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Arab News
3 days ago
- General
- Arab News
India sees tenfold rise in COVID-19 cases
NEW DELHI: India has reported a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases over the past 10 days, official data showed on Sunday, with new, more transmissible virus variants believed to be driving the surge. A new wave of infections emerged in parts of Asia last month, especially Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Thailand. The new spread of the coronavirus that a few years ago brought the world to a standstill has been linked to JN.1, a highly transmissible variant of the omicron strain of COVID-19. It emerged in late 2023 and spread globally through early 2024, becoming one of the dominant variants in many countries. India's current caseload is 3,395 as of Sunday, according to Ministry of Health data – up significantly from the previous official count of 257 on May 22. The ministry confirmed last week it had detected across the country two subvariants of JN.1 – LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 – which spread faster but are believed to be mild. '(The) majority of those are mild cases, just like seasonal flu, and we are not seeing any significant admission or emergency visits due to COVID-19. Right now, the situation is under control. Any flu that starts spreading spreads fast like wildfire,' Dr. Nikhil Modi, pulmonology and respiratory medicine specialist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told Arab News. While in the last 24 hours, four deaths have been recorded – in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh – the 'patients were already suffering from critical illnesses,' Modi said. 'Severe disease is not being reported anywhere significantly.' India was one of the worst-hit countries during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. At its peak, health authorities recorded over 400,000 new cases per day. Hospitals across many states were overwhelmed with patients and faced severe shortages of oxygen supplies, hospital beds, ventilators, and critical medicines. The World Health Organization estimates that 4.7 million deaths in India were directly and indirectly related to COVID-19. 'The way we have seen COVID-19 in 2021, panic is bound to come but things, for the time being, are under control. We are not seeing admissions significantly rising due to COVID, so we should be able to manage. Advisories and preparedness in all hospitals have started, so if the situation changes, we are ready for it,' Modi said. 'Right now, we don't have to panic about it.'
Times of Oman
24-05-2025
- Health
- Times of Oman
No COVID-19 surge, only sporadic cases reported in India: Health experts
New Delhi: The Delhi government issued an advisory on COVID-19 and asked for necessary preparedness, but there is no cause for concern after 23 COVID-19 positive cases were reported. However, according to the experts, the situation is under control. Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant in Internal Medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, said on Friday, "At the moment, the situation is under control. There are, at most, sporadic cases, which are also rare. Even the present cases are being managed very easily." "They are not being hospitalised. This is what we were expecting: that when COVID happened, it would remain a seasonal flu which could be treated very easily. The situation is not one of panic..." He further said. "We haven't seen any hospitalised or ICU Covid-19 cases in the hospital. Only hype has been created, but there is no need to panic," he said. Additionally, Dr Dhiren Gupta, Co-Director, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Sir Gangaram Hospital explained, "We have come to know that COVID is increasing, especially in Southeast Asia. But many patients are coming with body aches, nonspecific, fever, cold, so off late, we may start testing. But presently, you know that screening is being done with 257 cases testing positive. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. There must be many cases." "I think it's been 2022 onward. We have never seen major problem in any age group, except for those less than one year old. When Omicron started, it created a little bit of a problem in babies less than one year old, not beyond that," he said. Given the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country, the Delhi government has issued an advisory directing all hospitals to ensure preparedness for the availability of beds, oxygen, and medicines. According to the Office of the Health Minister of the Delhi government, the Health Department of Delhi has released a precautionary advisory stating that this was for routine surveillance and there is no cause for concern. The health department assured that they are committed to monitoring the situation. The advisory urged all health institutions to send positive samples for genome sequencing to Lok Nayak Hospital to facilitate early detection of any new variants. "In view of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, it is reiterated that all medical directors, medical superintendents, administrators of all government and private hospitals should ensure hospital preparedness." It also said that all the equipment, such as ventilators, BiPAP, oxygen concentrators, psa et, etc., must be in functional condition and refresher training of dedicated staff must be advisory said that Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities (OPD/IPD) must be reported daily on the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal. Additionally, confirmed influenza and COVID-19 cases may also be reported on the IHIP under the L form. All parameters must be reported daily on the Delhi State Health Data Management Portal. The advisory called for adequate testing as per the COVID-19 testing guidelines and to ensure COVID-19 testing of 5 per cent ILI cases and 100 per cent SARI cases. ICMR guidelines for testing are attached. It also asked to send all positive COVID-19 samples for Whole Genome Sequencing to LokNayak Hospital so as to enable timely detection of new variants, if any and share the number of samples sent for WGS with the State Surveillance Unit."Respiratory etiquette is being followed, including wearing a mask on hospital premises and in health facilities," it said further. As of May 19, 2025, the number of active COVID-19 cases in India stands at 257 -- a very low figure considering the country's large population. Almost all of these cases are mild, with no hospitalisation required. The country also has a robust system for surveillance of respiratory viral illnesses, including COVID-19, through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and the ICMR. The Union Health Ministry remains vigilant and proactive in monitoring the situation closely, ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to safeguard public health. While COVID-19 is now considered another type of viral infection, basic precautions such as hand hygiene, masks in crowded areas and avoiding unnecessary gatherings are still encouraged, the statement said.
Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Allow us to reduce EWS obligation: Indraprastha Apollo Hospital moves plea before SC
The Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi has moved an intervention application before the Supreme Court, requesting that it be allowed to reduce its EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) obligation to 10% in the In-Patient Department (IPD) and 25% in the Out-Patient Department (OPD). If this proposal is accepted, the hospital would no longer be bound to maintain 200 EWS beds. Instead, it would be required to provide around 70 such beds, marking a significant shift in its obligation to serve the economically weaker sections. At present, while 33% of the IPD and 40% of the OPD of the hospital cater to the EWS category, medicines and consumables are not provided free of cost to these patients, though they receive free treatment. In an affidavit submitted to the SC on May 14, Indraprastha Medical Corporation Limited (IMCL) — which runs the hospital — submitted that it is ready to provide free treatment, along with free medicines and consumables, if it is allowed to use only 10% of its IPD and 25% of the OPD to treat EWS patients. This comes after the SC had warned the hospital on March 25 that it would direct the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to take over its management if it failed to fulfill its land lease commitment given to the state government to provide free treatment to poor patients. At 26%, the Delhi government has the largest stake in the hospital, which was handed over 15 acres of land on lease at a token rent of Re 1 per month. Institutions like hospitals and schools, which get land from the government on concessional rates, are obligated, as per the terms of their lease, to provide free services to those from the EWS category. In the affidavit, the IMCL has said that despite the recommendations of the Qureshi Committee, it remained bound by the terms of the lease deed, which imposed a 'higher and more onerous obligations of 33% free IPD and 40% OPD'. In 2001, a report by a committee set up by the Delhi government, led by Justice A S Qureshi (retd), had recommended 25% OPD and 10% indoor services for EWS patients in private hospitals and nursing homes that had received land on concessional rates. The IMCL also said that the obligation to provide 33% free IPD and 40% free OPD services resulted in a disproportionate burden on it. 'This happened because of the loss of exemption from customs duty and other benefits,' it added. Further, the hospital said that while it had expressed willingness to purchase the land given on lease by the government, due to DDA policies, the land could not be allocated directly to a private company. The land was then allotted to the Delhi government, which in turn was leased to the IMCL. The affidavit also submitted said that the Delhi government has received over Rs 87 crore till date as dividends from the hospital, and its original equity investment of Rs 23.83 crore has appreciated to about Rs 900 crore. As per the court's instructions, the hospital submitted the existing bed strength and records of OPD and IPD patients for the last five years.
