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Amid a controversy in <keyword id="6354915" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="assam">Assam</keyword>, the state government would not, for now, use the 50,000 PPE kits that it imported from China, state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. Assam was the first state in India which directly ordered the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits from China and a private cargo flight from the port city of Guangzhou carrying the kits had landed at Guwahati airport on April 15 night. The consignment was received in the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport at Guwahati by Sarma who was accompanied by his deputy Pijush Hazarika. While addressing media on Saturday in Guwahati, the Health Minister said some people had raised a controversy over the quality of the Chinese PPE kits and some people came out with social media posts that the Defence Research and Development Organisation had rejected the 50,000 Chinese kits, thereby giving an impression these were our kits." In view of the controversy, the state health department for the time being would not be using the Chinese kits. The DRDO officially issued a statement saying it is only testing the imported kits, said the minister, expressing his annoyance over the issue. Sarma said when the Assam government ordered the Chinese PPE kits, Assam had only about 2,000 kits and subsequently the state health department had procured 1,50,000 kits from various Indian states. "Due to the controversy, doctors and nurses of Assam also became confused. So, we decided that as we have enough stocks of Indian PPE kits, we would use them now." The Health Minister also said that the state government has not released any money against the consignment. "We requested the private party who brought the 50,000 kits from China to keep them at their store in Guwahati. We said we would take those only when we need them. We don't want our doctors and nurses to go through any anxiety," Sarma said. "For now, we want to maintain the status quo. The kits are in Assam and in our comfort zone. When the doctors are satisfied and we face a crisis, only then they would use those gears. We would not pressure our doctors and nurses," the Minister stated. India had ordered 15 million PPE gears besides testing kits from China, according to India's Ambassador in Beijing Vikram Misri. The orders have been placed by several state governments and both public and private health sector. Misri had said that India planned to procure three million Covid-19 testing kits, half of which have already been delivered by China. India's current target is to produce and procure a total of 17 million PPE sets and thousands of ventilators to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the country. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/after-50000-ppe-kits-from-china-fail-quality-tests-india-ramps-up-in-house-production/articleshow/75173170.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">After 50,000 PPE kits from China fail quality tests, India ramps up in-house production</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/data-of-coronavirus-patients-state-wise-in-india/articleshow/74669748.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Coronavirus cases in India state wise</a>

Amid row, Assam not to use PPE kits imported from China

Guwahati, Apr 22 () Assam has reported no new COVID-19 case for the seventh consecutive day, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday, hoping the state would not have any active case till May 1 if people followed social distancing norm diligently. The state currently has 14 active coronavirus cases, out of the 34 people who tested positive and one died, while 19 have been cured and released from hospitals, he said at a press conference.Two persons, hailing from Morigaon district, had tested positive for coronavirus on April 16. Both were secondary contacts of persons who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz.After the duo tested positive, the samples of Morigaon Deputy Commissioner Rituraj Bora and Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka were tested as they had come in contact with them, but they were found negative. The officials are currently in home quarantine. In Assam, 33 of the 34 who tested positive are related to the Tablighi Jamaat event which has emerged as a major hotspot for the disease in the country. "There has been no positive case for the last seven days. We hope by May one, there should be no active case in Assam, provided people maintain social distance," the health minister said. He, however, pointed that there have been cases of people not maintaining physical distance from each other and this may lead to fresh positive cases. The total number of tests conducted in the six laboratories of the state so far are 5,789, with 34 testing positive, 214 results awaited and the remaining were found to be negative, Sarma said. Besides Assam, tests were also conducted of some patients hailing from neighbouring Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, he added. The death rate due to COVID-19 in the state is 2.94 per cent as against 3.3 per cent at the national level and the global average of 7 per cent, the minister said.The state currently has 9,960 rapid testing kits, but the tests which were scheduled to begin on Wednesday have been postponed following the ICMR directive.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had on Tuesday advised states to stop using the rapid antibody test kits for next two days till it examines their quality in the wake of complaints that they are not fully effective. "We are ready to begin testing as soon as we get the official communication," Sarma said.There are nearly one lakh test kits with the suppliers at New Delhi and it will be made available to us when we require it, he said.The minister added that there are nearly 2 lakh personal protective equipment (PPE), 83,000 N95 masks and over 70 lakh triple layer masks in the state. DG SNS SRY

No COVID-19 case in Assam in last seven days: Health minister

Guwahati, Apr 17 () Four more COVID-19 patients were discharged from a hospital on Friday, taking the total number of cured persons to nine, out of the 34 people who have tested positive for the disease in Assam so far, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The four persons, including two women, were released from the Golaghat Civil Hospital after they tested negative for coronavirus in four successive tests, he said. They will spend the next 14 days under home quarantine as a precautionary measure. The cumulative number of coronavirus positive patients in Assam now stands at 34, which include one dead and nine patients who have been cured, he said. Currently, 24 patients from Assam and another person from Nagaland are undergoing treatment in the state. The condition of all of them, except a cancer patient, are stable and they would be gradually released, he said. Meanwhile, samples of Morigaon Deputy Commissioner Rituraj Bora and Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka have been taken for testing, the minister said. The deputy commissioner, superintendent of police, the joint director of health along with two journalists of Morigaon were asked to stay in quarantine as they had come in contact with two persons who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. Golaghat with nine patients, Morigaon with six and Dhubri, Goalpara and Nalbari with four patients each have been identified as the five hotspot districts of Assam.The other districts with positive patients are two from Silchar and one each from Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup, Hailakandi, Lakhimpur and South Salmara. Meanwhile, oil exploration major ONGC has spent over Rs 17 lakh on COVID-19 protection gears in Assam, while the Airports Authority of India distributed masks among people in and around airports in the Northeastern region. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) Assam asset has extended Rs 9.81 lakh for purchase of PPE kits and N95 masks for COVID-19 health care providers, officials said in Jorhat. The contribution was made by ONGC Assam assets' Cinnamora headquarters and its Assam-Arakan Basin to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH). The officials said an amount of Rs 7.71 lakh has also been extended to the JMCH to purchase beds for patients and other equipment. To ensure that no one enters a public place without wearing masks, the women welfare wing of AAI, Kalyaanmayee, has manufactured about 5,000 masks for distribution at different airports and their surrounding areas in the N-E region, an AAI spokesman said. The target is to provide 25,000 home-made masks to the needy people, he said adding that the masks are mainly made from unused old clothes or uniforms. "To ensure sanitisation and promote personal hygiene, we are distributing masks for free to our employees, police personnel, media, staff, security guards, garbage collectors, vendors, drivers, house-keeping staff and other stakeholders," AAI Regional Executive Director Sanjeev Jindal said at a mask distribution event in Guwahati on Thursday. DG ESB NN TDSTDS

4 more COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital in Assam

Guwahati, Jul 4 () Assam registered 1,202 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, its highest single-day spike in the number of infections so far, taking the tally in the state to over 11,000, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. Of the new cases, 777 were reported from Guwahati city alone. "In the biggest spike ever, Assam on July four reported 1202 cases, 777 of these from Guwahati city alone. Time for all of us to be vigilant," the minister tweeted. Of the 11,001 cases, 4,657 are active, 6,327 have recovered, 14 have died and three have migrated out of the state, he said. Meanwhile, the state government has given certain relaxations in the 14-day complete lockdown in Kamrup (Metro) district, under which Guwahati city falls, by allowing grocery shops to open on alternate days for two days from June 5. Sarma on Saturday donned a PPE kit to visit a COVID-19 ICU ward at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital to inquire about the health of critical patients. He said the doctors were taking admirable care of the patients. "To enquire health of patients I went to #COVID19 Ward ICU at GMCH, after putting on PPE kit. Doctors are taking admirable care of patients including providing dialysis etc. Patients say they feel enormously protected. Such dedication can be for nothing else but for humanity," the minister tweeted. He also visited the newly inaugurated COVID Care hospital at Khanapara field, Guwahati, to review treatment facilities and interact with patients admitted there. Sarma said he advised the doctors to maintain a constant vigil and take proper precautions and care. Meanwhile, the Raj Bhawan campus and its surrounding areas in Guwahati City were sealed and declared a containment zone two persons of the Governor's Office tested COVID-19 positive, an official said. Assam Governor Jagadish Mukhi, his wife Prem Mukhi and 176 employees, including security personnel deployed at the Raj Bhavan and their family members, were tested on July 1 after two personal security officers had tested COVID-19 positive earlier. Among those tested on July 1, two staff members were found to be positive while the results of the others, including that of the governor and his wife, are awaited. The state has so far tested 4,49,629 samples for the disease. At present, 13,040 people are in institutional quarantine in Assam, while 1,28,247 are in home-quarantine, a state government bulletin said. DG IJT

Assam registers record 1,202 new COVID-19 cases; tally crosses 11,000-mark

Guwahati, Apr 26 () Eight more COVID-19 patientshave been discharged from hospital on Sunday, taking the totalnumber of coronavirus recovered persons in Assam to 27, HealthMinister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.Four patients were released from Golaghat CivilHospital and four others from Guwahati's Mahendra MohanChoudhury Hospital, the minister said at a press conferencehere.Assam so far has 35 COVID-19 positive cases of which27 have been discharged and one patient has died."Now there are only seven active cases in the statewith 27 discharged and one dead. We expect to release somemore patients by April 30", he said.The recovery rate in Assam so far is 77 per cent whichis "quite good", the minister said.The first COVID-19 case in the state, who is a cancerpatient, however, is still showing positive in repeated testsand is still undergoing treatment at the Silchar MedicalCollege Hospital, Sarma said.The state has conducted 7,616 sample tests so far inthe six laboratories in the state and of these 35 testedpositive and 209 results are still awaited with the remainingbeing negative.Guwahati Medical College Hospital tested 3,655 samplesfollowed by 1,396 at Assam Medical College and Hospital,Dibrugarh and 1,047 at Fakhruddin Ahmed Medical CollegeHospital, Barpeta.Random sample tests are being done in three places ofDhubri town, Chapor and Bilasipara of Dhubri district fromSunday to find out scientifically if people outside quarantinefacilities have been infected or not, he said,"Assam's success story is that after the primary casesrelated to Tablighi Jamaat tested positive, we were able totrace and quarantine all their contacts. The later cases inthe state were all from quarantine facilities and now we haveto find out scientifically about the situation outside thefacilities", the minister said.The tests will be conducted with swab samples ofpeople taken randomly, he said.The state also has 9,600 Rapid Test Kits and theIndian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has allowed testswith these kits for surveillance purpose, Sarma said.There are 2.70 lakh PPE kits, 53,000 N95 masks and 46lakh triple layer masks available in the state, the ministeradded. DGRG RG

8 more COVID-19 patients discharged from Assam hospital, total recovered cases 27

New Delhi, Jun 26 () No COVID-19 death has been reported from Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim so far, and the number of cases in the northeastern region was comparatively lower than the rest of the country, the government said on Friday. It also said that lack of testing facilities and dedicated COVID-19 hospitals had initially hampered the fight against the dreaded virus in the eight northeastern states, but the infrastructure has been bolstered since then. As on date, the number of recoveries at 5,715 exceed the active cases which stand at 3,731. The death toll in the entire region is 12, the Union health ministry said. The fight against the pandemic across the country has been a concerted and collective endeavour and the Centre has pro-actively and strongly supported the strengthening of the medical care infrastructure in the northeastern states to fight COVID-19, it said. "A critical pillar which hampered the efforts of the northeastern states in combating the COVID-19 outbreak was complete lack of testing facilities. But today, because of the focussed attention of the Centre through the Health Ministry, the region has 39 testing labs in the public sector and three in the private sector, totalling to 42 laboratories," the ministry said. Assam has 10 public and two private laboratories, while Meghalaya has six public and one private lab. Nagaland has 13 testing labs, Arunachal Pradesh three, Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim two each, and Tripura one public laboratory for COVID-19 testing. "The NE states also suffered from an acute lack of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, COVID Health Centres and COVID Care Centres (DCCC). With the help of the Centre, the healthcare infrastructure across all the eight states has been substantially supplemented," the ministry said. It now has 1,518 COVID-19 dedicated health facilities, including 60 hospitals, 360, health centres, and care centres. "The central government has supported the eight states in stepping up the number of ICU beds, isolation beds, oxygen-supported beds and ventilators. This has played a critical role in effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases," the health ministry said. Assam has 67,833 isolation, 1,841 oxygen-supported and 598 ICU beds, and 350 ventilators. Arunachal Pradesh has 1,998 isolation, 178 oxygen-supported, and 60 ICU beds, and 16 ventilators. There are 1,231 isolation, 345 oxygen-supported and 83 ICU beds, and 95 ventilators in Meghalaya, 681 isolation, 142 oxygen-supported, 54 ICU beds and 28 ventilators in Nagaland, and 251 isolation, 224 oxygen-supported, 20 ICU beds and 59 ventilators in Sikkim. Tripura has 1,277 isolation, 10 oxygen-supported, 13 ICU beds and seven ventilators. Manipur has availability of 829 isolation, 317 oxygen supported and 48 ICU beds and 45 ventilators while Mizoram has 709 isolation, 213 oxygen-supported and 37 ICU beds, and 27 ventilators. The Centre has also strongly supported the NE states to step up the availability of N95 masks, PPE kits and hydroxychloroquine tablets. So far, 1.21 lakh N95 masks, 0.66 lakh PPE kits and 1.5 lakh hydroxychloroquine tablets have been distributed in Arunachal Pradesh, 3.37 lakh N95 masks, 2.01 lakh kits and 6.7 lakh HCQ tablets in Assam, 0.95 lakh N95 masks, 0.79 lakh PPE kits and 2.7 lakh HCQ tablets have been distributed in Manipur. Meghalaya has been given 0.75 lakh N95 masks, 0.52 lakh PPE kits and 1.75 lakh hydroxychloroquine tablets, 0.76 lakh N95 masks, 0.31 lakh PPE kits and 2.2 lakh HCQ tablets have been distributed in Mizoram, while Nagaland has been provided 0.7 lakh N95 masks, 0.25 lakh PPE kits and 1.75 lakh hydroxychloroquine tablets. So far, 0.80 lakh N95 masks, 0.52 lakh PPE kits and 0.25 lakh HCQ tablets have been distributed in Sikkim while 1.38 lakh N95 masks, 1.13 lakh PPE kits and 2.5 lakh hydroxychloroquine tablets have been provided to Tripura. As on date, Arunachal Pradesh has 121 active coronavirus cases while 38 have recovered. The state reported its first COVID-19 fatality on Friday. Assam has 2,279 active cases, 4,033 patients have recovered while nine persons have succumbed to the infection. Manipur presently has 702 active cases with 354 recoveries. Meghalaya has registered three active cases, 42 recoveries and one death, while Tripura has 270 active cases after 1,019 recoveries and one death. Nagaland has 195, Mizoram 115 and Sikkim 46 active cases. PLB NSD NSD

No COVID-19 death in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim so far: Health Ministry

Itanagar, Apr 13 () A total of 18 persons who hadcome in contact with the lone COVID-19 patient in ArunachalPradesh have tested negative for coronavirus, a healthofficial said on Monday.Their samples were sent for tests to the RegionalMedical Research Centre (RMRC) in Assam's Dibrugarh, LohitDistrict Medical Officer (DMO) Dr S Chai Pul said."The COVID-19 patient had defied quarantine andvisited a place of worship where he came in contact withfellow worshippers" she said.The coronavirus patient had attended the TablighiJamaat congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin area, the DMO said."The patient is now asymptomatic and is reported to bewithout any physical discomfort," Pul said.The third sample of the COVID-19 patient, who isadmitted to Tezu Zonal Hospital, along with second samples ofhis family members will be sent for tests on Tuesday andresults are expected on Wednesday, she said.The second sample of the COVID-19 patient had testedpositive for coronavirus on April 7 but with lesser viralloads, the DMO said.A total of 253 samples from across the state have beentested for coronavirus so far, of which results for 223 havereturned negative and those of 29 are awaited, StateSurveillance Officer (IDSP) Dr L Jampa said.Meanwhile, the Health Department sought to assuageconcerns of a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PEE)kits for frontline personnel and said the state is fullyprepared to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.Joint Director of Health Services, Dr Emi Rumi saidHindustan Latex Limited (HLL), a public sector undertaking,has dispatched 2,102 PPE kits till Sunday, of which 2,082 havebeen sent to the hospitals in the districts.Another consignment of 1,700 to 2,000 PPE kits isexpected to reach the state by Tuesday, he said.Director of Health Services (DHS) M Lego said peopleof the state have misconceptions regarding PPE kits."We don't have any authority to certify which are goodor bad quality PPE kits. But there are different kinds of PPEkits categorised according to the risk and need base," hesaid.Appealing to healthcare professionals not to worryabout any misinformation regarding the poor quality of PPEkits, Dr Jampa said, "The PPE kits provided by HLL can provideenough protection from coronavirus infection." UPLACD ACD

18 persons coming in contact with Arunachal COVID-19 patient test negative for disease

Itanagar, Apr 21 () Arunachal Pradesh ChiefMinister Pema Khandu on Tuesday urged BJP Mahila Morchamembers to spread awareness on the need to take precautionsagainst novel coronavirus even after the nationwide lockdownis lifted.Once the lockdown period ends, people stranded outsidethe state will start arriving and that is when strict measuresare to be in place to stop spread of the novel coronavirus, hesaid in a video message.Social distancing and mandatory use of face masksoutside homes are required to fight the coronavirus pandemicand it should be explained to the people, he said."Due to risk of the virus entering the state througha potential carrier coming from outside the state, 11 checkgates along the Assam-Arunachal border have been madeoperational while rest have been closed. "The frontline workers on duty in these check gatesbeing provided with all safety kits and equipment,"an oficial communiqu quoted him as saying. The chief minister reiterated that the state has noshortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and orderwould be placed for additional kits. Khandu said, Arunachal will have two specializedCOVID-19 hospitals one in Itanagar (Western zone) andthe other in Pasighat (Eastern zone). An Ayurveda institute has been identified as COVID-19hospital in Pasighat. A suitable place would be identified as COVID-19hospital in an isolated area of the state capital so that theTomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS),presently designated as the lone COVID-19 facility in thestate, could once again become available to other patients. This was the third such conference by Khandu withparty workers within a month. BJP Mahila Morcha state president Higio Aruni waspresent during the video conference. UPLMM MM

Take measures to fight COVID-19 even after lockdown period: Arunachal Pradesh CM

Chandigarh, Apr 29 () The Ferozepur division of Northern Railway has transported about 11.84 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrain and more than 500 tonnes of essential items including medicines to various states during the lockdown period, officials said on Wednesday. At present, the railways is plying Annapoorna and special parcel trains for transporting foodgrain and essential commodities. The Ferozepur division of Northern Railway caters to the rail transport needs of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Himachal Pradesh. "The Ferozepur division transported 11,84,123 metric tonne of wheat and rice to other states including Assam, Bihar, Bangalore and some southern states through 435 goods trains so far during the lockdown period," said an official of Ferozepur division. Foodgrain -- wheat and rice -- was mainly transported from Punjab for public distribution beneficiaries in other parts of the country. Besides, 7,986 tonnes of potatoes have also been sent to other states, official added. The special parcel cargo trains from Ferozepur division have also sent 536 tonne of essential items – medicines, personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and face masks to Mumbai, Jaipur, Delhi, Ernakulum, Surat and other parts of the country, official said. The Ferozepur division had even achieved a feat last week when it recorded the highest ever loading of 1,338 wagons which included rakes of foodgrain and containers in a single day, the official further said. CHS VSD HDA

Lockdown: Ferozepur division of railways transports 11.84 lakh tonnes of foodgrain

(Eds: Adds details, quotes) New Delhi, Apr 30 () The doubling rate for COVID-19 cases has improved to 11 days in the country as against the 3.4 days before the lockdown was imposed and the case fatality has been recorded at 3.2 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.Addressing a press briefing, Joint Secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal said the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in several states is better than the national average.He said the doubling rate of COVID-19 cases was found to be between 11-20 days in Delhi (11.3), Uttar Pradesh (12), Jammu and Kashmir (12.2), Odisha (13), Rajasthan (17.8), Tamil Nadu (19.1) and Punjab (19.5).A doubling rate of between 20-40 days was seen in Karnataka (21.6), Ladakh (24.2), Haryana (24.4), Uttarakhand (30.3) and Kerala (37.5), Agarwal said.A doubling rate of over 40 days was noted in Assam (59), Telangana (70.8), Chhattisgarh (89.7) and Himachal Pradesh (191.6), he added.However, Agarwal said that despite the improved overall doubling rate of a state, there can be some districts in it where the cases are doubling at a faster pace."And thus, it is important to ensure that we continue to work in a focussed manner in the identified hotspot areas, along with the other parts of the country," he said.The joint secretary said the current case fatality rate for COVID-19 is 3.2 per cent in the country, with 65 per cent of the victims being males and 35 per cent females."Looking at the age distribution of the deaths, 14 per cent case fatality was seen below 45 years, 34.8 per cent between 45-60 years and a 51.2 per cent case fatality was noted among those above 60 years," he said."Further, if we divide the mortality cases above 60 years, then we see that the mortality has been 42 per cent in the age group of 60-75 years and 9.2 per cent in those above 75 years," Agarwal said.Also, comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney and heart-related issues among others were found in 78 per cent of the deaths and both old age and co-morbidities were found as risk factors.Agarwal said the recovery rate for COVID-19 has progressively improved from 13.06 per cent to over 25 per cent in the country in the last 14 days.He said some hospitals in the private sector are hesitating to provide critical services like dialysis, chemotherapy, blood transfusion and institutional delivery to their regular patients due to lack of understanding and fear."In some cases, they have closed down the clinics while some are insisting for testing before offering those services," he said, adding that the ministry has asked the states to ensure that all healthcare establishments, especially those in the private sector, remain functional and provide critical services so that patients do not face any difficulty."In the context of testing, it needs to be highlighted that health facilities should prescribe testing according to the testing protocol," Agarwal said.Healthcare service providers should take necessary precautions for personal protection and use PPE rationally in accordance with the guidelines and the healthcare facilities should follow the infection prevention and control practices, he added.Speaking about testing being scaled up, Agarwal said starting with one single laboratory, the RT-PCR tests are now available in 292 government and 97 private facilities across the country."On Wednesday, 58,686 tests were performed and if you see the average number of tests performed each day in the last five days, it comes to 49,800 tests. It is important to understand that whatever capacity is needed, we have progressively increased it," he said.Responding to a question on rapid antibody test kits being sold at a higher price in the market for private use, Agarwal said such kits have a limited role in terms of epidemiological understanding or surveillance.He said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is coordinating with the state governments and guiding them on the use of rapid test kits."There is a need for awareness among the masses that this test has a very limited utility. Antibody formation takes time and this test is just used to ascertain if antibodies have formed in the body. As far as testing for COVID-19 and the treatment is concerned, the RT-PCR test is to be used," he said.Over the role of antiviral medication Remdesivir in the treatment of coronavirus, Agarwal said Remdesivir is one of the medical protocols that are being examined the world over, while reiterating that there is no confirmed treatment protocol to be followed for the deadly disease. "Remdesivir is one protocol which is being examined. Only one study has been done by the United States National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases. It has not conclusively proved its effectiveness. We are waiting for larger evidence to take meaningful action at the field level," he said. Over developing drugs, the joint secretary said multiple organisations within the government are coordinating several vaccine trials for COVID-19 and a few vaccine candidates have also been identified across the world.India has also collaborated with the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Solidarity Trial, he added."It is a time-consuming process and there are different stages to go through to conclude about the safety and efficacy of a vaccine on human beings. To begin with, we have hydroxychloroquine as a prophylaxis treatment," Agarwal said.The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,075 and the number of cases climbed to 33,610 in the country on Thursday. PLB UZM RC

Doubling rate of COVID-19 11 days, case fatality 3.2 pc: Health Ministry

(Eds: Combining related health ministry stories) New Delhi, May 3 () India registered a record jump of 83 deaths and 2,487 cases in 24 hours, even as Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday that the growth rate of COVID-19 cases has been steadying for a while and the nation was on the path of winning the war against the pandemic.The number of COVID-19 fatalities rose to 1,306 and total cases climbed to 40,263 on Sunday, according to the health ministry.With the country set to enter the third phase of the lockdown from Monday, Vardhan urged people to observe the curbs extended till May 17 in the letter and spirit, and treat it as an effective intervention to cut the chain of transmission of the virus."We are on the path of success. We will win this war against COVID-19," he said after visiting the Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital (LHMC) in Delhi to review the status of COVID-19 management.He said around 10,000 people have been cured of the disease so far. "The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients has steadily increased, which shows that more and more patients are getting better and going back home. The rate of growth of new cases has also been steadying for a while," he said.According to data received on Sunday, for the past three days the doubling rate of the virus is 12 days, for seven days it is 11.7 and for 14 days it is 10.4, the minister was quoted as saying in a statement."We have crossed over 10 lakh tests and are performing over 74,000 tests in a day presently," he said. The government has distributed around 20 lakh PPE kits all over India and supplied medicines, both hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and paracetamol (PCM), to more than 100 countries, Vardhan added.He said India is on a "better footing" compared to other nations in managing the pandemic, adding that with more than 2.5 lakh beds in dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and health centres, the country is capable of pulling off any eventuality. The health minister urged people not to ostracise doctors treating COVID-19 patients or stigmatise those who have survived the deadly disease.According to the health ministry's evening update, the number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 28,070, while 10,886 people have recovered and one patient has migrated.The total number of cases also include 111 foreign nationals.Of the 83 deaths reported since Saturday evening, 36 were from Maharashtra, 26 from Gujarat, 11 from Madhya Pradesh, three each from Rajasthan and Delhi, two from Telangana and one each from Tamil Nadu and Bihar.With 521 fatalities, Maharashtra accounts for the maximum of the nationwide 1,306 deaths. Gujarat comes second with 262 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh 156, Rajasthan 65, Delhi 64, Uttar Pradesh 43, and West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh 33 each.The death toll reached 29 in Tamil Nadu, 28 in Telangana, while Karnataka has reported 25 fatalities due to the respiratory disease. Punjab has registered 20 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir eight, Kerala, Bihar and Haryana have reported four deaths each. Jharkhand has recorded three COVID-19 fatalities.Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported one fatality each, according to the ministry data. The health ministry's Saturday evening update had put the death toll at 1,223 and the number of cases at 37,776 in the country.A tally of figures on Sunday reported by states directly showed at least 1,328 deaths across the country while the number of confirmed cases of infection had reached 40,440. Of them, 10,661 have been cured and discharged.There has been a lag in the Union Health Ministry figures, compared to the aggregate of numbers announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states. Vardhan, in his remarks, said India's fight against COVID-19 is "lauded not only by WHO, but by the whole world in unison".At the COVID-19 block in the the Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital, Vardhan spoke through video call to two intern doctors who got infected with the virus while treating patients and were admitted at the facility.He also interacted with two patients admitted in the COVID-19 ward through the digital platform, who, in turn, apprised him about the facilities in the ward. "In last few days, I have been visiting various hospitals like AIIMS (Delhi), LNJP, RML, Safdarjung, AIIMS, Jhajjar, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty and now LHMC to review the preparedness of COVID-19. I am satisfied with the arrangements made by these hospitals to effectively deal with the coronavirus outbreak," Vardhan said. He also said there are 130 COVID-19 hotspots districts, 284 non-hotspot districts and 319 non-infected districts in the country. ASK UZM PLB NSD

You Searched For "Assam PPE kits" and got 13 results

Amid row, Assam not to use PPE kits imported from China

IANS

No COVID-19 case in Assam in last seven days: Health minister

PTI

4 more COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital in Assam

PTI

Assam registers record 1,202 new COVID-19 cases; tally crosses 11,000-mark

PTI

8 more COVID-19 patients discharged from Assam hospital, total recovered cases 27

PTI

No COVID-19 death in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim so far: Health Ministry

PTI

18 persons coming in contact with Arunachal COVID-19 patient test negative for disease

PTI

Take measures to fight COVID-19 even after lockdown period: Arunachal Pradesh CM

PTI

Lockdown: Ferozepur division of railways transports 11.84 lakh tonnes of foodgrain

PTI

Doubling rate of COVID-19 11 days, case fatality 3.2 pc: Health Ministry

PTI

Record jump in COVID-19 deaths, cases in 24 hrs; total cases cross 40,000 mark

PTI

Coronavirus cases in India count crosses the 23,000 mark— with 718 dead and a 20.57% recovery rate

Navdeep Yadav

India reports biggest one day jump with 7,466 new coronavirus cases on May 29— tally rises to 1,65,799

Navdeep Yadav

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