India

Ahmedabad, Apr 29 (PTI) Chaos prevailed outside a newly-inaugurated 900-bed COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad as people flocked there in large numbers since early morning on Thursday with a hope to secure admission for their ailing family members and relatives.

People unable to get beds for their relatives suffering from coronavirus were disappointed, while an auto- rickshaw driver rammed his vehicle into barricades put up near the hospital in a desperate attempt to enter the premises.

New Delhi, Apr 29 (PTI) India's top umpire Nitin Menon and his Australian counterpart Paul Reiffel has pulled out of the IPL due to personal reasons

It is learnt that Menon, a resident of Indore, has left the IPL bio-bubble after his wife and mother tested positive for COVID-19.

Menon is the only Indian in the ICC elite panel of umpires and was recently praised for his work during India's home series against England.

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal said on Friday that he had tested positive for coronavirus with mild symptoms.

Baijal had taken both doses of the vaccine. He took the first dose of COVID vaccine at the Tirath Ram Shah Hospital in New Delhi last month, an official said.

"I have tested positive for COVID with mild symptoms," he tweeted. "Have isolated myself since the onset of symptoms and all those who were in contact with me have been tested."

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) High courts should avoid making unnecessary and "off-the-cuff remarks" during hearings as they may have serious ramifications, the Supreme Court said on Friday.

The apex court's advise came during hearings on COVID-19 related pleas after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre and the Bihar government respectively, said that such remarks gave the impression as if authorities were doing nothing.

Bengaluru, Apr 30 (PTI) To contain the rising number of coronavirus cases here, drones are to be used to sanitize containment zones as well as deliver medicines and essential goods to the affected people.

An initiative of Bengaluru-Central MP P C Mohan and Garuda Aerospace, the drive to sanitize containment zones was kick-started by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday.

Chennai, Apr 29 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Thursday pulled up the Centre over its alleged lapse in taking prompt action in containing the Covid-19 pandemic, wondering what it was doing for 14 months.

Chief Justice Sanjeeb Banerjee said there was a need to act on expert advice and not adhocism.

"Why are we acting only now in April, though we had one full year?" the CJ asked, when Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan told the court that the resurgence of the second wave of the virus was 'unexpected'.

Madurai, Apr 29 (PTI) The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday rejected a plea from a Christian to hold prayer meetings at his residential building, saying even a religious right cannot be claimed to be absolute.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh dismissed the petition from T Wilson of Aruvikarai village in Kanyakumari district.

The judge said that the moment the exercise of such a right affects the rights of others, it must be subjected to reasonable restriction.

New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) Two hospitals here, including VIMHANS, treating COVID-19 patients sent out alerts on Thursday over shortage of oxygen, saying their supplies will last for just a few hours.

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has put huge pressure on the country's public health system, with hospitals in several states reeling under a shortage of oxygen, beds, medicines and equipment.

VIMHANS Hospital is waiting for oxygen to arrive. Its current supply will last for two hours, the institute's medical director Dr Ubaid Hamid said.

Mumbai, Apr 29 (PTI) In the wake of recent fire incidents in hospitals in Maharashtra, the government has started safety inspection and audit of electrical installations in state as well as private-run COVID-19 medical facilities, a minister said on Thursday.

During the exercise, a major area of inspection and safety audit would be hospital ICUs, air conditioning system and lifts, energy minister Nitin Raut said in a statement.

New Delhi, Apr 29 (PTI) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was on Thursday discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here, where he was admitted after testing positive for COVID-19.

Sources close to the Congress leader said he was doing fine and returned home on Thursday afternoon.

Singh, 88, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) trauma centre, a dedicated COVID-19 facility, on April 19 after he had mild fever and tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection.