Sunday, January 9, 2022

Govt restores FCRA licence as MoC rectifies violations

CAN TAP FOREIGN FUNDS

Govt restores FCRA licence as MoC rectifies violations

Bharti Jain & SubhroNiyogi TNN

09.01.2022

New Delhi/Kolkata: The Union home ministry has restored the registration of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity (MoC) under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, after the charity rectified the accounts-related violations that had been flagged while rejecting its application for renewal of the licence to receive funds from abroad. The Kolkata-based NGO also informed the ministry that it had terminated the services of a staffer accused of child trafficking in Jharkhand.

The MHA’s move reopens the option of foreign funding for MoC, besides enabling it to utilise the money already lying in its FCRA account. “The power of love and service has won. We thank God for touching the hearts of the authorities and showing them thetruth. We thank the authorities for seeing the truth. Our beloved saint, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, continues to guide and lead her congregation in serving the poorest of the poor,” Catholic Association of Bengal president Angelina Mantosh Jasnani said.

Sources told TOI that soon after its licence-renew-al plea was rejected by the MHA on December 25 on grounds of “adverse inputs”, MoC functionaries met ministry officials to clarify that they had rectified the FCRA violations for which legal notices had been served. These included violations for which the charity had paid penalties, an officer said. The violations mainly pertained to transfer of FCRA funds between various accounts, besides purchase of a vehicle.

Another adverse input against MoC was related to the child trafficking case registered in Jharkhand, naming an office-bearer of the charity as one of the accused. The organisation informed the MHA through an affidavit that the staffer had been sacked. It disowned two other accused in the case, saying they were not its office-bearers. Proceedings in the case are underway.

Doc’s advice: Don’t be scared of third wave, take precautions

Doc’s advice: Don’t be scared of third wave, take precautions

Dr Sudarshan Ballal

09.01.2022

With Covid-19 cases rising exponentially, Dr Sudarshan Ballal, chairman of Manipal Hospitals, tells STOI about the dos and don’ts to follow during the third wave of the pandemic. How should one prepare differently for this wave? It is important to know that the preparations and precautions are similar for any form of Covid — Omicron, Delta or any other variant. The measures to be taken are to prevent spread of the virus through Covid-appropriate behaviour like masking, distancing, hand-washing and avoiding large crowds, especially indoor in poorly ventilated areas. They include aggressive vaccination protocols which certainly would mitigate the seriousness of the disease,and reduce ICU admissions and mortality significantly even if they don’t always prevent infections.

Even though Omicron is less virulent than Delta, it spreads more rapidly. Hospital beds should be reserved only for severely ill patients to ensure the healthcare infrastructure is not overwhelmed. Since children have not been vaccinated so far, paediatric care should be given importance. What are the medicines you should keep handy (if any)? I would strongly urge the public not to self-medicate but consult a healthcare worker for appropriate treatment if there are any symptoms. Most patients with Omicron get better on their own and do not need any specific therapy.

In gene- ral, warm salt water or betadine gargling for sore throat, and paracetamol for pain and fever could be useful at home. So would masks, thermometer and pulse oximeter. A few drugs, when administered early, could modify the disease like Paxloid, Molnupiravir, Remdesivir and monoclonal antibody cocktail. Steroids may be needed in specific situations, but should be taken strictly under medical supervision. What are the symptoms/ signs to watch out for? Since there is a significant overlap in the symptoms of various respiratory viral diseases like common cold, flu and Covid, it is sometimes difficult to make a diagnosis of Covid based on symptoms alone.

The common symptoms for Omicron may be a scratchy sore throat, bodyache, headache, fever and fatigue. For other variants like Delta, there may be significant shortness of breath and loss of smell and taste in addition to many other medical compli- cations that may be associated with Covid in some cases. In case of a reinfection, what should you do? Neither vaccination nor a previous infection with Covid will guarantee absolute immunity against a reinfection. Hence, it is important that you keep this in mind and consult your doctor if you have any of the symptoms listed above even if you have had Covid in the past or have been vaccinated. When should you seek hospital admission? Certainly, the serious symptoms that warrant admission to hospital would be high fever, extreme fatigue, lethargy, shortness of breath, low oxygen levels on pulse oximeter (oxygen saturation consistently below 94%) if they are being monitored, severe nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea which may cause dehydration. Should one continue to monitor O2 level? Omicron does not involve the lungs as much as the Delta variant, hence hypoxia and shortness of breath are unusual with Omicron infection.

However, since one does not know for sure what kind of variant you have been infected with just by the symptoms, it is prudent to monitor the oxygen level using a pulse oximeter even during the current wave.

Online study not enough, design students move HC

Online study not enough, design students move HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

09.01.2022

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court issued notice to Karnavati University and the University Grants Commission (UGC) after two students filed petitions demanding refund of fees on the grounds of the deficiency of online education in teaching the subject of designing and that their parents’ income fell in Covid-19 times, resulting in them opting to cancel their admissions.

According to the case details, two students from Indore – Anushka Jain and Ashree Neema – took the entrance test in January 2020 for designing courses offered by United world Institue of Design of Karnavati University in Gandhinagar.

In April, they were told that they had succeeded and would be granted a dmission. They chose a four-year degree course in designing. They paid Rs 1 lakh fees in May 2020.

On July 23, 2020, the university informed them that their education programme would begin two weeks later. These students were not comfortable with the online mode of education. It was the only mode of teaching permitted by the governments due to the prevailing Covid situation in 2020.

They decided to cancel their admission and their parents sought a refund of the fees from the university in August 2020, which the university apparently refu-sed.

They also cited their weakened financial conditions due to the pandemic and restrictions imposed to control the spread of the virus.

When they did not receive the refund for over a year, both students moved the high court in December 2021 through advocate Anvesh Vyas, who argued that the design course opted for by the students cannot be taught properly online as it requires a practical approach. Besides, the parents of these students also struggled like many others in their businesses and suffered drastic reductions in their incomes.

The lawyer cited a circular issued by the UGC on December 17, 2020, directing all universities, including private ones, to refund the entire fees if students opt to cancel or migrate up to December 31, 2020. Provisions for refund of fees were made especially for that academic year due to the Covid pandemic.

The HC is to hear this case further on January 12.

84-yr-old Bihar man ‘who got jabbed 11 times’ named in FIR

84-yr-old Bihar man ‘who got jabbed 11 times’ named in FIR

Deo Narayan Saha TNN

09.01.2022

Madhepura: The 84-year-oldformer postmaster from Bihar’s Madhepura, who claimed to have recieved 11shots of Covid vaccine, has been named in an FIR filed by a health care centre from where he received two of these doses. Brahmdeo Mandal had boasted about getting multiple shots of the vaccine on nine occasions, using the same Aadhaar card and mobile number.

The octogenarian was caught last Tuesdayattempting to get his 12th doseat a centre in Madhepur. Mandal said the jabs were was notonly protecting him from Covid but also “curing me of mymany ailments”. SHO Deepak Chandra Dasof Puraini police station said Mandal would be charged with various offences. Mandalhas a diary containing the details of places from where he got the shots.

He first got jabbed at Puraini PHC on February 13 followed by a legalsecond dose at the same centre on March 13. He visited Orai village subhealth centre for his third shot on May 19 and got a fourth oneduring a camp organised outside local PDS dealer’s premises on June 16. He then went toPuraini Badi-Hat camp on July 24 and got his fifth jab. Thesixth was at a camp at the Nath Baba shrine on August 31. His seventh and eighth shots were administered at the Bari Hat school camp on September 11and 22 respectively.

KU VC’s letter says syndicate members rejected DLitt to Prez

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

09.01.2022

Thiruvananthapuram: A week after senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala raised a set of questions regarding Kerala University’s alleged refusal to confer honorary DLitt on President Ram Nath Kovind as suggested by governor Arif Mohammed Khan, a handwritten letter by Kerala University vice-chancellor V P Mahadevan Pillai to the governor in this regard has come out.

In the letter dated December 7, the VC recalled an earlier meeting he had with the chancellor and stated that several members in the KU syndicate had turned down the chancellor’s suggestion that honorary DLitt be conferred on the President.

“I met His Excellency last week. After the meeting I have discussed with several members of the syndicate about the matter of conferring DLit degree to His excellency the President of India. The members of the syndicate turn it down (sic),” the letter said.

It was on the very next day the governor wrote an elaborate letter to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the unacceptable level of political interventions in the higher education sector and expressed his desire to relinquish the chancellorship of state universities at the earliest. However, the governor in his letter did not specifically mention about the reply he received from the KU VC. Meanwhile, Chennithala said the VC crossed all limits and flouted procedural norms.

Full report on www. toi. in

Rs 1,600cr graft in Kerala health dept’s Covid kit purchases, says oppn

Rs 1,600cr graft in Kerala health dept’s Covid kit purchases, says oppn

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

09.01.2022

Kochi: Congress on Saturday alleged that the disappearance of numerous files from the health department clearly indicates that massive corruption took place during purchases made for tackling Covid.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan demanded a detailed probe into “corruption worth ₹1,600 crore in irregular purchases made by health department during the pandemic”. Satheesan said lowquality PPE kits worth ₹550 each were purchased by the health department for a three-fold inflated price of ₹1,600. He also alleged irregularities in the purchase of 1 crore gloves. “More than 3,000 computer files and more than 500 paper files

have been destroyed to cover up the irregularities in the purchases made by health authorities. These purchases were made with the support of the political leadership of the ruling party,” the opposition leader said. ’

The government should be ready to launch a detailed probe into the entire deal to unearth facts,” Satheesan said.

‘Peak of wave soon, but it may also ebb fast’ Global Data & Our Experience Reveal Omicron Is Mostly Asymptomatic Or Mild: NTAGI Chief

‘Peak of wave soon, but it may also ebb fast’

Global Data & Our Experience Reveal Omicron Is Mostly Asymptomatic Or Mild: NTAGI Chief

Nisha.Nambiar@timesgroup.com

09.01.2022

Pune: National health experts feel that though Covid cases may peak in India very soon, the current wave driven by the Omicron variant of the virus may ebb equally fast.

“Global data and our own experience during the past five weeks reveal the infection caused by Omicron is mostly asymptomatic or mild. A few seriously ill hospitalized patients either had other co-morbidities and are over 60 years of age. The overall hospitalization rate for people affected by Omicron is 1-2%, which is much less to the rate of people requiring care in hospitals during the wave caused by Delta,” Dr N K Arora, chairman of the Covid-19 working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization told TOI on Saturday.

“Over 80% of people in the country have been naturally infected by the virus. Over 91% adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while more than 66% people aged above 18 years have received both doses. Keeping all this in mind, the overall impact of the current surge is likely to be much less. There’s no need to panic. But we should remain vigilant and follow Covid protocols,” he said.

With India reporting 1. 41 lakh infections in 24 hours and active cases hovering around 4. 8 lakh, the expert said the surge was indicative of the third wave. “But just like the rise, a fall can also be expected in the areas reporting Omicron cases,” Dr Arora said.

More than 50% of the fresh Omicron cases are being reported from major Indian cities. Maharashtra is leading the tally, closely followed by West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala and Gujarat. Dr Arora said most of the cases were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, just as it was observed in South Africa.

Indian Council of Medi- cal Research (ICMR) additional director general Dr Samiran Panda told TOI that the active Covid curve would begin to flatten within three months in the areas recently registering the surge. “For this, people have to abide by Covid protocols and act appropriately. The projection we have generated through the modelling exercise shows that if Omicron is the dominant variant in an area, the surge will sharply go upwards and fall in three months,” he said.

“The metropolitan areas have Omicron as the major variant. But in areas such as the north-east, it is more the Delta variant that is causing stress on the health system. The country does not have a homogenous representation of the epidemic,” Dr Panda said.

Full report on www. toi. in

Govt employee tries to bribe pleader, HC orders inquiry

Madurai: The Madras high court has ordered a DVAC inquiry after it was informed that a government employee attempted to bribe an additional government pleader to act in his favour in a case.

The court was hearing the petition filed by S Kumaravel, who is working as an assistant in the panchayat union office at Alanganallur in Madurai. He had filed a petition before the HC Madurai bench in 2021, seeking a direction to reduce the punishment of stopping increment, which was im- posed by the collector in 2013. When the petition was taken up for hearing recently, the additional government pleader A Kannan informed the court that the petitioner who posed as an officer had approached his juniors and offered to pay money if the government pleader acted in his favour in this case.

Justice B Pugalendhi referred the matter to the DVAC. The judge directed the officials of the Madurai district DVAC to file a report before the court on January19.

TNN

‘NEET strikes at state’s autonomy’

TN Parties To Explore Legal Steps To Nix It

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

09.01.2022

Chennai: A meeting of all legislature parties chaired by chief minister M K Stalin on Saturday resolved to take necessary legal steps to abolish NEET. The meeting also decided to take other state governments into confidence and put up a collective fight against NEET. The MLAs said the common entrance test had destroyed the dreams of the poor and rural students and affected the autonomy of the state.

The meeting saw 12 parties endorsing the resolution, including the DMK and the main opposition, the AIADMK. BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan walked out of the meeting, protesting against the resolutions. “Tamil Nadu is a model to other states in medical education, but NEET and National Medical Commission Act introduced by the Union government have affected the students. The Union government has snatched the rights of the states in deciding admission to medical colleges set up with their own funds,” the resolution said. The parties alleged that the governor’s act of sitting on the Bill, which was passed unanimously by the assembly in September, without forwarding it to the President, questioned the sovereignty of the legislature. NEET benefited only those students who had access to specialized training. It created an impression that 12 years of schooling was of no use in medical admissions and made the educational system meaningless, they said.

The chief minister himself visited the governor and urged him to send the Bill to the President, while a delegation of MPs representing all parties could not meet the President and submitted a representation to his office, which was later forwarded to the Union home minister. The meeting decided that an all-party delegation could meet the Union minister if there was an invite

Earlier, addressing the meeting, Stalin said , “The principle of democracy is that when a legislature passes a Bill, the governor should respect and give assent to it. ”

Former health minister C Vijayabaskar told TOI that the AIADMK would support the state government in the legal battle against NEET.

Health minister Ma Subramanian said that Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan himself had admitted to him that there was opposition to NEET in his home state Odisha as well, but he could not do anything. “Legal experts will be consulted as to what kind of legal action can be initiated against the governor who has been delaying the reference of the Bill to the President, besides abolishing NEET,” Subramanian told TOI.

‘Revise school curriculum, don’t fault NEET’

Chennai: Senior BJP leader and MLA Vanathi Srinivasan on Saturday denied the contention of the Dravidian parties that NEET for medical admissions was against the principles of social justice and the reservation policy followed in Tamil Nadu.

She walked out of a meeting of legislature party leaders, chaired by chief minister M K Stalin at the Secretariat, protesting against the anti-Centre resolution passed at the meeting. “The common entrance test is being conducted based on the orders of the Supreme Court and the initiatives taken by the erst- while Congress-led UPA regime, in which the DMK was very much a constituent. It was neither the BJP’s agenda nor was it introduced after the BJP government assumed office,” she told reporters. “There was no change in the school education curriculum for 12 years in the state, but people blame students for poor results.

TNN

Low occupancy at hosps as most have mild symptoms

09.01.2022

Chennai: Though the city’s active cases are shooting up, only14 % of the hospital beds at the tertiary hospitals are occupied.

In case of ICU beds in the five Covid-19 hospitals in the city, only 6% (58 beds) of the 1,090 available ICU beds in the five Covid-19 hospitals are occupied. Of the 3,747 available oxygen oxygen beds,18% (699 beds) are occupied.

Doctors say this shows majority of the patients have not required oxygen support or ICU admission. Dean of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital Dr E Theranirajan said, 231 patients were seen with an S-Gene drop, but none of them required ICU admission. “Most of the ICU admissions still seem to be from the Delta variant,” he said.

The doctors have found the majority of the patients who needed hospitalisation and ICU admissions, were the unvaccinated. “Of the 17 patients in the RGGGH ICU, 11 are unvaccinated. We have put some in C-PAP ventilators, treating them with Rem- desivir. These patients are also aged above 60 and have comorbidities,” said Dr Theranirajan.

Similarly, Dean of Omandurar GH Dr R Jayanthi said out of the 10 patients in the hospital’s ICU, eight were unvaccinated.

With 92% of the city's population vaccinated for the first dose, and 72%for the second dose, the corporation urges the unvaccinated and those due for second dose, to get their shots early.

“In the discussions we had with doctors in the city, it is seen that people vaccinated with both doses and are 50 days beyond second dose date, are having much milder symptoms, as compared to patients, who are either unvaccinated or with single dose,” corporation commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi told TOI. He said people must get both doses so that they preferably get immune to Covid and in case they contact the virus, the symptoms are milder. “More than 8 lakh people are due for a second dose in the city. They must take it as soon as possible,” he said .

Covid protocols back at gated communities

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

09.01.2022

Chennai: The spike in cases has prompted Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) of gated communities in the city and suburbs to revert to Covid protocols that were in place during the peak of past two waves. Restricting deliveries at gates, intensified monitoring of guests and mandatory mask use are among the measures put in place over the past week to curb the spread of the virus.

Those employed in apartments in these communities have been asked to complete two doses of the vaccine. Entry is allowed only after thermal checking. Messaging apps used by RWAs are flooded with posts urging residents to inform if any individual has tested positive so their neighbours are aware of it.

Colonel C M Unnithan (retired), former executive member of Dinesh Vihar, a gated community at Thazambur, sa- id there was no bar on visitors completed two doses of vaccine. “Also, delivery of food and other products is not allowed at doorsteps. (It is) restricted to gates of each tower,” he said. While the complex is occupied by more than 400 families, about 30% of the occupants were senior citizens, he added.

Third Covid wave peaking three times faster than second: Experts

New Cases Up From 1,000 To 10,000 In 8 Days

New Cases Up From 1,000 To 10,000 In 8 Days

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

09.01.2022

Chennai: The third wave is peaking at least three times faster than the second wave, health experts said here on Saturday as fresh cases in Tamil Nadu crossed the 10,000 mark.

It took just eight days for new cases to rise from about 1,000 on December 31 to 10,978 on Saturday. A similar jump took nearly a month during the second wave — from 1,087 new cases on March19, 2021, to 10,723 on April18, 2021. The peak during the first wave was 6,993 new cases on July 27, 2020, which was 57 days after fresh cases breached the fourdigit mark for the first time on May 31, 2020. “At the peak of the second wave in May 2021, we touched nearly 36,000cases a day. Experts estimate that daily cases are likely to be triple that number at the peak this time,” said health secretary J Radhakrishnan.

This means, Chennai alone, which reported 7,564 new cases at its peak on May 12, 2021, will report at least 21,000 new cases a day at the third wave peak, expected at the end of January or early February, experts said. Epidemiologists say the city is likely to touch its peak ahead of the state as its infection transmission rate is much higher than the state’s. “The city is densely populated and the virus has a higher chance of finding a new host. So it spreads faster here compared to rural areas,” said National Institute of Epidemiology deputy director Dr Prabhdeep Kaur.

Four days ago, the city reported 1,489 new cases and on Saturday it had 5,098. During the second wave, it took 28 days for daily fresh cases to go from 1,083 on April 1, 2021 to 5,445 on April 29, 2021. “This week when people from the city travel to their home districts for Pongal holidays, they are likely to take the infection back into the rural areas,” said infectious disease expert Dr Subramanian Swaminathan. “We saw it happen in March 2020 when people travelled from the city to their homes in the districts when the state imposed a lockdown,” he said.

Earlier, health secretary J Radhakrishnan said if Covid rules are violated and cases rise, the state will have no option but to go for a complete lockdown.

Health minister Ma Subramanian said the state has directed all district collectors to enforce pandemic protocols, enhance fever surveillance and testing, and ensure all close contacts are tracked. “While health workers will be working to prevent the spread, we may not see results unless people wear masks, maintain social distance, avoid going out and vaccinate,” he said. The state has capacity to increase testing to 3 lakh a day.

Chennai crosses 5,000 cases on Saturday

Fresh cases of Covid-19, fueled by the Omicron variant, pushed the active cases in the state by nearly four times in five days on Saturday, when Tamil Nadu added 10,978 cases to it registry. The state now has 40,260 patients in isolation compared to 10,364 on January 3.

At the infection epicentreChennai, 5,098 new cases were reported. Nearly five times more people are under treatment for the viral infection (20,369) compared to 4,259 five days ago. Nevertheless, the overall percentage of people admitted to hospital patients from the active registry has dropped both in the state and city. On Saturday, 14% of the active patients (5,529) of them and 11% of active patients in the city (2,324) were in hospitals. “In absolute numbers this is higher than what we had three days ago. Experts have warned us that as numbers increase exponentially hospitals will be overcrowded,” said director of public health Dr TS Selvavinayagam. The state, he said, has been encouraging most people – who have completed two doses of the vaccine, are healthy patients with no symptoms to remain in home isolation after consulting their doctors. They can come out of isolation if they do not have symptoms for three days. “We reserve hospital beds only for those with complications and severe disease,” he said.

On Saturday, all districts reported new cases and 34 out of 38 districts reported an increase in their daily tally compared to Friday. The sharpest increase was reported from Chennai, which reported 4,531 new cases on Friday, followed by Chengalpet and Coimbatore. After Chennai, Chengalpet (1,332) reported the highest number of cases followed by Tiruvallur (591) and Coimbatore (585). At least 15 districts reported cases in three digits and an equal number of districts reported cases below 50.

Of the 10 deaths in the state, Chennai reported six followed by two each in Chengalpet and Kancheepuram.

TNN

Madras univ defers semester examinations

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

09.01.2022

Chennai: In view of the rising Covid-19 cases , University of Madras has postponed all semester exams scheduled to begin on January 21. Regular November 2021 practical exams that began on January 3 also stand postponed, a circular issued on Friday said. “We will issue a new schedule,” vice-chancellor S Gowri said.

Autonomous colleges in the city are also likely to postpone semester exams scheduled to begin on January 21. “We have to accommodate 1,500-3,000 students a day during the exams. If Covid-19 cases continue to rise, it may not be possible to hold exams in January,” said S Santhosh Baboo, principal of DG Vaishnav College. He said colleges can try for exams in February and finish the next semester in June. The State government had declared study holidays for all college students, except for medical students, till January 20.

Nearly half of TN’s 1 1,000 fresh Covid cases from Chennai

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

09.01.2022

Chennai: Fresh Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu crossed the five-digit mark and reached 10,978 on Saturday, with Chennai reporting 5,098 cases – 46% of the state tally. The new cases in the state have risen by nearly 22% pushing the active cases tally to 40,260, including 20,269 from Chennai. The 10 deaths on the day took the overall toll to 36,843 since March 2020. Despite a steep rise in new cases, the fatality rate — number of people dead over total number of people testedpositive so far (27. 8 lakh) – is stable around 1. 3%.

Of the 10,978 cases, 10,932 patients were from within the state. Five people from Bangladesh (who travelled by road) and one each from Sri Lanka and UAE, who flew to TN, tested positive for the infection. There is also an increase in infection among those who travelled from other states. One patient who came from Delhi by air and at least 38 others who travelled by road from different states tested positive. Tamil Nadu has 185 confirmed Omicron cases so far, of which 179 were isolated in hospitals or houses. All 179 patients have been discharged, the public health department said.

Shortage of Pongal gift hampers irks cardholders

Shortage of Pongal gift hampers irks cardholders

‘It shows poor planning by the State government’

09/01/2022

Ration card holders return as they did not get Pongal gift hamper firom a ration shop in Thoothukudi on Saturday.N. RajeshRAJESH N

Special Correspondent Thoothukudi

The shortage of ‘Pongal’ gift hampers has irked the cardholders and the ration shop workers face verbal abuse from the cardholders.

As the distribution of ‘Pongal’ gift hampers with 21 items started recently, the ration shop workers were giving the freebies to the cardholders in phased manner in a bid to restrict the crowd. However, the short supply has irked the cardholders and has left the ration shop workers in an unpleasant situation. The ration shop at Tooveypuram has received only 950 gift hampers against the 1,400 cards the shop has. The ration shop on the Second Street of Anna Nagar in Thoothukudi has received only 700 gift hampers against the total number of 920 rice cards attached to this shop.

“Of this 700 gift hampers, only 684 bags had all 21 items while the remaining bags did not have ghee, cumin and a few more items. The cardholders, suspecting the workers of having taken these items, abuse us verbally,” said a ration shop worker. The disappointed cardholders say that they had visited the shops at least twice and every time they were told that they would be given the gift hamper once it was received.

“After my two unsuccessful visits to the ration shop, I came to the shop today (Saturday). I have been told to come again on Tuesday to check if the fresh stocks of gift hampers have arrived. It shows poor planning by the State government,” said a cardholder, a retired private firm worker.

Another major grievance of the cardholders is that the sugarcanes being given along with the gift hamper was of very “inferior quality”. “The sugarcane being given in the ration shop is like a thin cane being used by the school teachers… Why should I receive it as my children will just throw it away,” said a woman who received the gift hamper from a ration shop in Bryant Nagar.

Admitting that there was ‘Pongal’ gift hamper short supply, the officials said the issue would be sorted out during next week.

No need for lockdown, says Soumya Swaminathan

No need for lockdown, says Soumya Swaminathan

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

09/01/2022

Soumya Swaminathan - Music AcademyHANDOUT E MAIL

Special CorrespondentCHENNAI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

COVID-19 cases cross the 10,000-mark

COVID-19 cases cross the 10,000-mark

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

09/01/2022

Special Correspondent CHENNAI

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

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

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

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

CPI(M) leader admitted

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

Saturday, January 8, 2022

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

Medical counselling in state likely to begin in two weeks

Order Brings Relief To Over 40k Aspirants In Tamil Nadu

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

08.01.2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More asymptomatic people getting tested at private labs

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

08.01.2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

08.01.2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clusters among doctors swamp hospitals

Doctors Who Have Tested Positive Wary Of Workload

08.01.2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SC upholds OBC quota, counselling for NEET to begin

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

08.01.2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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