Puducherry Mar 23 PTI Puducherry which registered nil COVID-19 cases in the last two days reported only one coronavirus case on Wednesday taking the overall tally to 165773 In a release Director of Health G Sriramulu said the solitary case was identified in Puducherry region The department has tested 441 samples in the last 24 hours Sriramulu said there are 10 active cases who are all recovering in home quarantine While two patients recovered the overall recoveries were 163801 He said there was no fresh fatality today and the toll remained unchanged at 1962 The test positivity rate TPR was 023 per cent while the fatality and recovery rates were 118 per cent and 9881 per cent respectively Sriramulu said the health department has administered 1619376 doses so far which comprised 937956 first doses 667939 second doses and 13481 booster doses PTI COR HDA HDA

Puducherry Mar 18 PTI The Union Territory of Puducherry registered zero COVID-19 cases on Friday and the overall tally of cases remained unchanged at 165766 In a press release Director of Health G Sriramulu said no new case surfaced across the UT after examining 348 samples in the last 24 hours He said the active cases fell to 11 after three patients recovered from the disease All 11 active cases are currently in home quarantine The overall recoveries in the UT stood at 163793 Sriramulu said there was no fresh fatality on Friday and the death toll remained at 1962 The health department has tested 2225045 samples so far and has found 1869745 samples out of them to be negative The test positivity rate TPR was zero while fatality and recovery rates were 118 per cent and 9881 per cent respectively The Director said the health department has administered 1609895 doses so far comprising 933858 first doses 662865 second doses and 13172 booster doses PTI COR HDA HDA

New Delhi Jan 26 PTI School principals and parents associations were left disappointed with DDMAs decision on Thursday to not reopen schools in Delhi saying keeping schools closed is no longer a solution All India Parents Association AIPA president Ashok Agarwal said it is a very sad move and decision makers have neither heart nor mind as the prolonge closures will promote and perpetuate class divide and inequality in education Studies and childhood of students have already suffered too much which is irreparable Closing down schools has no scientific basis It has reduced employment and led people to face hunger So many people are sitting idle at home and waiting for schools to reopen he added Sumedha Goel director The Shri Ram Wonder Years Rohini suggested that schools for junior classes should be reopened in a phased manner keeping the hybrid model at its core Keeping the schools closed is not a solution Like a seedling requires the right amount of water sunlight air to grow similarly a budding child requires social interaction food for the mind and soul emotional well-being etc to attain a holistic growth Covid-appropriate behaviour will be followed in schools to welcome back students and give them a congenial environment for growth and development We propose the government enforce a law for mandatory vaccination and impose a fine on the non-vaccinated adults The drive would be beneficial for children below 15 years Goel said adding the entire school staff should be fully vaccinated and every fortnight school spaces will be sanitiwed Schools and colleges will continue to remain closed in the national capital and the issue will be taken up in the next meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA officials said on Thursday During the meeting the Delhi government for its part recommended reopening of schools saying it was necessary to prevent further damage to the social and economic well-being of children as the COVID-19 situation in the capital has improved Anshu Mittal principal MRG School Rohini said pandemic years have undoubtedly showed people the need for modifying the curriculum and pedagogical methods Every other country has opened schools we educators are deeply concerned about the same for our learners as they are being deprived Now with vaccination kickstarting for the age group of 15-18 we foresee vaccination for kids also becoming a reality soon Preferably till that time a major chunk of adult population would have also received their booster shot We havent bent down in front of this pandemic and we still wont It is important for our leaders to utilise the full potential of this quality of resilience the nation has displayed during these two years It will indeed be an inspirational lesson to our coming future generations she said Though the schools were briefly reopened they were shut again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant Todays decision is deeply disappointing The DDMA chairperson lieutenant governor and members should publicly disclose the reasons for keeping schools closed but allowing everything else particularly when every expert body has recommended it said Tanya Agarwal a lawyer who has been vocal about the reopening of schools According to a survey conducted by online platform Local Circles 74 per cent Delhi parents do not support re-opening of schools at this time while 66 per cent parents believe schools sould be reopened once test positivity rate TPR falls to 2 per cent or lower Alka Kapur principal Modern Public School said Eighty five percent of the students are vaccinated and the drive to vaccinate children of other age groups is scheduled to start in April With adequate precautions I dont think there should be a problem if we go ahead and open the schools nowThere is a huge disparity between classroom learning and online classes Education is not just about gathering information but also about interactivity social interactions and hands-on learning something only a classroom setup can provide Besides this prolonged use of online education might have a detrimental impact on students in the long-run because of lack of social and student-teacher interaction it can cause behavioural changes and learning anxiety she added Asserting that online education can never replace classroom studies Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the government had closed schools when it was not safe for children but excessive caution was harming them A delegation of parents led by Chandrakant Lahariya an epidemiologist and public policy specialist had earlier met Sisodia and submitted a memorandum signed by over 1600 parents demanding that the schools be reopened PTI GJS GJS AAR AAR

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 5 (ANI): A spike in COVID-19 cases was witnessed in Karnataka on Wednesday as the state reported 4,246 new cases of the infection with a test positivity rate of 3.33 per cent.

As part of the fresh lockdown relaxations announced by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government on Saturday, cinema theatres and indoor auditoriums will reopen in Kerala on October 25. Theatre owners, distributors, exhibitors and producers have been petitioning the government to reopen cinema halls, which were forced to shut in April when Covid-19 cases began to surge […]

Thiruvananthapuram Sep 17 PTI Kerala has administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 819 per cent of the targeted population till September 17 while 334 per cent received the second dose also State Health Minister Veena George said on Friday The Minister said more than 95 per cent of people above the age of 45 have received the first dose of vaccine while 54 per cent in the same category received the second dose too George in a release said during the period between September 8 to 14 an average of 225022 patients were under treatment in the state of which only two per cent required oxygen beds whereas only one per cent needed ICU beds During the same time there was a reduction of 42998 cases when compared to the previous week TPR has reduced by six per cent Those with comorbidities should take treatment from hospitals the minister added George said six per cent of those who were affected with COVID-19 during June July and August had already taken the first dose of the Covid vaccine while 36 per cent of them had received both the doses This shows that those who have been vaccinated can also get infected in a minor manner So those with comorbidities should take extra precaution she added Kerala today reported 23260 new positive cases and 131 COVID-19-related deaths taking the caseload to 4469488 and the death toll to 23296 The health minister inaugurated 106 projects worth Rs 695 crore in Malappuram district on Friday PTI RRT BN BN

Thiruvananthapuram Aug 30 PTI Kerala on Monday reported 19622 new positive cases and 132 COVID-19-related deaths taking the caseload to 4027030 and the death toll to 20673State health minister Veena George said 117216 samples were tested in the last 24 hours and the Test Positivity Rate TPR was 1674 per cent Till now 31392529 samples have been tested in the stateAmong the districts Thrissur reported the highest number of cases today--3177 followed by Ernakulam with 2315 and Kozhikode 1916Out of those found infected today 62 reached the state from outside while 18436 contracted the disease through their contact The source of infection of 1061 is yet to be traced and 63 health workers are also among the infected the minister said in a releaseMeanwhile 22563 persons recuperated from the disease on Monday taking the total cured to 3796317 Currently there are 209493 active casesAccording to the health department there are 353 wards under 70 local self government bodies in the state with a weekly infection population ratio of over eight per cent PTI RRT BN BN

Puducherry Aug 25 PTI Puducherry clocked 71 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday while the test positivity rate TPR rose to 315 percentThe 71 new cases were identified at the end of examination of 2254 samples and they were spread over Puducherry 42 Karaikal 15 Yanam 1 and Mahe 13 The overall case load touched 123078Director of Health Department G Sriramulu said the active cases were 760 of whom 163 were in hospitals and the remaining 597 patients were in home isolationWhile 76 patients recovered and were discharged during last twenty four hours the overall recoveries here stood at 120599Sriramulu said the department has tested 1620 lakh samples of whom 1374 lakh were found to be negativeThe fatality and recovery rates were 147 percent and 9791 percent respectivelyThe Department has vaccinated 38088 health care workers and 23000 front line workersThe Director said 558 lakh people coming either under the age group of 60 years and above or those above 45 years with co morbidities have been inoculated against the pandemicIn all 788 lakh people including those who received second jab against the scourge have been vaccinated PTI COR ROH ROH

From 1403 per cent on August 16 the TPR has risen steadily to 1773 on Saturday August 21From 1403 per cent on August 16 the TPR has risen steadily to 1773 on Saturday August 21Since Kerala had a large population which was not yet infected by COVID-19 the infection rate was bound to increase that was also a reason for the increase in TPR they saidHe said time has gone when the government could enforce the guidelines by force now people have to do that themselvesMeanwhile 20846 people recuperated from the disease on Saturday taking the total cured in the state to 3605480

Thiruvananthapuram Kerala recorded 17106 new Covid cases on Saturday informed the health department through a press releaseThe district - wise statistics of positive cases Malappuram - 2558 Kozhikode - 2236 Thrissur - 2027 Ernakulam - 1957 Palakkad - 1624 Kollam - 1126 Kottayam - 1040 Kannur - 919 Alappuzha - 870 Thiruvananthapuram - 844 Wayanad - 648 Pathanamthitta - 511 Idukki - 460 and Kasaragod - 283In total 30170011 samples including routine sample sentinel sample CBNAAT Truenat POCT PCR RTLAMP antigen were sent for the tests53 of the new COVID patients were returned from outside the stateThe local bodies have been categorized on the basis of the weekly infection population ratio WIPR