TN hikes DA of staff, pensioners by 82%

TN hikes DA of staff, pensioners by 82%

CM Stalin Also Sanctions ₹170cr For Pongal Gift

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:29.12.2021

Even while citing the high debt burden of Tamil Nadu to possibly put off implementing some of its poll promises, the DMK government on Tuesday announced an increase in dearness allowance from 17% to 31% to its employees and pensioners that will result in the state incurring an additional annual expenditure of ₹8,724 crore.

Chief minister M K Stalin ordered the increase of 14 percentage points in dearness allowance, which will result in more than 82% increase in dearness allowance for the employees and pensioners from January 1, next year.

On September 7, Stalin had informed the assembly, while making a statement under Section 110, about the state government’s intent to increase the dearness allowance for its employees and pensioners from January 1, 2022, the release added.

Stalin also sanctioned an additional ₹170 crore as Pongal gift for category ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees, besides pensioners, those on special timescale and those who retired from such services and former village administrative officers.

While category ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees will receive ₹3,000 as Pongal gift, for pensioners it will be ₹500. People on special timescale will receive ₹1,000 and former village administrative officers and those retired from special timescale will receive ₹500 as Pongal gift from the state government.

Despite the state struggling under debt burden, Stalin had ordered the sanction of the amount needed to pay the dearness allowance considering the welfare of the government employees and pensioners, the release said.

Third wave has already begun in Bihar: Nitish

 Third wave has already begun in Bihar: Nitish

Patna:29.12.2021

CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said the third wave of Covid has already started in the state and all necessary arrangements were being made to save people from it, reports V K Tripathi.

Inaugurating the 96th national conference of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) here, Nitish appreciated the role doctors in saving lives of people during the last two waves of the pandemic.

Nitish also informed the gathering about the works being done by the government to improve healthcare facilities. “The Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) is being developed as a world-class facility with over 5,400 beds. The number of beds at PMCH and some other medical college and hospitals in the state was also being increased,” Nitish added. He said the number of beds at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna was also being increased.

City reports 194 Covid cases, up from 172 cases on Monday

City reports 194 Covid cases, up from 172 cases on Monday

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 29.12.2021

Citing increase in fresh Covid-19 infections and test positivity rate, the Tamil Nadu public health department on Tuesday raised concerns of the next possible wave in Chennai.

The city reported 194 new Covid-19 cases, accounting for nearly a third of the 619 cases reported across Tamil Nadu. Though17 districts reported an increased in daily cases, Chennai recorded the sharpest spike of 22 cases more than its Monday tally of 172 infections.

Over the past week, the city recorded a steady increase in daily cases. The test positivity rate, which was around 0.6% in November, is now nearly 1% though Chennai has increased its daily tests to nearly 19,000 from around 12,000 a day.

2 more anti-Covid vaccines get nod

The drug regulator on Tuesday approved SII’s Covovax and Bio E’s Corbevax for restricted use in emergency situation and granted emergency use authorisation to Molnupiravir, which halved the risk of hospitalisation and death in treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults. Inside flap

No need for doc note for booster

People above 60 with comorbidities don’t need to upload or provide a medical certificate to be eligible for the “precautionary” dose of Covid vaccine, the Centre said Tuesday. However, they must consult their doctor before taking the jab, it added. Inside flap

‘Transmission rates higher due to dense population of Chennai’

“We have not seen a steep increase in hospitalisations yet, but the city now has 1,519 active cases,” said health secretary J Radhakrishnan.

At the peak of the second wave on May 12, Chennai reported 7,564 new cases. Since then cases began to fall rapidly. On July 7, fresh cases fell below the 200-mark and on November 28 the city reported 107 new Covid-19 cases. On that day, the city had 1,182 people under treatment for the viral infection. The following day, it dropped to 105. Since then, until December 21, fresh cases were hovering between 115 and 132.

Many factors have led to the surge, Radhakrishnan said. “The transmission rates are higher in the city because of its dense population. We are seeing clusters from weddings, funerals, reunion and workplaces. The list of international passengers who test positive for Covid at the Chennai airport is added to the city,” he said. Along with Chennai, fresh cases in the neighbouring Chengalpet district increased to 59 on Tuesday from 50 on Monday and Tiruvallur reported an increase to 22 from 15 during the same time.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian said there were indications of Omicron clusters within the city. On Saturday, he announced that at least 54 people, including doctors, nurses and medical students, of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), tested positive for Covid-19. The source of infection was one of their patients, a diabetic, admitted to the hospital for a skin graft procedure on December 17. On Tuesday, after testing 3,965 contacts, the total number of cases in the cluster rose to 94.

While there was no travel history reported in any of the patients, at least 64 of them had the S-gene dropout – an indicator that they could be carrying the Omicron variant. All patients have a mild form of the infection and are stable, the hospital said. “But before patients could be tracked and isolated, the infection had spread,” he said.

Most patients carrying the new variant showed mild symptoms of the infection. “They have a cold, sore throat, fatigue and mild temperature and many don’t meet the doctor or isolate themselves. In the absence of Covid-appropriate behaviour, the infection spreads rapidly,” said director of public health Dr T S Selvavinayagam.

We must learn to live with Covid: WHO chief scientist

We must learn to live with Covid: WHO chief scientist

29,12,2021

Tamil Nadu should introduce rapid tests to screen partygoers and those participating in public rallies to keep infections low, says WHO chief scientific officer Dr Soumya Swaminathan, who is also a member of the TN expert medical committee for prevention and management of Covid-19. Whether it is Omicron or Delta, vaccination and Covid-appropriate behaviour should be encouraged, she tells Pushpa Narayan in an interview. Excerpts:

Omicron has high transmission rates but is also seen as the variant that evades immunity. Should governments resume restrictions such as night curfew, ban public gatherings and parties?

No. Covid is here to stay, and we must learn to live with it. Asking people to stay indoors or keeping schools and colleges locked aren’t ideal approaches any longer. It causes more damage than the pandemic itself. Instead, we must encourage people to vaccinate themselves and follow covid appropriate behaviour. They must wear masks, practise social distancing norms, and follow prescribed prevention strategies. It is good that the government is not making hurried announcements of lockdowns to push back the virus. Governments may however opt for micro-containments measures in hotspots or smaller regions to prevent transmission.

What was your advice to the state government ahead of holidays and festive season?

Tamil Nadu must consider introducing rapid antigen tests as early as possible. The state has a policy to use only RTPCR tests. It has developed infrastructure, both in government and private sector, for the gold standard test. But antigen tests are now being used across the world and many kits are highly sensitive. It will be useful to make spot antigen testing mandatory for all members taking part in large public meetings or indoor events such as New Year parties. While it may not be completely foolproof, the test reduces the number of asymptomatic positive people from being a part of the event. This can cut down the risk of transmission, particularly when there is threat of variants like Omicron. Also, as cases increase the waiting time for results from RTPCR may get longer. This can delay isolation and medical intervention, particularly in hotspots.

Should the state expand its facilities for whole genome sequencing?

Whole genome sequencing is a confirmatory test for the variant. Results for this test can take time. So, we have asked all governments to consider S-gene drop as a proxy indicator for Omicron. Efforts must be taken to isolate infected people fast. But that said, we must understand that community transmission has begun. It may no longer make sense to send samples of every international passenger for whole genome sequencing. Omicron is one of the variants of Covid-19 just like Delta, Beta or Alpha, but it transmits rapidly. In many parts of the world, we have seen it quickly taking over the most dominant variant. To stop the virus, we must improve vaccination and covid appropriate behaviour.

3 mths on, guv yet to forward anti-NEET Bill to President

3 mths on, guv yet to forward anti-NEET Bill to President

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:29.12.2021

The Tamil Nadu assembly’s unanimous anti-NEET Bill seeking to nullify the national-level test for MBBS admissions is still lying with the governor’s office, more than three months after it was sent to the Raj Bhavan. The governor is yet to forward it to the President for assent.

The information was furnished in response to an application under the Right To Information (RTI) Act filed by P B Prince Gajendrababu, general secretary of State Platform for Common School System (SPCSS). The RTI plea sought to know the action taken by the governor on the Bill and its current status.

R N Ravi assumed charge as Governor of Tamil Nadu on September 18. In his reply dated December 17, S Venkateshwaran, under secretary to governor/ public information officer, stated that "the file is under consideration."

Tamil Nadu Assembly passed The Tamil Nadu Admission to Undergraduate Medical Degree Courses Act, 2021 on September 13, to provide admission to medical courses only on the basis of Class XII marks in board examinations.

"Though Article 200 of the Constitution did not specify the time limit for the governor, it says the decision may be taken "as soon as possible." A governor is entitled to take his time to study the Bill and seek legal advice. However, the Constitution does not allow undue delay," Prince Gajendrababu told TOI. He further urged the governor to send the Bill to the President for assent.

SPCSS president P Ratnasabapathy said the forum would go on a hunger strike on January 30 demanding presidential assent to the NEET Bill.

A high-level committee, headed by Justice A K Rajan, former judge of Madras high court, set up by the DMK government in June, reported to the government that NEET had undermined the diverse societal representation in MBBS and higher medical courses, favoured affluent groups and thwarted the dream of underprivileged to pursue medical education. The committee said the NEET neither seemed to ensure merit nor standard of the students being offered MBBS under its purview.

Following the recommendation, the state government adopted the Bill with the support of all Opposition parties, except BJP, in the assembly.

60+ won’t need doc’s cert for 3rd dose

60+ won’t need doc’s cert for 3rd dose

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:29.12.2021

People above 60 years with comorbidities will not be required to upload or provide a medical certificate to be eligibile for the “precautionary” dose of Covid vaccine. However, they must consult their doctor before taking the jab, the Centre said on Tuesday.

The decision was taken after a meeting of health secretary Rajesh Bhushan with states on Tuesday. It was decided that those above 60 years can avail the precautionary dose without a doctor’s certificate.

Besides, personnel deployed in election duty will also qualify as frontline workers and be eligible to receive the booster dose on completion of nine months from the second dose. CoWin will send reminder messages to all those who are eligible for the third dose, which will be reflected in digital vaccination certificates, the health ministry said.

States have been advised to set up separate vaccination centres dedicated for children between 15-18 years.

The Centre has projected 7.40 crore children between 15-18 years, with UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh accounting for the maximum load. Besides, 2.75 crore people in the 60-plus age group with comorbidities are projected across the country.

Bhushan chaired a workshop through video conference on Tuesday with all states and UTs to review the roll-out of vaccination for the 15-18 age group and the precautionary third dose for vulnerable categories and those in the 60-plus age group with comorbidities.

He said only Covaxin is to be administered in the 15-18 age group. Eligible children can either register themselves on CoWin from January 1 or avail of a walk-in registration when vaccination commences from January 3. States were informed they have the option to designate some Covid vaccination centres exclusively for the 15-18 age group which can also be reflected on CoWin.

A WORD OF CAUTION: People above 60 must consult their doctors before taking the third vaccine shot, the Centre said on Tuesday

100 Major Supreme Court Judgments Of 2021 [Part 3, Judgments 76 -100]

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