Agri. Dept.

20/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
,COIMBATORE

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has designated scientists as nodal officers to work with Agriculture Department officers, across the State, said a University release detailing the steps it had taken to help farmers during the lockdown.

The University had 39 research stations, 14 colleges and as many Krishi Vigyan Kendras spread across the State.

It had identified and designated scientists in each of the districts and shared their list with the State government.

The identified persons would work alongside the Agriculture Department officials there to help farmers overcome problems during the lockdown period.

Quality seeds

The release also said the University was also taking steps to ensure availability of quality seeds as the Indian Meteorological Department and the University had predicted normal South West Monsoon, which was just six weeks away.

As the farmers would start preparation by June, the University, based on instructions from Vice-Chancellor N. Kumar and Director of Research K.S. Subramanian had asked its scientists to ensure availability of quality seeds, planting materials and bio-inoculants.

After listing a few more steps the University had taken like giving RT-PCR machines to the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, Coimbatore, and another hospital to be used in testing persons, the release said the University was yet to assess the impact of the lockdown on rural livelihood.

It would take some more time for the assessment, it said and added that the issues that the farmers faced now were labour shortage, difficulty in hiring vehicles to transport produce or inputs and price of produce at farmgate.

In a few cases, there were instances of farmers dumping produce as well, the release said and added that the University was doing all it could to help farmers, the release said.

Priyanka lauds U.P. govt. for transporting students

She seeks a helpline for migrants

20/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,NEW DELHI

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has lauded the Uttar Pradesh government for bringing back students stranded in Kota, Rajasthan, owing to lockdown, and sought help for migrant workers from the State stuck in various cities.

In a video appeal, she requested the Yogi Adityanath government to set up a helpline and a control room to reach out to them. “These workers are our own. It is the responsibility of all of us to help them. We cannot leave them like this. We have to find a way out,” she said.

Ms. Vadra said the workers with absolutely no resources at their end were holed up five to six in one room. It was only obvious that they would want to come back to their homes to be with their families. “… these migrant workers are also our own. They do not have anything to eat. Helping them is also the responsibility of the State government,” she said in her appeal.

Earlier, Congress leader P. Chidambaram had tweeted: “There is overwhelming evidence that more and more people have run out of cash and are forced to stand in lines to collect free cooked food. Only a heartless government will stand by and do nothing,” he said.

Online, takeaway liquor sale put on hold in Kerala

Appeal against embargo unlikely

20/04/2020, G. ANAND

Kerala is unlikely to appeal against the Centre’s embargo on liquor retail before the national COVID-19 lockdown ends. For now, the State government has put on hold the proposal to buy liquor from bars as takeaways and permit consumers to purchase alcohol from State-run outlets by ordering online.

With social distancing measures likely to be in place well beyond May 3, the government might also introduce limitations on the on-premise retail and consumption of alcohol.

Officials said the non-availability of legal alcohol has spawned black markets and illicit supply chains centred around shuttered bar hotels.

On Sunday, law enforcers booked bar hotels in Thrissur, Ernakulam and Idukki for retailing liquor in bulk to black marketeers. In Idukki, they found the bar management had sold a black marketeer hundreds of bottles after removing the seal of the Excise Commissioner to mask the provenance of the hoard. The cases detected so far were just the tip of the iceberg, sources said.

The Excise Department had not enumerated and sealed liquor stocks in bars after the announcement of the lockdown on March 21. It has now begun the process. The emergence of domestically distilled hooch as a substitute for legal liquor is worrying enforcers. Officials said commercial level distillation of hooch has resurged in several localities.

Six die of virus in southern States

Telangana records 3 deaths and Karnataka two, A.P. reports one fatality, Kerala has 2 new cases

20/04/2020,

 SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU/VIJAYAWADA/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Two women in Karnataka who tested positive for COVID-19 — both with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) — died on Sunday, raising the deaths in the State to 16.

In Andhra Pradesh, Kurnool, one of the most affected districts, recorded one death and 26 fresh cases.

The Health Department in Karnataka said a 65-year-woman resident of Bengaluru passed away. A 50-year-old woman from Bantwal died in Dakshina Kannada.

Six new positive cases were reported from across the State, taking the total number to 390. This included the 16 deaths and 111 patients discharged.

While four new cases were from Mysuru, two were from Dakshina Kannada. Of the Mysuru cases, two had a travel history to Delhi and the other two belonged to the Nanjangud cluster.

As of Sunday, 10 out of the 30 districts in Karnataka had not reported COVID-19 positive cases.

More fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in Andhra Pradesh. In the 24-hour period till Sunday, 44 new cases and one death were reported in six districts, a State bulletin said. The case tally had gone up to 647 and the toll touched 17.

Besides Kurnool’s 26, Krishna and East Godavari districts had five new cases each while Guntur reported four cases and Anantapur three cases. Visakhapatnam reported one. There were five active cases in the city. The current active case tally stood at 565, who were being treated in various COVID-19 hospitals.

Telangana reported 18 new positive cases on Sunday taking the total to 858. Three more deaths were reported since Saturday, taking the total casualties to 21.

2 cases in Kerala

Kerala recorded two more cases of COVID-19, while adding 13 persons to the list of those who had recovered, on Sunday. Both individuals had travel histories. One was in Kannur, with travel from Abu Dhabi, and the other from Dubai to Kasaragod.

The State’s COVID-19 tally so far was 401. It had put 270 patients on the recovery list and 129 persons were undergoing treatment in hospital.

The number of people under surveillance stood at 55,590. Of these, 55,129 were on home quarantine, while 461 were in isolation in various hospitals. There were 72 new hospital admissions on Sunday.

Two more test positive in Virudhunagar district

20/04/2020, SPECIAL
CORRESPONDENT,VIRUDHUNAGAR

Virudhunagar district officials are perplexed over a college girl contracting COVID-19 infection as they are not able to establish the source of her infection in the small village near here.

Besides, a 33-year-old engineer, who had returned from Guinea in West Africa on March 23, too has been tested positive.

“The man has come through Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and has been in home quarantine at Sedapatti since then. His samples were tested as part of the routine testing of persons under home quarantine. He should have completed his home quarantine on Sunday,” Collector R. Kannan said.

The man has remained asymptomatic till he was tested positive.

The girl, who was a hosteller in a college in Virudhunagar, had returned to her village, Kumarapuram after the colleges were closed on March 17.

She had only gone to her grandmother’s house in a nearby village.

“After she complained of fever and cold, her samples were taken at the Primary Health Centre in Kanniseripudur on March 15,” he added.

The officials had started tracing the contacts of both the positive cases and already eight villages around Kanniseripudur had been brought under containment zone, Mr. Kannan said.

Stating that disinfection was carried out in all these villages, he said that samples of 50 contacts each of both the fresh positive cases had been collected on Sunday.

With this, the total number of positive cases in Virudhunagar district has gone up to 19.

However, eight positive patients have been discharged so far.

China should face consequences: Trump

‘Was it a mistake, or was it deliberate?’

20/04/2020, REUTERS,WASHINGTON

In movement we trust: A protest in Austin, Texas, against the partial lockdown imposed by the State government.REUTERSCALLAGHAN O'HARE

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that China should face consequences if it was ”knowingly responsible” for the COVID-19 pandemic. “If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, I mean, then sure there should be consequences,” Mr. Trump told reporters at a daily briefing. He did not elaborate on what actions the United States might take.

Mr. Trump and senior aides have sharply criticised China for a lack of transparency after the coronavirus broke out in its Wuhan province. This week he suspended aid to the World Health Organization accusing it of being “China-centric.”

Public sparring

Washington and Beijing, the world’s two biggest economies, have publicly sparred over the virus repeatedly. Mr. Trump initially praised China’s response to the outbreak, but he and other senior officials have also referred to it as the “Chinese virus” and in recent days have ratcheted up their rhetoric.

Mr. Trump said the U.S.-China relationship was good “until they did this,” citing a recent first-phase agricultural deal aimed at quelling a trade war between the two countries.

He said the question now was whether what happened with the coronavirus was “a mistake that got out of control, or was it done deliberately?”

“There’s a big difference between those two,” he said.

Mr. Trump also raised questions about a Wuhan virology laboratory that Fox News this week reported had likely developed the coronavirus as part of China’s effort to demonstrate its capacity to identify and combat viruses. Mr. Trump has said his government is seeking to determine whether the virus emanated from a Chinese lab.

Mr. Trump also again cast doubt on China’s death toll, which was revised up on Friday. China said 1,300 people who died of the coronavirus in the central city of Wuhan — half the total — were not counted, but dismissed allegations of a cover-up.

Coronavirus did not come from us: Wuhan lab

Virology institute official dismisses conspiracy theories; 

Orthodox Christians mark Easter at home amidst COVID-19 fears

20/04/2020, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,BEIJING

Chords and notes of solidarity: (Clockwise from top) Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts performing during the ‘One World: Together at Home’ event on Saturday.VIA REUTERSGLOBAL CITIZEN

A laboratory in the Chinese city at ground zero of the global COVID-19 outbreak has rejected U.S. theories that it spawned the pandemic.

The denial came as world governments were debating how and when to ease lockdowns that have kept more than half of humanity — 4.5 billion people — confined to their homes and crippled the global economy.

Many of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians were forced to mark Easter at home on Sunday, with church leaders telling worshippers to stay indoors and conducting services online or on television. But in Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko, who has cast doubt on the gravity of the pandemic and allowed events such as football matches to continue, defiantly visited a church without a face mask.

Virtual concert

Hoping to spread cheer to those under lockdown, the world’s top musicians — from the Rolling Stones to Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder and teen superstar Billie Eilish — joined forces for a virtual mega-concert on Saturday. The six-hour online event aimed to cultivate a sense of community during a pandemic that has killed at least 1,60,000 people worldwide, with more than 2.3 million confirmed infections.

The virus was probably first transmitted to humans at a Wuhan market where exotic animals were slaughtered, according to Chinese scientists. But conspiracy theories that the virus came from a maximum-security virology lab have been brought into the mainstream by U.S. government officials.

“There’s no way this virus came from us,” Yuan Zhiming, the head of the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is equipped to handle dangerous viruses, said in an interview with state media. “I know it’s impossible.”

The U.S. has the highest caseload of any country, with more than 7,35,000 confirmed infections, and over 39,000 deaths.

But as Americans and others around the world chafe after weeks under stay-at-home orders, resentment is rising. Anti-lockdown protests on Saturday drew hundreds of people in states including Texas, Maryland, New Hampshire and Ohio.

The small but spreading movement drew encouragement from Mr. Trump, who tweeted that three States should be “liberated” from the stay-home orders.

Shops reopened

Elsewhere, a patchwork of countries including Switzerland, Denmark and Finland began reopening shops and schools. Germany is set to follow suit on Monday with some shops back open after declaring the virus “under control”, while Italy — at one time the European epicentre of the crisis — was tentatively mulling easing restrictions.

Iran allowed some businesses to reopen Saturday despite being home to West Asia’s deadliest outbreak.

Back in Wuhan, there was an emotional return to the city for the Chinese Super League football team after more than three months stranded on the roa. Wearing masks, the players had bouquets of flowers thrust into their hands as supporters held banners and sang to welcome them home.

SWOTing the situation

With the pandemic forcing everyone to seriously consider e-learning tools and resources, now is a good time to assess its strengths and opportunities, and adapt to the new normal

20/04/2020, ALBERT P’RAYAN

The coronavirus pandemic has shuttered educational institutions across the globe. Closure of schools, colleges and universities, shutdown of routine life of students and teachers, disruptions in education and the education ministry remaining incommunicado, have created an unprecedented situation and thrown many unexpected challenges to administrators, educators, teachers, parents and students. The situation has created the new normal. How to cope with the new normal is the question that everyone is now asking.

It is good to carry out a SWOT — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats — analysis of the COVID-19 situation and its impact on education. This exercise can help us set new goals and objectives and move forward.

Strengths

As educational institutions across India have remained closed for weeks, parents are worried about their children’s education. Some parents have forced their children to take up some online courses, but students do not seem to show interest in learning online. Some educational institutions have asked teachers to prepare online material, but most teachers do not have the experience of preparing e-material. Some universities and colleges want to move classes/courses online in order to engage students, but do not know how to go about.

The situation described above may present a gloomy picture, but it shouldn’t. Why? Looking at it positively, for the first time many teachers, parents and students have thought about the purpose of education and asked some useful and relevant questions. The unprecedented situation has made them look at things critically. Here are some such interesting questions: Will ‘education’ be defined in a different way, in the future? Is there a need to learn differently? Will the transition have a positive or negative impact on students and their learning? How should students’ knowledge and skills be assessed? Will online education be successful in our country where millions of students do not own computers and have access to the Internet? How important is home learning? How important is learner autonomy? Is it good to depend on teachers and cling to the traditional way of learning? Many more questions…

The pandemic should have a positive impact on our education system. It should not be the same after the situation eases. There should be some positive changes.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses in our system include lack of innovative thinking, inadequate infrastructure, untrained teachers, unequal accessibility, exam-centric assessment, and lack of learner autonomy. How do these weaknesses act as hurdles now at the time of the pandemic and lockdown?

Remote learning, distance learning, home learning, online learning, e-learning, and webinar are the buzz-words that we hear today. Recently, the Delhi government announced that it would conduct online classes for class XII students, but school teachers say that it is impractical since most students do not have access to the required facilities. Yes, we are challenged by these questions: Can everyone in the country afford e-learning? Is online education an elite concept in India? Will the digital divide further cement inequality and create an academic divide in the country?

Teachers working in elite schools in cities and big towns proudly state that they conduct classes online using and help students make use of the lockdown period in a useful manner. What about teachers working in government-aided and government schools in cities and towns and private schools in rural areas? Neither teachers nor students have access to computers and the Internet.

They may neither have the awareness of online tools such as Google Classroom available for such purposes, nor have the expertise to use them. Is it possible for such teachers to even think of conducting classes online?

Since our education system has not trained our teachers and students to think creatively and manage in a crisis situation, and has underplayed the importance of e-learning, they are unprepared for the transition from the classroom to online.

Opportunities

All systems have strengths and weaknesses. Maximising strengths and minimising weaknesses in order not to miss the opportunity to move forward should be the goal. The three main opportunities that we have are: i) our students who belong to Gen Z, ii) numerous web resources, and iii) enthusiastic teachers.

Gen Z learners (born between 1997 and 2010) are true digital natives. They are born in the digital era and are familiar with computers, multimedia content and Internet-based activities from an early age. As they live in the online environment, enjoy watching YouTube videos, love connecting with people through social media and speak the language of technology, they need to be taught differently. Now is the right time to move our classes to a different platform, introduce e-learning and develop learner autonomy.

The COVID-19 lockdown has enabled teachers to become creative. They can now create e-material such as YouTube videos and PPTs and share the links with their students and engage them during the lockdown period. Some teachers are using video conferencing facilities such as Zoom and BlueJeans Meetings for online teaching. These video conference facilities have features such as one-click scheduling, screen sharing and collaboration, Cloud streaming and recording, and so on. Some educators use Google Meet.

Look up more Google resources available for distance learning at Google for Education’s Teacher Center online.

Threats

India is far behind some developing countries where digital education is getting increased attention. In countries where e-learning is popular, students have access to various online resources such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which help students, teachers and professionals upgrade their skills. E-learning promotes learner autonomy and enables students to acquire knowledge and skills without depending on teachers. India needs to take the threat of many developed and developing countries leading the way in online education seriously and promote it earnestly.

To summarise, education must continue. Students should keep learning. The lockdown period should be productive. Educators should think creatively and introduce innovative ways of learning. In a country where access to the Internet and high-speed connectivity is a problem, and the digital divide is an issue, it is important to address the challenges. Those who are involved in education planning and administration should give a serious thought to reducing the digital divide in the country and popularise digital learning.

The writer is an academic, columnist and freelance trainer and writer. rayanal@yahoo.co.uk

Centre stops airline bookings

‘No decision has been taken to commence operation of flights from May 4’

20/04/2020, STAFF REPORTER,NEW DELHI

Trolleys being disinfected at the Amritsar airport.AFP

The government on Sunday directed airlines to discontinue advance bookings for travel from May 4, following which Air India reversed its earlier decision to sell tickets.

“It has been noticed that airlines have started booking tickets for journeys with effect from May 4. No decision to commence the operation of domestic/international flights with effect from May 4 has been taken yet. All airlines are hereby directed to refrain from booking tickets,” the Civil Aviation Ministry told domestic and foreign airlines. It said the airlines would be given sufficient notice for restarting flights.

The order provides much-needed clarity to both airlines and passengers and follows an outcry over the manner in which airlines continued to amass passengers’ money, only to issue credit notes later when flights would be cancelled due to an extended lockdown.

Air India immediately reversed its earlier decision. “The airline is currently not taking bookings.”

Several other airlines like IndiGo and Vistara, which had announced their decision to open bookings post-May 3, are expected to fall in line.

Following the Group of Ministers’ meeting on Saturday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter: “So far no decision has been taken to open domestic or international operations. Airlines are advised to open their bookings only after a decision has been taken by the government.”

Over 550 new cases in Maharashtra in a day

Infections soar to 4,200, with Mumbai recording 456 cases; State’s death toll rises to 12

20/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,PUNE

Grim task: Staff of Dadar crematorium in Mumbai leave after performing a victim’s last rites.Prashant Nakwe

Maharashtra reported a staggering surge of 552 new COVID-19 positive cases on Sunday — the State’s highest single-day surge yet — as its cumulative tally rose to 4,200 cases, while 12 more deaths were reported across the State, taking the death toll to 223.

Six of these deaths were reported from Mumbai city, while four fatalities were reported from Malegaon in Nashik, which is fast emerging as north Maharashtra’s virus hotspot. One death each was reported from Solapur district (the city’s second death), and Karjat-Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district.

“We have yet to receive information on whether the Malegaon fatalities had any comorbidities. Of six of the remaining eight deaths, 75% had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and heart disease,” informed State Surveillance Officer Dr. Pradeep Awate.

A silver lining came in the form of the 142 patients who were discharged from hospitals today, taking the total discharged till date to 502.

Mumbai city again reported the majority of new cases — as many as 456 — taking the city’s tally to 2,724 with 132 deaths.

Delhi CM Kejriwal justifies extended lockdown

He cites asymptomatic COVID-19 cases

20/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,NEW DELHI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday justified his decision to continue the lockdown imposed in the capital, pointing to the fact that all 186 patients who tested positive on Sunday were asymptomatic.

He said that of the 736 test results that came in on Saturday, 186 who tested positive showed no symptoms. This was 25% of the total test results. “They [the positive persons] didn’t know they had the corona [virus] and were roaming here and there with the corona [virus]. This is very dangerous,” he said.

Mr. Kejriwal, who on Saturday pointed to a clutch of cases in Jehangirpuri, said a volunteer who had been distributing food at a Delhi government centre had also tested positive. The government, he added, would be testing everyone who might have come in contact with this volunteer.

The issue of asymptomatic patients in the country also came up at the Union Health Ministry’s media briefing. “A very small percentage of those who are asymptomatic are testing positive, as the historical data across the world is showing. However, we have to be aware of this challenge. Our strategy is to monitor those who are asymptomatic and high-risk and test them. Those who are contacts and asymptomatic are advised to be in home quarantine and those at high risk ought to be in facility quarantine,” Ministry spokesman Lav Agarwal said.

Goa is first to turn virus-free

All seven cases test negative, but no time for complacence, says Chief Minister

20/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,MUMBAI

Positive milestone: Goa on Sunday became the first green State in the country with no cases. AFP-

Goa on Sunday became the first zero COVID-19 State in the country with the last seven cases also testing negative.

This makes Goa the first green State in the country with no case of COVID-19 being reported from April 3. The coastal State had a total of seven positive cases, of whom six had travel history and one was the brother of a patient.

“Goa is now COVID-19-free, all seven patients have tested negative. They will be quarantined at government facility and later at home,” Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. Goa has in all tested over 800 people of whom seven had come positive.

Dr. Sawant said that though Goa was the first State to be free of any tested positive case and a happy moment for everyone, especially the frontline workers, it was important to realise that this was no time for complacence.

The Chief Minister said that from April 20, the government would scrutinise reports of its three-day door-to-door citizens survey done last week and decide on testing people for COVID-19 wherever felt necessary.

“We have to ensure that we remain a zero COVID-19 State. The lockdown will continue till the Central government decides. Our borders with Maharashtra and Karnataka will continue to remain sealed. Anyone entering the State under special circumstances will have to stay in a government quarantine centre,” he said.

The Chief Minister said government offices would resume 100% work from Monday. “To ensure that we continue to remain a green zone State, social distancing will have to be maintained. State transport buses will ensure this while shifting government staff. Two-wheelers will have a single occupant and 1,000 thermal guns will be positioned at various places,” he said.

Dr. Sawant announced that subject to permissions from designated officers, industrial units and private businesses would be allowed to start functioning.

Seafarers issue

On the issue of seafarers, the Chief Minister said the Centre would be announcing the repatriation mechanism any time. “Once the government makes the mechanism official, it will take about 3-4 days for the first lot of seafarers to return. Those already at Indian ports or closest to the coast will return first. For the rest, discussions are on whether it would be the sea route or air route that would be taken to get them back,” Dr. Sawant said.

All these seafarers would be subjected to quarantine followed by home quarantine, he said. Goa has made available 8,000 rooms for Goan seafarers.

Pay cuts for PM-CARES leave staff uneasy

20/04/2020, PRISCILLA JEBARAJ, VIJAITA SINGH,NEW DELHI

A number of central ministries have given the nod for salary deductions of staff towards the PM-CARES Fund. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh “approved a proposal” for the contribution of a day’s salary to the fund from all Ministry employees, including Army, Navy, Air Force and Defence Public Sector Units, according to an official statement issued days after the fund was launched.

The Ministry estimated a collective donation of ₹500 crore, but added that “the employees’ contribution is voluntary and those desirous of opting out will be exempted”.

‘Tough on families’

Responding to a circular issued on Friday by the Revenue Department of the Finance Minister that a day’s salary will be deducted from all staff every month till March 2021, one joint secretary level official, who did not want to be named, said, “No one actually asks. And one day per month for a year is 12 days. That is 40% of a monthly salary... An average employee of the Government of India gets between ₹50,000 and ₹80,000 per month. That’s one salary and maybe three dependents. So it’s tough on them,” the official said.

Earlier in the month, resident doctors from four government hospitals in the capital objected to the automatic deduction from their salary of the donation, demanding that it be made an opt-in system, so that only those who wished could choose to donate. Last week, both AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals agreed to the demand.

(With inputs from

Manojit Saha)

Confusion over mismatch in Ministry, ICMR figures

20/04/2020

The discrepancy prompted several questions. “Numbers of positive cases put out today by the States, by ICMR and by Ministry of Health are conflicting and confusing,” former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, tweeted.

“I rely on the dashboard jointly hosted by M/Health and ICMR. The difference between the dashboard number and ICMR’s number for April 18 is an astonishing 1,573. Will the M/Health and ICMR reconcile their reports from the States and report a uniform number every day?” he asked.

A lag in the numbers reported by the States, the Health Ministry and the ICMR has been a constant since March, particularly after the lockdown. The Health Ministry put it down to it reporting numbers only after breaking it up by State- and-district and getting ground-level confirmation. This, Mr. Agrawal said, led to the “occasional lag.”

The ICMR has also increased the number of labs and widened the pool of people it is testing. As of April 18 (Saturday), there were 194 government or state-funded labs and 82 private labs. All labs have varying capacity and this has contributed to delays in communicating data, said officials in charge of testing labs.

“The very act of sorting out samples can take upto four hours as not all of them are uniformly labelled. It can take upto 6 hours to process a batch (and the number per batch varies too) and generate reports and send. So fluctuations in daily numbers can also be because of processing times,” Rakesh Mishra, Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, told The Hindu.

Fewer fresh cases

All together 54 districts, spanning 23 states and Union Territories, have reported no fresh cases in 14 days and two — Mahe in Puducherry and Kodagu in Karnataka — have reported no cases in 28 days. The Health Ministry said the country will be graded as red, orange and green zones depending on the number of cases and hotspots, with the containment action and restrictions being most stringent in the red zones.

Lockdown in Telangana extended to May 7

CM says all measures will be implemented strictly

20/04/2020, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA,HYDERABAD

Long wait: People maintaining social distancing while they wait to collect relief material in Hyderabad. PTIPTI

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday announced that the ongoing lockdown in the State has been extended to May 7.

Briefing presspersons after a State cabinet meeting, he said the lockdown would be implemented in a tough manner in the State.

He also said food delivery apps would not be allowed to operate in the State from Monday.

The Chief Minister said the containment measures initiated by the government has brought down the doubling rate significantly.

Against the national average doubling rate of less than eight days, doubling rate in the State was more than 10 days and the death rate too was significantly lower at 2.44 per cent compared to the national average of 3.22 per cent with 507 deaths reported across the country.

The State has far surpassed the national average in the recovery rate which stood at 22 per cent as compared to 14 per cent across the country.

Tests per million population in the State stood at 375 as compared to the national average of 254.

Four districts – Warangal Rural, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Wanaparthy and Siddipet reported zero COVID-19 cases.

Notification extending lockdown issued

Exemption for medical, fisheries, agricultural and industrial sectors

20/04/2020,

 SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, PUDUCHERRY

The territorial administration on Sunday issued a notification extending the lockdown till May 3 while giving relaxation to medical, fisheries, agricultural and industrial sectors. Public transport will remain suspended.

Educational institutions, cinema halls, malls, shopping complexes, gymnasiums, sports complexes, bars, theatres, assembly halls and similar places will also remain closed till May 3, said an order issued by District Collector T. Arun.

Hotels, homestays and lodges which are accommodating tourists and persons stranded due to lockdown, medical emergency staff, sea and air crew are allowed to operate, the order said.

All social gatherings in public, private places and religious activities will also remain suspended.

In case of funerals, congregation of more than 20 persons will not be permitted.

Works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be allowed from Monday if social distancing is implemented.

He said industries would also be allowed to start operations subject to conditions.

A separate cell has been opened at the Collectorate to grant permission to industries.

The department will check the stock balance in all outlets and stringent action will be initiated if any deviation was found, he said.

‘How I fought COVID-19 and won!’

20/04/2020

As a doctor posted at the Apollo Emergency Clinic at the Chennai Airport, I was worried about the exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus while on duty. However, I continued to work until passenger operations stopped as part of the national lockdown, taking precautions such as wearing a mask and washing hands regularly.

My tryst with COVID-19 began on March 31 when I started to get a fever and a sore feeling in my throat. It was okay with paracetamol for a day or two but then the symptoms increased in intensity — a high fever accompanied by chills, headache, and sore throat. The headache stood out in its severity. I had never experienced such a severe headache in my life. The fever went up to 102 degrees and left me feeling exhausted.

Keeping in view the situation and the fact that I had been working at the airport with the potential risk of exposure to the virus from any infected passengers, I decided to get my COVID-19 testing done immediately. I had already isolated myself in my room and was taking all precautions to avoid contact with others. I waited anxiously for the test results, which came back positive for COVID-19. I right away informed the head of my department at Apollo Hospitals, who advised me to go to our hospital at Vanagaram that had been converted into a COVID-19 speciality hospital.

Taking due care, I reached the hospital in Vanagaram, where I was immediately admitted to the isolation ward on 4th April. I underwent a complete medical check by a team of senior consultants across specialities, with various tests for any other existing co-morbidities. There was no other serious problem and I was glad for my healthy lifestyle at 40 years of age.

Confirmatory test

The confirmatory test also came back as positive for COVID-19 and my treatment began. I was prescribed hydroxychloroquine and other medicines for my symptoms as per the guidelines. The medical staff took the utmost care of me. My condition was monitored continuously. A team of doctors visited me every day and gave updates about my health. Even though they used to be dressed up in PPE with faces hidden behind masks, their visits helped me a lot, as being in isolation is not easy. With no other visitors and only a television for company, I looked forward to the doctors’ visits. The staff nurses sincerely attended to me, giving me my diet, and medications administered on time without delay. The housekeeping staff ensured that my room and the surroundings were clean and tidy.

I was fortunate that my symptoms did not include any respiratory complaint and there were no other complications. I began to feel better. The fever subsided and the medication stopped after the course was completed. On 13th April, I was re-tested for COVID-19 and to my great relief, the result was negative. The test was repeated after 24 hours as per the protocol and guidelines from WHO and when that too came negative; I was discharged on 15th April, after being successfully treated for COVID-19.

It was while I was walking out of the hospital that the realisation struck! I had been one of the over two million patients around the world who were confirmed cases of COVID-19. I had been successfully treated for this infection and discharged after a full recovery. I raised a silent prayer of thanks from my heart to the doctors, nurses, lab technicians, housekeeping staff and others who took care of me. I wish them and the thousands of doctors working round the clock all the best to continue their noble job and keep saving lives! I also look forward to joining my duties again soon!

(The author works in Apollo Emergency Clinic, Apollo Hospitals Group)