Latest news with #anti-COVID-19
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
Bengal CM holds meeting with officials of various departments amid rising cases of COVID, advices citizens to remain cautious
Howrah: Amid rising COVID cases, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with senior officials of every department and adviced citizens to remain cautious and not to get panicked. She said that all facilities were available in government hospitals. CM Mamata Banerjee said, "We are hoping that the pandemic won't be repeated. We have conducted a meeting today with senior officials of every department, including Panchayat, Urban, Municipalities, DME, DHS, Health Department, MSME, Police Department, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and Kolkata Corporation. We have to be careful. There is no need to panic. We have to be prepared. Those who have comorbidities should consult the doctor. Government is always standing with them. Try to get treatment in a government hospital. It will not cost much. All the facilities are available in the government hospital. Now, the anti-COVID-19 vaccine is available. Everyone is vaccinated. We did the meeting to be cautious in future." She further said that the situation is not severe at this point. "There are 4 to 5 thousand cases in the country. This is a kind of influenza," she added. Another health expert present said that this was a subvariant of the omicron virus, and this was not a variant of concern. "It was like a normal cough and cold and the wave would be over soon," he said. According to the Union Health Ministry's data, 59 deaths have been reported since January 1, 2025. States have been instructed to ensure oxygen availability, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines. Given the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in India, a series of technical review meetings were held on June 2 and 3 with various representatives under the chairpersonship of Dr Sunita Sharma, Director General of Health Services (DGHS). According to an official statement, the representatives include Disaster Management Cell, Emergency Management Response (EMR) Cell, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and Central Government Hospitals in Delhi and with representatives from all States and UTs to evaluate the current COVID-19 situation and preparedness measures.
India Gazette
20 hours ago
- Health
- India Gazette
Bengal CM holds meeting with officials of various departments amid rising cases of COVID, advices citizens to remain cautious
Howrah (West Bengal) [India], June 9 (ANI): Amid rising COVID cases, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with senior officials of every department and adviced citizens to remain cautious and not to get panicked. She said that all facilities were available in government hospitals. CM Mamata Banerjee said, 'We are hoping that the pandemic won't be repeated. We have conducted a meeting today with senior officials of every department, including Panchayat, Urban, Municipalities, DME, DHS, Health Department, MSME, Police Department, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and Kolkata Corporation. We have to be careful. There is no need to panic. We have to be prepared. Those who have comorbidities should consult the doctor. Government is always standing with them. Try to get treatment in a government hospital. It will not cost much. All the facilities are available in the government hospital. Now, the anti-COVID-19 vaccine is available. Everyone is vaccinated. We did the meeting to be cautious in future.' She further said that the situation is not severe at this point. 'There are 4 to 5 thousand cases in the country. This is a kind of influenza,' she added. Another health expert present said that this was a subvariant of the omicron virus, and this was not a variant of concern. 'It was like a normal cough and cold and the wave would be over soon,' he said. According to the Union Health Ministry's data, 59 deaths have been reported since January 1, 2025. States have been instructed to ensure oxygen availability, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines. Given the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in India, a series of technical review meetings were held on June 2 and 3 with various representatives under the chairpersonship of Dr Sunita Sharma, Director General of Health Services (DGHS). According to an official statement, the representatives include Disaster Management Cell, Emergency Management Response (EMR) Cell, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and Central Government Hospitals in Delhi and with representatives from all States and UTs to evaluate the current COVID-19 situation and preparedness measures. (ANI)
Asahi Shimbun
5 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Court orders pay in info-disclosure lawsuit over Abenomasks
Plaintiff Hiroshi Kamiwaki, middle, holds a sign claiming victory in a lawsuit against the government at the Osaka District Court on June 5. (Minami Endo) OSAKA—The Osaka District Court on June 5 overturned the majority of the government's decisions on refusing to disclose information concerning its 40-billion-yen ($280 million) 'Abenomask' project. The ruling ordered the government to pay 110,000 yen ($767) in compensation to a constitutional scholar who has been denied information on how the millions of anti-COVID-19 masks were obtained. The government had argued that it discarded procurement information about the mask-distribution project, which was initiated in April 2020 when Shinzo Abe was prime minister. However, the court ruled, 'It is hard to believe that there were no documents even taking into account the busy schedule at the time.' The Abe government delivered cloth masks to every household to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The masks, which became known as Abenomasks, were criticized as too small, defective or dirty, and the project was ridiculed. But then the cost of the project emerged, as well as the waste. The government procured about 300 million cloth masks. However, about 83 million of them ended up stored as inventory. Hiroshi Kamiwaki, a constitutional law professor at Kobe Gakuin University, had demanded information disclosure about the project several times since April 2020. He argued the government 'has an obligation to explain the process to the public because of the huge amount of taxpayer money spent on the contract.' Specifically, he sought details on how the masks were procured as well as the contracting process with the vendors. Although the government provided documents on contract figures and quotations, it said that emails and interview records showing negotiations with the contractors were 'nonexistent.' Kamiwaki filed the lawsuit in February 2021, but the government continued to insist that the emails 'were destroyed each time.' The plaintiff's side then obtained emails from the contractors that indicated they had meetings with government employees about the masks. When the government re-examined the case, it 'found' more than 100 e-mails on the computers of two employees. However, the government refused to disclose these emails, and the two employees testified in court that their communication with the contractors was mostly 'verbal.' Therefore, the issue in the lawsuit became whether the employees' emails were subject to information disclosure laws and whether the government's claims that there were no records of such meetings were credible. The plaintiff argued the emails were related to the government's decision-making process, and that the administrative document management rules do not allow for 'destruction each time.' The plaintiff's side also argued it would be impossible for the government not to keep written records of the contracting process with the vendors. The government countered that the emails were documents with a 'retention period of less than one year' that could be disposed of without any problem. Thus, the government said, the emails were not subject to information disclosure laws. The government also argued it is obligated to produce documents only 'when it affects policymaking or project implementation policies.' The absence of meetings' records is not unnatural, it said, and requested that the compensation request be dismissed. After the ruling, the health ministry said, 'We would like to take appropriate action after fully examining the content of the court decision and consulting with the relevant ministries and agencies.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Third Republican candidate, Bernadette Wilson, enters Alaska governor's race
Republican governor candidate Bernadette Wilson is seen on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in front of the Alaska State Capitol. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) An Anchorage business owner, Republican campaigner and former talk radio host is running to be Alaska's next governor. Bernadette Wilson announced her campaign on Tuesday with a video broadcast from the steps of the Alaska Capitol and has filed a letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. She joins Republican former state Sen. Click Bishop and Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, both of whom announced their campaigns last week. In a Juneau interview, Wilson said she's disappointed with the condition of the state and worried about what it has to offer her children. 'I see the opportunity that Alaska has here, but I also see the lack of leadership, the lack of vision. And I feel I share the frustration of Alaskans. You know, we have people who get down here and they're more concerned about keeping a job than they are about doing a job,' she said. Wilson, a former competitive figure skater, was born on the Kenai Peninsula and raised in Anchorage. A parent to three children, she is the great-niece of former Gov. Wally Hickel. She owns Denali Disposal, a private trash collection service in Anchorage. Wilson has extensive experience in Alaska politics, having worked on more than a dozen political campaigns, including the effort to elect Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and a 2010 ballot measure that would have required parents to be notified if a child is seeking an abortion. Alaskans voted for that measure, but it was later ruled unconstitutional. She hosted a talk radio show with Democrat Ethan Berkowitz until 2015 and organized protests in 2020 to oppose Anchorage's anti-COVID-19 precautions. In addition to her governor's race, Wilson is campaigning for the ballot measure that is again attempting to repeal ranked choice voting in Alaska. Wilson advised Nick Begich's successful congressional campaign last year and previously worked as the Alaska director for Americans for Prosperity and for the Alaska Policy Forum, two limited-government groups that have opposed the revival of the state's pension plan, among other issues. She has never held elected office before, but said that isn't an issue. 'Republicans love President Ronald Reagan. When Ronald Reagan ran for governor of California, it was the same thing. He didn't come up through a bureaucratic system,' she said. When asked whether she would continue Gov. Mike Dunleavy's policies, she said she hasn't been impressed with Dunleavy's performance. The incumbent governor is term-limited and unable to run for reelection. 'I'll be honest with you, I haven't seen a whole lot of what the state has done in the last few years, not just under this administration, but under multiple administrations,' she said. 'You know, name me the major infrastructure projects, name me the big things we've got going. We're at the bottom of education, the same place we were years ago. We are in no better spot financially. We're in no better spot with our education. Our PFD is spiraling, with people now trying to turn it into a welfare program. You know, I don't think there is a whole lot there to continue.' Wilson said she intends to actively campaign this year and listen to Alaskans' concerns about the state. 'We are going to be out talking to Alaskans from now, clear on until — hopefully for the next several years,' she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
