Articles by News Desk

COVID-19: Step test to assess patients' tolerance level, mobile ICU inaugurated for treatment On October 30th, Chennai recorded 723 cases and 1047 recoveries. The day also saw 13 deaths. The Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar, has devised a method to assess the lung and heart functions of discharged COVID patients. The doctors ask patients to take a six-minute walk. The walk, known as Harvard step-test, assesses the patient’s effort tolerance. At the outpatient department, patients who had 20% and higher lung involvement over the course of their illness are administered a CT scan of the chest after six weeks of…

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL) conducted a 'cycling preferences survey' with an aim to understand the challenges faced by cyclists, improve the roads and make them cycle-friendly and promote cycling. It was done as part of the Cycles4Change Challenge, an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to inspire and support Indian cities to quickly implement cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19. A total of 1968 participants took part in the survey. Here are the results: Interestingly, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police Police (GCTP) experimented with a Dedicated Bicycle Lane (DBL) on Kamarajar…

The Technical Advisory Committee of the Government of Karnataka gave clarifications on the use of masks, on October 27. Following is a press release from the BBMP based on this. Use of masks in public places Whether a person driving alone in a four-wheeler with the window glasses closed should wear a mask?Answer: Wearing a mask is mandatory. (a) Whether an individual driving alone in a four-wheeler without any fellow traveller in the car should wear a mask If the window glasses are open and the car is parked near the traffic signal? (b) If he opens the window glasses…

2021 deadline for 100% waste segregation, collection The state government approved a new SWM (Solid Waste Management) policy and strategy, which sets 2021 as the deadline for segregation of waste at source and for 100% door-to-door collection, as well as laying out guidelines to protect the health and dignity of pourakarmikas. The Karnataka State Urban SWM Policy-2020 lays out a road map for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), including BBMP, to implement time-bound measures. The burning of waste should be stopped by December 2021 and ULBs should ensure that less than 30% of their waste reaches landfills. ULBs should also ensure…

COVID-19: 32% developed antibodies, hospitals resume outpatient services On October 22nd, the city recorded 833 new COVID cases while 13 patients succumbed to the disease. The total number of active cases in Chennai stands at 11,107. The results of the second serological survey have been published. It revealed that of 6,389 samples tested, 2,062 (32%) were positive for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus. As the total number of cases is seeing a downward trend in the city, the number of containment zones has come down. There current number stood at 18 as on October 23rd. The city had…

COVID positivity rate drops even as cases surge COVID cases in the city have been shooting up at a very fast rate in the last two weeks. On three occasions, there were more than 5,000 cases per day. Despite the rising number of cases, most of the city’s eight zones have reported a drop in both positivity rate and fatality rate over the last four weeks, according to BBMP sources. Bommanahalli, Mahadevapura, Dasarahalli and Yelahanka zones have recorded a very sharp drop in positivity rates, some nearly dropping by half in four weeks. Only the East zone recorded a slight…

COVID-19: Salary delayed for survey workers, number of containment zones decreases Field survey workers on COVID duty have raised complaints of not having been paid for the past few months by the civic body. The workers, employed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), have been engaged in door-to-door surveillance and checking temperature and oxygen levels since the early days of the pandemic. A GCC official stated that they have employed two kinds of workers -- sector health workers (appointed by the officials at zone level) and volunteers (by NGOs). The official stated that the sector health workers have been paid…

Hyderabad floods: 50 dead; damages worth thousands of crores As the account of horrifying stories were circulated across social media, the death toll reached 50, following the heavy downpour which started on 13th October in Hyderabad. Relief operations were initialized across the city and some other parts in Telangana. More than 60 relief camps have been set up in the city. The government also said that about 1.5 lakh food packets have been distributed to people so far. The government is also utilizing the Annapurna Subsidized Canteen services for people stuck in inundated areas. The Chief Minister has written to PM requesting sanction…

The Patchai Maadi project, an initiative of the Chennai Resilience Centre (CRC) and supported by The Adrienne Arsht Rockefeller Resilience Centre (AARFRC), is part of a three-pronged strategy to improve the green cover of Chennai and encourage urban horticulture. The Patchai Maadi project envisions a garden over every rooftop in Chennai. The project aims to rope in RWAs and schools and other institutions to create urban gardens that can thrive in the right conditions. The vision is to reach six lakh households by 2030.  To this end, the CRC called for citizens to pitch in with ideas on how the…

COVID-19: Second serosurvey begins; fever camps near workplaces The second seroprevalence survey in Chennai to assess the extent of spread of COVID-19 will be carried out over the next 68 days by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The survey will take place in random streets across slums in the city. The first serosurvey, which was done three months ago, revealed that one in five residents of Chennai had contracted the novel coronavirus.  Senior authorities at GCC stated that the number of people visiting the fever camps is down to 51 persons from the daily count of between 70-80 personsduring the…