Latest news with #SRL
Mint
25-05-2025
- Health
- Mint
India's diagnostic clinics registering a significant increase in covid-19 testing
Major diagnostic firms Aglius (formerly SRL), Lal Path Labs, Dr Dangs and Metropolis Healthcare Ltd have seen a significant increase in covid-19 tests since the beginning of May, senior executives said. Some states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka, which have stepped up testing are reporting more cases. Four deaths have been reported in Maharashtra and with one single death in Karnataka due to covid-19. However, all the deaths were linked to underlying morbidities. Also read: Antimicrobial resistance fears herd India towards ban on antibiotics for animals This increased testing follows a sudden spurt of cases in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and other Asian countries, due to two new variants of coronavirus—NB.1.8.1 and LF.7—arising from the JN.1 variant prevalent since 2023. Dr Anand K, MD & CEO, Agilus Diagnostics said that there has been a noticeable uptick in covid testing demand since mid-May 2025. 'Covid-19 testing numbers have seen a significant increase of approximately 95% compared to the January–April 2025 period. This rise has been primarily observed following reports of a regional surge in South Asia. We have tested 300+ patients for in May 2025 so far. The majority of the cases are being referred by doctors and hospitals, indicating clinical suspicion or protocol-driven testing," said Anand. Also read: India steps up surveillance as covid-19 cases surge in Hong Kong and Singapore On Saturday, the Union health secretary Punya Salila Srivastava reviewed the matter regarding covid-19 cases with senior government officials and health agencies such as the Indian Council of Medical Research, Director General of Health Services and National Centre for Disease Control. The meeting was told that most of these cases are mild and under home care. Dr Arjun Dang, chief executive officer and Partner, Dr Dangs Lab, said that until last week, daily covid-19 testing numbers remained consistently low. 'However, we have recently observed a noticeable spike in test requests. This uptick appears to be driven by growing public awareness of the resurgence of covid-19 cases in Southeast Asian countries, coupled with a shift in mindset—people are now more willing to get tested when experiencing flu-like symptoms, in an effort to responsibly rule out covid-19." The strategy of test, track and treat has been adopted by states and union territories early detection and isolation of covid-19 cases. 'There is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to the previously circulating variants. The Union health ministry remains vigilant and through its multiple agencies, is proactively monitoring the situation closely," official sources said. Dr Arvind Lal, Managing Director at the Lal Path Laboratory said that right now, covid-19 testing positivity rate is 40%. 'However, this positivity rate is not so concerning if we compare our testing results in the past few years." The health ministry had recorded 257 active covid cases as of 19 May on its covid-19 dashboard. Also read: Small drug firms hustle near deadline with 1,000 GMP compliance applications Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, former head of Head Scientist of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research said that covid-19 is now endemic in India. 'The variant is showing increased transmission rate but severity and hospitalization is not increasing. We need to monitor whether hospitalization and death are happening due to covid-19. Ff it is happening due to covid, then surveillance needs to be strengthened." Dr Niranjan Patil, associate vice president, Scientific Business head- Infectious diseases, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, Mumbai, said that most recent cases have presented with mild symptoms and have remained low in number, though a noticeable increase has been observed since the beginning of May.
Time Out
13-05-2025
- Business
- Time Out
Construction has kicked off on Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop, a massive new 90km rail line across the outer suburbs
Melbourne's public transport system is in the throes of a makeover, in a big way. Between the imminent opening of the metro tunnel and Myki cards on their way to being scrapped, we'll be seeing some significant changes to how we get around our city in the coming years. There's even a plan in the pipeline for a second metro tunnel with a station underneath Marvel Stadium. But wait – believe it or not, there's more. The next big (or rather, ginormous) transport project is the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL), and construction officially kicked off this month. We don't blame you if you have no idea what the SRL is, since it's a little hard to keep up with Melbourne's many construction projects. Essentially, the SRL is a brand-new rail line that will run for 90 kilometres around the outer ring of Melbourne's metro area, travelling from Werribee in the west to Cheltenham in the south. The purpose of the SRL is to take pressure off the inner areas of Melbourne, spread out our city's population and infrastructure density and accommodate for the booming growth areas in outer Melbourne. According to the state government, Melbourne's population growth is on track to be the current size of London by 2050, so more transport is urgently needed. It will travel via the future airport rail link through the new super hub station in Sunshine, then to the northern suburbs, stopping at Broadmeadows, Fawkner, Reservoir, Bundoora and Heidelberg. Then it will zoom to the east, via Doncaster, Box Hill, Burwood, Glen Waverley, Monash, Clayton and finish in Cheltenham. It's a gigantic project, so the SRL is divided into four separate sections – each an individual project that will be completed gradually over the next 30 years or so. The SRL East project is the first cab off the rank, as construction began on the eastern portion of the rail in early May. Giant tunnel boring machines will create 26 kilometres of twin tunnels, running underground between Cheltenham and Box Hill. This part of the rail line is planned to be up and running by 2035 and is expected to cost up to $34.5 billion. When it's all completed, the entire SRL will connect every major train service, from the Frankston Line to the Werribee line, making it easier to travel between suburbs and eliminating the need to travel across Melbourne via the CBD. The project will include several new stations across Melbourne's suburbs, with six new underground stations in the east and seven new stations proposed in the north. Broadmeadows, Sunshine and Clayton will become transport 'super hubs', with both metro and regional lines running through these stations.
The Age
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Jacinta Allan is either delusional or dogged by claiming election was a mandate for SRL
The federal Liberals looked to tie Albanese to Allan in key federal seats with flyers and posters depicting both leaders under the title 'double trouble for Victorians'. While the Albanese government did not campaign on the SRL – it refused to commit federal funds to the $35 billion project beyond the $2.2 billion it had previously announced – Allan said the project was implicitly on the ballot due to the Coalition's pledge to scrap it. 'I think if you spend any time out and about on the ground in local communities, the Suburban Rail Loop was being talked about,' she said. 'It was being talked about on doors. It was being talked about on the streets. The communities understood.' When asked whether she accepted that her government's unpopularity was a genuine issue for her federal colleagues in the campaign, Allan did not address the question directly. She suggested every vote for federal Labor was, in effect, an endorsement of her government. 'What Victorians were focused on is what federal and state Labor governments are focused on. We share a value set in the Labor movement. We are on the side of working people, we are on the side of families. We understand, in a global, challenging economic environment, that families are looking to their government to do more.' Steve Dimopoulos, one of the state MPs who applauded the arrival of his leader on Monday, took the argument one step further. 'Three-year-old kinder, women's health, infrastructure projects, employment, free TAFE – they are all Labor values and, frankly, they are policy initiatives that the Victorian Labor government has come up with, and good governments, like (South Australian Premier Peter) Malinauskas and the prime minister have taken a leaf out of that book. Loading 'We are the powerhouse of Labor values in this country.' Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, during an interview with ABC Radio, was asked whether the SRL had helped the federal campaign. 'I think ultimately, this was an election which was decided on federal issues,' he said. 'One of the things that is clear in Australian politics is that ultimately, Australians do know the tier of government they are voting for.' Labor's long-serving member for McEwen, Rob Mitchell, put it more bluntly. He confirmed people had concerns about the state government but said they were over-ridden by those about what a Dutton government would mean. 'People were smart enough to know there was a difference,' he told this masthead. 'There were plenty of people who said, 'Look, I'm not overly happy with Labor, you haven't fixed everything.' But, particularly with women, if you said, 'Do you want Peter Dutton as your prime minister?', it was a pretty simple f--k no.' Evidence of voters separating state and federal issues can be found in polling booths in Melbourne's west, where voters cast ballots on Saturday only three months after having their say in the Werribee state byelection. In Manor Lakes and Wyndham Vale, the same polling places which returned primary votes of 30 and 27 per cent for state Labor MP John Lister endorsed federal MP Joanne Ryan with 45 per cent of the vote. At Manorvale Primary School in Werribee, the same electors who reduced Labor's vote to just 24.4 per cent in the byelection gave Labor 42.6 per cent in the federal poll. Victoria played a critical role in the re-election of the Albanese government. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on election night that it was the state Labor needed to successfully defend to win. Depending on which way undecided electorates fall, it may end up delivering 27 of 38 Victorian seats to the federal government. At the same time, the 1.4 per cent swing towards Labor recorded in Victoria on Saturday was half the strength of the national swing. In NSW, it was 3.2 per cent, South Australia 5 per cent, and in Tasmania, it was 8 per cent. Over the Christmas and new year break, ALP party polling warned of a very different outcome. Three party figures, not authorised to discuss internal research, suggested that Labor was at risk of losing Aston, Chisholm, Dunkley and Bruce in Melbourne's east and south-east, Hawke and Gorton in the city's west, and McEwen in the north. The party's polls and focus group research indicated that dissatisfaction with the Victorian government was a significant cause of voters turning away from Labor. This is consistent with the findings of published polls, including surveys conducted for this masthead by Resolve Political Monitor. Loading Allan's supporters say the election result shows this research was either flawed or wrongly interpreted, and the Victorian Labor brand is strong. Allan argues it is now an academic point because the decision of voters trumps the polls, party research and the views of her detractors. 'I'm not focused on commentators. I'm focused on what Victorians are saying,' she said. The premier is adamant Victorians want the SRL. This is why, on the morning after an election weekend, she drove to Clarinda in Melbourne's south-east, put on a high-vis vest and declared that major construction work was starting to prepare for the arrival of tunnel-boring machines at the end of this year.
Sydney Morning Herald
05-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Jacinta Allan is either delusional or dogged by claiming election was a mandate for SRL
The federal Liberals looked to tie Albanese to Allan in key federal seats with flyers and posters depicting both leaders under the title 'double trouble for Victorians'. While the Albanese government did not campaign on the SRL – it refused to commit federal funds to the $35 billion project beyond the $2.2 billion it had previously announced – Allan said the project was implicitly on the ballot due to the Coalition's pledge to scrap it. 'I think if you spend any time out and about on the ground in local communities, the Suburban Rail Loop was being talked about,' she said. 'It was being talked about on doors. It was being talked about on the streets. The communities understood.' When asked whether she accepted that her government's unpopularity was a genuine issue for her federal colleagues in the campaign, Allan did not address the question directly. She suggested every vote for federal Labor was, in effect, an endorsement of her government. 'What Victorians were focused on is what federal and state Labor governments are focused on. We share a value set in the Labor movement. We are on the side of working people, we are on the side of families. We understand, in a global, challenging economic environment, that families are looking to their government to do more.' Steve Dimopoulos, one of the state MPs who applauded the arrival of his leader on Monday, took the argument one step further. 'Three-year-old kinder, women's health, infrastructure projects, employment, free TAFE – they are all Labor values and, frankly, they are policy initiatives that the Victorian Labor government has come up with, and good governments, like (South Australian Premier Peter) Malinauskas and the prime minister have taken a leaf out of that book. Loading 'We are the powerhouse of Labor values in this country.' Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, during an interview with ABC Radio, was asked whether the SRL had helped the federal campaign. 'I think ultimately, this was an election which was decided on federal issues,' he said. 'One of the things that is clear in Australian politics is that ultimately, Australians do know the tier of government they are voting for.' Labor's long-serving member for McEwen, Rob Mitchell, put it more bluntly. He confirmed people had concerns about the state government but said they were over-ridden by those about what a Dutton government would mean. 'People were smart enough to know there was a difference,' he told this masthead. 'There were plenty of people who said, 'Look, I'm not overly happy with Labor, you haven't fixed everything.' But, particularly with women, if you said, 'Do you want Peter Dutton as your prime minister?', it was a pretty simple f--k no.' Evidence of voters separating state and federal issues can be found in polling booths in Melbourne's west, where voters cast ballots on Saturday only three months after having their say in the Werribee state byelection. In Manor Lakes and Wyndham Vale, the same polling places which returned primary votes of 30 and 27 per cent for state Labor MP John Lister endorsed federal MP Joanne Ryan with 45 per cent of the vote. At Manorvale Primary School in Werribee, the same electors who reduced Labor's vote to just 24.4 per cent in the byelection gave Labor 42.6 per cent in the federal poll. Victoria played a critical role in the re-election of the Albanese government. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on election night that it was the state Labor needed to successfully defend to win. Depending on which way undecided electorates fall, it may end up delivering 27 of 38 Victorian seats to the federal government. At the same time, the 1.4 per cent swing towards Labor recorded in Victoria on Saturday was half the strength of the national swing. In NSW, it was 3.2 per cent, South Australia 5 per cent, and in Tasmania, it was 8 per cent. Over the Christmas and new year break, ALP party polling warned of a very different outcome. Three party figures, not authorised to discuss internal research, suggested that Labor was at risk of losing Aston, Chisholm, Dunkley and Bruce in Melbourne's east and south-east, Hawke and Gorton in the city's west, and McEwen in the north. The party's polls and focus group research indicated that dissatisfaction with the Victorian government was a significant cause of voters turning away from Labor. This is consistent with the findings of published polls, including surveys conducted for this masthead by Resolve Political Monitor. Loading Allan's supporters say the election result shows this research was either flawed or wrongly interpreted, and the Victorian Labor brand is strong. Allan argues it is now an academic point because the decision of voters trumps the polls, party research and the views of her detractors. 'I'm not focused on commentators. I'm focused on what Victorians are saying,' she said. The premier is adamant Victorians want the SRL. This is why, on the morning after an election weekend, she drove to Clarinda in Melbourne's south-east, put on a high-vis vest and declared that major construction work was starting to prepare for the arrival of tunnel-boring machines at the end of this year.
ABC News
04-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Victorian voters prove they have little interest in Liberals, easing pressure on Labor premier Jacinta Allan
Before the federal election, Victoria was considered the problem child of the Labor family. State Labor figures began the year worrying that the performance of Jacinta Allan's Labor government would drag down the prime minister's chances of forming a majority government. The Liberals sensed something too. Election essentials: It was eyeing off as many as seven seats in Victoria, including retaking two seats from teal independents in Kooyong and Goldstein. But as of Sunday night, the Liberals won't hold any seats that are wholly in metropolitan Melbourne. That leaves millions of Melburnians without a lower house Liberal MP — the party's only chance is a Tim Wilson revival in Goldstein, where postal ballots are providing a glimmer of hope he can unseat independent Zoe Daniel. Instead of making gains, it got worse: Menzies and Deakin, held by rising star Keith Wolahan and shadow Michael Sukkar, have been lost. Aston, a seat lost in a historic by-election, couldn't be regained. Middle-class Melbourne rejected the Liberal party. Peter Dutton with Tim Wilson on Saturday morning. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts ) The strategy for Liberals under Peter Dutton, and at a state level, has been to target outer suburban voters in Labor heartland seats. McEwen (which has never been a safe seat), Hawke and Gorton were all in the Liberals' sights. To say these campaigns, including frequent visits from Peter Dutton, fell flat is an understatement. It was a disaster. The swings to the government in these seats defied Labor's expectations. Even on Saturday morning, senior strategists were fearing losses and swings. And before the ballots had been counted, they were sheeting all blame onto the premier. Liberals use crime, Suburban Rail Loop to target Victorian premier The federal Liberals made their whole campaign about Jacinta Allan, trying to campaign on crime even though it's a state issue. Ads attacking Albanese and Allan as "double trouble" hit the airwaves and billboards. It was to no avail. The Liberal Party's attempt to discredit the Jacinta Allan-Anthony Albanese partnership failed in Victoria. ( ABC News: Adam Kennedy ) A jubilant Allan, under significant pressure due to poor polling numbers and a horror budget position, took to the stage at Trades Hall on Saturday night, triumphant. "A lot of commentators and conservative politicians have built a career on kicking down on our state, our party and our unions — and every time we prove them wrong," she told the event. " The incredible results for Labor in our state aren't despite what's happening in Victoria but because of what's happening here in Victoria. " The premier repeated the line at a Sunday morning press conference in Melbourne's northern suburbs, flanked by five female state MPs. Allan has been hammered, internally and externally, for forging on with the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) despite its astronomical cost. On Sunday, Jacinta Allan was again spruiking the election results as another vote for the Suburban Rail Loop project. ( ABC News: ABC News ) Read more about the federal election: Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on But the premier, and other MPs, have highlighted swings to the party along the loop's eastern loop were in the ALP's favour. Allan says voters have now had their say on the project four times. All in the affirmative. The victory is unlikely to silence her detractors, but it could stop the number of internal critics from growing. Although there are some in Labor who bristle at the suggestion the result is an endorsement of SRL And there was some bad news for the Premier. The Nationals big effort in her backyard, the seat of Bendigo, looks to be paying dividends. The party has secured a huge swing and is well placed to seize the seat off Labor. It's a warning. Labor victory in Melbourne not simple It is simplistic to look at the Victorian election result based solely on Allan's performance and attitudes to the state government. It's much more than that. Voters know how to differentiate issues. The election by no means proves the state government is popular with voters, but it will ease some pressure — for now. Labor's stunning about-face of fortunes is due to a number of factors. First, the woes at the start of the year were recorded before the election campaign, when voters were really switched on to a binary choice of who would lead the nation. Clearly, voters didn't like what Peter Dutton was selling. Victorian voters were not sold on Peter Dutton. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts ) Secondly, Labor's campaign machine cranked into gear. The emphasis was on the ground game. Doorknocking, targeted messages and listening to concerns at a very local level. A lot of it flew under the media radar, but it has delivered in spades. Thirdly, voters in Victoria have proven once again they have little interest in the Liberal Party. Which is why the pain in Liberal ranks is so great. The 2025 election explained: The areas Labor was most worried about snapped back into line quickly. Labor was able to talk to these communities. And the Liberal Party failed to engage. Photo shows An election sign of Wil Anderson in a neighbourhood with a dog urinating on it with Gruen Nation Election edition and iview. It's election season and politicians are trying to sell you the world. The team at Gruen isn't about to buy it. They're taking a big swing at the election, showing you how the democracy sausage is made, all the sizzle and none of the meat. Even when voters turned off government with their primary vote, it skipped the Liberals as an option. Instead, voters sent their precious ballots to other parties. And this is a major problem for Liberal Party at next year's state election. Of course, state and federal elections are different. The issues will be distinct. State Labor is chasing a fourth term, whereas Albanese was asking for only a second go. The state budget is in much worse shape than the Commonwealth coffers, and there's lingering concerns about crime. But the Liberals need to convince voters they are a legitimate alternative. That's a challenge for the party as a brand, and as a state and federal opposition. In Victoria, it has a little over 12 months to sort that out. The clock is ticking. Loading Having trouble seeing this form? Try
