All-India med admissions now in four rounds

All-India med admissions now in four rounds

Yogita.Rao@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:19.12.2021

Admissions to all-India quota seats in undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses will now be done by the Centre in four rounds instead of two. The move will bring in more transparency in the counselling process and ensure there is no violation of merit.

However, students from Maharashtra will be left with 200-225 fewer MBBS seats during the state round of admissions.

For UG admissions, around 1,700 of the total 7,000 seats in the country were returned to states at the end of the second rounds previously.

Based on an affidavit filed by the ministry of health and family welfare, the Supreme Court directed the medical counselling committee (MCC) of the directorate general of health services to conduct admissions to 15% undergraduate and 50% postgraduate seats under the all-India quota in four rounds.

This will mean that in addition to the first two all-India rounds, mop-up and stray vacancy rounds will also be conducted for 2021-22 admissions. Earlier only the all-India rounds were conducted by MCC and the vacant seats were returned to the state. An official from the ministry said that this was an anomaly in the admission process, which has now been corrected.

UK sees 10k+ new Omicron cases in a day, toll rises to 7

UK sees 10k+ new Omicron cases in a day, toll rises to 7

London Put On Alert Over Rising Hosp Cases; Total Variant Infections Now Nearly 25k In Britain; Netherlands To Go Into Tight Lockdown

19.12.2021

Britain reported a surge in cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant on Saturday, and London’s mayor declared a “major incident” to help the capital’s hospitals following a sharp rise in Covid-19 admissions. The total number of Omicron cases recorded across the country hit almost 25,000 as of 1800 GMT on Friday, up by more than 10,000 cases from 24 hours earlier, the UK health security agency (UKHSA) said in its latest data.

Seven people believed to have had the Omicron variant had died as of Thursday, up from one death in the UKHSA’s previous data which ran up to Tuesday. Hospitalisations of people thought to have the variant increased to 85 from 65.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a “major incident” — which allows for closer coordination between different public agencies and possibly more central government support - as Covid-19 hospital admissions in the city rose by nearly 30% this week. He said health worker absences had also increased. “I’ve taken the decision, in consultation with our partners, to declare a major incident today,” Khan said during a visit to Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club which is being used as a mass vaccination centre. “This is a statement of how serious things are,” he said. Khan, from the opposition Labour Party, also declared a major incident in January, when rising Covid-19 cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals. The Omicron variant is estimated to account for more than 80% of new Covid cases in London, officials said on Friday.

UK’s Times newspaper reported that officials were preparing draft new rules that, if introduced, would ban indoor mixing in England except for work for two weeks after Christmas when pubs and restaurants would be limited to table service outdoors. People would be able to meet in groups of up to six outdoors, the newspaper said. But ministers were yet to formally consider the plans, Times said. A government spokesperson said the government would continue to “look closely at all the emerging data”. The total number of all new Covid-19 cases reported in official data edged down to 90,418 from a record high of over 93,000 on Friday, but that was still the country’s secondhighest daily toll. Cases were up 44.4% over the seven days to December 18 compared with the previous week.

Meanwhile, nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of Covid-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona. The Dutch government said it is imposing a tough nationwide lockdown starting Sunday in an attempt to rein in sharply rising levels of cases. “The Netherlands is going into lockdown again,” PM Mark Rutte said on Saturday. He said the move was “unavoidable because of the fifth wave caused by the Omicron variant that is bearing down on us”. Rutte did not immediately outline the terms of the lockdown but said it it will build on a partial lockdown already in force that requires bars, restaurants and other public places such as cinemas to close at 5pm.

As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Denmark closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8pm curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events. AGENCIES

HC upholds order to reinstate Air India pilots

HC upholds order to reinstate Air India pilots

New Delhi:19.12.2021

Coming to the aid of all Air India pilots whose services were terminated, including the contractual ones, the Delhi high court on Friday upheld its earlier decision to reinstate them. A bench of justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh also modified the earlier single judge decision by granting further relief to those pilots who, despite withdrawing their resignation, had left Air India as it refused to take them back. Around 40 pilots had moved the high court after Air India refused to accept the withdrawal of their resignations. TNN

Cold wave sweeps state, Bhopal may shiver at 8°

WEATHER WOES

Cold wave sweeps state, Bhopal may shiver at 8°

4° At Gwalior, Datia & Naogaon; May Get Colder Till Dec 22

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  19.12.2021

Saturday was the coldest day of the season so far for the city and state. Night temperature across MP dipped below the five dgree mark while in Bhopal the minimum temperature was 10 degrees Celsius.

The spine-chilling cold is set to continue for the next few days. There is a warning of cold wave, cold day and ground frost issued for several places in the state.

Met officials , Bhopal circle said, the dip in the temperature is caused due to cold northerly winds in the absence of a system.

Similar weather would prevail in the state till December 22; MP would face the impact of western disturbance after that and it would result in a minor rise in temperature. Day temperature in Bhopal on Saturday was recorded at 19.4 degrees Celsius, seven degrees less than normal mark, while night temperature was 10.0 degrees Celsius. It was the lowest temperature of the season so far in the city and a severe cold day.

Severe cold day is when night temperature is ten degrees or less and day temperature is 6.5 degrees below the normal mark.

Wind direction in the city was northerly while average wind speed was 16 kilometres per hour. Lowest temperature in the state was recorded at 4 degrees Celsius in Gwalior, Datia and Naogaon. It also happened to be the lowest temperature of the season so far.

In the forecast for Bhopal on Sunday, met office stated there would be clear sky during morning. Day and night temperature in the city would be at 21 degrees Celsius and 8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

In the forecast for state, met has issued a warning of cold wave for places including Sagar, Gwalior and Chambal divisions.

Warning of ground frost has been issued for Chhatarpur, Bhind, Morena, Sheopurkalan, Gwalior and Datia districts, stated the release issued by met office.

Dead woman referred to another hosp for ‘treatment’

Dead woman referred to another hosp for ‘treatment’

Jamal.Ayub@timesgroup.com

Bhopal:  19.12.2021

The district civil surgeon has launched an investigation into death of a woman during a family planning operation at JP Hospital here on Saturday.

It is alleged that the woman, who died in the operation theatre, was referred to Hamidia Hospital on the pretext that the ‘deceased was still alive’, alleged Prakash, her husband.

According to reports, to avoid action, the doctor did not pronounce the woman dead and asked the relatives to call for an ambulance. The 27-year-old woman died minutes after she reached the operation theatre for sterilization.

To save herself from any unpleasant situation, the doctor at JP hospital allegedly ‘referred’ the dead woman to Hamidia after telling her relatives that she was still alive.

According to reports, Muskaan, wife of Prakash, a resident of Barkheda, had reached JP Hospital on Saturday for sterilization under family planning scheme of the government. After all the investigations, the woman was taken to the operation theatre, after some time the woman’s body started getting cold.

The testimony of three other doctors who did not find the woman’s pulse or heartbeat, will be ascertained by the government investigation.

Family members alleged that the doctor at JP Hospital told them that Muskan’s pulse had returned, and they should take her to Hamidia Hospital soon. On the pretext of helping the family, the doctor called 108 ambulance from the mobile of her associate nurse and distanced herself from the matter by ‘referring’ the dead body, it is alleged.

“We will get this matter investigated. On the face of it, it looks very complicated. Action will be taken after cause of death is known,” said district civil surgeon, Dr Rakesh Srivastava.

Sources say the 27-year-old woman died in the OT during a sterilisation op but instead of declaring her dead, a doctor rerferred her to another hospital to avoid an unpleasant situation

HC to decide fate of 2 sisters on death row

HC to decide fate of 2 sisters on death row

Mumbai:  19.12.2021

The Bombay high court on Saturday concluded the hearing and will soon decide the fate of two death row convicts, both women, who in 2014 had filed a petition to commute their capital punishment to life imprisonment. They cited “unjustified delay” by authorities in dealing with their mercy petition, causing them much agony and violation of their fundamental right to life.

The women, sisters Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit, were tried for the 1996 case of kidnapping 14 children and murdering five of them in Kolhapur and convicted in 2001. In 2004, the high court had confirmed their death sentence and in 2006 the Supreme Court too had upheld the noose for them. They have been in custody since October 22, 1996. TNN

From samples to kits, experts explain why genomic sequencing takes time

From samples to kits, experts explain why genomic sequencing takes time

Sunitha.Rao@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:19.12.2021

Genomic sequencing reports are key to identifying the Omicron variant. But due to several factors, sequencing is taking a minimum of 5-8 days and the delay in results is leaving everyone, including patients and hospitals, on the edge.

This situation was discussed at a recent meeting with chief minister Basavaraj Bommai as most Covid-infected persons are recovering by the time genomic sequencing results are out. STOI takes a look at why the process is slow.

The sequencer requires over 300 samples to initiate the process, but only under 100 are sent in a day. Hence, sequencing is done once in three days. According to virologist Dr V Ravi, state nodal officer and chairman, committee for Covid-19 whole genome sequencing, one needs to understand that the sequencing is not like RT-PCR test and not all Covid-positive samples are suitable for it.

He said only Covid-positive swab samples with Cycle Threshold (CT) value below 25 qualify for genomic sequencing, as the viral load will be more in those with low CT value. The value indicates the number of cycles in RTPCR test needed to amplify viral RNA to reach a detectable level. Currently, with less than 400 cases a day, just about 10-12 samples would have CT value less than 25, he said.

Dr Ravi said the chips used in the process require either 100 samples or over 300 at a time for the sequencing to be done. “The cost of the chip is Rs 2.5 lakh. The cost remains the same whether there are 10 samples or over 300. The situation here is not like that of the UK, where 80,000 persons are turning positive every day,” he said.

Agreeing with Dr Ravi, another technical advisory committee member said genomic sequencing is like running an aircraft. “For an aircraft with a capacity of carrying 300 passengers, the cost remains the same irrespective of whether it has 10 or 300 on board. If there aren’t enough samples, we will have to wait for them to accumulate. The government will only reimburse the cost of samples sequenced and not for running the entire process with fewer samples,” a TAC member explained.

The purpose of sequencing is to detect a new variant, which two labs in Karnataka have been doing successfully, said Dr Ravi. “On November 26, Omicron was declared as a variant of concern. On November 30, Karnataka was the first to detect Omicron (though it was later announced on December 3 after verification),” he added. Stating that the state’s labs were at the forefront in detecting Alpha and Delta variants earlier, Dr Ravi said a resource-intensive method like sequencing should not be used for every sample.

Dr Ravi said irrespective of the variants, the treatment remains the same for Covid patients, but that Omicron cases need to be hospitalised and can be discharged only after they test negative to prevent community spread.

Prof Satyajit Mayor, director, National Centre for Biological Sciences, said sequencing is not a trivial affair. “We have to wait till we have 300 samples. It takes a week’s time to put out the results and we are doing our best,” he said.

Genomic sequencing was temporarily halted for at least a week at Nimhans owing to global shortage of kits. Dr Ravi said the institute lab has procured them now.

According to the health and family welfare department, there is no delay in genomic sequencing. “The reports are available within 5-8 days,” said Randeep D, commissioner of the department.

DOING THE NEEDFUL: A worker collects a swab sample at a bus stand. (Left) Marshals fine those flouting mask rule

The process of sequencing takes 12 hours. After that data is fed into the computer for analysis and this takes three days. One has to manually check the sequence and see that the computer hasn’t made a mistake. This takes a total of five days

Dr V Ravi CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE FOR COVID-19 WHOLE

GENOME SEQUENCING

The sequencer requires over 300 samples to initiate the process, but only under 100 are sent in a day. Hence, genomic sequencing is done once in three days