Testing for Covid-19 underway in Mumbai. (Express photo: Amit Chakravarty)
* Delhi Covid-19 situation: 75 doctors, 250 paramedics from paramilitary forces en route to Delhi
At least 75 doctors and 250 paramedics from the paramilitary forces are on their way from different parts of the country to serve the people of Delhi who are facing an increase in coronavirus cases and labor shortages. A day after the Union Minister of the Interior, Amit Shah, intervened to accelerate the fight against the pandemic in the national capital, several meetings were held on Monday in different wings of the government for the smooth implementation of its 11 directives. Seventy-five doctors and 250 paramedics will join Delhi health workers to handle Covid-19 patients as soon as possible, an official familiar with the development told PTI. The paramilitary forces’ doctors and paramedics come from as far away as Assam and Tamil Nadu, as well as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
* Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ enters phase 3 trials
Covaxin, which is being developed by Bharat Biotech, is now undergoing phase 3 trials, Krishna Ella, president and CEO of Bharat Biotech, said on Monday. Speaking virtually at a program hosted by the Indian Business School, Ella said the company was also working on another vaccine for Covid-19 that would be in the form of nasal drops and could be ready next year. “We partnered with ICMR for a Covid-19 vaccine … as we speak, it entered phase 3 trials,” he said, PTI reported.
* Almost 160 tons of biomedical waste generated during the Bihar elections
Nearly 160 tons of biomedical waste in the form of gloves, masks and empty disinfectant bottles used by election staff and voters were generated during the Bihar Assembly elections held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, electoral authorities said of the state. They relied on an inexpensive but effective technology used to track EVM to ensure that the waste made it to public health facilities for its journey to the incinerator.
To ensure the safety of voters, voting staff, and security personnel, the Election Commission had purchased 18 lakh of face shields, 70 lakh of face masks, 5.4 lakh of single-use rubber gloves for staff voting and security and 7.21 crore of single-use polyethylene gloves for voters to press the EVM button and sign the register at the voting stations.
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