Budget 2018-19

  Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not record a single fresh COVID-19 case in the last two days Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not record a single fresh COVID-19 case in the last two days, a health department official said on Thursday. The coronavirus tally in the Union Territory remained at 4,994, while 62 people have so far died due to the contagion, he said. “No fresh COVID-19 case was reported for the second day in a row on Wednesday,” the official said. Five people were cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,922, the official said. Altogether, 2,454 health workers have so far received the shots of COVID-19 vaccine in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Union Territory now has 10 active cases. The overall  COVID  19  situation is under control in the archipelago as the local administration has been strict to ensure that health safety protocols are followed to contain the spread of the disease, he said...

  33,000 passengers who arrived from the UK to India between November 25 to December 23 are being tracked and tested Six passengers who returned from the United Kingdom have tested positive for new variant of Covid-19 strain, the union health ministry said today. Last week, the ministry had ordered tracking and testing of over 33,000 persons who arrived from the UK between November 25 to December 23 as a part of its preventive strategy to contain the virus. About 114 returnees were found Covid-19 positve and their samples were sent to laboratories for genome sequencing. “All these persons ( with new variant of Covid-19) have been kept in single room isolation in designated health care facilities by respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on,” the ministry said. “The situation is under careful wa...

  India plans to immunise 200-250 million people–a sixth of its population–with 400-500 million Covid-19 vaccine shots by July 2021 Whenever a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, India potentially has two advantages: Indian companies already supply the bulk of vaccines to the world, and India already conducts one of the world’s largest immunisation programmes for children and mothers. India plans to immunise 200-250 million people–a sixth of its population–with 400-500 million COVID-19 vaccine shots by July 2021, the health minister announced on October 4. Vulnerable population groups including healthcare workers will be prioritised in the first round. Does India have a logistical advantage to manufacture and distribute enough vaccines to Indians? Is India’s existing mother and child vaccine programme a backbone strong enough to bear the weight of a mass COVID-19 vaccination effort? IndiaSpend unpacks the infrastructural and administrative issues that may arise for a COVID-19 vacci...