SC slams Delhi govt for taking action against docs

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:18.06.2020

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Delhi government for threatening coercive action against doctors and healthcare workers who made public the sorry state of affairs in the city’s hospitals and ordered it to forthwith revoke the suspension order against a healthcare worker who had made a video of bodies lying in patient wards of Lok Nayak Hospital.

“You are shooting the messenger. You do not want the truth to come out. Doctors, nurses and healthcare workers are your warriors in the fight against Covid-19. They need support. The administration must understand that coercing doctors and healthcare staff while not paying them salaries will not help control the pandemic,” a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and M R Shah said.

The hospital director did not deny bodies were kept in patient wards but blamed it on a contractual healthcare worker who was unwilling to touch them. He said the ward boy had made the video and that disciplinary action has been initiated and a detailed inquiry had been ordered into the incident.

Additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain told the court that the Delhi government had done its best to fight the pandemic and was geared to meet the situation to the best of its capability. “We are doing our best to build capacity. We are not justifying any lapse that might have happened in the past. We are also not admitting that everything is hunky-dory,” he said.

The hospital director did not deny bodies were kept in patient wards but blamed it on a contractual healthcare worker who was unwilling to touch them

Withdraw ordinance on pension, demands Cong

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:  18.06.2020

Congress slammed chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for promulgating the ordinance allowing state government to defer a part of payment of salaries and pensions during disaster and public health emergencies.

“The ordinance promulgated by the Telangana government on Tuesday night allows it to defer payments till the situation becomes manageable. Such an ordinance will only trigger fear psychosis among employees and pensioners. The government has been paying deferred payments to the employees and pensions in the last three months. It’s a draconian move by the government,” said Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy, secretary of AICC and former MLA.

Stating that payment of salaries to the employees is certainly not a matter of charity, he said GO No. 27 was violative of Article 300-A of the Constitution.“Neither the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897, as amended by the ordinance of 2020, nor the Disaster Management Act 2005 has provisions for deferment of salaries or pensions,” Reddy said.

BJP, employees’ JAC condemn govt move

Telangana BJP termed the move as anti-employee. Speaking to media, BJP MLA T Raja Singh and MLC Ramachander Rao demanded the immediate withdrawal of the ordinance. Ramachander Rao alleged that some people claiming themselves to be union leaders had colluded with CM K Chandrasekhar Rao and said that state government employees and pensioners will be protesting the move. Meanwhile, the joint action committee of employees, teachers and pensioners condemned the move and demanded full salaries and pension for June. The Telangana unit of Centre of Indian Trade Unions has called for a state-wide protest. TNN

T rides on ordinance to defer staff pay, pensions

Koride.Mahesh@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  18.06.2020

The Telangana government on Tuesday night hurriedly promulgated an ordinance which allowed it to defer salaries and pensions of its employees without getting into legal tangles.

The Telangana Disaster and Public Health Emergency (special provisions) Ordinance,2020, allowed the K Chandrasekhar Rao government to even defer payments to institutions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the state’s reduced revenues.

Telangana high court had on Monday pulled up the state for deferring pensions after a number of employees challenged the decision to impose salary and pension cuts for the past three months. The judges said that even the Disaster Management Act did not give the government such powers.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan issued the ordinance through a gazette notification that came into effect from March 24, the day the national Covid-19 lockdown was imposed. The gazette notification gives the state government immunity from legal scrutiny.

Govt: Will table ordinance in assembly during next session

To make special provision for the deferment of any payment in party, due and payable to any person, institution and any pay, pension and remuneration in part, to any employees, any pensioner and any other person, in the event of disaster and public health emergency in the state and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto,” reads the ordinance.

In the ordinance, the government has even defined disaster, employee, pay, pension and public health emergency empowering the state government to defer payment in the event of any outbreak of any contagious disease. The government has been imposing a cut in the salaries of all employees except some departments such as police, doctors and sanitation workers, public representatives and pensioners.

While 50% salaries deferment is being imposed for government employees, All India Service officers’ salaries have been cut by 60%. Similarly, while elected representatives including CM, ministers, MLAs, MLCs and even local bodies representatives such as mayors have seen a 75% cut.

The government said the ordinance would be tabled in assembly during next session or within six months from the date of ordinance.

HC allows petitioners to amend prayers: The Telangana government, through advocate general BS Prasad, on Wednesday informed a high court bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy that it had promulgated an ordinance enabling it to defer a certain portion of salaries of its employees and pensioners in the current pandemic. Advocate Chikkudu Prabhakar and others representing several petitioners urged the court to allow them to amend their prayers. The bench allowed them to amend their prayers and posted the case to June 24.

› HC allows petitioners to amend their plea

University exams likely to be postponed, meet today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:  18.06.2020

University exams are likely to be postponed by the higher education department officials in view of rising Covid-19 cases in Telangana. The exams, which were scheduled to be held from June 20 in many colleges, are expected to be postponed during a review meeting that will be held on Thursday.

Following numerous representations and complaints from students, chief secretary (education) Chitra Ramachandran is all set to convene a review meeting to discuss university exams and future course of action. Subsequently, a higher level meeting is also expected to be held by the education minister later during the week. “We are keen on postponing the exams by a couple of weeks for final year undergraduate and postgraduate students. For other students, we can conduct exams even in August as they are not due to be awarded degrees,” said an official, indicating the government’s interest in conducting the exams.

Sources said that officials will review feasibility in conducting the exams at various colleges keeping in view social distancing norms, sanitation and hygiene at exam centers, and transportation among other factors. During the meeting, officials are expected to review arrangements and decisions taken by other states and come up with its own set of guidelines for university exams.

Meanwhile, students continue to seek promotion without exams in view of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases across the state. “When the SSC exams were called off due to Covid-19, why can’t university exams be called off? When Punjab and Maharashtra could promote degree students without any exams, why can’t Telangana do the same,” questioned Venkat Balmoori, state president, National Students Union of India (NSUI), that has filed a writ petition urging the high court to promote BTech and degree students without exams.

Officials are likely to review arrangements and decisions taken by other states and come up with its own set of guidelines for university exams

PM: Prepare for Unlock 2.0 & ways to minimise infection

Asks States To Ramp Up Health Infrastructure, Trained Manpower

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:18.06.2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked states to ramp up health infrastructure and trained manpower to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, while also preparing for Unlock 2.0 to boost economic revival.

During his second part of the two-day interaction with chief ministers and administrators of states and UTs through video-conferencing, the PM stressed on the importance of testing to quickly track and isolate those infected. The existing testing capacity needs to be utilized fully along with constant efforts for expansion, he said. Expansion of health infrastructure should be given utmost priority so that every person infected with Covid-19 can receive timely treatment and deaths are avoided, the PM added.

“We need to create a big team of senior doctors who can guide and inform the sick,” the PM said and suggested spreading timely and correct information through helplines run by young volunteers.

Observing that spread of the virus is greater in some big states and cities, he said the number of those recovering is rising because of timely tracing and treatment. He said the discipline shown by people during the lockdown has prevented any exponential growth of the virus.

“Difficulty in maintaining physical distancing and daily movement of people in huge numbers have made the situation challenging, yet through patience of citizens, readiness of administration and dedication of corona warriors, the spread has been kept under control,” he said.

Assuring availability of medical equipment and testing kits, Modi highlighted the increase in domestic manufacturing capabilities of PPEs, masks, diagnostic kits and ventilators.

The PM emphasized on the need to speed up economic activities with all precautions in place now that the country is in the phase of unlocking and asked states to dispel any rumours of lockdown. The country needs to now think about Unlocking 2.0, he said while interacting with CMs and representatives of 14 states/UTs. He noted that with reduction in restrictions, indicators of economic performance are showing signs of revival.

Prime Minister also observed that states where Aarogya Setu App has been downloaded in large numbers are witnessing positive results. “Efforts should be made to increase the reach of the App,” he said.

His virtual interaction on day two of his consultations with states witnessed participation of States and UTs including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana and Odisha. Some of these states account for majority of cases.

On Tuesday, he had interacted with chief ministers, LGs and administrators of 21 states and UTs.

BID TO REVIVE ECONOMY: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with chief ministers of 15 states and Union Territories on Covid-19 situation via video-conferencing in New Delhi on Wednesday

SC asks CBSE to consider whether it could scrap remaining papers in view of Covid-19

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:18.06.2020

In view of the rising number of Covid-19 infections and to protect students from getting exposed to the virus, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked CBSE to consider whether it could scrap the remaining papers of Board examinations and grant marks on the basis of internal assessment.

A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna asked CBSE to hold consultations and take a call on the issue after the Board informed the court that it was in the process of taking a decision on the issue. The court listed the next hearing for June 23.

The CBSE had earlier announced that the remaining papers of the Board exams would be held during July 1-15.

After the decision, a group of four parents approached the court. The petition, filed through advocate Rishi Malhotra, pleaded the court to direct CBSE to scrap the remaining papers and give marks to students on the basis of internal assessment. It said students and their parents would be exposed to the pandemic if they come out of homes for the examination to be conducted at over 15,000 centres across the country.

“CBSE’s notification for holding the remaining examination is discriminatory and arbitrary and that too in the month of July when as per AIIMS data, the Covid-19 pandemic would be at its peak.... As done by CBSE in its other 250 schools abroad and various state boards, the examination scheduled to be conducted in July should be cancelled and marks allotted on the basis of internal assessment,” the petition said.

“CBSE cancelled the examinations of Class X and XII for its 250 odd schools which are situated abroad and has adopted criteria in awarding marks on the basis of either practical exams conducted or internal assessment marks. It is highly regretful that the respondents herein have no genuine concern about putting the lives at peril of all students and have no explanation whatsoever in insisting upon holding the said examination in India,” it said.

Present methodology for alternative grading: HC to CISCE

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday told Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) to present its methodology for alternative grading for classes X and XII students who opt not to physically appear for exams in pending papers.

The methodology has to be placed before court on June 22, the deadline set earlier by the board. Once approved, students can exercise their option till June 24, the court indicated.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice S S Shinde heard a PIL by advocate Arvind Tiwari, a parent of a class X student, against exams in July. On June 14, the board said students can take the exams or have results based on pre-board exams and results of board exams in subjects they had written. Advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, said the state was opposed in principle to exams being held, but it will take a call depending on number of students who opt to physically take it. Senior advocate Darius Khambata, for the board, said if the state does not allow exams it will bow to the decision. He said if the state was reopening schools in July, it must be confident of students’ safety. Khambata said many students want to appear for exams, and strict safety measures will be followed for handling papers which are in schools for three months. He said it was important to get a decision from parents.

Tiwari said it was not much of a choice when methodology for gradation was not known. Advocate Rahul Tanwani, for an intervenor parent, said consent to any choice had to be an informed consent. Advocate Karl Tamboly, for other intervenor parents, said preliminary exams suffer from vagaries as every school has its own degree of difficulty in setting prelims and marking them. Khambata said pre-board data for five years will be called for from schools and compared with board results to formulate methodology. TNN

CROSSING THE LINE

Fake e-passes keep officials on their toes

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai :  18.06.2020

As authorities across districts are engaged in the battle against Covid-19, they are now facing a problem of fake e-passes. An increasing number of people, desperate to reach other districts, are opting to use fake e-passes and even risking arrests.

On Wednesday, Kovilpatti west police arrested a school headmaster K Amulraj of Rajiv Nagar in the town for ferrying people between Tuticorin and Chennai using an epass obtained by producing a fake medical report. Using the e-pass, Amulraj took one person from Kovilpatti to Sriperumbudur and brought back two people from Ashok Nagar in Chennai on the return trip.

In Coimbatore, revenue department officials sealed a photocopying centre in Sulur that sold fake e-passes to those, who wanted to leave the district. South tahsildar J Meenakumari sealed the centre, functioning near the tahsildar office.

The incident came to light while verifying the e-pass of Tiruchendur native Manivannan at the Virudhunagar check post. Cops who scanned the QR code on the pass

found that the database did not match the details printed on the pass. “Inquiry revealed that, out of desperation, he had obtained a fake pass from a photocopying centre in Sulur,” said a revenue official. The tahsildar said employees at the photocopying centre had replaced the personal details on the copy of an approved e-pass.

In Salem, the city police registered cases against 17 persons after Salem municipal corporation (SMC) officials lodged complaint against them for entering the city without valid e-passes. Talking to TOI, SMC commissioner R Sadheesh said, people should have entered the city with valid e-pass or any other government passes if they were coming from other districts or states. “If they don’t have any such passes, it will be considered as illegal entry,” he said.

According to Sadheesh, many people had entered the city without valid reasons from other districts and states. The authorities have been monitoring people entering the city through all the four zones - Hasthampatty, Ammapet, Kondalampatty and Suramangalam. Those entering illegally without e-passes are being taken to the quarantine centers in the respective zones.

PREGNANT WOMEN ALSO EXEMPTED

Staff aged 55 and above can get exemption from govt duty

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:18.06.2020

The state government on Wednesday issued an order announcing that government employees who are aged 55 years and above with comorbidities, upon production of medical certificate, can be exempted from attending duty. The period of exemption will be treated as ‘on duty’.

In an order, chief secretary K Shanmugam said pregnant women staff and differently-abled were also exempted from attending duty and period of exemption be treated as ‘on duty’. “The guidelines shall be applicable to employees of commissions, boards, corporations, universities, companies, institutions, societies of the state government,” the order said. This will be applicable for the entire period of lockdown till the government announces the end of lockdown under the disaster management act. The chief secretary also said the absence of government employees during the lockdown from March 25 and May 17 be treated as ‘on duty’, since no transport facility was available.

TN govt also moves HC over Neet quota

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:18.06.2020

A day after the Madras high court directed the Union government to respond to pleas moved by the DMK, AIADMK and others challenging its decision not to provide 50% OBC reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) for admission to medical courses, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday moved a similar plea.

Admitting the plea, a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy tagged the plea with the other pending petitions and adjourned the hearing to June 22.

In his petition, health secretary J Radhakrishnan said Tamil Nadu, at present, provides 50% reservation for OBCs in admission to medical courses and so the Centre is mandated to provide the same percentage of reservation of seats surrendered to All India Quota, he said, adding that the Union government had failed to comply with the mandate.

Many schools struggle to retrieve answer sheets of Class X students

Many schools struggle to retrieve answer sheets of Class X students

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:18.06.2020

Schools are now hunting for answer sheets for quarterly and half-yearly exams of Class X students after the directorate of government examinations (DGE) direction to submit records including evaluated answer scripts.

To prevent malpractice and inflation of marks by schools, the DGE on Tuesday asked headmasters to submit records including progress report, mark registers and answer sheets for half-yearly and quarterly exams. With boards being canceled, marks from these exams will carry 80% weightage while attendance makes up the rest 20%.

But, since board exams are conducted by the government, most schools have distributed the scripts to students. “We have been calling students and parents all morning. One third of them have said they have disposed of answer scripts,” said N Vijayan, senior principal of Zion Matriculation Higher Secondary School.

“Our school has very few answer scripts. After the exams, we evaluated the answer scripts and distributed them to students telling them where they need to improve. We are not sure how many have preserved them,” said V Shanthi, headmistress of Vidyodaya Girls Higher Secondary School in T Nagar. Now as the intense lockdown draws near, the school is busy preparing the records asked by the directorate of government examinations.

Many private schools, however, have submitted their quarterly and halfyearly marks to the district educational offices.

Government schools said they too usually distribute answer sheets after the exam. “Some students keep their answer scripts. But, we have other records like progress reports and mark registers. Government schools have already uploaded the marks on EMIS (Educational Management Information System) portal. So, there is no issue,” a headmaster from government school said.

“This is the only foolproof method they can adopt. Since most schools distributed answer scripts to the students, they can give their explanation as to what they have done with the answer scripts,” said G J Manohar, headmaster of MCC Higher Secondary School, Chetpet.

Some headmasters demanded grades for Class X students since there is no exam this year. “They should give grades to students as many students would have performed below par in quarterly and half-yearly exams,” a headmaster said.

In view of the 12-day lockdown, the DGE has relaxed the submission deadline for schools in Chennai and its neighbouring districts. “Answer scripts are among the records schools need to submit. If they don’t have answer scripts, they can submit other documents like progress reports and marks registers,” officials said.

After the exams, we evaluated the answer scripts and distributed them to students telling them where they need to improve. We are not sure how many have preserved them

V Shanthi | HEADMISTRESS, VIDYODAYA GIRLS HIGHER

SECONDARY SCHOOL

Demand for pulse oximeters rises

Demand for pulse oximeters rises

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:18.06.2020

With experts advising individuals to buy pulse oximeters to measure level of oxygen in blood, demand for the device has shot up. Online stores have ran out of basic models and are selling available stock at higher prices now.

When checked at half-adozen shops in Madipakkam, Nanganallur and Velachery, average cost was ₹1,500-₹4,500 a piece.

Except for corporate-run pharmacies, which already sell devices like diabetic kits, most retail stores don’t encourage sales of oximeters because there was no service guarantee and there was no one to approach if customers came back with complaint, said KK Selvam, who owns four pharmacies in Chennai.

“Moreover, we can’t return such products to dealers if they remain unsold. In online platforms, some store away the product now and sell it in the gray market at double rate later,” he added.

“Given the increase in infection rate, it was important not to ignore any mild illness. A pulse oximeter comes in very handy to monitor oxygen saturation level and can pickup hypoxia very early,” said public health expert K Kolandaisamy Hypoxia is a term used for low-oxygen level in the blood. Since Covid-19 is a predominant infection of the respiratory system, it results in impaired oxygenation of the blood. Therefore patients end up in hypoxia for which the first symptom could be death in most cases, say doctors.

“Unfortunately not many know that they are at the risk of hypoxia because they have silent heart problems which they have inherited. Once patients notice a drop in oxygen saturation level in the device, they don’t know the risk and can’t do anything about it anyway at home,” said AB Gopalamurugan, Senior Interventional Cardiologist from Kauvery Hospital, Chennai.

Patients have to be cautious and not self-medicate with oxygen canisters as their usage in few patients, particularly smokers who have Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), without medical advice could cause death.

Once the heart stops, you only have four minutes and only very few are brought to us within this time. So the best thing is to get checked as sophisticated options like cardiac defibrillators were available to save their lives, he added.

PIL against lockdown junked, ₹50K cost imposed

PIL against lockdown junked, ₹50K cost imposed

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:18.06.2020

The Madras high court imposed an exemplary cost of ₹50,000 on a person after dismissing his public interest petition to declare lockdown announced by the Central and state governments as illegal.

“We are of the view that the imposition of lockdown or relaxing the lockdown is a matter to be decided by the instrumentalities of the government by taking various factors and the ground realities,” a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramaswamy said on Wednesday.

“This court cannot, in exercise of its powers under the Constitution, interfere with the decision taken by the government to curb the pandemic. The contentions raised by the petitioner, therefore, deserve to be rejected as having no merits. The petitioner in our opinion has filed the petition not in any public interest but otherwise,” the bench said. The judges added, “We dismiss the plea with a cost of ₹50,000 payable by the petitioner to the Chief Justice Relief Fund.”

Petitioner M Immanvuel said the lockdown has no legal sanction and the government does not have power to implement such lockdowns.

City to turn fortress during 12-day curfew

City to turn fortress during 12-day curfew

Those Out On Roads Sans Reason To Be Penalised

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:

The government’s idea is to turn the area within Greater Chennai police limits into a virtual fortress, with strict curbs on movement of people and vehicles during the 12-day intense lockdown from June 19 to 30.

Autorickshaws and taxis will not be allowed to ply, except for medical emergencies and even then commuters will have to prove their need is genuine and carry multiple photocopies of all relevant documents.

You can buy vegetables and groceries only from shops within 2km of your home and you’ll have to walk. The shops will be open only from 6am to 2pm.

Restaurants can only operate takeaway services and that too only between 6am and 8pm and their staff should have proper ID cards.

Services for the aged and disabled, and old-age homes and orphanages can run. But voluntary organisations and others should get passes from tnepass.tnega.org. Both passes and identity cards should be photocopied in A5 size (148mmX210mm). Those who don’t wear masks will be fined.

The Greater Chennai traffic police have warned that those found moving out unnecessarily will be booked under CrPc 144. Their vehicles will also be impounded.

Those who possess necessary passes should also ensure that they follow social distancing while travelling in vehicles.

On the two Sundays, June 21 and 28, there will be a complete lockdown without any relaxation. On these two days, except milk supply, hospitals, pharmacies, ambulance services, emergency and funeral hearse vans, no other activities will be permitted. Barricades would be put up in critical locations and public address systems used to ensure people obeyed the lockdown rules.

“The main objective of this lockdown is to restrict the movement of people within the area and outside to reduce the disease spread,” said chief secretary K Shanmugam who held a meeting with officials and shot off a five-page letter of instructions to civic and police officials in Chennai and the three adjoining districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpet and Thiruvallur.

He suggested geo-fencing of home isolated patients and quarantined contacts to ensure they don’t move around and strict action against the violators. Outside the containment zones, fever camps would be organised for early detection and testing of suspected persons. Smooth supply of essentials in the quarantine houses and in the containment area would be ensured to make the lockdown a success.

“Ensure 100% identification of all home contacts and other contacts and quarantine them within 24 hours. Use Aarogya Setu or tele-consultation of police for tracking to ensure contact tracing is complete without omission,” the chief secretary said.

The teams should keep a close watch on the health of aged, comorbid cases. The waiting time in screening centres should be reduced and hassle-free allotment of hospital/health or Covid care centre and private hospital ensured. There should be better coordination for allotment of beds in private hospitals.

The Chennai police have said that in case of any doubts the public can contact 044-23452330 / 044-23452362 and 90031 30103.

Ordinance to allow Telangana defer govt salaries & pensions

Koride.Mahesh@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad  18.06.2020

: The Telangana government on Tuesday night hurriedly promulgated an ordinance which allowed it to defer salaries and pensions of its employees without getting into legal tangles.

The Telangana disaster and public health emergency (special provisions) ordinance, 2020, allowed the K Chandrasekhar Rao government to even defer payments to institutions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the state’s reduced revenues.

Telangana high court had on Monday pulled up the state for deferring pensions after a number of employees challenged the decision to impose salary and pension cuts for the past three months. The judges said that even the Disaster Management Act did not give the government such powers.

Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan issued the ordinance through a gazette notification that came into effect from March 24, the day the national Covid-19 lockdown was imposed.

The ordinance reads “to make special provision for the deferment of any payment in party, due and payable to any person, institution and any pay, pension and remuneration in part, to any employees, any pensioner and any other person, in the event of disaster and public health emergency in the state and for the matters connected therewith of incidental thereto.”

In the ordinance, the government has even defined disaster, employee, pay, pension and public health emergency empowering the state government to defer payment in the event of any outbreak of any contagious disease. The gazette notification gives immunity from legal scrutiny.

The government has been imposing a cut in the salaries of all employees except some departments such as police, doctors and sanitation workers, public representatives and pensioners.

Full report on www.toi.in

Doctor

7.5% quota for govt. school students in MBBS intakeOrdinance to be promulgated

16/06/2020 

The State Cabinet on Monday approved an ordinance, envisaging 7.5% horizontal reservation in the State government's quota of MBBS/BDS seats, for students of government higher secondary schools.

The “quota within quota” covers government seats in private colleges too, said sources, adding that the proposed ordinance would be sent to Governor Banwarilal Purohit for assent.

The prerequisite for qualification is that students of government schools should have qualified in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

‘Reasonable’ limit

Though the proposal was speculated to be for a 10% quota, the Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, kept it at 7.5%, as it felt that the quantum prescribed should be “reasonable”.

The Cabinet decision was based on a recommendation made by a panel, which was headed by former judge of the Madras High Court, P. Kalaiyarasan.

The panel’s report was submitted to the Chief Minister last week.

The panel had observed that there was a “cognitive gap” among students studying in government schools.

The committee suggested that students who had passed the higher secondary exam after having studied for seven consecutive years in government schools be provided the reservation.

Asked whether the government’s move would stand legal scrutiny, the sources replied in the affirmative.

They cited the case of Karnataka, where there is a scheme of horizontal reservation of 15% of State government seats for rural students in admission to professional courses.

சென்னை சிறப்பு விமானம் இலங்கை அனுமதி மறுப்பு

சென்னை சிறப்பு விமானம் இலங்கை அனுமதி மறுப்பு

2020-06-16@ 08:03:41

சென்னை: சென்னை விமான நிலையத்திலிருந்து நேற்று முன்தினம் இரவு 9.30 மணிக்கு இலங்கைக்கு சிறப்பு விமானம் செல்ல இருந்தது. அதில் பயணம் செய்ய 118 பயணிகள் சென்னை சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் வந்தனர். அவர்கள் அனைவரும் தனியார் கப்பல் நிறுவனத்தில் பணியாற்றும் இந்தியர்கள். மத்திய அரசிடம் சிறப்பு அனுமதிபெற்று பணிக்கு செல்வதற்காக இந்த தனி விமானத்தை ஏற்பாடு செய்திருந்தனர். விமானத்தில் பயணிகளை ஏற்றுவதற்கு முன்பு அந்த விமானம் தரையிறங்கப்போகும் விமான நிலையத்தின் அனுமதி பெறவேண்டும்.

அதைப்போல் சென்னை விமானநிலைய கட்டுப்பாட்டு அறையிலிருந்து, கொழும்பு விமானநிலைய கட்டுப்பாட்டு அறையோடு தொடர்பு கொண்டனர். ஆனால் கொழும்பு விமானநிலைய அதிகாரிகள் இந்த விமானம் அங்கு தரையிறங்க அனுமதி தரவில்லை. விமானத்தில் வரும் பயணிகளுக்கு கொரோனா மருத்துவ பரிசோதணை செய்ய அங்கு போதிய வசதியில்லை என்று தெரிவித்ததாக கூறப்படுகிறது.

இதையடுத்து இலங்கை செல்ல இருந்த தனியார் சிறப்பு தனி விமானம் ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டது.

ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கும் ஓய்வுபெறும் வயதை நீட்டிப்பதா?: அரசு அறிக்கை தர ஐகோர்ட் உத்தரவு

ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கும் ஓய்வுபெறும் வயதை நீட்டிப்பதா?: அரசு அறிக்கை தர ஐகோர்ட் உத்தரவு

2020-06-16@ 09:47:05

சென்னை: ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டு நிலுவையில் உள்ள அரசு ஊழியர்களுக்கும் ஓய்வு பெறும் வயதை உயர்த்தியதை எதிர்த்து தொடரப்பட்ட வழக்கில் தமிழக அரசு அறிக்கை அளிக்கும்படி சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது. சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்ற வக்கீல் கற்பகம் என்பவர் தாக்கல் செய்த பொதுநல வழக்கில், தமிழக அரசு சமீபத்தில் அரசு ஊழியர்கள் ஓய்வு பெறும் வயதை 58லிருந்து 59 ஆக உயர்த்தியுள்ளது.நேர்மையாக, நியாயமாக பணிபுரிந்த அரசு ஊழியர்கள் ஓய்வு பெறும் வயதை ஒரு ஆண்டு நீட்டிப்பதில் எந்த தவறும் இல்லை. ஆனால், ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டுகளுக்கு ஆளாகி, ஒழுங்கு நடவடிக்கை விசாரணை நிலுவையில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கும் ஓய்வு பெறும் வயது நீடிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இதனால் ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டில் இருப்பவர்கள் தொடர்ந்த அதே ஊழலில் ஈடுபட வாய்ப்பு உள்ளது.

எனவே, ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டுக்கு உள்ளவர்களுக்கான ஓய்வு பெறும் வரை நீட்டித்தது செல்லாது என்று அறிவிக்க வேண்டும் என்றும் இது தொடர்பாக அரசு உரிய அறிவிப்பை வெளியிடுமாறும் உத்தரவிட வேண்டும் என்று கூறப்பட்டிருந்தது. இந்த வழக்கு நீதிபதிகள் சுப்பையா, கிருஷ்ணன் ராமசாமி ஆகியோர் அடங்கிய அமர்வில் நேற்று விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது. வழக்கை விசாரித்த நீதிபதிகள், மனு குறித்து 2 வாரத்திற்குள் தமிழக அரசு அறிக்கை அளிக்குமாறு உத்தரவிட்டனர்.

சிங்கப்பூர், கத்தாரிலிருந்து 441 பேர் சென்னை வருகை

சிங்கப்பூர், கத்தாரிலிருந்து 441 பேர் சென்னை வருகை

Added : ஜூன் 16, 2020 00:02

சென்னை; சிங்கப்பூர், கத்தார் நாடுகளில் சிக்கித் தவித்த, 441 இந்தியர்கள், மூன்று சிறப்பு விமானங்களில், நேற்று முன்தினம் இரவு, சென்னைக்கு அழைத்து வரப்பட்டனர்.

மத்திய அரசு, வெளிநாடுகளில் சிக்கித் தவிக்கும் இந்தியர்களை, நம் நாட்டிற்கு அழைத்து வர, சிறப்பு விமானங்களை இயக்கி வருகிறது. இதன் தொடர்ச்சியாக, நேற்று முன்தினம் இரவு, சிங்கப்பூர், கத்தார் நாடுகளில் இருந்து, மூன்று சிறப்பு விமானங்கள் சென்னைக்கு வந்தன. அந்த விமானங்களில், 441 பேர் வந்தனர். அவர்கள் அனைவருக்கும், விமான நிலையத்தில், மருத்துவ பரிசோதனைகள் நடந்தன. பின் அவர்கள் அனைவரும், தனிமைப்படுத்துதலுக்காக, அழைத்து செல்லப்பட்டனர்.

விமான சேவைகள்சென்னையில் இருந்து நேற்று, டில்லி, கோல்கட்டா, அந்தமான், கவுஹாத்தி, ஐதராபாத், திருவனந்தபுரம், பெங்களூரு, மதுரை, திருச்சி, துாத்துக்குடி, சேலம் உள்ளிட்ட, 30 நகரங்களுக்கு விமானங்கள் இயக்கப்பட்டன.இதேபோல, பல்வேறு நகரங்களில் இருந்து, 30 விமானங்கள் சென்னைக்கு வந்தன. சென்னையில் இருந்து நேற்று, 3,700 பேர், பல்வேறு நகரங்களுக்கு சென்றனர். பல்வேறு நகரங்களில் இருந்து, 1,800 பேர் சென்னைக்கு வந்தனர். 'சென்னையில், கொரோனா தொற்று பரவல் அதிகரித்துள்ளதால், சென்னைக்கு வரும் பயணியரை விட, சென்னையில் இருந்து வெளியேறும் பயணியரின் எண்ணிக்கை, சில நாட்களாக அதிகரித்துள்ளது' என, விமான நிலைய அதிகாரிகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

Rs 5 Lakh COVID Insurance Likely For Medicos Giving MUHS Exams: Report

Rs 5 Lakh COVID Insurance Likely For Medicos Giving MUHS Exams: Report 

By Garima 

Published On 15 Jun 2020 5:20 PM | Updated On 15 Jun 2020 

5:20 PM 

The medical students who are vying to complete their studies have shown concerns for appearing for the examinations in allocated medical colleges and hospitals where COVID patients have been admitted as the infection rate is very high in these institutes. Citing that, the students have raised alarms claiming that this would risk their lives including those of their families. 

Mumbai: Considering the risk of infection, the medical students would be putting themselves in, while appearing for upcoming university examinations amid coronavirus epidemic, the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) has decided to ask the state government if Rs 5 lakh COVID insurance cover can be provided for the examinees, suggests a recent report by TOI. 

The said decision has been taken by the varsity on the basis of several representations submitted by the medicos pursuant to the declaration of 

Over than a week ago, eliminating the confusion over the UG and PG medical examinations due to the coronavirus lockdown, the Maharashtra Governor had granted permission to conduct all these exams from July 15 onwards as proposed by the MUHS. 

The medical students who are vying to complete their studies have shown concerns for appearing for the examinations in allocated medical colleges and hospitals where COVID patients have been admitted as the infection rate is very high in these institutes. Citing that, the students have raised alarms claiming that this would risk their lives including those of their families. 

The medicos are also not happy with the exams being held this soon. The PG medical students who are constantly on COVID 19 duty, have come forward demanding cancellation of the exams. According to them, they do not have time to prepare for them. Many pointed out that they would be inconvenienced while giving exams in gloves and masks, which will affect scores. And some students don't even have required books to study after many of them had left books and journals in hostel rooms when they were told to leave after the lockdown was imposed. 

However, as exams cannot be cancelled by the varsity, the MUHS administration agreed to address their issues. According to a recent report by TOI, the varsity agreed to write to government seeking advice on the extension of Rs 5 lakh COVID insurance for exam-giving students. An official informed the daily that varsity offers health benefits which could be modified or extended for COVID. The university, in a letter to students' representatives, signed by the controller of exams, agreed to direct medical colleges to sanitise hostels, canteens and exam halls regularly during written and practical exams. 

All the concerned students who are set to appear in these examinations are requested to view the instructions released for medicos by the MUHS.

https://medicaldialogues.in/news/education/medical-universities/rs-5-lakh-covid-insurance-likely-for-medicos-giving-muhs-exams-report-66725

Abuse has increased during lockdown, say 71% of elderly

Ambika.Pandit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:16.06.2020

Ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, a survey with focus on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic found 71% elderly respondents are of the opinion that cases of abuse against them increased during the lockdown period and after.

A majority 56.1% of the respondents said they were suffering abuse in their families or by society. The forms of abuse include a wide range from disrespect and verbal abuse, silent treatment (not talking to them), ignoring their daily needs, denying proper food, denying medical support, cheating financially, physical and emotional violence and forcing the elderly to work.

The survey was steered by volunteers of civil society organisation Agewell Foundation between June 1 to June 12 and is based on responses of 5,000 elderlypeople in different parts of the country, including metro cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Of the 2,804 respondents who said they were facing abuse, 79% said elderly face mistreatment in old age mostly due to financial reasons.

The study further indicates that the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown related rules have forced most senior citizens above to live in isolation. A very high 69% of elderly respondents said their lives have been affected by the situation arising out of the pandemic.

A significant 71% of elderly respondents said that they believe cases of elder abuse have increased during lockdown period and after. Among them 58% claimed interpersonal relationships are the major factor behind increasing incidence of elder abuse in families. Besides this, 63.7% of elderly respondents said they were facing neglect in their life.

Himanshu Rath, chairman of Agewell Foundation, said Covid-19 has created a negative atmosphere around older persons. “Older people are not only facing social restrictions but also family restrictions.

Full report on www.toi.in

LOCKDOWN BLUES

Landlord waives ₹7L rent of 70 students

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jaipur:  16.06.2020

In view of the crisis faced by aspirants of competitive exams and students due to the lockdown, a landlord, who is a high court advocate, has waived three months’ rent of 70 students staying at his PG amounting to Rs 7 lakh. So far, total room rent amounting to around Rs 10-15 lakh has been waived off by many landlords after the campaign launched by Rajasthan Berozgar Ekikrit Mahasangh.

“I own two PGs — one at Gurjar ki Thadi and the other at Maharani Farm. Most of the students who stay at my PG study at the coaching centres. I waived their rent for three months (March, April and May). They pay Rs 3,000 each for a bed and if they opt for food, we charge them Rs 6,000 each,” said Rohit Gautam, who stays at Gurjar ki Thadi and practices law at the high court. He has been running the PGs for the past three years.

“None of them has come back yet. So, I have decided to waive their rent till they return — be it up to July or August. The parents of these students are poor. So, how can we charge them when there is a lockdown in the state? This would be very insensitive and against humanity. We all are facing difficulties in this situation; hence, we should understand their problems as well. I feel, all the landlords should do the same,” he added. Gautam’s father is also an advocate at the high court. He has seven members in his family.

Convener of Rajasthan Berozgar Ekikrit Mahasangh Upen Yadav said, “Had the political leaders ran such a campaign, then the problems of the students would have been solved easily. But, they are silent on this issue.”

Supreme Court allows merit to breach quota barrier

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  16.06.2020

Merit breached the iron wall of quota on Monday as the Supreme Court permitted a Madhya Pradesh OBC woman, who topped the merit list, to join as an assistant professor in geography from posts earmarked for unreserved category women candidates.

Madhya Pradesh sets aside 33% of all posts in government jobs, except those in the forest department, for women. This is sub-divided into four categories — unreserved, SC, ST and OBC. For the 84 posts advertised for assistant professors, 26 were reserved for women candidates. Of these, 12 were for unreserved, four for SCs and six each for STs and OBCs.

Sadhna Singh Dangi, who competed as an OBC candidate, topped the merit list and the government appointed her in the unreserved category since she performed better than all unreserved category candidates. She had not sought eligibility on the basis of caste quota. One Pinki Asati and many others challenged this decision before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which on April 29 quashed the list of selected candidates and said it was impermissible to draft in an OBC candidate in the unreserved category and appoint her to a post earmarked for the latter.

The Indore bench of the HC ruled that in a case of compartmentalised reservation, no migration from reserved to unreserved category was permissible even if the candidate belonging to reserved category had not availed any benefit of reservation for securing eligibility and had got a seat in the unreserved category solely on merit.

Further strengthening compartmentalised reservation, the HC had said, "A candidate not falling in the merit list of unreserved category cannot be brought from any other category belonging to OBC, SC or ST in order to accommodate against horizontal quota of unreserved women category." The HC had said meritorious OBC category women candidates would be accommodated against the six posts of assistant professors available for that category and they could not eat into the 12 unreserved category posts.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices U U Lalit, M M Shantanagoudar and Vineet Saran entertained Dangi’s appeal and stayed the HC order, paving the way for her and other meritorious reserved category candidates to be appointed as assistant professors in posts earmarked for the unreserved category.

Full report on www.toi.in

ICMR recommends use of antigen-based testing kit

Kit Can Give Test Results In 30 Minutes At Much Cheaper Cost

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  16.06.2020

The government’s apex research body, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has recommended use of the first antigen-based testing kit for Covid-19 to enable faster diagnosis at lower rates and without laboratory examinations of samples.

The antigen test — developed by private biotechnology firm SD Biosensor — has also been validated by AIIMS, New Delhi, apart from ICMR and can detect presence of SARS CoV 2 in swab collected from the nose alone.

The test can detect presence of molecules of the pathogen that triggers immune response in Covid-19 infected persons. Maximum duration for interpreting a positive or negative test is 30 minutes through the antigen based kit.

“In view of its high specificity while relatively low sensitivity, ICMR recommends the use of Standard Q Covid-19 Ag detection assay as a point of care diagnostic assay for testing…,” ICMR said in an advisory recommending the antigen test in combination with the gold standard RT-PCR test.

While no confirmatory tests are required for samples testing positive, ICMR said those who test negative should undergo a RT-PCR test to rule out infection. Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration also approved an antigen-based test, noting it is a new type of diagnostic test. "Each category of diagnostic test has its own unique role in the fight against this virus. PCR tests can be incredibly accurate, but running the tests and analysing the results can take time. One of the main advantages of an antigen test is the speed of the test, which can provide results in minutes."

But antigen tests may not detect all active infections and are not as sensitive as molecular PCR tests. Hence, positive results are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives. So negative results do not rule out infection, the FDA said. Similarly, ICMR has said negative results need to be confirmed with a PCR test prior to making treatment decisions or to prevent the possible spread of the virus.

Full report on www.toi.in

Workers cleaning a train coach temporarily converted into isolation wards for Covid-19 patients in New Delhi on Monday

Govt college pioneers ‘blended learning’

Binu.Karunakaran@timesgroup.com

Kochi: 16.06.2020

As institutions of higher learning struggle to adapt to the new normal, a government arts and science college which successfully developed a ‘blended learning’ model three years ago using open-source tools has become a guiding force for the teaching community in the state.

Sree Neelakanta Government Sanskrit College (SNGS), Pattambi, has so far trained hundreds of college and higher-secondary school teachers in Moodle, using an open-source learning management system (LMS). It also employs a customized version of the LMS to train PSC and UGC aspirants. This has helped it generate annual revenues of up to Rs 8 lakh.

SNGS has its origins in ‘Saraswathodyothini’, a Sanskrit school founded by Neelakanta Sarma, popularly known as Punnaseri Nampi, in 1889. It attracted students of all castes and was known as the ‘Nalanda on the banks of Nila’.

At the heart of the model, which combines online learning with physical classrooms, is the studentcentric approach which is empathetic of their vulnerabilities and limitations of digital access. “A student attending live classes via video conferencing apps would have to exhaust at least 1GB of data. So our focus was on creating resources that require minimal data such as streaming audio and text,” says Santhosh H K, head of department of Malayalam, which plays a lead role in the virtual-learning initiatives.

SNGS, which has customized LMS platforms for several government colleges, uses around 50 tools to create accessible resources for students. The most prominent among them are podcasts, which, unlike videos are not data intensive.

“The impetus is on providing interactive content like quizzes. Students also use the Moodle app to access content, even while offline,” said Santhosh.

Sree Neelakanta Government Sanskrit College, Pattambi, has trained teachers using open-source learning management system

PhD open defence held online at Cusat

Kochi: 16.06.2020

The open defence of the first PhD from Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research (ACARR), Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat), was done online with the student defending his thesis from Arizona. The candidate, Titu K Samson is undergoing training as a post-doctoral fellow at Arizona State University, USA. He did his PhD work entitled ‘Design, Development, Calibration and Validation of 205 MHz Wind Profiler Radar’ under the guidance of P Mohanan, professor (retd), department of electronics, Cusat, who is also a founding coordinator of the radar project.

Cusat has been conducting its PhD open defence online through open-source Jitsi-based online meeting facilities in their data centre. TNN

Medicos: Made to give consent for exams

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad:  16.06.2020

Days ahead of the final examinations, post-graduate students from various private medical and dental colleges in Telangana, on Monday, claimed that they were being forced by the management to sign an undertaking, consenting to the tests.

Junior doctors alleged that at least three private medical colleges from Nalgonda, Karimnagar and Mahbubnagar are coercing final year postgraduation/diploma students to sign the undertaking.

“We are not sure as to what led private college managements to make students sign such an undertaking. We are waiting for the court to take a decision on the matter,” said K Mahesh Kumar, president, Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association.

The final year PG exams in colleges affiliated to Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) are scheduled from June 20. “Already 60 doctors are infected by the coronavirus so far. If the examination is held, more doctors are at the risk of contracting it,” said a junior doctor.

College managements refused collection of such undertaking from PG students. “For any private college, it doesn’t matter if the exams are postponed or not,” said Narasimha Rao, president of Telangana Private Medical and Dental Colleges Association.

When asked, Karunaker Reddy, vice-chancellor of KNRUHS too denied knowledge about any such undertaking. “I have not received any such complaint from students. Any such undertaking is irrelevant as the matter is sub-judice now,” said Reddy.

HC hauls up T govt for cutting pensions, says no law allows it

SagarKumar.Mutha@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:16.06.2020

Making it clear that law does not permit it to tinker with pensions of retired employees, the Telangana high court on Monday wondered as to which provision of the law has enabled the state government to cut it from April this year.

A bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy gave two days’ time to the government to explain its stand while hearing a batch of petitions filed by senior counsel S Satyam Reddy and others.

The CJ said: “Unless the state declares a financial emergency, it has no powers whatsoever to touch pensions. Even the Disaster Management Act does not contain any such provision. That is the legal status.”

Making no bones about his unhappiness at the government’s move, he further said: “Pension is not a charity. Law does not accord you (government) any permission even to defer its payment.”

“The GO issued by you in respect of pensions has no legal basis. It needs to be set aside,” he said while rejecting the government’s counter which, he said, has many “misplaced notions” in it.

Advocate general BS Prasad, while conceding that the government did not have a case legally, however, tried to drive home the impossibilities the Covid-19 pandemic had thrown in the way of the government. He tried to remind the court that the government had modified the cut after its intervention. At this, the bench said the ‘impossibility theory’ is applicable to a contract and not to a service.

‘Committing another wrong not the answer’

After the lockdown was imposed, the government first resorted to a 50% pay deferment to its employees and pensioners. Following the intervention of the high court, the government enhanced the pension payment to 75% and confined the cut to 25%. When hearing the case, the bench did not approve even the 25% deferment and insisted on repaying the deferred portion too.

“The pensioners are at the fag end of their lives. Their children may not look after them. Some of them are staying in old-age hostels as paying guests. If they are deprived of even this facility where will they go,” the bench sought to know. The AG explained that the government was rendered helpless even by the central government which deferred the payment in respect of GST share that ought to have come to the state. Prasad said he would file a detailed counter explaining the difficulties and wanted the court to post the case to July first week.

“If you are wronged there, then fight against it. But committing another wrong is not the answer because two wrongs won’t make a right,” the bench said and posted the case to June 17.

Unless the state declares a financial emergency, it has no powers whatsoever to touch pensions. Even the Disaster Management Act does not contain any such provision. That is the legal status

— R S Chauhan

CJ, TELANGANA HC

Covid-19 deaths undercounted by 500 in Mum?

Mumbai:  16.06.2020

The Covid-19 toll in Mumbai could climb as Maharashtra government has asked the BMC to revisit hundreds of deaths that may not have been added to the toll, report Sumitra Deb Roy & Bhavika Jain.

Multiple sources confirmed to TOI that Covid-19 mortality numbers in the city could jump by 400-500 though civic authorities were tightlipped about the exercise. Mumbai’s toll touched 2,250 on Monday. Principal health secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas issued a notice on June 11 to the civic body stating all municipal corporations and districts had undertaken a data reconciliation exercise.

‘Any Covid toll data mismatch will be viewed seriously’

The letter ended with a caution that “any data mismatch brought to notice subsequently would be viewed very seriously”. Sources told TOI the data cleaning exercise was prompted by concerns that many Covid-19 deaths in Mumbai were not being added to the toll.

Speaking to TOI, Ajoy Mehta said the decision to get the data reconciled was made after discrepancies were noticed in many cases.

BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis alleged on Monday that the BMC has not accounted for 951 Covid-19 deaths in the city. He alleged that of the 951 cases, various hospitals had reported 500 cases as Covid-19 deaths, but the death audit committee, which certifies deaths, is yet to certify them as such.

On the discrepancies, Mehta said, “There was an entry of a Covid-positive patient in our system, but he was neither discharged nor his death added to the tally as he may have died due to other medical complications like a cardiac arrest. But since he was Covid-positive, his death should have been reported as a Covid death,” Mehta said. He added that as per the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, the death of a person who has tested positive for an infectious disease has to be reported as death due to that disease, except in three situations—if the person with the infection died in an animal attack, accident/ crime or suicide. “Even if a death has not taken place due to Covid but the person had Covid, the Act clearly says the death can be due to any cause but if he is having an infectious disease, it has to be reported,” Mehta said.