
Doctors have said that a large number of young aged between 18 and 45 are suffering from severe symptoms, partly due to their stronger immune system.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lauded doctors, nurses and paramedical staff of his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi for their efforts in fighting Covid-19. The prime minister gave a new slogan “Jahan bimar, wahin upchar (treatment of the ailing at their doorstep)” during his video conference with the healthcare professionals, saying this can bring down the pressure that the second wave of COVID-19 has put on the country’s health system.
“A lot of work has been done, but there is also a need to concentrate on the rural areas of ‘Purvanchal’ (eastern region of Uttar Pradesh),” Modi stressed. The effect of the pandemic has been so vast that despite all efforts, numerous lives were lost, the prime minister said in a voice choked with emotion.
“You have contained the virus significantly but there should be no complacency as it is going to be a long fight,” Modi told the doctors and frontline workers of Varanasi. He also took stock of the functioning of various COVID hospitals in the holy city, including the Pandit Rajan Mishra COVID Hospital which was recently started through joint efforts of the DRDO and the Indian Army.
Doctors have said that a large number of young aged between 18 and 45 are suffering from severe symptoms, partly due to their stronger immune system.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Speaks on Shortage of Black Fungus Injections | "Presently there are over 300 cases of black fungus in Pune, including many outsiders (residents of other districts). There is shortage of injections for them. If there are 300 patients, around 1800 injections a day are needed and that is not available in required number," ANI quotes Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as saying.
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For the millions of women who celebrated their first Mother’s Day in May 2021, their transition into motherhood occurred in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Preparing for childbirth can be joyful and exciting, but COVID-19 restrictions disrupted many women’s prenatal care and forced some mothers to deliver their infants, without partner or family support. Others faced separation from their newborns immediately after birth.
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As India fights the second wave of deadly coronavirus, an Ayurvedic quack in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh has been distributing herbal medicine and eye drops which have been drawing huge crowds of both Covid and non-Covid patients.
Now, Children of Covid-Recovered Families in Maharashtra Hit by Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome | Even as the country continues to grapple with a severe second wave of Covid-19, new concerns have come to light over children in Covid-recovered families in Maharashtra, with many beginning to show symptoms of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C).
Black fungus will be treated in Rajasthan for free
Black fungus will be treated in Rajasthan for free. For which the state government has included Black Fungs in the Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme. Under this scheme up to 5 lakh free health insurance is provided. Along with this, the Rajasthan government has asked for 50 thousand injections from the center for the treatment of black fungus. In which 1600 injections will be given to Rajasthan today.
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Delhi HC Asks Centre to Get Black Fungus Medicine from 'Wherever it is Available in the World' | The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Centre to take steps to get the medicine — Amphotericin B — used for treating black fungus which is primarily affecting COVID-19 recovered people, from wherever it is available in the world.
Tamil Nadu: Priests offer special prayer to 'Corona Devi' in a temple in Coimbatore to contain the spread of #COVID19
— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2021
"We are continuously praying to 'Corona Devi' to show mercy on us and help us get rid of this virus," said Temple Priest (19.05) pic.twitter.com/wWu8wFm9xt
329 Doctors Succumbed to Covid-19 During 2nd Wave, Bihar Tops List: IMA
The Indian Medical Association on Thursday released fresh figures on Covid-related fatalities among doctors, saying 329 of them succumbed to the disease during the ongoing second wave of the pandemic. Bihar alone saw 80 deaths, the maximum among states, followed by Delhi (73), Uttar Pradesh (41), Andhra Pradesh (22) and Telangana (20), the IMA said.
Covid Patient Dead, But UP Hospital 'Kept Sending SMS About Her Vitals’ to Family for 2 Days
In what could be termed as sheer negligence, a hospital in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh was sending a COVID-19 patient’s vital stats to her family even after her demise. The incident was reported from Hallet hospital in Kanpur, where the hospital management kept sending oxygen levels and other stats of the patient who had died two days back.
READ | Tamil Nadu, Telangana Among Several States to Declare Black Fungus as Epidemic Amid Rising Cases, Deaths
The governments of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Odisha, Telangana, Assam and Delhi on Thursday declared 'black fungus' or Mucormycois as a notifiable disease under Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 after a number of people were found to be infected with the disease in these states leading deaths in several cases.
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Bharat Biotech to Ramp Up Covaxin Production by Additional 200 Million With New Gujarat Plant | Bharat Biotech on Thursday said it has ramped up additional manufacturing capacities for the Covaxin covid-19 jabs as the country faces a severe shortage of vaccines. Chiron Behring, a subsidy of Bharat Biotech in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, plans to produce 200 million doses of Covaxin per annum in the GMP facilities that are already operational for the production of vaccines based on Inactivated Vero Cell Platform Technology, under stringent levels of GMP and biosafety, the company said in a statement.
Karnataka | Kalaburagi City Corporation has launched 24*7 auto ambulance service for COVID patients. "Sometimes ambulances don't reach on time, with our free service people can get instant help. Three autos to ply in noon & two at night," said Commissioner Snehal Lokhande(20.05) pic.twitter.com/Tk9OW36rSm
— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2021
Black Fungus a Misnomer; Not Enough Evidence That Third Wave Will Impact Kids More: Randeep Guleria
As the country witnesses a rising number of mucormycosis cases amid the COVID-19 pandemic, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said there is a need to aggressively work on preventing the fungal infection. He said that cases of fungal infection will probably come down as the COVID-19 cases decrease.
Karnataka | Group of govt officers & others set up Corona call centre to help people in Bengaluru. "We launched this centre to provide 24*7 services including food, medical kits, ambulances, and to help people with credible contacts." said Police Inspector Shantappa (20.05) pic.twitter.com/x9N5wPhFHR
— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2021
Covid-19 Positivity Rate Lowest in a Month, But India Can't Afford Laxity, Says Govt | In a press briefing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of Union Health Ministry said, “There is a continued decrease in active cases in the country. Recoveries stand at 86.7 per cent. 21 states have reported more recoveries than daily Covid-19 cases. We have seen a 13-day decline straight. Death data is also going down now. Eight states in the country have more than 1 lakh active cases, nine states have between 50,000-1 lakh active cases and 19 states have less than 50,000 active cases. Tamil Nadu remains a cause of concern."
Covid-19 Live Update: Fall in Daily Covid-19 Cases By Over 50% in Five States; Delhi, UP See Highest Drop
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Goa have reported more than 50 percent drop in daily Covid-19 cases over the week, with Delhi and Uttar Pradesh witnessing highest decrease, official data from the respective states suggest.On the contrary, from May 13 to May 19, the daily cases in Meghalaya, Lakshadweep, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura reported over 30 percent rise, the state government data analysed by News18 suggests.
The prime minister discussed ongoing efforts for tackling the second wave of COVID-19 in Varanasi and preparations for the future.
The deadly black fungus or mucormycosis killed as many as 126 people till Wednesday — with Maharashtra alone accounting for 90 deaths. The disease has affected close to 5,500 people across India. With 14 mucormycosis deaths, Haryana’s casualties are second highest in the country. The figures have come to fore a day after Centre urged all states and Union territories to declare it as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act to ensure mandatory surveillance to tackle the “new challenge”.
According to a report in Times of India, Uttar Pradesh has recorded eight deaths, all of them in Lucknow. The figures for the rest of the state are not available. Jharkhand has recorded four deaths while two deaths each have been reported from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Goa have reported one death each. Some states, however, said they have not collated data on mucormycosis cases and deaths yet.
he Delhi High Court also asked the Centre to take steps to import Amphotericin-B used for treating Mucormycosis, also known as ‘black fungus’, from wherever it is available in the world to bridge its shortage “before we lose more precious lives” even as a Union minister said Indian companies have placed orders for importing 6 lakh vials of this key anti-fungal drug. Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also said 11 pharma firms in the country will produce the drug with five more approvals being given.
“You have to get the medicine from wherever in the world. You have to take steps right now. Wherever it is available in the world get it,” said a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh which was assured by the Centre that it has already started taking steps to import the medicine. The court said the Centre should inform it about the steps taken to import the medicine, the shortfall of which was coming in the way of the treatment of this fungal infection which has been on the rise in the national capital and elsewhere in the country. The infection that affects the nose, eyes, sinuses, and sometimes even the brain is being detected among patients who are recovering or have recovered from COVID-19.
Central government standing counsel Kirtiman Singh and Amit Mahajan informed the court that as on May 19, there are 7,251 patients of black fungus in the country and this includes 200 in Delhi. Some states have also reported fatalities due to this disease with Maharashtra recording 90 deaths. The issue of shortage of the medicine for treating black fungus was raised by advocate Rakesh Malhotra.
Minister Mandaviya said the shortage of the anti-fungal drug will be resolved soon. “Black Fungus (Mucormycosis) curing drug #AmphotericinB’s shortage will be resolved soon! Within three days, 5 more Pharma companies have got New Drug Approval for producing it in India, in addition to the existing 6 pharma companies,” he said in a tweet.
Mandaviya, who is the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, also said that existing pharma companies have already started ramping up the production of the drug. “Indian Companies have also placed orders for importing 6 lakh vials of #AmphotericinB. We are leaving no stone unturned to smoothen the situation,” he noted.
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