Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Doses of the potential coronavirus vaccine developed by researchers at Oxford University have arrived at Bharti Vidyapeeth’s Medical College at Pune, Maharashtra, for phase-2 clinical human trials. The trials were scheduled to begin on August 26, 2020, itself. There are 1,65,921 active cases in Maharashtra now while 12,300 people were discharged from hospitals in the state on August 25, 2020, taking the number of recovered cases to 5,14,790. Maharashtra has carried out 37,24,911 COVID sample tests so far.
Punjab: As Punjab gears up to further strengthen its fight against the worsening Covid crisis, the state cabinet has approved filling up of 428 regular vacancies of Medical Officers (Specialists) on urgent basis. It also gave ex-post facto approval to 107 posts already filled up for six specialities.
Goa: A team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, visited Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on August 25, 2020, to review the COVID-19 treatment facility set up for critical patients. The AIIMS team had arrived in Goa on August 24 to monitor the health of Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik. AIIMS doctors inspected three wards tailor-made to treat critical patients, according to a PIB release.
Kerala: The Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple in the capital opened for devotees on August 26, 2020, morning, adhering to strict Covid-19 protocols. Only 35 devotees would be allowed inside the shrine at a certain point of time with a maximum of 665 visitors a day.
Tamil Nadu: In two weeks, all government medical college hospitals in the State will communicate Covid-19 test results through SMS in 24 to 36 hours. Work for uploading the software to facilitate this system is on in full swing, said Health Minister C Vijayabaskar. State Health department predicts that the daily number of cases would rise alarmingly in the next 15 days in Coimbatore. The Madras High Court on August 25 dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by Class X students challenging the methodology adopted by the School Education Department to award marks to them, this year, for public examinations that stood cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Karnataka: With more than 2 lakh discharges, recovery rate of 70%, less than 1% of active cases being treated in ICU, mortality rate of 1.69%, Karnataka’s Covid situation is steadily improving. KSRTC has sought the state government permission to fill all the seats in its buses by relaxing social distance norms. Karnataka Pradesh Congress president D K Shivakumar, who tested positive for Covid-19 on August 24, 2020, night, has been admitted to a private hospital in Bengaluru. After two days of respite when the state reported Covid-positive cases of around 5,000 a day, there was a sudden spurt on August 25 with 8,161 positive cases, taking the total to 2,91,826 cases. Bengaluru accounted for 2,294 of these cases.
Andhra Pradesh: Fire broke out shortly after midnight in Anantapur Government Hospital on August 25, 2020, which created panic among the patients. Twenty-four Covid-19 patients in the hospital were shifted to safety to another ward. Stating that the spread of Covid-19 was no longer limited to urban areas, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy has underscored the need for strict enforcement of preventive measures suggested by the Centre and state governments. State has cancelled permissions granted to five private Covid Care Centres in Vijayawada for charging exorbitant fees from patients. An inquiry has also been ordered in the wake of complaints received from patients.