Covid-19

US travel advisory: “Do not travel to India due to COVID-19”

US travel advisory: “Do not travel to India due to COVID-19”

The US has reissued its travel advisory on India, urging its citizens not to travel to the country due to an unprecedented surge in the COVID-19 cases there. India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days, and hospitals are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds. “Do not travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution due to crime and terrorism,” the State Department said on Wednesday in its latest travel advisory that looked identical to the one issued on April 28. Both the travel advisory…
Read More
Television journalist Rohit Sardana passes away due to a heart attack.

Television journalist Rohit Sardana passes away due to a heart attack.

Television journalist Rohit Sardana, who tested positive for coronavirus recently, passed away Friday due to a heart attack. Many Union ministers, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his colleagues in the media expressed condolence over the demise of Sardana who was associated with Aaj Tak news channel. “Rohit Sardana left us too soon. Full of energy, passionate about India’s progress and a kind hearted soul, Rohit will be missed by many people. His untimely demise has left a huge void in the media world. Condolences to his family, friends and admirers. Om Shanti,” PM Modi tweeted. “Pained to learn about Shri…
Read More
Indian-American non-profit body Sewa International, dispatches 2,184 oxygen concentrators.

Indian-American non-profit body Sewa International, dispatches 2,184 oxygen concentrators.

Houston-based Indian-American non-profit body Sewa International, which has raised nearly $8 million towards Covid-19 relief efforts in India, has dispatched the first batch of 2,184 oxygen concentrators from Atlanta. The organisation has also ramped up its social media fund-raising goal from the earlier $5 million to $10 million now. Sewa said the oxygen concentrators left Atlanta for New Delhi by air on Thursday. United Parcel Service (UPS) Foundation is carrying the cargo free of cost, it added. (Photo: Twitter/Sewa_Intl) “Thanks to UPS Foundation for carrying our cargo free of cost, making all arrangements, and giving full cooperation to move the material. India team has…
Read More
Shortage of COVID-19 supplies? Make your own Hand Sanitizer at home, here’s how:

Shortage of COVID-19 supplies? Make your own Hand Sanitizer at home, here’s how:

With concerns about COVID-19 running high, supplies of hand sanitizer at local stores may start to run low. If they run out, is it safe to make your own, and will DIY hand sanitizer protect you against coronavirus infection? But can homemade hand sanitizer do the job? Possibly, but you have to use the right recipe, experts say. Handmade hand sanitizers can also curb microbe exposure — but only as long as they have the correct ratio of alcohol(60% to 95%) to other ingredients, according to CNN.  Adding an emollient such as aloe vera gel or glycerin will prevent the hand sanitizer from drying out your skin,…
Read More
Along with the Oxygen crisis India now faces shortage of tankers and the problem of transportation.

Along with the Oxygen crisis India now faces shortage of tankers and the problem of transportation.

THE OXYGEN crisis during the second Covid surge has been precipitated by a shortage of tankers and the daunting logistics of transportation from distant locations — not by a dearth of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), which is available in sufficient quantity, says top officials and key industry players. Official figures show that on April 24, various industries produced 9,103 metric tonnes (MT) of LMO against a previously existing capacity of 7,259 MT. On the same day, the sale of LMO stood at 7,017 MT. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was informed during a review meeting that production has increased…
Read More
Covid Updates: Arvind Kejriwal urges other states to provide oxygen to Delhi.

Covid Updates: Arvind Kejriwal urges other states to provide oxygen to Delhi.

As the national capital continues to reel under a severe oxygen crisis, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday urged his counterparts in other states to provide oxygen to Delhi, saying all available resources are proving to be inadequate owing to the severity of Covid-19. Kejriwal’s request for supply of oxygen came following the death of 20 patients in Jaipur Golden Hospital here as Delhi’s desperate hunt for the life-saving gas continued amid rising COVID-19 cases. India reported over 3.46 lakh Covid-19 cases in 24 hours ending 9 am Saturday, making it the highest single-day spike in the country so far. This is also…
Read More
IIT Scientists predict COVID-19 pandemic in India may peak near May 15 with 35 lakh total ‘active’ cases.

IIT Scientists predict COVID-19 pandemic in India may peak near May 15 with 35 lakh total ‘active’ cases.

The ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India may peak between May 11-15 with 33-35 lakh total ‘active’ cases and decline steeply by the end of May, according to a mathematical module devised by IIT scientists. On Friday, India saw a single-day rise of 3,32,730 (3.32 lakh) COVID-19 infections and 2,263 fatalities with 24,28,616 (24.28 lakh) active cases. In predicting that the active cases would go up by about 10 lakh by mid-May before sliding, scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and Hyderabad applied the ‘Susceptible, Undetected, Tested (positive), and Removed Approach’ (SUTRA) model. The scientists also said…
Read More
The Supreme Court on Thursday terms the Covid-19 situation as almost a “national emergency”

The Supreme Court on Thursday terms the Covid-19 situation as almost a “national emergency”

The Supreme Court Thursday termed the Covid-19 situation as almost a “national emergency” while agreeing to hear Vedanta’s plea for opening of its Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu on the ground that it would produce thousand tonnes of oxygen and give it free of cost to treat patients. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde was unimpressed with the objection of Tamil Nadu government which initially sought hearing of Vedanta’s plea on Monday and opposed its opening on various grounds including that it has been rejected by the apex court earlier. “We understand all this. We will ensure compliance…
Read More
Bharat Biotech has announced a scaling up of its manufacturing capacity to produce 700 million doses of Covaxin annually.

Bharat Biotech has announced a scaling up of its manufacturing capacity to produce 700 million doses of Covaxin annually.

Inactivated vaccines, while highly safe, are extremely complex and expensive to manufacture, resulting in lower yields when compared to live virus vaccines. The vaccine has received Emergency Use Authorisations (EUA) in several countries across the globe with another 60 in process including the US. Pricing for international markets and supplies to governments under EUAs have been established between $15 and $20 per dose. To further increase capacities, Bharat Biotech has partnered with Indian Immunologicals (IIL) to manufacture the drug substance for Covaxin. The technology transfer process is underway and IIL has the capabilities and expertise to manufacture inactivated viral vaccines…
Read More
Rahul Gandhi tweets: “After experiencing mild symptoms, I’ve just tested positive for COVID.”

Rahul Gandhi tweets: “After experiencing mild symptoms, I’ve just tested positive for COVID.”

Congres MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday tested positive for COVID-19. In a tweet, Gandhi said, "After experiencing mild symptoms, I've just tested positive for COVID." Gandhi has been constantly attacking the Central government on its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination strategy. Earlier today, he said the Centre has brought in middlemen for vaccine distribution without any price controls and guarantee for weaker sections of the society. In the view of the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, the government on Monday announced that from May 1 everyone above the age of 18 years would be eligile to…
Read More