New Delhi, Jun 10: Delhi recorded 1,366 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, taking the tally to 31,309, while the death toll mounted to 905, authorities said on Wednesday.
According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government's health department, there are 18,543 active cases, while 11,861 patients have either recovered, been discharged or migrated.
No health bulletin was issued on Tuesday.
Global health experts on Wednesday said novel coronavirus is here to stay for more than a year and called for aggressive testing to prevent its spread.
In an interaction with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, health experts Professor Ashish Jha and Professor Johan Giesecke talked about the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the series being aired on Congress social media channels.
While Jha exuded confidence that a vaccine will be available in a year's time, Prof Giesecke said India should practice a lockdown that is as 'soft' as possible, as a severe lockdown will ruin its economy very quickly.
"When the economy is opened up after lockdown, you have to create confidence among people," Harvard health expert Ashish Jha told Gandhi.
Jha is a professor of Global Health at TH Chan School of Public Health and Director, Harvard Global Health institute.
He said coronavirus is a '12-18 months' problem and the world is not going to be free of this till 2021.
The expert also called for the need for aggressive testing strategy for high-risk areas.
Gandhi, while interacting with the experts, said life is going to change post COVID-19.
"If 9/11 was a new chapter, this will be a new book," he remarked.
Professor Johan Giesecke, former chief scientist, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said India should have a 'soft lockdown'.
"The situation that India is in, I think, you should have a soft lockdown, as soft as possible," he said.
"I think for India, you will ruin your economy very quickly if you have a severe lockdown. It is better, skip the lockdown, take care of the old and the frail...," he noted.
Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 9: The Kerala government has set up five COVID-19 helpdesks for non-resident Keralites in countries which have a substantial number of Pravasi Malayalis.
Addressing a press conference here Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said: "In order to address the concerns and issues faced by the non-resident Keralites, we have set up five dedicated COVID helpdesks in countries where we have a substantial number of Pravasi Malayalis."
The helpdesks started by Norka Roots will be managed locally by persons and voluntary organisations active among non-resident Keralites. The Kerala government has requested the Indian Ambassadors in various places to cooperate with these helpdesks.
The Chief Minister also informed that online medical services would be made available to the non-resident Keralites through the Norka Roots website.
"Pravasi Malayalis can consult prominent doctors in Kerala by audio or video calls through the website, with prior registration. The services of various speciality doctors will be available from 2 pm to 6 pm IST," he said.
Currently, registration for the Norka Pravasi ID card is only available for the Malayali expatriates residing or working abroad for a period of not less than six months. "Now students from Kerala studying abroad can also avail this facility. The overseas student registration service would enable them to get Insurance benefits and discounts on flight tickets. This registration will be mandatory for all students presently studying abroad as well as for those going abroad, from now on," Vijayan said.
The Pravasi ID card is a multi-purpose photo identity card that entitles every non-resident Keralite to avail all services and facilities offered by Norka Root. The card comes with an add-on Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) coverage. Two prominent airlines are offering a discount on the base fare for air tickets booked by Norka Id card holders.
Motera, Feb 23: A day before US President Donald Trump's visit to Ahmedabad, a makeshift VVIP entry gate erected outside the newly-built cricket stadium in Motera area here collapsed due to gusty winds on Sunday morning, an official said.
The entire incident was recorded by a bystander and aired on local television channels.
The makeshift entry gate was made of welded steel rods and covered in flex banners.
After some time, a portion of another makeshift gate structure at the stadium's main entrance also collapsed due to the windy weather, another official said.
No one was injured in both the incidents and work was underway to put the structures back in place, he said.
"The (VVIP) entry gate collapsed when fabrication work was going on. It was not a major incident. No one was injured in the incident," said Special Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Ajay Tomar said.
President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a roadshow here on Monday and later address the 'Namaste Trump' event at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera area where over one lakh people are expected to be present.
The stadium has already received 'Building Use' permission from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, an official earlier said.
It is the world's largest stadium with a capacity to accommodate 1.10 lakh spectators.
The stadium has been rebuilt after demolishing the old one which had a seating capacity of 49,000 spectators.
Comments
Add new comment