Health

New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday termed as "wholly uncalled for" the relaxations granted by the Kerala government for the Bakrid festival in areas having the highest COVID-19 positivity rate and warned that it will take action if the easing of curbs leads to further spread of the virus.

The apex court pulled up the state government for giving in to traders' pressure by granting relaxations ahead of Bakrid and said it disclosed a "sorry state of affairs".

Coimbatore, July 20 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu government is planning to launch a free vaccination drive through private hospitals in the state, for the benefit of public, by utilising CSR funds provided by private companies, state Health Minister M Subramanian said on Tuesday.

Talks were held in this connection with 117 private hospitals in Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and Salem and the scheme will be launched in this city initially and later expanded to other parts of the state, Subramanian told reporters here.

20 July 2021; MEMO: Turkey has administered nearly 63.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to figures released on Monday, reports Anadolu Agency.

The country continues its intensive vaccination campaign to curb the spread of coronavirus, and all residents aged 18 and over are eligible for vaccine shots.

According to the Health Ministry, nearly 39.1 million people have received their first dose, while over 21 million are fully vaccinated.

18 July 2021; MEMO: Massive protests took place in several French cities on Saturday for the second time in a week against the government's new health pass requirement and mandatory shots for healthcare workers.

An estimated 114,000 people took part in the protests, according to Interior Ministry estimates.

16 July 2021; MEMO: Turkey has started to administer its homegrown COVID-19 vaccine candidate to volunteers at a major hospital in the capital Ankara as part of the jab's Phase 3 clinical trials to compare its efficacy to that of the Chinese-developed CoronaVac shot, the country's top health official announced on Friday.

Hanoi, Jul 18 (AP-PTI) Vietnam put its entire southern region in a two-week lockdown starting midnight Sunday, as confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 3,000 for the third day in a row.

The lockdown order includes the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City metropolis, the country's financial and economic hub with over 35 million people - nearly a third of Vietnam's population.

Kanpur: There were recommended several transfers at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Medical College here. 

As many as 25 doctors received their respective orders for their so-to-say homecoming on Thursday. They were said to have been transferred during the Covid wave. It was a sort of surprise for them. 

A total of 8 doctors including two HoDs and one senior doctor of the medicine department have been transferred from the medical college here.

14 July 2021; MEMO: A surge of coronavirus cases in several Middle Eastern countries could have dire consequences, aggravated by the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccine availability, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Kanpur: If ambulances are running on the road without certified fitness, accidents can occur at any time. There is no strictness in the maintenance of the ambulances. Why does this unfortunate laxity prevail upon?

Although the ARTO officers have now started to show alertness by despatching notices to the owners of the ambulances, yet there is much to initiate in this regard.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — As many Asian countries battle their worst surge of COVID-19 infections, the slow flow of vaccine doses from around the world is finally picking up speed, giving hope that low inoculation rates can increase and help blunt the effect of the rapidly spreading delta variant.

With many vaccine pledges still unfulfilled and rates of infection spiking across multiple countries, however, experts say more needs to be done to help nations struggling with the overflow of patients and shortages of oxygen and other critical supplies.