Dr. Harsh Vardhan extolled the virtues of investing in public health, an approach already underway in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi.

He said The current pandemic and the global crisis arising out of that highlights, more than ever, the need for national and global solidarity.

Flattening the curve globally will require international, multisectoral collaborative efforts to ensure that health systems across the world are able to maintain sufficient capacity to address the flux of complicated COVID-19 cases and protect the vulnerable and elderly in the world population.

We need to focus on creating effective health systems for improved pandemic preparedness. While all the other action plans are a response to a pandemic, a well-developed healthcare system can support even in containing the pandemic , health minister said .

There is a need to ensure that access to COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines is fair and equitable. Access to protection should not be a factor of ability to pay.

India with a history of frugal and quality manufacturing will continue to play its role through our Make-In-India and Make-for the World endeavor and will support fully the development of research and digital capabilities for managing delivery.

We all need to capitalize on existing programs such as the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), and ensure equitable global access to diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, while strengthening health systems he stressed .

Inspired by experiences of previous outbreaks such as SARS in 2003 and Ebola in 2014–2015, global solidarity is a must in order to prevent further morbidity and mortality. Examples in leadership and collaborations should be celebrated as examples to follow. Open communication and transparency will be crucial in monitoring the evolution of the disease in the global effort of flattening the curve.

India is committed to Universal Healthcare Coverage and in these stressful times, India stands together with the world to realize the shared mission to save lives and protect people’s health, and to re-energize the global economy at the earliest.

This is also a time for decisive public health leadership and for preparing for future waves and the post-COVID-19 era

Public health leaders must look beyond borders. Only by learning from the global experience in our battle against a virus that respects no borders, can we honour the lives already lost and implement life-saving measures for current and future patients.

The post Dr. Harsh Vardhan : Need to focus on creating effective health appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

ICMR conducted the first sero-survey for COVID19 in May 2020 in collaboration with state health departments, NCDC and WHO India. The study was conducted in 83 districts covering 28,595 households and 26,400 individuals. The study has two parts out of which the primary task of estimating the fraction of population who has been infected with SARS-CoV-2 in general population has been completed. The second objective of estimating fraction of population who has been infected with SARS-CoV-2 in containment zones of hotspot cities is in the process of completion.

The study also clearly points out that the measures taken during the lockdown have been successful in keeping the transmission low and in preventing rapid spread of COVID-19. ICMR has calculated that compared to rural areas, risk of spread is 1.09 times higher in urban areas and 1.89 times higher in urban slums. The infection fatality rate is very low at 0.08%. This only means that a large portion of the population must continue following COVID appropriate behaviour suggested by from time to time.

During the last 24 hours, a total of 5,823 COVID-19 patients have been cured. Thus, so far, a total of 1,41,028 patients have been cured of COVID-19. The recovery rate amongst COVID-19 patients is 49.21%. India currently has 1,37,448 active cases which are all under active medical supervision. At present, the number of patients recovered exceeds the number of active patients

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare held a high level meeting today (via Video Conferencing) with Shri Rajesh Tope, Health Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Amit Deshmukh, Medical Education Minister of Maharashtra and DMs of COVID-19 affected districts of Maharashtra. Dr Harsh Vardhan highlighted the need for strengthening human resource for contact tracing; logistics enhancement like including ICU beds with ventilators, beds with facility available for oxygen supplementation etc; ensuring transport for healthcare workers; and strengthening Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) activities to reduce community resistance and counselling of high risk contacts.

The post Only 0.73% of the sample population infected appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

The notification says that the policy holders whose health or motor vehicle third party insurance policies fall due for renewal during the period on and from the 25th March, 2020 up to the 3rd May, 2020 and who are unable to make payment of their renewal premium on time in view of the prevailing situation in the country as a result of Corona Virus disease (COVID-19), are allowed to make such payment for renewal of policies to their insurers on or before the 15th May, 2020 to ensure continuity of the statutory motor vehicle third party insurance cover from the date on which the policy falls due for renewal, so that any valid claim triggered during the grace period can be paid.

Meanwhile, The Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan held an interactive session through Video Conferencing today with senior officials and field officers of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as key central and state government health functionaries on the measures being taken for containment of COVID-19 in India.

Exhorting the WHO officials Dr. Harsh Vardhan said “We are meeting in troubled times and we have to work together to eradicate this virus as we eradicated polio and smallpox earlier”. “We can and we will defeat this Virus”, he said. The meeting today deliberated on further strengthening the partnership and the measures that can be taken at the field level to further ramp up the response. Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “WHO is an important partner in our fight against the COVID-19. I really value guidance and contributions made by the WHO in containing spread of COVID-19 across the country.”

Dr. Harsh Vardhan recollected, “I still remember, Doctors, be it in the government or WHO, were passionate about the cause of eradication of polio and contributed a lot for the purpose.” “Without their sincere contribution it would have taken more time to eradicate polio from South East Asia including India”, he said. He further motivated the doctors and reminded them of their potential and ability because of which India managed to come out victorious from the scourge of polio.

The post Health and Motor (Third Party) insurance appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan informed that he had a discussion in the morning with Health Ministers of the States/UTs about the actions being taken by Union Health Ministry, reviewed the status of preparedness of States/UTs and assured them with all possible support. He also lauded the States for active surveillance, effective contact tracing and their preparedness for containment and management of COVID-19.

During the meeting, it was informed by DG, ICMR that 129 government laboratories are functional with a testing capacity of 13000 tests per day along with 49 NABL accredited private lab. The private chains have around 16000 collection centres. It was also informed that adequate test kits have been procured and disseminated across the States for any further eventualities. He was also informed that Rapid Antibody test kits are also ordered. As of now 38,442 tests have been done with 1,334 tests in private labs across the country.

Further discussions were held with the three Secretaries of Ministry of Science & Technology about status of research into developing solutions for handling COVID-19.

Secretary DST, Dr. Ashutosh Sharma informed that through mapping of the COVID-19 related technology capabilities in start-ups, academia, R&D Labs and industry, over 500 entities in the areas of diagnostics, drugs, ventilators, protection gear, disinfecting systems, etc. have been identified. Over 200 proposals have been received in the last one week against the funding calls of DST, from which over 20 entities are under active consideration for support in the first phase, taking into account the relevance, cost, speed and scale of solutions to manage COVID-19.

Secretary DBT Dr. Renu Swarup informed that Department of Biotechnology has formed a Consortium to support the development of Medical equipments, Diagnostics, Therapeutics, Drugs and Vaccines to meet the Healthcare Challenges. She stated that the manufacturing capacity of the First Indigenous kit developed by Start up in Pune is being scaled up to produce nearly one lakh kits per week.

A manufacturing facility for indigenous development of Ventilators, testing kits, imaging equipment and ultrasound and high end radiology equipment has been set up in Vishakhapatnam where manufacturing will start in first week of April.

DBT along with Drug Controller General of India has developed and notified a Rapid Response Regulatory Framework to provide expedited regulatory approvals for all diagnostics drugs and vaccines. Vaccine development is being supported with three Indian industries. Research on Therapeutic and drug development has started.

DG, CSIR Dr. Shekhar Mande informed that CSIR is working on a five-pronged strategy to find S&T solutions for COVID-19, comprising of: Surveillance using digital and molecular methods which includes genome sequencing of the virus strains across the country; Cheaper, fast and accurate diagnosis methods; intervention strategies comprising of repurposing drugs and developing new drugs etc.; R&D in Hospital assistive equipment; and, development of Supply chain logistics models for items required for Covid-19 mitigation. He informed that in all the points mentioned above, CSIR has forged collaborations with private sector.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan appreciated the public health surveillance and response, technical guidance and laboratory support being given by ICMR. He also appreciated the Department of Science & Technology, Bio-technology and CSIR for their support in development of Ventilators, Testing kits, PPEs etc. indigenously at the time of need.

He directed that all efforts should be made to procure requisite testing kits and reagents urgently and supply them to the laboratories across the country. He also directed that it should be ensured that states have all the required facilities and it should be ensured that they do not face any shortages on account of testing kits, reagents or equipment.

He also directed that extra support shall be given to those States/UTs who are not having any laboratories/ testing facilities as well as to North Eastern States and UT of Ladakh.

He further directed that all efforts should be made to ensure that quality of the testing kits procured by the Government or by the private labs is not compromised and quality assessment of the kits shall be done regularly. He also directed that for this a clear quality control mechanism and protocol needs to be developed and implemented by ICMR immediately so that the quality is assured on a daily basis by all the laboratories.

The post Harsh Vardhan reviews the sampling appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

A presentation was made about the current situation and ongoing activities of the COVID-19 management in the country. After the presentation, Dr. Harsh Vardhan stated that with the collective efforts of the Central Ministries and States/UTs, ample timely precautionary measures have been taken. He also said that States continue to be on high alert regarding prevention, community surveillance and effective hospital management. The Union Health Minister stated that it is during times like these, when the public and private sector can form an alliance and work towards shared goals in public interest pooling in collective resources, and building on the strengths of each other.

Dr Harsh Vardhan led discussion of several issues which included preparedness in terms of bed capacity of hospitals for infected cases, isolation wards, protocols for sample collection and testing, protocols for outdoor patients etc. It was discussed to create a pool of beds in the private hospitals, and NITI Aayog would support MoHFW and private hospitals in doing so, such that the data for availability along with the requisite trained manpower is known.

Collaboration on sample collection and testing was also discussed, wherein Secretary (HFW) stated that 35 labs have been identified across the country, number of which will be increased to more than 100 in coming days. The hospitals informed that they have taken up various outreach activities for enhancing awareness among their hospital staff. They also volunteered to enhance awareness among the communities through their own efforts as well. It was also discussed that common communication in terms of management of COVID-19 should be maintained.

Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that it was important for people to access authentic and credible sources of information. Towards this end, he has enlisted the twitter handles that are providing such information in his tweet today.

The private hospitals collectively applauded the efforts of the Government, especially the immediate systematic management response to the entire situation since January 17th, this year. They promised their support to the Government and looked forward to working together for the country.

Besides senior officials of MoHFW, owners and heads of various private hospitals i.e. Medanta, Apollo Hospitals, Max Hospitals, Fortis Hospitals, Cygnus Healthcare, Artemis Hospitals, Asian Hospital (Faridabad), Metro Hospital, Paras Hospital, Sarvodaya Hospital, VPS Healthcare, Nayati Hospital, FICCI and IMA, were present at the meeting.

The post High level meeting with private hospitals appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary are holding meetings with the Chief Secretaries and other concerned officials of all the State and UTs through video conferencing on day to day basis. Health Ministry, under the leadership of Dr. Harsh Vardhan is also maintaining a close watch on the situation, especially in setting up of Isolation Wards across the country and screening of the people coming to India from abroad. An Isolation Camp has already been set up in the ITBP Campus at Manesar which is functioning 24×7.

Shri Javadekar informed the Government has already brought and treated Indians who were stuck in Wuhan (China), epicentre of Coronavirus spread. 124 Indians and 05 foreigners who were stuck in the Japanese Ship, and some of whom were suspected to be having Coronavirus infection were rescued, tested and they were found to be negative. Passengers are being screened 24×7 at all the 21 international airports. Six lakh visitors have been screened so far. About one million people have been screened in the border areas adjoining Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. Villages in border areas adjoining neighboring countries are also being taken care of.

Shri Javadekar said while there was only 01 Virology Lab in the country in Pune, the Government has set up 15 new Virology Labs and 19 more will be set up within one week across the country. Travel advisories have also been issued. A big awareness campaign has been launched across the country especially in schools, colleges and elsewhere and people are being made aware about the “Do’s and Don’ts” to prevent possible infection.

The post All efforts to counter threat from Coronavirus: S Javadekar appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

The four-day annual science festival is being organized in Kolkata from November 5 to November 8, 2019. It aims to build a strategy for inclusive advancement of Science and Technology. The theme for this year’s festival is RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation.

Participating in the National Startup Conclave and Expo, Dr Harsh Vardhan encouraged the brimming young minds to take advantage of the Government’s Startup India-Standup India programmes. He said the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has firm belief that the youth of this country will avail of the benefits of the twin schemes to launch new ventures and participate in the development of the country.

Later addressing the Assistive Technologies Conclave and Expo for Divyanjan, Dr Harsh Vardhan said the Differently Abled people can stand shoulder to shoulder with others. He asked delegates to focus their research on new technologies that can help overcome various physical disabilities.

The Minister also interacted with a gathering of the differently abled people attending the conclave. He also showed keen interest in the various scientific models and exhibits displayed at the Vigyan Samagam.

While attending an attempt by school children at creating a new Guinness World Record, Dr Harsh Vardhan lauded them for their keenness in science activities. In the event 480 students participated; out of them 268 students assembled radio kit simultaneously, thus achieving the Guinness Record for the most students assembling radio kit simultaneously.

Paying respects to great Bengali revolutionary Bipin Chandra Pal on his anniversary today, Dr Harsh Vardhan said the day incidentally also marks Cancer Awareness Day launched by him in 2014 and the Infant Protection Day, relevant to the IISF and the city hosting the Mega Science Fair.

The post Dr Harsh Vardhan calls upon social organizations to help take the sciences from the laboratory to the masses appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

The four-day science festival is being organized in Kolkata from November 5 to November 8, 2019. The prime goal of the festival is to instill scientific temper among the masses, showcase India’s contribution in the field of S&T over the years and encourage translation of its benefits to people.  It aims to build a strategy for inclusive advancement of Science and Technology.

The Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, along with several other Cabinet Ministers & State S&T Ministers, dignitaries, scientists, academicians and government officials will be part of the 4-day celebration of science.

India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019, an annual event organised jointly by science and technology related Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), is being held in Kolkata this year. This is the fifth edition since its start in 2015 and will take place during November 5th – 8th, 2019. IISF-2019 is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India’s scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad. Thus, the theme for this year’s festival is RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation.

IISF is perhaps the biggest platform in the country to bring together students, researchers, innovators, artists, and the public to celebrate India’s achievements in science and technology. IISF is also trying to encourage young minds towards the field of science and to promote networking of stakeholders working towards the propagation of science. IISF-2019 expects to host a gathering of about 12,000 participants from India and abroad. Biswa Bangla Convention Centre and Science City in Kolkata will be the prime sites for the events at IISF 2019. Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Bose Institute and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology will be sites for a few other events during the festival.

IISF-2019 will host more than 28 different events during this period. Besides detailed information available on www.scienceindiafest.org, here is a snapshot of some significant events.

For school students, a Students Science Village has been planned at IISF-2019 where more than 2,500 school students from all over the nation have been invited. Under the  Pradhan Mantri Saansad Adarsh  Gram Yojana, every Member of Parliament has been asked to nominate five students each along with their teacher from their constituency for the village. In six different houses named after our scientists, these students will be engaged in several science-fun activities and interact with scientists and technocrats.

The post Prime Minister to inaugurate the Fifth India International Science Festival appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.

While PFZ Advisories give information on the probable locations on fish aggregation in the seas, OSF provide the exact state of the ocean. The Minister pointed out that “Ocean State Forecasts include the forecasts on winds, waves, ocean currents, water temperature, etc. at every 6 hrs on daily basis for next 5 days helping fishermen in maximizing their earnings, ensuring safety and in planning of fishing activities”.

Though the advisories and forecasts are disseminated through multiple communication modes, none of them could give such information, including the disaster warnings when the fishermen move away from the coast beyond 10-12 km (typical ranges of mobile phones and VHF). That remained as a major limitation in disseminating the information to fishermen who go in the sea beyond 50 nautical miles; sometimes up to 300 nautical miles and beyond to conduct multiday fishing.

This lacuna was severely felt during the Ockhi cyclone in 2017, when fishermen went out, for deep sea fishing before the onset of the cyclone and could not be informed about the developing cyclone. This communication gap resulted in loss of life, serious injuries to those rescued and severe damages to fishing boats and fishing gear.

To overcome this difficulty, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) joined hands with Airports Authority of India (AAI) to use the GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) satellite system to send the PFZ, OSF and disaster warnings to fishermen with GAGAN system consisting of three geosynchronous satellites (GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-15).  GAGAN foot-print covers the entire Indian Ocean round the clock. To receive the messages transmitted through the GAGAN satellites, INCOIS together with AAI developed a low cost  GAGAN system-enabled GEMINI (GAGAN Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information) device and electronically designed and manufactured by a private industry M/S Acord, Bangalore under Make in India Program. The GEMINI device receives and transfers the data received from GAGAN satellite/s to a mobile through Bluetooth communication. A mobile application developed by INCOIS decodes and displays the information in nine regional languages.

The post Low cost device for ocean states forecast launched appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.