COVID-19: Isolation beds kept ready in Kalyan-Dombivli civic hospitals in Maharashtra's Thane
Maharashtra reported 107 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (June 11, 2025), taking the total of viral infections detected in the State so far this year to 1,700, as per the Public Health Department.
Two more deaths of COVID-19 patients also were recorded in the last couple of days, taking the toll since January to 21, an official release on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) said.
Of the new infections, 34 were recorded in Mumbai, one in Thane district, seven in Thane Municipal Corporation limits, five in Navi Mumbai, one in Kalyan Municipal Corporation, four in Pune district, 44 in Pune Municipal Corporation, seven in Pimpri Chinchwad, one in Sangli, two in Sangli Municipal Corporation and one in Nagpur Municipal Corporation, it said.
As part of COVID-19 preparedness, 10 isolation beds have been kept ready at the Bai Rukmini Bai Hospital and five at the Shastri Nagar Hospital, and RT-PCR and antigen testing kits are available, KDMC Commissioner Abhinav Goyal told reporters. "People should report symptoms promptly and not panic," he said.
On monsoon preparedness, he said a 24x7 emergency control room is operational at the municipal headquarters, with deputy commissioner-level officers on night duty. Emergency rooms have also been activated in ward offices, with specially assigned multi-departmental teams. 'An NDRF team has already arrived to coordinate disaster response and awareness,' the official said.
Reaffirming the civic body's commitment to quality education, Mr. Goyal said the KDMC will launch five semi-English schools from the academic year 2025-26. "To ensure quality education, a guardian officer has been appointed for every municipal school," he added.
The civic body also unveiled initiatives under the BaLA (Building as Learning Aid) method, introducing mural-based learning and improving school infrastructure, including repairs, furniture and timely distribution of books, uniforms and essentials. Under the "Nipun" programme, primary education will be prioritised, with digital quality monitoring through the Vinoba Bhave App and regular inspections by guardian officers, the civic body said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
The aunt who didn't let her cheer, positivity fade
That June morning, during the cremation of Shaminder Kaur, one of my loving aunts from Bhakna, a border village of Amritsar, the air was scented not only with sadness but also with praises of her. Most mourners remembered her for her positivity, a quality she exuded despite the odds as she had been facing an array of health issues. A sudden heart failure took her life. Her positive outlook was a magnet for many as whenever I visited her there was always someone who had come to see her, from neighbours and relatives to even former colleagues. (HT File) She was in her mid-sixties and had retired as a government school teacher. She had been bedridden for nearly a decade after she along with her husband met with a car accident. While uncle recovered, she couldn't, mainly because she suffered several fractures. Being bedridden brought more health problems from poor heart health to diabetes. Over the last few years, she had visited several hospitals for surgeries and other health complications but surprisingly whenever someone met her, her joyful attitude was in place. She would narrate her hospital stays with a smiling face, as if she was not back from a hospital but from a refreshing break at a resort in the mountains. However complicated the surgery, the cheer on her face never faded. She would go on appreciating the nurses, the meals she savoured and even the spacious room. Many were surprised to see she survived a hospital visit during the coronavirus period. I remember how she shared her Covid treatment. 'I stayed there a little over a week. Every day, people were dying around me, but I kept telling myself I'll be fine. I stayed strong and eventually returned home and am talking to you,' she said in her usual calm voice. Her positive outlook was a magnet for many as whenever I visited her there was always someone who had come to see her, from neighbours and relatives to even former colleagues. During my long cycling trips in the region, her home was my favourite stop. Meeting her melted away my tiredness and energised me as she never complained about her aches and pains nor rolled out any list of complaints. Instead, she counted her blessings, from her loving husband and caring daughters to her full-time help, Raji, who was no less than a daughter for her. If she recalled something, it would be simple gestures that had bathed her in happiness. I may have brought her dal from the langar of a gurdwara only once but she kept sharing this gesture with many. She liked talking about her village and the neighbourhood. 'You should love the place you live in,' was one of her mantras. Just a year ago, the TV screen facing her bed was fitted with live cameras which showed different parts of her home and the street in front. I loved it when she enjoyed introducing me to the many characters of her village as they passed – absolutely so entertaining. But the day she passed away, the camera displays were packed with mourners. One of them showed the veranda where her body was kept, just outside her room, where many of us often enjoyed her company. The uncertainty and fragility of life got me emotional. I had plans to visit her over the weekend, but decided to postpone it, little knowing that next Sunday she won't be there anymore. She may have departed forever but her inspiring attitude lives on in the hearts of many. She lived by the belief: Whatever the odds, stay high-spirited. It's one of the essential ingredients for a happy life. But Bhakna visits will never be the way they used to be. The writer is an Amritsar-based freelance contributor


Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
NZP to set up India's first biosafety level-3 lab for animal disease detection
Hyderabad: The Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) intends to set up a biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) lab on its premises soon, officials from the zoo said. A BSL-3 lab is a disease-detecting facility used to identify zoonotic diseases in animals and prevent their spread to human beings and vice versa. Once operational, it will help the zoo conduct everyday testing of the animals, help control the spread of viral infections, and also prepare for long-term disease management. "We have seen what COVID-19, a zoonotic disease that was transmitted from bats, could do to the human population. With the lab in place, we can constantly monitor the health of the animals and any potential viruses they may be carrying. Moreover, in a zoo like ours, where animal-human interaction is high, it becomes even more important to set up this lab to safeguard our visitors," said Sunil S Hiremath, the director of NZP. Presently, the zoo has a veterinary hospital that it uses to treat its animals for medical conditions and an in-house lab, where the zoo uses faecal and blood sample analysis for primary disease diagnosis like salmonellosis, gastrointestinal issues like acute or chronic gastroenteritis, and conditions like tuberculosis. It relies on institutes like the veterinary biological research institute (VBRI) and the PV Narasimha Rao Telangana veterinary university for lab diagnosis of secondary diseases like parasitical, bacterial, and viral infections, according to biologists and veterinary doctors working in the zoo. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Could This NEW Collagen Blend Finally Reduce Your Cellulite? Vitauthority Learn More Undo You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad | Gold Rates Today in Hyderabad | Silver Rates Today in Hyderabad "It takes two or three days to get results from these institutes, but once we set up the lab in the zoo, we will be able to get instant results, in a matter of a few hours," said MA Hakeem, a veterinary doctor working with NZP. Currently, the zoo is in the process of drafting a proposal to the central govt to get the necessary approvals. Once the project is approved, it will be launched as a govt of India project, officials said. "My team and I are in the process of finalising the details for the lab. Once that is done, we should have a clearer picture of how much the lab is going to cost us and how much space it will take," the director said. "We have the necessary manpower to run it successfully too. We have so many qualified scientists in the zoo, and the city is home to a number of reputed veterinary institutes and colleges like the VBRI and the Veterinary University in Rajendranagar, with whom we'll collaborate," the director added. If the project goes through, NZP will become the first zoo in the country to have a BSL-3 lab. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.


Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Focus on rabies control, not stray dog population
The current debate about whether stray dogs in Delhi should have a home on the street or be rounded up into pounds has generated strong feelings on all sides. Regardless of which way a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court rules, the fundamental challenge remains curbing of rabies, the disease reported to be responsible for the death of the six-year-old which sparked this debate. Removing the roughly million stray dogs from Delhi's streets will only reduce rabies cases and deaths by less than 2% nationwide. A more productive public health approach would be to focus on rabies rather than stray dogs. India has had enormous success in infectious disease control through vaccinations, examples being smallpox, polio, maternal tetanus and most recently, Covid-19. The country can then surely make significant progress towards the World Health Organization (WHO)'s goal of zero rabies deaths by 2030 without eliminating the 60 million stray dogs in India. But we are far from that goal. India accounts for one in three rabies deaths globally and over two-thirds in Asia. According to WHO data, there are an estimated 18,000-20,000 deaths from rabies each year in India. In comparison, China, which has 40 million stray dogs, reported an average of only 433 rabies cases per year between 2015 and 2021. The number of rabies deaths has declined from 3,300 in 2007 to fewer than 300 deaths in 2020. How did China manage to control rabies without killing its stray dogs? It adopted a one-health approach to rabies control, ensuring close coordination between the human and animal health departments, widening access to post-exposure vaccines (rabies is the only infectious disease that can be addressed using a vaccine post-exposure to the virus), expanding vaccination of all stray dogs and improving surveillance of all dog bites and rabies. China administers approximately 12-15 million rabies vaccine doses every year, at a cost of about $1 billion. India's rabies control programme is poorly funded and, unlike other disease control programmes, straddles two ministries — health and animal husbandry. With poor coordination, the programme has been a failure as evidenced by the rising numbers of rabies cases. A few municipalities like Mumbai and Goa have successfully reduced rabies cases and deaths, but nationally, rabies control has been a failure. The issue pits the right of humans to live safely without getting bitten or attacked against that of most dogs who do not bite anyone. The deaths of children and the elderly due to dog attacks is painful and unacceptable. It is also unacceptable that we consign millions of dogs to a painful death in dog pounds and shelters. For many human communities, strays are part of the community without a designated pet owner. They provide security against outsiders, protection from wild animals, and are generally fed by multiple households. In many instances, most stray dogs exist because of the support of people across the country, and not just because of a small group of urban, well-heeled animal lovers. It will be impossible to get community participation to control rabies if people view the government's programme as an effort to kill their dogs. Taking this approach in a country with deeply ingrained respect for all life, we may achieve control of neither stray dog population nor of rabies. The seeds of the current situation were sown by the poorly conceived Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2001 (updated in 2023) which prevents rabid dogs from being euthanised. Rabid dogs can only be isolated until they die, often a painful death. Even dogs that bite people can be removed from an area after a lengthy investigation and bureaucratic process, which all but ensures that the dog remains in the area. These laws have likely caused an increase in bites and rabies and have diminished public support for stray dogs. In the name of love for animals, the leadership that pushed through that act without much debate has created an untenable situation that forces us to choose between human and animal life. A public health solution that puts the focus on rabies and dogs that attack humans is far more likely to succeed. In the short term, we must replace the misguided ABC rules with a more common-sense set of guidelines that allow removal of biting and rabid dogs from communities. In the longer term, India should aim to remove all dogs from streets with the aim of eliminating all rabies deaths and ensuring that both humans and dogs are protected. Ramanan Laxminarayan is president of the One Health Trust. The views expressed are personal.