New Delhi Mar 18 PTI Delhi reported 140 fresh COVID-19 cases and zero death due to the viral disease on Friday while the positivity rate was recorded at 043 per cent according to data shared by the city health departmentWith this the national capitals Covid case count increased to1863633 while the death toll due to the disease stood at 26145 according to the latest health bulletin issued by the departmentThe number of COVID-19 tests conducted a day ago was 32444 the bulletin saidDelhi had logged 148 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 047 per cent and one death due to the disease on ThursdayThe city had recorded zero fatality count on March 5 6 10 11 13 and 14 as wellThe number of daily Covid cases in Delhi has been on a decline after touching a record high of 28867 on January 13 The city had recorded a positivity rate of 306 per cent on January 14 the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemicAmid the decline in the number of daily cases the number of patients under home isolation has also fallen significantly in the last few weeksThe total number of home isolation cases as on February 1 was 12312 and it dipped to 432 on March 18The number of containment zones which was also gradually falling in this period registered a dip to 3238 on Friday according to official figures shared by the health departmentThe surge in coronavirus cases in Delhi during the third wave of the pandemic was largely due to its Omicron variant which is highly transmissibleThere are 10244 beds for Covid patients in Delhi hospitals and 83 081 per cent of those are occupied A total of 83 Covid patients are admitted to hospitals the bulletin said PTI KND RC

New Delhi Feb 28 PTI Delhi Metro services with full passenger capacity resumed on Monday as authorities lifted all curbs following improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the cityTill 8 pm the DMRC had registered nearly 329 lakh journeys for the day officials saidJourney or line utilisation is calculated by the number of corridors passengers use to reach their destinationsThe corresponding journey figures for the three preceeding Mondays were -- 2366 lakh February 7 2793 lakh February 14 and 3195 lakh on February 21 the officials saidThe Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA had on Friday decided to withdraw all Covid restrictions from Monday reduce the fine amount for not wearing masks from Rs 2000 to Rs 500 and resume physical classes in schools from April 1Delhi Metro services have resumed today without any restrictions on passenger occupancy after a long time the DMRC said in a statement DMRC expresses its thanks and gratitude to its passengers for following the protocols during the pandemic Indeed without your cooperation we could not have operated the metro despite the constraints posed by the pandemic it said All the gates have been reopened as the restrictions have been lifted the officials said Earlier only a limited number of gates were operationalThe urban transporter also tweeted to inform commuters about the developmentIn the days ahead as well Delhi Metro shall continue to try its best to provide a safe and comfortable journeyHowever let us remember that Covid is not over yet In order to ensure a safe journey let us follow all necessary protocols such as Wearing of masks regularly adequate social distancing frequent hand sanitisation it said in a tweetThe DMRC said it shall also continue to maintain the highest level of hygiene and cleanliness for the passengers The trains and stations are being frequently sanitised and all the guidelines in place shall be stringently followed it addedThe DMRC networks current span is nearly 392 km with 286stationsincluding the NoidaGreater Noida Metro Corridor and the Rapid Metro Gurgaon PTI KND RC

New Delhi Jan 20 PTI Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said it seems that the peak of the third COVID-19 wave has gone past in the national capital even as he cautioned that the city is not out of the danger zone yetInteracting with reporters Jain said Delhi saw a record surge in the number of daily Covid cases recently with over 28000 cases registered in a day and the positivity rate too had gone beyond 30 per centThat spike which Delhi saw can be considered as the peak of the Covid wave and it seems that we are past the peak now The number of daily cases has come down in the last few days Over 13000 cases were recorded yesterday with a positivity rate of close to 24 per cent And today the number of cases is lesser than that he said The national capital reported 28867 fresh COVID-19 cases on January 13 the sharpest single-day spike here since the outbreak of the pandemic with a positivity rate of 2921 per cent On January 14 the positivity rate had increased to over 30 per centJain however cautioned that the peak of the Covid wave may have gone past in Delhi but still we cannot say that we are out of the danger zone yet and we need to watch the trendAsked if some restrictions will be eased the minister said proactive measures have also led to the fall in the number of cases and for any decision on easing restrictions we will have to monitor the situation first in the coming daysOn a reduction in the number of tests to detect the infection Jain claimed that Delhi is still conducting more daily tests than other states and no one is being denied any test if needed PTI KND RC

New Delhi Jan 18 PTI A 50-year-old woman from Myanmar received a new lease of life after undergoing a surgery at a private facility here that allowed her to regain her ability to speak and breathe properly the hospital authorities said on TuesdayThe woman had come to India recently to donate a kidney to one of her relatives and on preparing her for the transplant doctors had found that she experienced discomfort in breathing due to a tracheostomy tube in her neck they saidShe had lost her ability to speak due to bilateral vocal cord palsy after undergoing a thyroid surgery in her home country a few years ago She had an artificially inserted tube in her neck called tracheostomy due to which she had discomfort in breathing naturally and was unable to speak the Apollo hospital said in a statementShe came to India with a noble cause of donating her kidney to a relative in need At the hospital she was being prepared for the transplant when experts also advised her to undergo surgical intervention so that her neck tube could be removed it saidUnder the supervision of Dr Sandeep Guleria senior consultant surgeon in general surgery GI surgery and transplantation and Dr Noor Ul Din Malik consultant ENT head and neck robotic surgery at the hospital she underwent both the surgeries in a single stage with an uneventful recoveryBased upon her condition she was advised to undergo laser cordectomy along with donor nephrectomy surgery for kidney donation the hospital authorities said adding that the surgery took place in NovemberLaser cordectomy was planned to remove her tracheostomy tube from her neck decannulation and treat her artificial breathing they saidOn the patients recovery Dr Guleria said As we had planned the patient underwent both the procedures together and was decannulated after three weeks of the laser cordectomy procedure She has been doing great since then having an uneventful recovery and she has been able to talk and breathe naturally PTI KND RC

New Delhi Nov 20 PTI Delhi recorded zero death due to COVID-19 and 32 fresh cases of the infection with a positivity rate of 006 per cent on Saturday according to data shared by the city health departmentThe total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital stood at 1440637 Over 1415 lakh patients have recovered from the infectionThe death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25095Four fatalities have so far been reported in the city this month -- two on November 12 and one each on November 14 and November 15 Delhi reported four COVID-19 deaths in October and five in SeptemberThe case positivity rate stood at 006 per cent on Saturday according to the latest health bulletinOn Friday 30caseswere recorded with a positivity rate of 005 per centOn Thursday 47caseswere recorded with a positivity rate of 008 per centA total of 54249 tests -- 49273 RT-PCR tests and 4976 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted to detect the infection a day ago the bulletin said PTI KND RC

New Delhi Nov 19 PTI Delhi recorded zero death due to COVID-19 and 30 fresh cases of the infection with a positivity rate of 005 per cent on Friday according to data shared by the city health departmentThe total number of coronavirus cases stood at 1440605 in the national capital Over 1415 lakh patients have recovered from the infectionThe death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25095Four fatalities have so far been reported in the city this month -- two on November 12 and one each on November 14 and November 15 Delhi reported four COVID-19 deaths in October and five in SeptemberThe case positivity rate stood at 005 per cent on Friday according to the latest health bulletinOn Thursday 47fresh Covid cases were recorded in the national capital with a positivity rate of 008 per centOn Wednesday 44caseswere recorded with a positivity rate of 007 per centA total of 56689 tests -- 46930 RT-PCR tests and 9759 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted to detect the infection a day ago the bulletin said PTI KND RC

New Delhi Nov 19 PTI Delhi recorded zero death due to COVID-19 and 30 fresh cases of the infection with a positivity rate of 005 per cent on Friday according to data shared by the city health departmentThe total number of coronavirus cases stood at 1440605 in the national capital Over 1415 lakh patients have recovered from the infectionThe death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25095Four fatalities have so far been reported in the city this month -- two on November 12 and one each on November 14 and November 15 Delhi reported four COVID-19 deaths in October and five in SeptemberThe case positivity rate stood at 005 per cent on Friday according to the latest health bulletinOn Thursday 47 fresh Covid cases were recorded in the national capital with a positivity rate of 008 per centOn Wednesday 44 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 007 per centA total of 56689 tests -- 46930 RT-PCR tests and 9759 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted to detect the infection a day ago the bulletin saidThe Delhi cabinet recently approved a budget of Rs 1544 crore to bolster the citys health system and augment its capacity to combat the coronavirus pandemicDelhis fight against COVID-19 will get stronger after the cabinets nod to the states own Emergency COVID Response Package the Chief Ministers Office had earlier saidDelhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had recently said the citys medical infrastructure was being ramped up and 37000 beds exclusively for COVID-19 patients were being set up to tackle the anticipated third wave of the pandemicThe number of active cases of the infection decreased to 325 on Friday from 362 a day before according to the bulletinThe number of people under home isolation is 145 while it was 155 a day before and the number of containment zones in the city went up to 133 from 120 on Thursday the bulletin said PTI KND RC

New Delhi Oct 25 PTI A leading private healthcare group on Monday said it will provide COVID-19 jabs for free to children with specified co-morbidities even as the Centre is yet to announce its approval to itApollo Hospitals in a statement said however it is an indicative list and the final list of co-morbidities eligible for free vaccination would be as per the list published by the governmentZydus Cadilas Covid vaccine ZyCoV-D has already received Emergency Use Authorisation from the Drugs Controller General of India DCGI in the country and will be administered to those aged 12 years and above It is yet to be introduced in the nationwide Covid vaccination programmeAs for the emergency use approval for Bharat Biotechs Covaxin in the 2-18 years age group by the DCGI it is under expert evaluation official sources had earlier saidOn October 12 the Subject Expert Committee SEC on COVID-19 of the central drug authority had recommended granting Emergency Use Authorisation to Covaxin for children and adolescents in the 2-18 years age group with certain conditionsApollo Hospitals sources on Monday claimed that the list of co-morbidities announced by the group on Monday was prepared after consulting with the governmentIt is anticipated that approval will soon be granted for vaccinating children with specified co-morbidities and immediately post-approval and details of the age-group permitted for vaccination the free vaccination initiative would be launched by Apollo Hospitals across its units the statement saidThe list is expected to include children with haematological neurological cardiac liver gastrointestinal rheumatic cancer respiratory genitourinary and developmental disorders it saidDr Prathap C Reddy Chairman Apollo Hospitals Group said Adults have been the focus of vaccination till now as by and large children have been spared from severe Covid infection However this is not the case in children with co-morbidities These children continue to be at high risk of developing a severe infection In addition children with comorbidities have also seen a significant psychosocial impact as the lockdown resulted in their missing out on the personalised attention and specialised treatment and care that they require The governments approval of vaccination for children with co-morbidities when it comes through will be a welcome step in the right direction he was quoted as saying in the statementRealising the criticality of this vaccination we will be extending the Covid vaccines completely free of cost to children with co-morbidities and giving them the necessarykavach shield against Covid Reddy saidBoth vaccines would be available at Apollo Hospitals vaccination centres across the country once all approvals by the government are in place and the vaccines are made available the statement said PTI KND RC

New Delhi Sep 22 PTI A 44-year-old woman from Gurgaon gave a new lease of life to three persons on Wednesday after doctors transplanted in them the liver and kidneys harvested from her while both her corneas were sent to an eye bank in Delhi hospital authorities saidThis move by the family of the woman whose organs were donated is a progressive step at a time of the COVID-19 pandemic when the organ donation numbers are plummeting they saidThe woman who was admitted to the Fortis Memorial Research Institute FMRI in Gurgaon on the night of September 15 was declared brain dead the next day a spokesperson of the facility saidOn evaluation there was evidence of major bleeding in her brain and despite the best efforts of the neurosurgical team she could not be revived and was declared brain dead The family despite their hour of grief decided to donate her organs and corneas according to Dr Om Prakash consultant neuro-anaesthesia FMRIThe family of the patient consented to donate her organs The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation NOTTO allocated the organs to three separate recipients -- two waitlisted recipients at the Fortis hospital Gurgaon received the liver and a kidney while a recipient at a leading private hospital in Delhi received the second kidney -- the FMRI said in a statementOne kidney and liver were transplanted at FMRI Gurgaon in a 38-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man respectively The second kidney was allotted and transplanted into a 43-year-old woman in Delhi Both corneas were sent to an eye bank it saidDr Avnish Seth principal director gastroenterology and hepatobiliary sciences at the FMRI and director Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant FORT said More than 700 families stepped forth to donate the organs of their loved ones in the country in 2019 There has been a 70-per cent fall in organ and tissue donations worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic Strict Covid-free pathways were followed the doctor said PTI KND RC

New Delhi Aug 30 PTI A 22-year-old HIV-positive man with spinal tuberculosis got a new lease life after undergoing a four-hour surgery which was streamed live as part of an international event hosted online the organisers said on MondayAs the number of cases of spine-related issues has gone up during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the Association of Spine Surgeons of India ASSI held a three-day programme which included instructional courses on spine and live spine surgeriesThe event was held from August 27-29On the third day of the event surgeons performed the four-hour live surgery giving the patient a new lease of life a spokesperson of the ASSI saidThe 22-year-old had developed lumbosacral tuberculosis due to his immuno-compromised condition and was suffering for the last couple of months with the infection in the lower spine This had restricted his ability to walk sit and control urine while he suffered excruciating pain in the body the organisers of the event said in a statementWhen he visited the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre ISIC his MRI was performed after sedating him with anaesthesia and he was diagnosed with lumbosacral tuberculosis a destructive form of tuberculosis that is more common in children and young adults they saidThe surgery was performed by a team of spine surgeons using modern technology like O-arm and navigation and was witnessed online by 25 international and over 50 Indian experts besides around 200 delegates the statement saidSince the patient was also HIV positive the surgeons took the universal precautions of ceasing the transmission of the deadly virus it saidA couple of hours after the procedure the patient was able to sit and stand without any support with no pain and complete control on his urinal urge the organisers claimedThe ASSI held the event in partnership with the Spinal Cord Society and the ISICThere were six master class sessions on MISS using tubular retractors complications in cervical spine surgery cervical disc replacement CDR degenerative scoliosis cervicothoracic junction and surgical radiologyAlso 36 case-based discussions on degenerative thoracic myeolpathy degenerative cervical myelopathy spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis and failed back syndrome among other topics were held PTI KND RC