Month: January 2022

COVID-19 vaccination for the 15-18 age group began on Monday morning across the country.

CoWIN registration for the age group had already begun on Saturday. As many as 12,57,603 children in the 15-18 age group have registered so far on CoWIN platform to get vaccinated.

As per Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, the national capital has the capacity to vaccinate 3 lakh children falling in the age group of 15 to 18 years every day.

COVID vaccination centres in Delhi have been set up in government hospitals, dispensaries, polyclinics and schools run by the Delhi government and municipal corporations.

“I got my vaccination registration done online yesterday. Apart from the vaccination, we need to be extra careful and alert for our own safety,” said a teenager after getting vaccinated in Delhi’s Dr RML Hospital.

“Children are excited to take the vaccine. All the children are being kept in the observation room for 30 minutes,” said Jyoti Grewal, vaccinator at Rajkiya Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Laxmi Nagar.

Similarly, a vaccinator at a Government Model Senior Secondary School in Chandigarh said, “All arrangements are in place and dose supplies are adequate.”

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited one of the centres in Lucknow to lunch the vaccination drive and said, “There are 1.4 crore children in the age group of 15-18 in the state. 2,150 booths have been set up across the state to vaccinate the children.”

“We’ve made a micro plan as per which we’ll vaccinate 600 students above 15 years of age with COVAXIN,” says Dr Rajnikanth Contractor, Medical Officer-In-Charge of Chandlodiya Urban Health Center, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

The vaccination drive is also witnessing active participation in Jammu and Kashmir as students are visiting their schools turned into vaccination centres since morning.

PM Modi on December 25, 2021, had announced that the vaccination for the age-group 15-18 years is scheduled to begin from Monday while administration of precautionary third dose for the vulnerable categories is to commence from January 10, 2022.

In the context of the vaccination of the age group 15-18 years, the Union Health Secretary informed the States and UTs that only ‘Covaxin’ is to be administered in this population category and additional doses of ‘Covaxin’ will be sent to all states and UTs.

Those with the birth year of 2007 or before will be eligible for vaccination under this category. (ANI)

Divisional Commissioner Jammu Raghav Langer, probing Mata Vaishno Devi stampede incident that claimed the lives of 12 pilgrims on Saturday, has issued a public notice stating that those desiring to submit any evidence or facts may appear before the enquiry committee either online or in-person by January 5.

“It is for the information of the general public that any person who desires to furnish any facts, statements, electronic evidence etc. regarding the said incident; may share the same on the email id: divcomjmu-jk@nic.in or Whatsapp No: 09419202723 or Landline No: 0191-2478996 by or before 05-01-2022,” the notice stated.
“Any person who desires to meet in person, may appear before the said Enquiry Committee in person between 11:00 am to 01:00 pm on 05-01-2022 in the Office of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Rail Head Complex, Panama Chowk; to furnish any statements/ facts/ evidence,” it added.

A three-member panel has been set up by Jammu and Kashmir government to probe the stampede incident at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. The panel is required to give its report within a week, as per an official order.

Following the incident, the J-K government on Saturday ordered a high-level probe headed by Principal Secretary (Home) to investigate the incident in which 12 persons died and 16 others were injured. The probe team includes the Additional Director General of Police (Jammu) and Divisional Commissioner of Jammu.

“The committee shall submit its report within a week’s time to the Government. The committee shall examine in detail the causes/reasons behind the incident and point out the lapses and fix the responsibility thereof,” the official order said.

The committee has also been asked to suggest appropriate standard operating procedures and measures for preventing the recurrence of such incidents in the future.

The stampede took place at around 2:15 am near gate no. 3 at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan.

Police said that as per initial reports, an argument broke out which resulted in people pushing each other, followed by the stampede. (ANI)

Ahead of Punjab the Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public rally in Firozpur district on January 5. This will be the first rally of PM Modi in Punjab after the repeal of three farm laws.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to inaugurate a satellite center of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMR) in Punjab’s Firozpur. He is also likely to address a rally after the event.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is also likely to attend the event at PGIMR.

The political rally by PM Modi assumes much significance as he will be joined by former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

According to the sources, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal-SAD (Sanyukt) leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa will also take part in the rally.

Reacting to the proposed rally by PM Modi, Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha said, “BJP can hold as many meetings as they want but they would not be able to win even a single constituency.”

It is worth mentioning that the 23 old alliance between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal broke last year when the Shiromani Akali Dal quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the farm laws.

The Shiromani Akali Dal has stated that they will not let the Prime Minister hold any rallies until the demands of farmers are not fulfilled. Recently, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)’s former MLA Jagdeep Singh Nakai and close aide of Sukhbir Singh Badal joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) .

The three farm laws were repealed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 19. These bills were passed during the winter session of Parliament in 2020.

The farmers, who had been protesting on the borders of Delhi against the three laws for almost a year, have suspended their agitation on December 9 and returned to their homes.

The Assembly polls in Punjab will be held in 2022.

Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) and Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress has formed a six member-Committee to decide on seat sharing, informed Punjab BJP in charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured 3 seats. (ANI)

China welcomed the year 2022 with the worst tally of COVID-19 cases for any seven-day period since subduing the country’s first epidemic nearly two years ago.

The National Health Commission reported on Saturday 175 new community infections with confirmed clinical symptoms for December 31, bringing the total number of local symptomatic cases in mainland China in the past week to 1,151, reported Al Jazeera.
Despite an arsenal of some of the world’s toughest COVID-19 measures, a coronavirus surge was witnessed in Xi’an, a city of 13 million, reported Al Jazeera.

The city, under lockdown for 10 days as of Saturday, has reported 1,451 local symptomatic cases since December 9, the highest tally for any Chinese city in 2021.

The state-backed publication, China Daily, said that the capital of Shaanxi province, “is still facing a tough battle” against the outbreak and that there is no “turning point” yet in containing the spread of the virus, reported Al Jazeera.

Moreover, the outbreak in Xi’an is a major flare-up for China as in 2022 Beijing will be hosting the Winter Olympic Games in February, and the ruling Communist Party will hold a once every five years’ Congress, expected in the autumn, where President Xi Jinping will likely secure a third term as party secretary.

The emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant will also drive Beijing to get outbreaks under control resulting in tougher restrictions.

China’s tough epidemic policies have helped stop its sprawling industrial sector from sliding into prolonged shutdowns, reaping important export gains as other pillars of growth weakened.

But unpredictable disruptions have shaken consumer sentiment and hammered the catering, hospitality and tourism sectors, reported Al Jazeera. (ANI)

Actor Rakul Preet Singh dedicated her first Instagram post of 2022 to Lakshmi Manchu.

On Sunday, Rakul took to the photo-sharing application and shared an adorable picture with her ‘friend forever’ Lakshmi. In the image, the two can be seen sharing smiles with each other.

“To new beginnings with friends forever @lakshmimanchu #2022 here we come,” Rakul captioned the post.

On New Year’s Eve, Rakul wished everyone a “healthiest” and “happiest” 2022.

“Walking into 2022 with all things positive except Covid. Wishing you all the Healthiest, happiest year ..here is to all your dreams coming true ! Keep living and loving to the fullest anddddd have a fantastic new year,” she had posted.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Rakul will be seen in several projects this year. She has ‘Chhatriwali’, ‘Runway 34’, ‘Attack’, and ‘Doctor G’ in her kitty. (ANI)

Vietnam reported 16,948 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, including 16,914 locally transmitted and 34 imported, according to its ministry of health.

The Vietnamese capital Hanoi reported 2,045 cases, the highest in the country, followed by northern Hai Phong city with 1,804 cases and southern Vinh Long province with 1,280 cases.
The infections brought the country’s total tally to 1,763,040 with 32,831 deaths, said the ministry.

Meanwhile, 1,372,696 COVID-19 patients have recovered, up 14,420 from Saturday.

Some 152.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 69.1 million second shots and 6 million third shots, have been administered, the ministry said.

Vietnam has gone through four coronavirus waves of increasing scale, complication, and infectivity. (ANI/Xinhua)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday informed about his government’s preparedness amid the surging COVID-19 cases in the national capital and said that there are 37,000 oxygen beds available in the city with only 0.22 per cent of them occupied at present.

Addressing a press conference here, Kejriwal said, “Today we have the preparation of 37,000 beds. Only 82 oxygen beds are occupied in Delhi. Only 0.22 per cent of beds are occupied and 99.78 per cent of beds are unoccupied.”
The Chief Minister further urged the people not to panic as the cases being detected are mostly asymptomatic with lesser need of hospitalisation.

“On December 29, 262 beds were occupied in New Delhi’s hospital by the COVID patients. On January 1, 247 patients were admitted in total. It means the people who are getting infected with COVID, most of them are not having the need to be hospitalised. There are mild and asymptomatic cases,” he said.

“COVID-19 cases in Delhi is increasing at a fast pace. But there is no need to panic. On December 29, 923 cases were reported. 1,313 cases were detected on December 30, 1,796 cases on December 31, and 2,796 cases on January 1. Nearly 3,100 new cases are expected to be reported today. The active cases as of today stand at 6,360,” Kejriwal added.

Comparing the present scenario with the second wave last year, he said, “Today there are about 6300 active cases. There were about 6600 cases on 27 March. But then 1150 oxygen beds were occupied, whereas today only 82 beds are occupied. Then 145 ventilators were being used, today only 5 are being used. Then there were about 10 deaths every day, today there is one or no death reported in a day.”

Meanwhile, India reported 27,553 new COVID-19 cases and 284 deaths in the last 24 hours, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

According to the ministry, the number of Omicron infections stands at 1,525 and it has spread to 23 states. Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with 460 cases, followed by Delhi with 351. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.

As per an official statement issued by Prime Minister’s Office, the university is established at Salawa and Kaili villages of Sardhana town in Meerut at an estimated cost of about Rs 700 Crore.
One of the key areas of focus for the Prime Minister is inculcating sporting culture and establishing world-class sporting infrastructure in all parts of the country. The establishment of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University at Meerut will be a major step towards fulfilling this vision, PMO said.

The Sports University will be equipped with modern and state-of-the-art sports infrastructure including synthetic Hockey ground, Football ground, Basketball, Volleyball, Handball, Kabaddi ground, Lawn tennis court, Gymnasium hall, Synthetic running stadium, Swimming pool, Multipurpose hall, and a Cycling Velodrome.

It will also house facilities for Shooting, Squash, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, Archery, Canoeing, and Kayaking, among other facilities with the capacity of training 1080 sportspersons including 540 female and 540 male sportspersons.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi offered prayers at the Augurnath temple. He also paid floral tribute at Shahid Smarak.

He was joined by Uttar Pradesh’s Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Uttar Pradesh is slated to go to the Assembly polls early this year.

In the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 312 seats out of the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh Assembly while Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) won 19 and Congress could manage to win only seven seats.(ANI)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the national capital is expected to see 3,100 new Covid-19 cases during the day even as he urged people not to panic.

“COVID-19 cases in Delhi is increasing at a fast pace. But there is no need to panic. On December 29, 923 cases were reported. 1,313 cases were detected on December 30, 1,796 cases on December 31 and 2,796 cases on January 1. Nearly 3,100 new cases are expected to be reported today. The active cases as of today stand at 6,360,” he said in his address to media.
Comparing the present scenario with the second wave last year, he said, “Today there are about 6300 active cases. There were about 6600 cases on 27 March. But then 1150 oxygen beds were occupied, whereas today only 82 beds are occupied. Then 145 ventilators were being used, today only 5 are being used. Then there were about 10 deaths every day, today there is one or no death reported in a day.

The chief minister urged the Delhiites not to panic as the present COVID-19 cases in the national capital is “very mild” in comparison to the Delta variant during the second wave during April-May 2021.

Kejriwal appealed to people to stay responsible and follow COVID-appropriate norms. “There is no need to panic. Keep following COVID appropriate behaviour and be responsible. This COVID is very mild and the Delhi government is ready and stands with you,” the chief minister said.

“On December 29, 262 beds were occupied in New Delhi’s hospital by the COVID patients. On January 1, 247 patients were admitted in total. It means the people who are getting infected with COVID, most of them are not having the need to be hospitalised. There are mild and asymptomatic cases,” he added.

Presenting the statistics on the preparedness of the Delhi government, the Chief Minister said that there are 37,000 oxygen beds available in the city out of which only 82 oxygen beds have been occupied.

“Only 82 oxygen beds are occupied in Delhi. Today we have the preparation of 37,000 beds. Only 0.22 per cent of beds are occupied and 99.78 per cent of beds are unoccupied,” he said.

Further, talking about the trend in the number of rising COVID-19 cases in Delhi, Kejriwal said the cases might have increased three folds in the past three days, but the need for hospitalisation remains less.

Meanwhile, India reported 27,553 new COVID-19 cases and 284 deaths in the last 24 hours, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

According to the ministry, the number of Omicron infections stands at 1,525 and it has spread to 23 states. Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with 460 cases, followed by Delhi with 351. (ANI)