7 more Covid infections in Kol, state active case tally 10
2
3
Kolkata: Kolkata has recorded at least seven Covid-19 cases in the past week.
Six patients, admitted at a hospital off Bypass, are receiving treatment for Covid as well as other existing health conditions.
On Sunday, TOI reported about four active cases, including a 15-year-old boy admitted to Peerless Hospital, a pregnant woman at Sushrata Nursing Home in Kankurgachhi, and two from a family in Mograhat, who did not require hospital care.
According Apollo Multispecialty Hospital sources, the six came for treatment for various health conditions in the past week. Covid tests were conducted as all of them exhibited mild to severe symptoms.
All six are being treated in isolation wards.
A 70-year-old man with existing heart issues came with fever and respiratory problems. An upper respiratory panel test detected SARS-CoV-2, followed by an RT-PCR confirmation four days ago. While he needed BiPAP support, the oxygen requirement is now only one litre an hour. "His condition is improving. Since he had other comorbidities, Covid cannot be the main reason for his condition," said Apollo ECMO physician Arpan Chakraborty.
Till May 19, Bengal had only one active case. Now, there are at least 10 active cases, mostly from Kolkata. "It is not unusual to encounter a spike. While there is no reason to panic unless we get many patients with severe infection, it is always good to revert to preventive measures like wearing masks and using hand sanitiser," said infectious diseases specialist Sayan Chakraborty of Manipal Dhakuria. Pradip Tondon, CEO of Belle Vue Clinic, said a woman who had a gastrointestinal problem and came with a Covid positive report was discharged on Saturday.
"So far, we know that Omicron sub-lineage JN.1 is behind the current spike happening elsewhere. We have already encountered this strain. But to protect the vulnerable, symptomatic individuals as well as those with comorbidities should start taking preventive measures," said pulmonologist Kausik Chaudhuri, former Covid-19 nodal officer at ID Hospital Beliaghata.
"So far, we do not have new Covid guidelines from the health department. While the situation is not at all alarming, such guidelines could raise awareness among the public," said critical care specialist Soutik Panda of Woodlands Hospital.
Mayor Firhad Hakim said, "The situation in Bengal has not yet necessitated issuance of Covid SOP. We are closely monitoring the situation. There is no reason to panic."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Health dept accuses Rims director of violating rules
Ranchi: The tussle between the state health department and director of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) Raj Kumar escalated further on Sunday with the department issuing a statement accusing the latter of various lapses. The response comes after the director accused the department and health minister Irfan Ansari of withholding files and also told in the high court recently that his powers to procure anything for the hospital have been withheld. In its response on Sunday, the health department accused the Rims director of functioning arbitrarily. According to a press note from the health department, Rims director deliberately bypassed procedures by sending financial files directly to the minister instead of placing them before the governing body. "As per rules, such matters should be discussed in the governing body meetings to ensure transparency and accountability. The director avoided such discussions to escape answering queries, preferring instead to dispose of files confidentially," it said. Citing the Rims Act, 2002 (Section 13(3)) and Rims Regulations, 2014 (Regulation 4), the department emphasised that it is the duty of the director-cum-member secretary to convene governing body meetings. "However, during the present director's tenure, only two such meetings were held, one of which was conducted only after departmental intervention. This clearly indicates deliberate avoidance of the statutory process," it said. It further clarified that no proposal for convening meetings was ever rejected or kept pending, yet quarterly meetings were never organised. "This amounts to a direct violation of rules," health department said. The department also raised concerns over financial mismanagement at Rims. Despite receiving the full budgetary allocation approved annually by the governing body, the institute consistently failed to utilise the funds properly. "No reconciliation was done between budgetary provisions and actual expenditure, leading to recurring financial irregularities," it said. Reiterating that Rims is an autonomous institution, the department explained that administrative and financial powers primarily rest with the governing body. "Departmental approval is required only in cases where the state govt has issued explicit directions. In spite of this, the director unnecessarily forwarded files to the minister, bypassing institutional mechanisms and avoiding discussions in the governing body," it said. The department further alleged that the director failed to convene meetings of the finance and accounts committee, despite being its member secretary. Meetings were held only after intervention and scheduling by the additional chief secretary of the health department. Talking to TOI, Rims director, Dr Raj Kumar, said, "I will respond to each and every point raised, but not through the media. My answers will be placed before the court, where the truth will come out." 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
3 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.
New Indian Express
7 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Madhira mimicry artist Lanka Kondaiah honoured for blending folk art with public health awareness
KHAMMAM: Celebrating art with a purpose, a veteran mimicry artist from Madhira wins recognition for blending tradition with public health awareness. Lanka Kondaiah, a renowned folk mimicry artist (also known as Madhira Asha Mitra) and social worker, receives a Best Service Appreciation Certificate on Friday from District Collector Anudeep Durishetty, in the presence of Additional Collector Sreeja and Khammam Municipal Commissioner Abhishek Agasya. The event is administered by Dr Banoth Kalavathibhai. The award acknowledges Kondaiah's unique way of engaging with the community — using folk and mythological art forms to raise awareness in rural and urban areas about long-term and debilitating diseases. He educates the public on TB, AIDS, leprosy, polio, COVID-19, dengue, and malaria through his creative style. The honour comes under the 'Best Services' category, highlighting his contribution to central and state health initiatives. Speaking at the event, Kondaiah expresses gratitude to the District Medical and Health Department, various programme officers, and the PHC Denukur doctors for recognising his service. He says the award brings congratulations from many quarters: distinguished residents and political leaders of Madhira, members of the Arya Vysya community, farmer groups, employee and teacher unions, media friends, health staff, fellow artists, and well-wishers.
