INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New Delhi: As the everyday fresh Covid-19 cases went over 2.17 lakhs and the death toll reached 1,185, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Friday chaired an extensive evaluation conference to make sure appropriate medical grade oxygen supply in the nation
The meeting happened a day after India chose to import 50,000 metric tonnes of medical oxygen to lower the shortage of materials
Union minister Prakash Javadekar and Karnataka CM B.S
Yediyurappa were, meanwhile, among those who tested favorable on Friday
Mr Yediyurappa has in reality tested favorable for the 2nd time in eight months and has been hospitalised.In the wake of the across the
country surge in Covid-19 cases, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Evaluations on Friday postponed the ICSE Class 10 and ISC
Class 12 assessments till additional notice
This comes two days after similar action by the CBSE board
Throughout Friday's conference, the PM reviewed in detail the existing oxygen supply situation and predicted use in the coming 15 days
throughout 12 high-burden states-- Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan
The PM was informed that 4,880 MT, 5,619 MT and 6,593 MT have been assigned to these 12 states for fulfilling their predicted need as on
April 20, April 25 and April 30 respectively
The PM recommended an increase in the oxygen production capability of each plant
The use of surplus stocks of oxygen in steel plants for medical use was also gone over
The PM advised officials to guarantee smooth and free motion of tankers carrying oxygen throughout the nation
The federal government has actually excused all inter-state movement of oxygen tankers from registration of permits to allow easier motion
The PM was informed that states and transporters had actually been asked to ensure tankers walk around the clock, with drivers operating in
shifts to ensure a faster turnaround, and sufficient capability to meet the surge in demand
Cylinder filling plants will also be permitted to operate for 24 hours, with the essential safeguards
The federal government is enabling industrial cylinders to be utilized for medical oxygen after due purging
Nitrogen and argon tankers will be immediately allowed to be converted to oxygen tankers to conquer the prospective scarcity of tankers
The Centre has actually also decided to double the production of indigenously-made Covaxin by May-June and almost 10 crore Covaxin doses
will be produced per month by September
The Union ministry of science and technology said the capabilities of Bharat Biotech Ltd in Hyderabad along with other public sector units
are being updated and financial aid is being supplied as a grant to the tune of around Rs 65 crores to Bharat Biotech's brand-new Bengaluru
facility, which is being repurposed to increase the capability of vaccine production
Three PSUs are also being supported to hike the capability of vaccine production
These are Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, Mumbai, which will have the ability to produce 20 million dosages monthly; Indian
Immunologicals Ltd, Hyderabad, and Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Ltd based in UP's Bulandshahar
On Friday Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and health secretary Rajesh Bhushan reviewed the Covid-19 situation in Chhattisgarh and
These 2 states, in addition to Maharashtra, are the three states that have more than one lakh active cases
Both Chhattisgarh and UP are reporting a really high number of daily new cases and high deaths due to Covid-19
The three states have actually been recommended to increase the variety of seclusion beds, oxygen beds, ventilators/ICU beds, ambulance
fleet according to requirements, plan for adequate oxygen supply; and concentrate on mortality reduction by early recognition of favorable
cases and adherence to nationwide treatment procedures
Forbiding unneeded travel and crowding in public places through rigorous and reliable enforcement was stressed upon
All states have actually been advised to utilize the medical facilities of essential Central institutions, the Indian Railways and public
sector systems for dealing with Covid-19 patients.The ICMR has actually advised establishing more screening laboratories, consisting of
mobile laboratories, in the affected states
He also advised keeping a vigil and increase screening on a continuous basis in districts revealing more than a 5 per cent positivity rate
The afflicted states were asked to ramp up RT-PCR testing, have timely tracing, containment and security activity to suppress the chain of
transmission, and rigorous implementation of containment steps and motivate 100 percent vaccination of eligible population groups,
especially in high-focus districts
The Union health ministry has stated different mutations of the Covid-19 infection were found in many nations, including India, besides the
UK (17 anomalies), Brazil (17 mutations) and South Africa (12 mutations) variations
These versions have higher transmissibility
The UK version has been found extensively in the UK, all across Europe and has actually infected Asia and America
The double anomaly (2 mutations) is another variant and has been found in several nations like Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland,
Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, UK, U.S.A.
The higher transmissibility of this variation is not established yet
Officials said the RT-PCR tests utilized in India do not miss these mutations as the RT-PCR tests being utilized in India target more than 2
genes and sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR tests remains the like earlier
This clarification came amid reports that RT-PCR tests may be missing out in the detection of altered variations and are turning incorrect
