New Delhi, Jun 12 () Taking note of the reports of "horrific scenes" at Delhi's COVID-19 dedicated LNJP hospital where bodies are being stacked next to coronavirus patients, the Supreme Court said on Friday that it indicated the "sorry state of affairs" in government hospitals. The top court also directed Chief Secretaries of the NCT, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat to take "remedial action" ensuring proper management of patients at hospitals. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah issued notices to the Centre and the four states observing that apart from Delhi, the situation was "grim" at the hospitals there as well vis-a-vis treatment of coronavirus patients and handling of the bodies. "We direct that the Chief Secretaries of the States shall immediately take appropriate notice of the status of patients' management in the Government hospital in their respective States and take remedial action. Status report with regard to Government hospitals, patient care and the details of the staff, infrastructure, etc. should be brought before the court so that appropriate directions be issued by the court as found necessary on the next date of hearing," it said. On handling of the bodies of COVID-19 victims, the top court said there was "no proper adherence to the guidelines" of the health ministry and the hospitals are not giving "due care and concern to the dead bodies". "The patients' relatives are not even informed for several days of the death of the patient as has been reported in the media. It is also brought to our notice that the details of cremation as to when the dead body will be cremated are not even informed to their close relatives. Due to which the families of the patients are not even able to see the dead bodies or attend their last funeral rites," it said. The top court also wondered about the fewer COVID tests being conducted in Delhi and asked the government to ensure that there should be "steep increase in the testing both by Government hospitals and private labs" as "non-testing of the patients is not a solution to the problem". It also issued a notice to LNJP hospital and sought its Director's response by June 17 on the poor state of affairs after taking note of the fact that only 870 of its COVID beds, out of 2,000, have been occupied as on June 11 when people are running from one hospital to another to get patients admitted. The bench said the duty of the Delhi government does not end by informing the citizens that it has arranged 5,814 beds in Government hospitals and 9535 beds including private hospitals. Raising questions over poor patients' care, disposal of dead bodies and lesser number of COVID testing, it said, "All these facts, which have been brought to the notice of the court by the media reports, clearly indicate a very sorry state of affairs of the patients of COVID-19 in the Government hospitals in the NCT of Delhi as well as in other states". The apex court said it has taken cognizance of the issue on the basis of media reports presenting "horrific scenes from LNJP hospital, which is a COVID dedicated hospital...in its programme on June 10, 2020, has shown certain videos which indicate the pathetic condition of the patients admitted in the hospital and the deplorable condition of the wards". The bench further said: "The patients are in the wards and the dead bodies are also in the same wards. Dead bodies are seen also in the lobby and waiting area. The patients were not supplied with any oxygen support or any other support, no saline drips were shown with the beds and there was no one to attend the patients. Patients are crying and there is no one to attend them. This is the condition of the Government Hospital of Delhi which has capacity of 2000 beds". The top court's order said the situation in Delhi is "horrendous, horrific and pathetic". It dealt in detail with the situation of Delhi and said that as per the government's App, the number of beds in government hospitals are 5,814 and out of them, only 2,620 are occupied. "The reports also indicate that the patients suffering from COVID-19 are running from pillar to post to get admission in the hospitals whereas large numbers of beds are lying vacant in Government hospitals. The large number of beds in Government COVID Hospital being vacant in a situation where patients suspected of COVID-19 are running from pillar to post to get admission in any hospital tells about the mismanagement and sorry state of Government hospitals in Delhi," the order said. "The pathetic condition of the patients and improper care and treatment of the patients shown by the media has pained this court. The State on whom the duty lies to take care of the health of its citizens cannot abdicate its responsibility of ensuring that all hospitals including Government hospitals take care of the COVID-19 patients," the order said. Referring to the testing data of other states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, it said, "We do not understand why the tests have gone down in the State of NCT Delhi. Non-testing of the patients is not a solution to the problem rather increase in the testing facility is the duty of the State, so that people may come to know about their health status regarding COVID-19 and they may take appropriate care and treatment of COVID-19." SJK ABA MNL SA

SC seeks response of Centre, states on treatment of COVID-19 patients, handling of bodies

Coronavirus cases in India rise to 7,115 leaving 7% cured and 199 dead on April 10

Top indices enjoyed an early bounce in Tuesday's deals as traders remained bullish on the prospects of beaten-down metal companies. PSU banks, which rallied for 2 days, came under selling pressure. 
 The <keyword id="6354813" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="nifty">Nifty</keyword> rose 37 points to 8,516 in initial trades on the NSE. The Advance-Decline Ratio rose to a smart 38/12 with Tata Steel, Hindalco, Vedanta, BPCL and Infosys taking the first five gainers slot on the Index. PSU banks PNB, BoB with Cipla, Tata Motors and NMDC were the <keyword id="6354298" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="stocks">stocks</keyword> that lost ground on the Nifty, where State Bank of India was the top traded counter. 

	Broader indices showed upticks in early deals. The CNX 100, CNX 200 and CNX 500, CNX Nifty Junior, the mid cap and small cap indices rose between 0.4-1.0 percent in the first half hour of trade on the NSE. Coming under profit booking was the Bank Nifty dropping 10 points to 18,812 as well as the CNX PSU Bank Index which shed 0.7 percent in trade. CNX Auto, CNX IT and CNX Metal Indexes were the top gainers on Tuesday.
 And on the <keyword id="43628" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bombay-stock-exchange">Bombay Stock Exchange</keyword>, the <keyword id="6484188" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sensex">Sensex</keyword> jumped 153 points at 28,031 in initial trades. As a consequence, the Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 22/8. Infosys, TCS, Axis Bank, Larsen &amp; Toubro and Lupin were the top gainers on the Index while GAIL, Cipla, Tata Motors, Coal India and NTPC shed weight on the Sensex. 

	The Futures and Options market had a strong start in trade on Tuesday with an Advance-Decline ratio of 111/45. Kaveri Seeds, Exide Industries and Adani Ports were the top gainers while JSW Steel, Union Bank and Bank of India made it to the top losers list in F&amp;O trade.
 

	The broader market was in fine shape in early deals. The Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 1,115 shares that gained versus 345 shares that fell.
 

	Tata Coffee, Indo Rama Synthetics, CCL Products and Tamil Nadu Petro made it to the top volume buzzers list and Kwality, IPCA, Infosys, Avanti Feeds and Ashok Leyland were a part of the fresh 52-week high fliers on the NSE.

	 
	 
	(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Top indices enjoyed an early bounce today at Dalal street

BJP candidate list for lok sabha elections 2019

<ul><li>The <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> of <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> has imposed a ban on bursting pollution causing fireworks during <keyword id="188" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diwali">Diwali</keyword> in the country’s national capital, New Delhi. </li><li>Meanline, the other cities and states in the country have no such restrictions and can go about bursting normal fireworks. </li><li>If people in New Delhi want to burst ‘normal’ fireworks during the festive season, they will have to travel between 140kms to 200kms out of the city. </li></ul>India’s top court has cracked down on fireworks ahead of Diwali, one of India’s biggest Hindu festivals. While the Supreme Court has the banned the manufacturing and sale of all ‘pollution causing’ fireworks in New Delhi in face of deteriorating air quality, other states and cities in Indian can still indulge in normal fireworks. That being said, the Supreme Court has issued an alternative where people in New Delhi and its surrounding areas can still burst <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-are-green-crackers-5415113/">‘green fireworks’</a>, but only between the hours of 8PM and 10PM. The court also mentioned that green firecrackers would eventually supersede the other kinds with the increase in their manufacturing from next year onwards. It’s not that other states aren’t considering more strict regulations on the bursting of fireworks during the festive season, but they are still allowed to call on their previous stock of fireworks, green or otherwise <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/supreme-court-only-green-crackers-to-be-used-in-delhi-ncr-5428096/">according to</a> Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan. But the ban on the online sale of fireworks through e-commerce portals like Amazon and Flipkart applies across the nation. In order to ensure effective implementation, the Supreme Court has also threatened to drag online retailers to court if they don’t abide by the issued guidelines. The rest of India The issue with the Supreme Court’s directive is that not everyone around India celebrates Diwali at the <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/diwali-crackers-bursting-time-north-south-india-supreme-court/story/286530.html">same time</a>. While northern states celebrate Diwali at night, southern states prefer to celebrate it in the morning. Meanwhile most states in the east celebrate Diwali a before the actual ‘designated’ day of the festival. States like Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sc-modifies-firecracker-order-tamil-nadu-puducherry-can-fix-timing-but-cannot-exceed-2-hours-5425063/">permitted</a> the use of fireworks between the hours of 4 AM to 5 AM in the morning and 9 PM to 10 PM during the night. Meanwhile, in the city of Mumbai, shopkeepers are <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/after-supreme-court-order-firecracker-retailers-stare-at-losses-this-diwali-stock-up-other-items-in-mumbai-5428097/">diversifying</a> the products they offer to include more ‘decorative fireworks’ and those approved by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). The firework ban legally covers areas that are nearly <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/firecracker-ban-in-delhi-where-all-ban-is-applicable-to-purchase-crackers-legally-this-is-how-far-you-will-have-to-go-answer-will-break-your-heart/888749/">140 kms to 200 kms</a> from the eastern and the southern borders of Delhi spreading out over 21 districts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. About <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/many-people-now-want-curbs-on-firecrackers-in-their-cities-says-assocham/article9908815.ece">35%</a> of the citizens responded positively towards the ban of polluted firecrackers considering the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/clean-air-week-india-to-deploy-emergency-measures-for-controlling-air-pollution/articleshow/66446663.cms"> worsening air pollution</a> situation. However, a lot of people still believe that the ban will not make much of a difference to the air quality. Majority of people are now gearing up for muted celebrations this Diwali, though the effectiveness is yet to be seen. Government initiatives have largely impacted the fireworks industry in India and it has seen a degradation of nearly 40% over the last five years.

The rest of India can burst normal fireworks, but its national capital is restricted to staying ‘green’

Coronavirus cases in India rise to 11,439, leaving almost 12% cured and 3.2% dead

<ul><li>The number of cases in Rajasthan now stands at 9,930 and fatalities at 213. </li><li>Jaipur reported 16 cases, 4 were from Baran, two from Kota, two people from other states and one from Sawaimadhopur also tested positive.</li></ul>Rajasthan reported 68 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 9,930, an official said. While 23 cases were reported from Jhalawar, 20 people tested positive for the novel <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> in Bharatpur. Jaipur reported 16 cases, 4 were from Baran, two from Kota, two people from other states and one from Sawaimadhopur also tested positive, the official said. So far, 213 COVID-19 patients have died in the state including 101 in Jaipur alone. A total of 7,162 patients have recovered so far and 6,551 of them have been discharged. There are 2,555 active cases in the state as of now. More than 13 lakh migrants have returned to Rajasthan through Shramik special trains and buses, while over six lakh have gone to their home states from the desert state, a senior official said. With this, the movement of migrants is almost over in the state, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, Subodh Agarwal, said. "A total of 13.43 lakh migrants who were stuck in various states have arrived in Rajasthan from different states in buses and Shramik special trains and 6.13 lakh have reached their states from Rajasthan so far," he said. The last Shramik special train departed from the state on June 1. "We conducted a smooth movement and ensured relief to migrants. The movement of migrants is almost over now. However, we still have 100 camps ready in various parts of the state to accommodate migrants," he said. The officer, who is looking after movement of migrants, said the registration for arrival and departure was much higher in initial days of lockdown relaxation but many migrants in the later stage also cancelled their movement and stayed back. Migrants have returned to districts like Dungapur, Pali, Sirohi, Jalore, Nagaur, Bikaner and Barmer among others. The maximum number of arrivals has been from Maharashtra, where Rajasthani migrants were running small businesses, while in Gujarat the migrants were working as labourers. Similarly, migrants from West Bengal and southern states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh have also arrived. The officer said the crisis of migrants was tackled in a systematic manner. "Shelter, food, medicines, safe screening, transport facilities were arranged in a systematic manner which helped us in smooth movement. The transportation cost was borne by the state government. Apart from buses, other vehicles, even personal vehicles in some cases, were provided to those walking on foot," he said. District administration officials kept a check on roads and migrants walking home were provided transport, the official said. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday directed officials to conduct the exams of universities, postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown, in July. Chairing a review meeting of the higher education department, the chief minister asked the officials to start examinations of final year of UG and PG courses from second week of July, a statement said. It was decided in the meeting that first and second year students will be promoted to next year on provisional basis and their exams will also be conducted later on, according to the statement. Same pattern will be followed for B Tech, MBA and polytechnic courses He said that health protocols, social distancing should be followed properly in view of coronavirus during exams and other activities, it said. Higher Education Minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Technical Education Minister Subhash Garg, Chief Secretary DB Gupta and other senior officials were also present in the meeting. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot insisted that the Centre should double the number of days of employment under the rural job guarantee scheme, saying the UPA-era law MGNREGA has proved its worth in providing livelihood to the poor. The Centre should increase the limit of days for providing employment to the rural poor from the present 100 days to 200 under Mahatama Gnadhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, said Gehlot. He made the remark while interacting with sarpanches, gram sevaks, patwaris and other gram panchayat functionaries through a video conference on the issue of corona pandemic. The significance of MGNREGA, introduced by the previous UPA government, has been proved during the corona pandemic. At a time when people lost their jobs, MGNREGA gave them work, he said, adding millions of people got job opportunities under MGNREGA in the country. Gehlot also said Rajasthan has been successful in tackling the corona crisis because of the cooperation of common people in following the government's advisories. He said a good work has been done in rural areas of the state where large number of migrants returned from other states and adequate arrangements of quarantine facilities were made. Now it is our endeavour to bring economic activities back on track so that normalcy could be restored while protecting lives, he said. The chief minister said villagers and public representatives gave their cooperation and support in taking care of migrants who returned to rural areas of the state. Gram panchayat functionaries also worked like a team to handle the situation in rural areas, he said. Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said Rajasthan is the leading state in providing job opportunities under the MGNREGA. MNREGA scheme is proving to be a boon for the workers who returned to Rajasthan due to lack of employment in other states, besides for those deprived of employment at the local level, he said. He said 42.80 lakh workers have been provided job opportunities in the state this year. He said where almost all other employment opportunities were shut during the lockdown, the MNREGA scheme has proved to be a lifeline for the poor and backward people in rural areas. Job cards of 1.77 lakh migrant labourers returned from various states have also been issued to provide employment under the MNREGA scheme, he said. Pilot also said that in view of the scorching summer, the central government should reduce the working time under MNREGA. During the video meet, sarpanches and other functionaries apprised the chief minister of arrangements in their area for handling corona pandemic, distribution of food to the needy and quarantine arrangements. The officials too apprised Gehlot of various activities carried out in quarantine centers, including yoga, plantation etc. The issues of locust invasion and water scarcity too were discussed in the video meet. In the meeting, the officials informed the CM that 96,000 hectare of area in 20 districts of the state are affected with the menace of locust and the situation was controlled in 73,000 hectare. In present, there are some swarms of locusts in Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Dausa, Bikaner, Barmer and Jodhpur and locust control activities were being carried out through resources like sprayer machines, fire brigades etc. PHED Minister B D Kalla, Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria, Health Minister Raghu Sharma, Chief Secretary D B Gupta and other senior officials were also present in the meeting. Free supply of food under NFSA A core group has been formed to make daily decisions, which shall visit the deprived and poor section of the society to check on their needs during the lockdown period. Families connected with the National Food Security Act (NFSA) shall get free wheat for two months. The street vendors and daily workers, who are out of the NFSA list, shall get food packets free of cost for two months from April 1. The CM also appealed to all factory workers to ensure that they are being paid their salaries during the lockdown period. Also, they should not be terminated from their jobs during this period. Private vehicles banned in Rajasthan CM Gehlot on Tuesday (March 24) announced a ban on all private vehicles in the State. “To save lives from #coronavirus infection, we have taken the decision to ban all private vehicles on roads from tomorrow. Only vehicles related to essential services and those in exempted services would be allowed. State highway tolls will also be closed from 12 o’clock midnight,” he tweeted. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/rbi-governor-shaktikanta-das-announces-steps-to-save-indian-economy-amidst-coronavirus-lockdown/articleshow/74840342.cms">WATCH RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das unveil $50 billion ammunition to keep the Indian economy breathing amidst coronavirus lockdown</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lockdown-package-poor-indian-women-given-cash-grain-pulses-cooking-gas-to-feed-their-families/articleshow/74826863.cms">Lockdown package: Poor Indian women given cash, grain, pulses, cooking gas to feed their families</a>

Rajasthan coronavirus tally inches towards 10,000-mark with 68 fresh cases as of June 5

List of 165 politicians, journalists, military officials and other prominent personalities that China Revival was tracking

(Eds: Combining related stories) New Delhi, Apr 29 () With lakhs of migrant workers and students stranded at various places for over a month due to the nationwide lockdown, the government on Wednesday announced plans to allow their movement to help them reach their homes, including by crossing state borders. The COVID-19 tally, in the meantime, rose further and fresh indications emerged about the lockdown continuing beyond May 3, at least in some form and in some parts of the country. In its evening update, the Union Health Ministry said the COVID-19 death toll has risen to 1,008, with a record jump of 71 in the last 24 hours, while the number of confirmed infections has climbed to 31,787 in the country with more than 1,800 cases getting detected since Tuesday evening. Close to 7,800 people have recovered too. Punjab, which has reported 375 cases and 19 deaths, announced extension of the lockdown in the state by two weeks after May 3, though some relaxations have been given in areas that do not fall under the containment or red zones. However, containment zones will continue to remain under total lockdown, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said experts and doctors are of the opinion that the restrictions imposed to check the spread of COVID-19 should continue in the state till the end of May. She, however, also announced some relaxations, including opening of standalone shops in green zones and non-containment zones with all precautionary and social distancing measures. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has already announced extension of the lockdown in his state till May 7 without any relaxation. During his last interaction with chief ministers on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told them that the economy would need to be given importance too while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since its emergence in China last December, more than 31 lakh have tested positive for the deadly virus infection worldwide while the death toll has topped 2 lakh. Some countries have, however, begun easing the lockdown. The US, which is among the worst hit globally, reported that its economy shrank at a 4.8 per cent annual rate in the last quarter, triggering a recession that will end the country's longest ever expansion period. Following guidelines from the Centre, some states in India have also allowed opening of standalone shops in non-containment zones, while several state governments have been demanding steps to allow movement of migrant workers to help them reach their respective homes. Some states including Uttar Pradesh have already undertaken special initiatives to bring back migrant workers and students. To help these people who have been stuck in various cities for over a month, many of whom have been left jobless and homeless due to the lockdown, the Union Home Ministry has now passed an order to allow their inter-state movement to reach their respective destinations, subject to certain conditions. This will also apply to pilgrims, tourists, students and other people stranded at different places. In the order, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said buses shall be used for transport of such groups of stranded people and these vehicles will be sanitised and will have to follow safe social distancing norms in seating. Listing the conditions, the ministry said all states and union territories should designate nodal authorities and develop standard protocols for receiving and sending such stranded persons. In case of movement beyond states or UTs, the sending and receiving states will need to consult each other and mutually agree to the movement by road. These people would be screened and only those found asymptomatic would be allowed to proceed. On arrival at their destination, they would be assessed by local health authorities and kept in home or institutional quarantine, as required by the assessment, the order said. In Maharashtra, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said his government is in talks with chief ministers of other states over facilitating return of migrant workers to their native places in a planned manner. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he is in touch with other state governments on the Home Ministry order and told migrant workers to stay put till he informs them about the final decision in one or two days. Mumbai and Delhi are among major urban centres where a large number of workers from other states are stranded and have been demanding transport arrangements be made for them to go back to their native places. Some states are said to be reluctant in allowing return of their natives from other places due to fears of the infection. The University Grants Commission (UGC), in the meantime, said the new academic session for freshers will begin in universities from September and for already enrolled students in August. It also advised universities to follow a six-day week pattern and devise proforma to record travel or stay history of staff members and students for the lockdown period. The central government also asked its 48.34 lakh employees to download 'Aarogya Setu' mobile app immediately and report to office only when it shows "safe" status for commuting. The app, developed by the government, helps people assess themselves on the risk of them contracting the coronavirus infection. According to the latest Health Ministry data, there are close to 23,000 active COVID-19 cases in the country. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said of the total active COVID-19 cases in the country, only 0.33 per cent patients are on ventilators, 1.5 per cent are on oxygen support and 2.34 per cent are in ICU. Of the total 1,008 deaths, as per the Ministry figures, Maharashtra tops the tally while it also has the highest number of confirmed cases in the country. In Maharashtra, Mumbai's Dharavi area reported 14 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the overall tally to 344. Dharavi, considered as the biggest slum in Asia, has so far reported 18 deaths. In the national capital, the new confirmed cases included 11 family members of an LNJP Hospital dietician, who had earlier tested positive. However, none of the hospital employees, who came in contact with the dietician, have tested positive. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the spread of COVID-19 in the state is largely under control, but the contagion is "easily" spreading in Chennai due to its large population. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told in an interview that the state's count of more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases is not a cause of worry because his government's objective is to ensure not a single case goes undetected. ACB PLB AKV NSK SLB SA PNT ENM BJBJ

COVID-19: Govt allows migrants to go home; Positive cases near 32,000

(Eds: Incorporating related stories) New Delhi, Jun 4 () The Delhi government has warned that private hospitals which do not comply with its direction to reserve 20 per cent beds for coronavirus patients by Friday will be converted into dedicated COVID-19 facilities, as the Centre too expressed concern over the rising number of cases in the national capital which crossed the 25,000 mark. Addressing an online briefing, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday that his government's entire focus is on saving people's lives and ensuring adequate facilities for COVID-19 patients who need hospital care, without getting entangled in data or any competition with other states. He said private hospitals that have been asked by the government to reserve 20 per cent beds for coronavirus patients will be converted into dedicated COVID-19 facilities if they fail to comply with the order by Friday. Earlier, the Delhi government had asked 61 private hospitals to reserve 20 per cent beds for COVID-19 patients. With 1,359 more people testing positive, the total number of coronavirus cases climbed to 25,004. Twenty-two deaths were also reported on Thursday as the toll reached 650. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan chaired a high-level meeting through video-conferencing to review the preparedness for prevention and control of the coronavirus infection in Delhi. At the meeting, which was attended by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal and Delhi's health minister Satyendra Jain, Vardhan expressed concern over all districts of the national capital being affected by COVID-19, and high positivity rates and low testing levels in many districts. "Rising cases, high positivity rates and low testing levels in many districts are worrisome," Vardhan was quoted as saying in a health ministry statement. He also stressed on the need to rapidly increase bed availability in view of the rise in cases along with avoiding unnecessary delay in admission of patients. The Union minister emphasised on the need for ramping up testing, coupled with aggressive surveillance, contact tracing and stringent containment and perimeter control measures. The high rate of infection in the healthcare workers was also a serious issue, he noted. "It indicates poor infection prevention control practices in healthcare settings and needs to be attended to on priority," he said. In the joint virtual press conference with Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Sisodia said private hospitals have time till Friday to reserve beds for coronavirus patients. "We already have our dedicated COVID-19 facilities. Three more private hospitals were added yesterday (Wednesday). And if those private hospitals with mixed use (20 per cent reserved beds) are facing logistics issues, then they will be fully converted into dedicated COVID-19 facilities," he said. The idea behind the move is to make sure that no hospital refuses to treat patients suffering from coronavirus, the deputy chief minister said. He also urged people who are infected with coronavirus but are asymptomatic to remain at home and isolate themselves. In terms of cities, Delhi has the highest cases after Mumbai. With regards to the states, Delhi has the highest cases after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. "We do not have to get into data or any competition with other states, our focus is to save the lives of the people. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also believes that our attention should be more on helping people recover by providing them with proper medical facilities," Sisodia said. He said COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Delhi and the government has started focusing on ensuring that those who need hospitalisation get beds and proper treatment facilities. Five government and three private hospitals -- Moolchand Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Saroj Super Speciality Hospital -- are dedicated COVID-19 facilities. Many private hospitals have followed the instructions to start the mixed system, but others are facing problems in complying with them, Sisodia said. Jain said asymptomatic patients with no or very mild symptoms -- slight fever and mild cough -- can be treated and recover in home quarantine. Patients with moderate (respiratory rate of more than 15 per minute and oxygen level below 94 per cent) and severe symptoms (respiratory rate of more than 30 per minute and oxygen level below 90 per cent) require hospitalisation, he added. The city government has also issued a new set of guidelines for testing of COVID-19 patients. According to an order issued by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in Delhi on June 2, the revised strategy for COVID-19 testing is for symptomatic patients. All symptomatic (ILI symptoms) individuals with history of international travel in the last 14 days, symptomatic contacts of laboratory confirmed cases; all symptomatic healthcare workers or front-line workers involved in containment and mitigation of COVID 19 and all patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) are to be tested, the order said. Direct and high-risk contacts (diabetic, hypertension, cancer patients and senior citizens) of a confirmed case to be tested once between day 5 and day 10 of coming into contact with a confirmed case, it said. Also, all symptomatic people within hotspots or containment zones, all hospitalised patients who develop ILI symptoms and all symptomatic among returnees and migrants are to be tested within seven days of the illness, it said. All testing in these categories have been recommended to be done by real time RT-PCR tests only, the order said. In the wake of sealing of borders by Delhi and its satellite cities citing the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre to convene a meeting of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for easing inter-state movement. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, hearing a plea against the border restrictions in the NCR, said the states should have a common programme and a common portal for inter-state movement. "We are of the view that in the facts of the present case, the Government of India shall convene a meeting of concerned State officials/UTs and endeavour to find out a common programme, common portal for easing the inter-state movement on all state borders in the National Capital Region," the bench, also comprising justices S K Kaul and M R Shah, said in its order. Officials said the Delhi government is in favour of opening the borders, but there were some concerns by the states involved. They noted that when economic activities are again restarting, the borders too should be opened. Earlier this week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said Delhi will seal its borders for at least a week in view of the coronavirus pandemic. VIT KND PLB ABA MNL SJK SA PR RT

As cases cross 25000, Delhi govt says pvt hospitals to be converted into COVID-19 facilities if they fail to reserve 20 pc beds

Last few days saw much hue and cry, mainly by politicians from down south led by <keyword id="6357766" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="DMK">DMK</keyword> chief Karunanidhi, over the Union <keyword id="6359327" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Home-Ministry">Home Ministry</keyword>’s directive to bureaucrats to use <keyword id="6357660" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="hindi">Hindi</keyword> on social media platforms. But was such a strong reaction to a normal advisory justified? 
 With Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> assuming office, Hindi has found the place it deserves in the corridors of power. After his swearing-in ceremony, Narendra Modi spoke to foreign dignitaries in Hindi. Even on his trip to Bhutan, his first official foreign visit, he addressed the Bhutanese Parliament in Hindi. 
 Before Modi, former prime minister <keyword id="47100" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Atal-Bihari-Vajpayee">Atal Bihari Vajpayee</keyword>, a great orator and accomplished poet, always used Hindi as his vehicle of communication. In 1977, Vajpayee addressed the annual assembly of the <keyword id="6355833" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="united-nations">United Nations</keyword> in Hindi and became the first Indian leader to address the UN in Hindi. But unlike Modi, he did not mind switching to <keyword id="42216" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="English">English</keyword> when addressing joint press conferences with his foreign contemporaries like Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and George Bush. 
 However, after the statesman unexpectedly lost the elections in 2004, Hindi, too, started losing its place of privilege in the corridors of power and was totally marginalised during the decade-long rule of former prime minister <keyword id="6359397" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manmohan-Singh">Manmohan Singh</keyword>. Although many international leaders of developed countries like China, Germany, Italy, France, Japan and Russia speak in their respective national languages even on foreign visits, Indian leaders have always taken pride in using English even in the Parliament. This was evident during the Manmohan Singh regime. 
 
Now, let’s come back to the present controversy over the use of Hindi. It all started with the Home Ministry issuing a directive to bureaucrats to use Hindi to convey message through social media. It’s pertinent to mention here that the directive was only meant for ‘social media messages’ and not for the official communications sent from the Centre to the states, which continue to be in the two official languages - Hindi and English. 
 Social media messages are meant for the general public. According to the 2001 census, Hindi is the mother tongue of more than 41% of the country’s population. Add to that 5% <keyword id="52565" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="urdu">Urdu</keyword> and 1% <keyword id="29621" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Maithili">Maithili</keyword> speakers, which takes the percentage of people proficient enough in Hindi to more than 47%. Hindi is also used as a link language in states like West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Punjab and Goa – the states where Hindi is not spoken as the first language. Moreover, Hindi is also understood in many parts of southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and even north-eastern states like Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. So what is wrong in asking bureaucrats to use Hindi on social media? Which other language can fulfil the purpose of reaching out to such a large population base? 
 
But the anti-Hindi crusaders of Tamil Nadu lost no time in raking up a controversy out of a non-issue. M Karunanidhi, chief of Tamil Nadu-based DMK party went on to say, "No one can deny it's beginning to impose Hindi against one's wish. This would be seen as an attempt to treat non-Hindi speakers as second class citizens." Where is the question of treating non-Hindi speakers as second citizens? 
 Barring Tamil Nadu, no other state has raised any objection to this direction. In fact, it is heartening that this time, the push for Hindi comes when the government is headed by someone whose native language is not Hindi (Narendra Modi’s mother tongue is <keyword id="6369979" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gujarati">Gujarati</keyword>). 
 Union Minister of State for Home <keyword id="638723" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kiren-Rijiju">Kiren Rijiju</keyword>, who belongs to the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, also voiced his support for Hindi. “Hindi is our <keyword id="71459" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Official-language">official language</keyword>, we have to promote Hindi," he said following the controversy. 
 
Noted poet Ashok Chakradhar also welcomed the move, saying “If this government is getting bureaucrats to use Hindi, it is a great idea. Hindi is understood by 80% of Indians who pick it up from popular films, songs and the media. But at the official level, no one is fighting for the language.” 
 
Tamil Nadu’s opposition to Hindi dates back to the 1960s. In 1950, the Constitution declared Hindi as the official language and English was to be used as secondary official language till 1965 to facilitate a smooth transition. But the DMK launched an anti-Hindi campaign in Tamil Nadu, during which, Hindi books and effigies of ‘Hindi demoness’ were burnt on village bonfires. Does it not reflect deep-seated anti-Hindi bias? 
 
The campaign soon turned into full scale riots, which led to the killing of 70 people, including two policemen. However, the riots catapulted the DMK to power in 1967 elections in the state as opposition to Hindi was a dominant election issue. 
 
Following large scale violence in Tamil Nadu, the Centre enacted the Official Language Act, 1963. The Act stated, “Notwithstanding the expiration of the period of 15 years from the commencement of the Constitution, the English language may, as from the appointed day, continue to be used in addition to Hindi.” 
 
One wonders why some Tamilians hate Hindi so much. In Gujarat, students are taught English, Gujarati and Hindi in schools. They never get offended or complained about imposition of Hindi. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the country and it should be promoted to facilitate easier communication throughout the country. But at the same time, the importance of regional languages should also not be undermined.

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