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