Nearly 4k cases in a day in TN; 18-mth-old among 54 casualties

Nearly 4k cases in a day in TN; 18-mth-old among 54 casualties

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 28.06.2020

The daily count of fresh Covid-19 infections in Tamil Nadu nudged 4,000 on Sunday with the rest of the state accounting for nearly half the cases, a departure from the norm of Chennai logging two-thirds of them on most days.

A one-and-a-half-year-old became the youngest victim in TN, numbering among the 54 dead. The death toll is now 1,079.

The number of active cases in the state was 36,738 as 45,537 people had so far been discharged after treatment.

Chennai had 1,992 of the 3,940 fresh cases, but except Karur and Krishnagiri all other districts recorded cases, mostly in double digits. Madurai (284) and Kallakurichi (124) had the most cases after Chennai.

FINGERS CROSSED: A woman at a corona testing centre in Triplicane, Chennai

Contact-tracing API in Google & Apple

Recent updates to your Android-run and Apple smartphones have automatically embedded a contact-tracing API (application programme interface) into the device that can enable an app – like Aarogya Setu app of the government — to monitor your movement and warn you of corona infections near you, reports Pankaj Doval. However, you need not worry as the API alone does not lead to monitoring of your movement. The API is just an enabling tool and needs to be embedded into an app — such as Aarogya Setu, if the government collaborates — which will then monitor your location and send you alerts of any nearby infections on a Google or Apple phone. However, many users have expressed reservations about the API addition into their devices, as they fear it has the potential to violate their privacy by monitoring their movements. The reservations come after protests against Aarogya app. P11

‘4.8% of positive cases aged below 12’

The 18-month-old boy from Tindivanam, who had cerebral palsy and developmental delay with aspiration pneumonia, was brought to Villupuram Government Medical College Hospital after choking on food. He died on Saturday and samples tested positive for Covid.

Senior paediatrician Balasubramanian from Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospital said, the number of children getting affected was small compared to adults and studies showed this was not going to change. There is no need to panic, he added. Official data show that only 4.8% of the total positive cases are aged below 12.

Sunday’s bulletin also mentioned that a 42-year-old pregnant woman with gestational hypertension died on Friday after delivery. Twor men -- a sexagenarian from Chennai and a 50-year-old from Chengalpet -- were brought dead to hospital and were found positive later. Eight of the dead had no comorbidity. Among them was a 29-year-old man from Chengalpet.

As many as 42 out of 54 fatalities reported on Sunday were from Chennai and its three neighbouring districts.

Of the remaining 12 deaths, nine were from southern districts of Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Tirunelveli.

As many as 42 out of 54 fatalities reported on Sunday were from Chennai and its three neighbouring districts. Of the remaining 12 deaths, nine were from southern districts of Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Tirunelveli

HC: Covid-19 patients don’t need income certificate

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 28.06.2020

Observing that a person with Covid-19 was not expected to produce an income certificate to get benefits meant for weaker sections and indigent persons before seeking admission, Bombay high court directed Somaiya Hospital at Sion (E) to deposit Rs 10 lakh with it within two weeks.

The direction by a bench of Justices Ramesh Dhanuka and Madhav Jamdae on June 26 via videoconference, on a petition by a family of seven from Bharat Nagar slums, Bandra (E), who paid Rs 10 lakh out of Rs 12.5 lakh they were billed when admitted to the hospital between April 11-28 for Covid-19 treatment.

They said they paid Rs 10 lakh by taking loans from friends, relatives and neighbours after being threatened with discharge. The HC on June 13 directed an inquiry supervised by the charity commissioner on whether the hospital strictly followed reservations of 10% beds for weaker sections and 10% for indigent persons during lockdown. The judges said perusal of joint charity commissioner’s inquiry report “is submitted on the basis of documents called for and submitted by the hospital, and without visiting the premises and inspecting records”. The charity commissioner replied that only three patients had been treated under the hospital scheme since lockdown, till the end of May.

Senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, for the hospital, said the petitioners did not belong to any category and had to produce an income certificate from the tehsildar or social welfare officer. The petitioners’ advocate, Vivek Shukla, said that having suffered from Covid-19 and requiring immediate medical help, they need not produce a certificate while seeking admission.

The judges said whether it was the duty of the hospital management to ask if the persons seeking admission were falling under those categories or if they had to produce income certificates in the situation faced by the petitioners, who were patients of Covid-19, were some questions that required consideration. “Prima facie, a person suffering from a disease like Covid-19 is not expected to produce a tehsildar’s certificate or certificate from the social welfare officer before seeking benefits under section 41 AA (4)(c) (weaker sections) and (b) (indigent persons),” said the bench, admitting the petition for final hearing.

A family of seven, from Bandra (East), was billed Rs 12.5 lakh by the hospital

Delayed stipend payment troubles research fellows

Delayed stipend payment troubles research fellows

Ardhra.Nair@timesgroup.com

Pune:28.06.2020

Junior and senior research fellows are unhappy with the inordinate delay in disbursement of stipends. The wait has stretched on for as long as four to 10 months for some of them. The delay may dissuade students from taking up research in future, they said.

At a time when research on Covid-19 has taken centre stage, students feel that if the government does not find a permanent solution to the delay in paying stipends, many good students will choose to get a job rather than get into research, especially those from the lower economic strata of society.

A senior research fellow said, “My stipend was delayed for almost 10 months. My family can support me but it’s not the same case with everyone else. Many research fellows come from poor backgrounds and remote villages. One student has quit as his family could not support him. There may have been other reasons too but not having money was a big factor.”

Students want a fixed date, when the stipend would reach them, and a contact person, who can provide information. “I support my younger sister’s education. I have to pay her fee and make arrangements for other expenses. I also have to pay the institute’s fees here along with the mess fee without delay. If the stipend gets delayed, all our financial planning takes a hit,” said a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research senior research fellow.

Another senior fellow spoke about how the delay will discourage good students from taking up research. “One can always learn coding and join an MNC rather than opt for research. If I spend five years at any MNC, I could earn double what Iam earning now. We do this because we love it but the government needs to support students so that there is good quality research in the country. The race for the Covid-19 vaccine has shown the world the importance of scientists. We should not lag behind,” said a senior fellow from the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.

Biotech exams put off after students’ online campaign

Biotech exams put off after students’ online campaign

Pressure From Pupils Prompts Indefinite Postponement

Ardhra.Nair@timesgroup.com

Pune:  28.06.2020

The Regional Centre for Biotechnology on Saturday said the Graduate Aptitude Test - Biotechnology (GATB) and Biotechnology Eligibility Test (BET) have been indefinitely postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move follows an online campaign by students that demanded that these national-level entrance examinations be cancelled. That said, students are still waiting for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to postpone its Junior Research Fellow entrance examination, which is scheduled for July 12.

With a low number of cities hosting these exams, and with travel options few and risky, the students have sought postponement of all examns in these two months.

GATB and BET were scheduled for June 30 at iON Digital Zone, near the containment zone in Ramtekdi. Earlier this week, the entrance examination for International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad. Uday Samant, the state higher and technical education minister, had termed it a violation of rules, prompting the district collector to order a probe.

“We got our admit card last week and came to know it was at the same centre. Some people I know had travelled to Delhi for the exam, only to know it had been postponed. Why can’t the Union government take a blanket decision rather than wait till the last moment?” said a student from Symbiosis International, adding that some students had also collected money to move court.

“Even for the ICMR JRF, there are only 27 cities with centres. Students from across the country would need to reach these centres to give the exams, for which they would have started booking trains or flights,” she said, adding “All this can be avoided if there is a clear decision taken by the government.”

Push to delay NEET, JEE

With reports of a student appearing for Class X exam testing positive in Karnataka, an online campaign against postponing the NEET (July 26), JEE Mains (July 18 to 23) and CA examination (July 29 to August 16) has gained momentum.

“The railways have shut down regular train services till August 12. Red zones are increasing. So, why are they conducting an exam? The government needs to form guidelines to give infrastructure for safe conduct of exams. Only then should it announce dates, preferably after two months,” said

Panic prevails after SSLC kids test positive; govt allays fears

Panic prevails after SSLC kids test positive; govt allays fears

Basavarah Kattimani & Darshan H TNN

Hubballi/Hassan: 28.06.2020

Two SSLC students from Kaladagi in Bagalkot district tested positive for Covid-19 just hours after they wrote their first exam on Thursday. In Hassan, a 16-year-old was driven straight to the hospital after the maths paper on Saturday.

Both incidents have sparked panic in the respective districts amid calls for cancellation of exams from parents.

Srishail Biradar, deputy director of public instruction, Bagalkot, said the two students who attended the exam at Hannu Belegarar Sangh’s High School Centre were from the containment zone in Kaladagi. He said nine students from the zone wrote the English exam on the first day.

“We had a separate room for students coming from containment zones as per the standard operating procedure prescribed by the government. After the exam on June 25, the students exhibited signs of fatigue and ran a fever. Their throat swab samples were sent for test and returned positive.

The swab samples of the other seven children were negative and they have been allowed to take the remaining exams. The two students will be given a chance to write the supplementary exams in July and it will be treated as their first attempt. “Invigilators and others who were in the room have been asked to quarantine themselves,” Srishail added.

He said precautions have been taken to ensure safety of students. “We are ensuring they maintain distance and wear masks,” he explained.

Boy suffered from dengue

In Hassan, the 16-year-old student was writing the maths exam when a team of health officials rushed to the centre in Mallipatna Government High School, Arkalgud, and isolated him from the other 18 students in his room. After the paper, he was shifted to a Covid hospital.

School authorities in Hassan have sought nod from health and district authorities on whether to allow the 18 kids to write the exams. Hassan DDPI Prakash saidthe boy will give supplementary exams.

Authorities have asked the 18 students, staff and police to be in home quarantine. The infected student who stays 6km from the exam centre travelled in a bus with his mother. Officials have identified 10 primary and 22 secondary contacts. He feel sick on June 18 and was diagnosed with dengue on June 23. Officials are verifying if his temperature was checked at the centre.

Sunday curfew to return from July 5

Sunday curfew to return from July 5

Anil.Gejji@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: 28.06.2020

With Covid-19 infections rapidly rising in Karnataka — and particularly in Bengaluru — the state government on Saturday reintroduced Sunday curfew and extended night curfew hours through the week, among a slew of containment measures.

Sunday curfew will come into force from July 5. Like earlier, this will mean no movement of people or vehicles, except for essential work.

The extended night curfew, from 8pm to 5am, will be enforced from Monday (June 29). Currently, the night curfew is from 9pm to 5am.

The longer curfew, authorities said, will ensure early closure of liquor shops, restaurants, malls and other commercial activities which were allowed to operate till 9 pm. The curfew, however, will not apply to essential services, including public transport.

Govt offices to function 5 days a week from July 10-Aug 10

The decision was taken after the state reported a record spike of 918 cases and 11 deaths in a day, taking the total cases in the state to 11,923 and the toll to 191.

At a meeting chaired by chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday, ministers and senior officials discussed the recommendations of a six-member expert panel and suggestions from elected representatives and explored all options available to the government.

Government offices can now function five days a week; Saturdays will be holidays for all state government employees, from July 10 to August 10. This apart, the government is mulling allowing government offices in Covid-19 clusters to function with 50% staff, and allowing employees to work on alternative days.

As cases spike, hospitals in Hyd fly in nurses from Kerala

As cases spike, hospitals in Hyd fly in nurses from Kerala

Amrita.Didyala@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad: 28.06.2020

Over the past fortnight, two private hospitals from Hyderabad flew in about 50 nurses from Thiruvananthapuram, in Kerala, on charter flights to meet a sudden surge in demand for trained staff. With Telangana registering a little less than 1,000 Covid-19 cases daily and most private hospitals packed with patients, many of them are even ready to pay substantially higher salaries to attract nurses.

“In fact, other hospitals in town are frequently approaching us seeking nurses on a temporary basis,” said an official from a prominent corporate hospital in the city.

Many are offering three times the regular salary. “I am getting 10-15 calls a day from corporate hospitals asking for nurses. They are offering Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 a month, which is almost three times the pay previously offered,” said Laxman Rudavath, general secretary, Nursing Officers Association of Telangana.

The problem, hospital managements say, is that the staff requirement for handling Covid-19 patients is higher than those for regular patients. “For instance, if a regular patient requires one nurse every day, for Covid-19 patients the requirement is three times that. That many nurses and doctors shy away from Covid-19 duties means the availability of staff is lower than what is needed,” said the manager of a prominent super-specialty hospital chain.

Doctors also attribute the crunch to a lack of qualified nurses to handle ICU duties and, in many cases, an increasing number of nurses testing Covid-positive. The latter, they say, has resulted in multiple batches of nurses going into 14 days’ quarantine. “This has further reduced the strength. In fact, nurses are taking unilateral decisions to go into quarantine once any of their colleagues test positive,” said another official from a prominent corporate hospital in the city.

The crisis, officials added, has limited the intake capacity of private hospitals treating Covid-19 patients. Almost all corporate hospitals currently have a waitlist of 20 to 30 patients in emergency and up to 70 patients in general wards. “We went to seven different hospitals to get a single bed during an emergency. Forget the government-approved rates, beds are not even available at five times the cost,” said one patient’s attendant.