Page 2 - Public Health

Indian-American doctor Nirav D Shah named second-in-command at US CDC

Shah, 45, who serves as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), will report to US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in his new role starting March

India logs 174 new coronavirus cases, active caseload declines by 52

The daily positivity was recorded at 0.09 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 0.10 per cent

Coronavirus wave could continue for three months, warns China CDC veteran

The spread of the virus through rural areas is set to amplify the information vacuum within China that's sparked fears the true impact of the outbreak isn't been revealed

India's physical rehab market likely to touch $35 billion by FY2028

As per Redseer estimates, 35-40 per cent of the physical rehab spend in India is concentrated in the top 10 cities

Best of BS Opinion: Cut down on sugar, next level in AI, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Cut down on sugar

Multiple levers are available to improve public health

Odisha govt health scheme helps over 600,000 poor people get free treatment

Over 6 lakh people belonging to poor families in Odisha availed of cashless and free treatment in several private hospitals under the state government's health scheme, Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), in 2022, officials said. As many as 6.31 lakh poor people, having either the BSKY smart card or the PDS card, were provided high-quality and free treatment in different speciality hospitals in the private sector from January 1 to December 25 this year. The information was revealed at a recent performance review meeting chaired by Health and Family Welfare secretary Shalini Pandit, the officials said. The state government has paid around Rs 1,389 crore to the empanelled private sector hospitals towards free treatment of the poor patients, she said. Chief Executive Officer of State Health Assurance Society Dr Brundha D said these patients were from all 30 districts of Odisha. The patients were also provided hand-holding support by the Swasthya Mitras' engaged by the Odisha governmen

Pakistan ill-prepared for another Covid-19 wave, says local media report

At the country's airports, no protective measures like rapid testing and screening of inbound travellers have been put in place to detect Covid-19 cases, the Dawn reported

Public health far too serious issue to play politics on: Congress

Accusing the government of selectively picking on the Bharat Jodo Yatra over Covid concerns, the Congress on Wednesday pointed to the BJP taking out marches in Karnataka and Rajasthan, and asserted public health is far too serious an issue to play party politics on. The assertion by the Congress came after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, citing concerns raised by three BJP MPs over the spread of coronavirus, urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to consider suspending the Bharat Jodo Yatra if adherence to Covid protocols cannot be followed. In a statement, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the Union health minister has written to Gandhi on the basis of a letter sent to him by a BJP MP from Rajasthan who alleges that Bharat Jodo Yatra has not been following Covid protocols. "This MP's letter was sent following the enormous success of Bharat Jodo Yatra in his state," Ramesh said. "Parliament is meeting normally. Masks are no longer compulsory anywhe

Centre to review Covid situation as cases rise in China, other nations

Health ministry asks states to ramp up genome sequencing

Four more hospitals receive NQAS certification in Chhattisgarh

The evaluation of hospitals is conducted under 12 standards for the NQASC by the team of the Central Health and Family Welfare Ministry

State govts on overdrive to vaccinate as measles outbreaks spread

Outbreaks have been reported in several states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Haryana

Twitter ends enforcement of Covid misinformation policy, raises concerns

Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against COVID-19 misinformation, raising concerns among public health experts that the change could have serious consequences if it discourages vaccination and other efforts to combat the still-spreading virus. Eagle-eyed users spotted the change Monday night, noting that a one-sentence update had been made to Twitter's online rules: "Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy. By Tuesday, some Twitter accounts were testing the new boundaries and celebrating the platform's hands-off approach, which comes after Twitter was purchased by Elon Musk. "This policy was used to silence people across the world who questioned the media narrative surrounding the virus and treatment options," tweeted Dr. Simone Gold, a physician and leading purveyor of COVID-19 misinformation. "A win for free speech and medical freedom!" Twitter's decision to no longer remove false claims about the safety of .

Removing vaccination mandate for incoming tourists correct move: Experts

With over 90% of population being vaccinated, it is okay at a policy level to relax the mandatory vaccination norm for entering India, they say

Govt scraps filling Air Suvidha form for international travellers

The requirement of random post-arrival testing of 2 per cent of arriving passengers too has been done away with in the new guideline

Odisha withdraws all Covid restrictions over substantial decline in cases

With a significant reduction in cases, the Odisha government on Saturday announced the withdrawal of all COVID-19 restrictions, including mandatory wearing of masks in public places and prohibition on large gatherings, officials said. The Health and Family Welfare Department issued a notification to this effect. "In view of the substantial decline of COVID-19 cases in the state over the past several months, the government after careful consideration is pleased to repeal 'The Odisha COVID-19 Regulations, 2020' as amended from time to time; with immediate effect," it said. However, the government advised people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour voluntarily, as and when needed. A total of 13,36,382 people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, and 9,204 people have died due to it, while 53 others succumbed to comorbidities, a health official said. As many as 13,27,039 people have recovered from the disease so far, he said.

Thane reports 20 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours; active tally at 148

Maharashtra's Thane district has recorded 20 new cases of coronavirus, raising its infection count to 7,47,184, a health official said on Thursday. These latest numbers were reported on Wednesday. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the district has come down to 148 as compared to 165 the previous day, he said. The death toll in the district, which comes under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, remained unchanged at 11,967, he said. The recovery count has reached 7,35,818 he added.

S Korean PM urges strict vigilance against Covid resurgence during winter

The coronavirus wave, which seemed to be slightly slowing, is starting to spread again in the winter season: Prime Minister told a Cabinet meeting

India reports 833 new Covid-19 cases, active tally dips to 12,553

India saw a single day rise of 833 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,46,65,643, while the active cases declined to 12,553, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll has climbed to 5,30,528 with eight fatalities which includes three reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprises 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.78 per cent, according to the health ministry website. A decrease of 199 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,22,562, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website 219.79 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20

India records 842 new Covid infections; active cases dip to 12,752

India logged 842 new coronavirus infections taking the tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,46,64,810, while the active cases dipped to 12,752, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 5,30,520 with six fatalities which includes five reconciled by Kerala. One death has been reported from Rajasthan in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprises 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.78 per cent, according to the ministry website. A decrease of 435 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,41,21,538, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent. According to the ministry's website, 219.77 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. India's COVID-19 tally had cr