JOIN USKarnataka reports a slight dip in cases, 267 new cases were reported today. Deputy Chief Minister speaks to Akram Mohammed about the state's preparedness to deal with the spike in cases.
The daily update with Suraksha Pinnu.
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Hello. This the daily Covid update from Deccan Herald. I’m Suraksha.
On the bulletin today:
Karnataka sees a slight dip in Covid-19 cases reported today…the number of active cases in India breaches the 1 lakh mark...and...Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan, joins us to tell us about the state’s preparedness to deal with the rise in cases going ahead.
But first, a look at the daily figures...
India currently has more than one lakh active Covid-19 cases, a half of the total cases reported since January this year. The death toll has climbed to just over 6000.
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India's drug regulator the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, has granted US pharma giant Gilead Sciences marketing authorisation for its anti-viral drug remdesivir for "restricted emergency use" on hospitalised COVID-19 patients in view of the crisis posed by the pandemic.
The drug has been allowed for restricted emergency use for treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalised with severe symptoms, subject to several safeguards
Gilead Sciences had on May 29 applied for marketing authorisation for remdesivir in India.
Meanwhile, the applications of two Indian pharmaceutical companies -- Cipla and Hetero Labs -- seeking permission to manufacture and sell remdesivir in India is still under consideration.
Gilead Sciences Inc has entered into non-exclusive licensing agreements with pharma firms, including three domestic majors Cipla, Jubilant Life Sciences and Hetero, for manufacture and distribution of remdesivir.
The Indian Council of Medical Research had earlier said anti-viral medication remdesivir, which was used during the Ebola outbreak, may inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 replication and research on its efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19 is a part of WHO's 'Solidarity Trial'.
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Meanwhile, the medical journal Lancet has begun probing the hydroxychloroquin study on the basis of which WHO stopped the HCQ trial. India had formally raised objections to the controversial study. The union Health Ministry continues to advise HCQ even though it has been stopped by the World Health Organisation
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Moving on to the numbers from Karnataka…
267 new cases were reported today, a slight dip from the 388 cases reported yesterday. Of these 249 have an inter-state travel history, those who have returned from Maharashtra itself account for 231 cases.
All the cases from Kalaburagi, Udupi, Raichur, Mandya, Yadagiri, Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga, Bagalkote, Bengaluru Rural and Dharwad are those who have come in to Karnataka from Maharashtra.
The other districts have reported cases from other states such as Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat. Apart from these, other cases are contacts of previously diagnosed patients, containment zones and 2 have presented with SARI.
An 80-year-old woman from Davangere passed away on May 29th, but her details were released today.
With this, Karnataka has recorded over 4000 cases of the novel coronavirus this year. The state currently has 2,494 active cases.
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Moving on, experts in the Covid-19 advisory committee to the government are of the opinion that institutional quarantine is not a good idea, and that healthy individuals will be infected by infected individuals at quarantine centres. Compared to this, the xperts feel that home quarantine is a better option.
A decision in this regard will be taken in a meeting by the members of the technical committee and in a day or two, a government order will be issued giving powers to the respective districts to determine institutional quarantine period length on their own depending on influx of travellers.
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Even as the number of cases reported in Karnataka continue to rise, the state has been among the most vociferous in demanding the lifting of the Lockdown restrictions.
Earlier today, my colleague Akram Mohammed spoke to the Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan to understand the preparedness of the state in the event that there is a spike in cases after restrictions have been eased.
The deputy chief minister also answered a wide range of questions, especially addressing concerns that many students had regarding their upcoming examinations on the live session earlier today on Deccan Herald’s Facebook page. Don’t forget to catch the special interaction on the DH facebook handle.
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That's all from us today. For the latest updates, log on to deccanherald.com. Stay safe and we’ll see you tomorrow.