In Coimbatore, 91 kids have lost a parent or both

In Coimbatore, 91 kids have lost a parent or both

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Coimbatore:31.05.2021 

The office of the district child protection officer (DCPO) has identified 91 children aged below 18 years who have lost their parent(s) to Covid-19 as on Sunday. Of them, family members of 53 children have sought monetary assistance from the government for their survival.

On Saturday, chief minister MK Stalin announced that the state government will deposit Rs 5 lakh in the name of the children orphaned by Covid-19 and Rs 3 lakh to those who lost one parent. Children who have lost their parents to COVID-19 and staying with relatives or guardians will be given a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 till they turn18.

An official from the DPCO office said, “Based on the Covid-19 death record prepared by the health department, we are studying the family details of every deceased to identify whether they were parents of children aged below 18 years. Of the 1,104 Covid-19 deaths recorded, we have completed verifying the details of 850.”

“We have identified 91 children who had lost either one or both of parents and they belong to 61 families. Single parent, relatives or guardians of these children refused to send them to government homes. Family members of 51 children who had lost one of their parents to the virus and two children who lost both their parents have sought monetary support from the government,” he said.

As of now, groceries required for three to four months was provided to 20 such families by the members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he added.

Recently, Viviyan Jayaraj, 15, and his brother Samuel Ebenezer, 8, lost their parents and maternal grandmother to Covid-19. Now, they are under the care of their paternal grandmother Saradha, 69.

Saradha said, “The children are crying and constantly speaking about their parents ever since their demise. For a change, I have brought them to my daughter’s house in Mettupalayam. We can stay at one of my three daughters’ place for a while, but we cannot do that permanently. So, I have decided to rent a house near my daughter’s house and raise the children on my own.”

Paediatric wards across TN gear up to shield kids from third wave

Paediatric wards across TN gear up to shield kids from third wave

Hospitals In Districts Ramp Up Infra

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:31.05.2021 

Paediatric wards at major Covid-19 care facilities in Tamil Nadu say they are prepared and have enough beds in case more children get infected in the coming months.

In Chennai, the Institute of Child Health (ICH) has 160 Covid beds in two different blocks. Since not many children require hospitalisation, only 15 are admitted and under treatment at present.

Around 100 beds have been handed over to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), which witnessed acute bed shortage last week, to treat adults, said a senior ICH doctor.

"If there is a population shift in the virus and we require more children's beds, we have made plans to convert adult beds to paediatric beds. Treatment and management protocols are ready," said Srinivasan, senior paediatrician and state nodal officer for neonatal care.

Jayanthi Vishwanathan, senior consultant - paediatrics, Gleneagles Global Health City hospital, said that they have an isolated cubicle ready but the challenge would be to allow only one parent with a child. Usually they take turns.

Even in other parts of the state such as Trichy, many hospitals have started adding oxygen-supported beds in paediatric wards anticipating a spike.

"Ideally a paediatric ward can accommodate 40-50 patients at major hospitals such as Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government hospital, Trichy and the capacity is going to double in a few days," said Dr K Senthil Kumar, nodal officer, special newborn care unit, Trichy district. Theintegrated child development services in the district were calling up parents of child below five to check on Covid infection.

In Madurai, the district administration has intensified screening by testing everyone in children's homes as 11 at a home in Samayanallur got infected. According to official data, all 37 districts have at least 25 neonatal beds and 100 paediatric beds each."We have already converted most of them as oxygen beds. In addition there are at least six paediatric resuscitation and emergency beds in all districts," said Srinivasan.

Dr Balasubramanian of Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospital said he was glad the government was finally adding more ICU facilities for children, which might be useful later. But panic is unwarranted because only one per cent of children would require hospitalization, he said.

"Because of lockdown and Covid-related fear, routine cases have dropped in paediatric hospitals. At our hospital, only 65 of the 205 beds are occupied. None of them Covid patients. This is the scenario in most hospitals. So there was no need to panic," he added.

As far as treatment is concerned, Dr Jayanthi Viswanathan said, "Unlike adults, we currently don't witness many children with bad lung involvement...," she added.

Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation says it has placed adequate orders for medicines, masks and disposables for paediatric care.

(With inputs from Sampath Kumar and V Devanathan)

‘Don’t test for Covid within 102 days of recovery’

‘Don’t test for Covid within 102 days of recovery’

Umesh.Isalkar@timesgroup.com

Pune:31.05.2021

Recovered Covid patients opting for non-urgent or elective surgeries are being asked by surgeons to go for repeat RT-PCR/ antigen tests as part of pre-operative protocols. However, experts from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the national task force for Covid-19 have advised against repeating Covid tests within102 days of recovery, citing presence of “nonviable dead-virus particles” that stay in the body for a while.

These virus remnants cannot transmit the illness but can cause a false positive test result. The experts said surgeons should consider performing a nonurgent surgery on a Covid-recovered patient only after six weeks of recovery to ensure faster healing and convalescence postsurgery.

“At present, Covid reinfection is confirmed only after 102 days of diagnosis. So, retesting within this time frame is not advisable,” said infectious diseases expert Sanjay Pujari, a member of the task force.

“Also, a minimum period of six weeks prior to non-urgent surgery is recommended for Covid-recovered patients who were symptomatic. As for emergency surgeries in recovering or recovered patients, these must be done immediately with due precautions,” Pujari said.

Covid treatment: Banks offer unsecured loans of up to ₹5L

Covid treatment: Banks offer unsecured loans of up to ₹5L

₹100Cr For New Health Units

Retail Loan Rejig Window Opens

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai:31.05.2021

Banks will offer off-the-shelf unsecured loans of up to ₹ 5 lakh to individuals for Covid treatment, and business loans up to Rs 100 crore for setting up healthcare facilities.

The launch of the new schemes was announced by SBI chairman Dinesh Khara and Indian Banks’ Association chairman Rajkiran Rai on Sunday. Khara said that SBI has decided to price its unsecured loans at 8.5%.

The bankers also provided an update on the restructuring offer made to small businesses under the scheme announced by the RBI earlier this month. Rai said that up to April, banks did not see any problem in the servicing of loans. However, in May, there was a drop in collections but it was too early to get an idea of the number.

Individuals seeking a restructuring of loans can make an application on the bank’s website or manually submit the proposal.

Both the borrower and the bank will have to agree to a resolution plan within 30 days of the application and September 30 would be the last day for finalising the resolution plan.

Khara said that public sector banks have formulated a templated approach for restructuring loans to individuals, small businesses and MSMEs for up to Rs 25 crore. He said that banks would be proactive and would reach out to eligible customers through bulk SMS messages and offer-cum-acceptance would be generated and sent electronically.

The personal loans would be available to all individuals for treatment of self or family member. The minimum loan amount would be Rs 25,000 and the term would be for a maximum of five years. The RBI had encouraged lenders to provide such loans earlier this month by offering to refinance up to ₹50,000 crore with priority sector status for such advances. While banks have financed oxygen plants and vaccine manufacturers in May 2020, the standardised packages are expected to speed up disbursement.

The business loans would be available for anyone engaged in building and servicing healthcare infrastructures such as hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, diagnostic centres and pathology labs. It will be available for greenfield investments as well as for adding to existing capacity. The quantum of loan, which will be for a tenure of up to 10 years, will be ₹100 crore for metro centres, ₹20 crore for tier-1 and urban centres, and ₹10 crore for smaller towns.

TN gives three mths to renew employment registrations

TN gives three mths to renew employment registrations

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.05.20121

The Tamil Nadu government has given three months time to candidates, who failed to renew their employment registrations in the past three years — from 2017 to 2019 — to renew it before July28.

The state government has passed a government order (GO) giving an opportunity to the candidates to renew their registration.

“The candidates can renew their registration online at http://tnvelaivaaippu.gov.in/ till July 28. In case they are not able to renew it online, they can apply through a register post to the concerned employment office for renewal,” the order said.

More than 80 lakh people have registered with the employment exchange for the jobs in the state.

Candidates, who failed to renew their employment registrations in the past three years — from 2017 to 2019 — can renew it before July 28

Online apps resume delivery of mutton, chicken; fish still scarce

REGULAR MEAT STALLS STAY SHUT

Online apps resume delivery of mutton, chicken; fish still scarce

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.05.2021

City residents can access meat and fish at the click of a button as online outlets have resumed operations after nearly a week. But, the price of mutton has been jacked up by ₹150 to ₹300 a kg compared to the first week of May.

Till Saturday, fish and meat were door delivered only by a few local meat shops and service providers, who took orders on messaging apps and delivered within a day. All fish and meat stalls remained shut.

On Sunday, mutton was sold for ₹850 to ₹1,200 a kg through various apps and the same quantity of chicken was sold for a flat rate of ₹240. Only some varieties of fish were available through online apps, but were sold out within an hour on Sunday.

Traders taking orders on the phone said that limited volumes of fish were available for sale as it has to be sourced from other places in view of the 45-day ban on trawling.

Former president of Chennai Poultry Wholesalers Association J Rajkumar said all meat shops are closed in the city.

"We are permitted to offer meat to eateries and restaurants in the current lockdown. Traders with access to online food aggregators and taking orders on the phone also deliver at doorsteps of residents," he said.

Meanwhile, retail chains are delivering vegetables within a couple of days, though people depending on home delivery apps were facing logistical issues due to the intensified lockdown.

P L Muthu, operations head of a city-based online delivery app providing grocery and vegetables, said that the frequency of sourcing vegetables from different parts of Tamil Nadu has been affected by the intensified lockdown.

"Moreover, home delivery apps are facing shortage for manpower, which is delaying the delivery time in Chennai," he added.

For Kovalam residents, it pays to get a shot

 For Kovalam residents, it pays to get a shot

Trusts Offer Gold, Bike & Fridge For Getting Covid Jabs

Ram.Sundraram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:31.05.2021 

If you’re a resident of Kovalam near Chennai, it pays to get a jab. No, we are not talking about the concomitant medical benefits of Covid-19 inoculation, but free gifts in the form of gold coin, two-wheeler, refrigerator, washing machine, blender, grinder, mobile phone and sarees. And the icing on the cake — a plateful of scrumptious biryani for all to swallow the small pain of the prick. The gifts will be distributed based on a lucky draw.

Three welfare trusts from the city’s picturesque coastal neighbourhood — STS Foundation, managed by Kovalam youngsters; CN Ramadas Champions Development Trust run in memory of a retired IAS officer; and 1992 Don Bosco School alumni group in Chennai — have pooled in ₹50 lakh to bankroll the scheme.

Before the camp was launched, only 50 residents of the area’s 6,000-odd population had received their shots till Friday.

To make everyone count, the Good Samaritans launched the scheme on Saturday with the help of a five-member medical team from Kelambakkam Primary Health Centre. Free vaccines will be supplied for the camp by the Chengalpet district collectorate.

On the first day of the camp on Saturday, 100 got their jabs, said J Sundar, trustee of STS Foundation. Close to 500 have registered to get vaccinated in the coming days, he said.

R Girish from CN Ramadas Trust said that there was misinformation doing the rounds about vaccines and a lot of people were unwilling to get the jabs even if it was free.

OPEN INVITATION: (Left) An elderly woman inaugurates the vaccination camp on Saturday. Gifts meant for participants displayed at the camp

Volunteers aim to make Kovalam TN’s 1st 100% vaccinated locality

RGireesh, “So we needed a strategy which has to be exciting and help people overcome the hesitancy. We hope these prizes and briyani will bring more people to the camp.”

The volunteers have roped in Tamil TV actors to make short awareness videos which they have circulated on local Whatsapp groups.

The volunteers’ aim is to make Kovalam the first 100% vaccinated locality in the state. They are also planning to mobilise funds from their friends and acquaintances in the US, the UK and other foreign countries.

They want to repeat their campaign in 10 other places in and around Chennai to inoculate at least 50,000 people.

The three welfare groups are also currently running a 15-bedded Covid care centre in Velachery with oxygen supported beds for free.

After Chennai’s Covid beds position got better, they shifted their attention to vaccination.

The volunteers have roped in Tamil TV actors to make short awareness videos. They are also planning to mobilise funds from their friends and acquaintances in the US, the UK and other foreign countries. They want to replicate the campaign in other places