Civic

A harrowing tale from last year was my attempt to find shelter for a homeless, mentally ill man, Kumaresan, during the height of the pandemic. My many attempts finally secured a place for him at a shelter run by the NGO, The Banyan. Kumaresan’s story had a fruitful outcome, or so I thought, until recently.  After a few weeks had passed, some of my friends told me that Kumaresan had returned to Perambur and he could be seen on the streets again. As I had not personally come across him, I did not believe them and continued with my routine.…

Vaccination numbers continue to dip As states struggle with a shortage of vaccine supply, vaccination numbers across the country continue to drop and remained under 20 lakh for the sixth consecutive day this week. On 20th May, 92 districts reported zero vaccination. The Centre has once again reassured states that vaccine supply is being ramped up but will take some time before it becomes a smoother process. The government is expecting the drive to pick up from July, while the entire adult population, which would need 188 crore doses approximately, may be expected to be vaccinated only by the year-end. Delhi,…

Black Fungus declared as notifiable disease The state government announced that mucormycosis (also known as black fungus) infection as a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Act. The actual count of the disease reported in the state will be accounted for once the private hospitals notify the disease to the Director of Public Health. No deaths have been reported in the state as a result of black fungus. Seven patients have had their vision affected by the fungus. Six cases have been treated at the Government Ophthalmic Hospital, Egmore. Sankara Nethralaya, a Chennai-based hospital, has seen 13 cases of black fungus…

Maharashtra scraps 33% quota for promotions Tensions prevail in the alliance after the state government scrapped reservation in promotions to appease the Maratha community. This decision will result in 100% of promotions being decided solely on seniority. Head of Congress’s ST cell, Nitin Raut met CM Uddhav Thackeray to object to the decision. Sources predict that there could be agitations across the state to build pressure for the roll-back of this order. Source: Hindustan Times, Times of India MMRDA to begin trial run of Metro’s second line The second Metro line in the city which will connect Dahisar and Andheri…

Highest mortality among big cities Bengaluru recorded the highest 28-day COVID mortality with a Moving Growth Rate (MGR) of 82% during the lockdown from April 14 to May 12, according to a study by Jeevan Rakshe, conducted with technical support from the Public Health Foundation of India. The city accounted for 24% of the 17,000 deaths recorded in the six biggest Indian cities. Bengaluru was only behind Delhi, which recorded over 50% of the deaths. In terms of MGR, the national capital was second with 76%. Hence, the doubling period for death numbers is shorter than other mega cities. In…

Sputnik V gets launched in India, priced at Rs. 995 per dose As part of a limited pilot, Dr. Reddy’s lab has launched the Russian Sputnik V in India. The first shot of Sputnik V was administered in Hyderabad on 14th May. The company has also confirmed the price of one dose at Rs. 995 per dose. The first batch of the vaccine arrived in India on 1st May and got approval from India’s Central Drug Laboratory on 13th May.  Dr. Reddy’s is working closely with six manufacturing partners in India that will help in ramping up the production of…

With COVID second wave, there has been a lot of attention on how crematoriums in Bengaluru are being managed. According to a report in The News Minute, between April 18 and 22 alone, 860 bodies were cremated in six facilities in the city — Kudlu, MS Palya, Peenya, Sumanahalli, Kengeri and Panathur -- plus the Christian and Muslim burial grounds. However, BBMP has had to temporarily close a few crematoriums so as to repair damaged furnaces. Authorities have now been forced to restart the traditional open-air crematoriums to manage the increasing number of deaths.  The question one is left with…

Corporation's new strategy for COVID patients To curb the spread of COVID, the civic body has begun distributing basic medical kits for people undergoing RT-PCR tests. In the new approach that the corporation has taken, the test results would be communicated through the civic body medical teams who will make home visits to determine the course of treatment. The demand for oxygen beds has gone up in recent times in the city due to which the civic body has taken a decision to install oxygen concentrators at Covid Care Centres (CCC) to treat patients with mild symptoms. The number of…

Maharashtra extends lockdown The Maharashtra government has extended the lockdown in the state till 7 am of June 1. New curbs will be imposed on weddings and only 25 people will now be allowed to attend. Only in certain cases, like a funeral or medical emergencies, will people be allowed to travel between different cities or districts in the state. Under these orders, government offices except emergency services related to the pandemic, will open with only 15 percent attendance. Source: DNA India Read more: More people fall prey to online scams during the lockdown Mumbai sounds the alarm on COVID-19…

Cases cross one million On Thursday, the city crossed the one million mark in cumulative COVID-19 infections. About 25% of the cases were reported in the past 13 days alone, while 30% of the total deaths in Bengaluru were between May 1 and 13. The daily positivity rate stands at 27.6 %. Since the beginning of May, there were 2,153 deaths, compared to 1,907 in April. There are 300-plus deaths every day. However, as per projections, the number of cases will gradually decline by the end of May. Bengaluru Urban’s testing numbers too have declined since April 20. Official data…