Civic

Mega sports city to come up on East Coast Road A mega sports city spanning 500 acres is slated to come up on the outskirts of Chennai, along East Coast Road near Thiruvidanthai. The site encompasses 9 villages and will be located on either side of the Buckingham Canal.  The sports city will have facilities such as athletic tracks, indoor cycling velodrome, a hockey stadium, a multipurpose indoor stadium housing a boxing ring, basketball and volleyball courts. Tamil Nadu Sports Minister stated that the project has been planned after observing the construction of Pune’s Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex and…

In the first two waves of COVID-19 in Mumbai, the standard protocol to prevent the spread of the virus was stringent. Strict night curfews were implemented, public spaces were closed and buildings were sealed if five or more positive cases were found. This helped control the spread of what was deemed to be a more lethal variant of Coronavirus, Delta. But, citizens raised an objection to the rule of sealing buildings, claiming that it was impractical, inconvenient and didn’t do much to contain the infection. With the onset of the Omicron variant, the city witnessed a sudden surge in COVID-19…

Delhi and Mumbai see dip in daily cases On January 21st, Delhi and Mumbai logged 10,756 and 5,008 single-day cases respectively, with a reduced positivity rate of 18.04 per cent in Delhi. Mumbai logged a decline in cases for the third day in a row. Delhi recorded 38 deaths in the previous 24 hours, and Mumbai logged 12. In the light of decreasing case numbers, the Delhi government announced lifting of weekend curfew. However, the lieutenant governor vetoed the decision. The Union Health Ministry announced that institutional isolation would not be mandatory for international travellers arriving from at-risk countries starting January…

Weekend curfew lifted On Friday, after a two-hour meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the government decided to lift the stay-at-home order on weekends. The decision came as the government was under pressure from the public, trade and business establishments. However all other curbs such as night curfew and 50% occupancy in restaurants, have been retained. Schools and colleges in Bengaluru Urban district, where the positivity rate among children is high, will remain closed for Classes 10, 11 and 12 (pre-university). However, if the rate of hospitalisation in the State crosses 5%, the weekend curfew would be reimposed, said…

COVID cases show downward trend Chennai saw 7,038 new cases of COVID-19 as on January 21st. This is the fourth day in a row that the city has registered a decline in the number of cases. A total of 60,698 individuals are under treatment for COVID-19. The test positivity rate stood at 24% for the city.  The civic body had amped up screening following the spread of the omicron variant. A total of 200 teams are currently engaged in assessing the severity of the cases and recommending future course of action. Volunteers are also assisting those under home quarantine for their…

Mumbai schools reopening on January 24th Schools across Maharashtra are reopening on Monday, January 24th, after agreement from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. According to Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra School Education Minister, schools have been instructed to follow COVID-19 protocols strictly. "After COVID cases rose, the government decided not to continue with the school (offline) sessions. But after discussion with the experts, it has been decided to start the sessions where the number of cases is low based on the local COVID-19 situation," Ms Gaikwad said. Source: NDTV BMC finalises ward boundaries for 236 seats, elections to be held in March On…

New ICMR guidelines says no test needed for asymptomatic contacts According to new protocols announced on January 14th, the health ministry has said that asymptomatic contacts of those who test positive for COVID-19 need not get tested unless identified as “high-risk individuals” based on age or co-morbidities. Additionally, those who complete seven days of home isolation need not get re-tested if the fever does not persist beyond three days. Earlier this month, the Centre had reduced home isolation from 14 to 7 days for those categorised as 'mild' or 'asymptomatic' patients. However, for those above the age of 60 and/or…

Daily COVID cases cross 20,000 Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday said COVID cases have doubled in the state every three days during the third wave, much faster than the first two waves. The test positivity rate in Bengaluru has hit 20%. On Friday, the city recorded 20,121 cases and seven deaths. In the last 15 days alone, cases have increased by 32.65% in BBMP limits.  About one lakh tests are conducted every day in the city now. Experts and clinicians put forth the possibility of both Delta and Omicron co-circulating, which would mean that not all infections would be mild.…

Report pins household transmission as key spreader of COVID-19 In a report by the Greater Chennai Corporation done via contact tracing, it is shown that as of January 8th,  30% of the new COVID-19 cases in Chennai have been household contacts. According to Doctor C. Jagdeesh, while the spread of the disease inside households was observed in previous waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of the spread is much faster this time around.  In North Chennai, nearly half of the new cases were family contacts. Areas such as Thiruvika Nagar, Tondiarpet and Madhavaram showed especially high percentages of family…

Daily COVID-19 cases drop in Mumbai After January 12th, the city has seen a 17% drop in in its daily COVID-19 cases. The daily numbers in Mumbai have been a subject of debate, since doctors believe that the curve is flattening but authorities insist that the city is yet to experience the worst. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, said that the next three-to-four days will decide whether the third wave is indeed declining in Mumbai. Source: The Times of India Reporting home-test results for COVID-19 now mandatory Given the rise in home-testing in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has…