Third wave of covid 'inevitable' in India but not clear when it will occur: Govt's scientific advisor

News Network
May 5, 2021

New Delhi, May 5: As India's Covid-19 crisis continues to crush the healthcare system, a top scientific adviser of the government on Wednesday said that the country may see a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic if the virus continues to evolve further.

The government official warned that the Covid-19 vaccines will need to be "updated" to deal with the new strains that have sped up the contagion in the country, overwhelming hospitals and killing thousands of people.

"A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of circulating virus but it is not clear on what time scale this phase three will occur. We should prepare for new waves," K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Centre, said today.

On variants of the coronavirus, he said, "Variants are transmitted same as original strain. It doesn't have the properties of new kinds of transmission. It infects humans in a manner that makes it more transmissible as it gains entry, makes more copies, and goes on, same as the original."

Around 2.4% day-on-day growth in coronavirus cases has been noticed as the country's caseload hit 2.06 crore with over 3.82 lakh new infections reported in a day.

Few states including Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Bihar, are showing an increasing trend in daily Covid-19 cases, the government said today.

An increase in deaths has been noticed too, the health official said, adding Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana reported more death cases.

Nearly 3,780 people died of Covid in India in the last 24 hours, the highest in a day so far, pushing the total fatalities to 2,26,188.

Meanwhile, in a weekly report, the WHO said India accounted for 46% of global cases and a quarter of global deaths reported in the past week.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 12,2024

Mal.jpg

Male, Mar 12: India has begun withdrawing military personnel operating surveillance aircraft in the Maldives after the new pro-China president ordered them to leave, local media reported Tuesday.

The Mihaaru newspaper reported that 25 Indian troops deployed in the southernmost atoll of Addu had left the archipelago ahead of March 10, the official start of the withdrawal agreed by both sides.

President Mohamed Muizzu came to power in September on a pledge to kick out Indian security personnel deployed in the Maldives to patrol its vast maritime border.

Following talks with New Delhi, the two sides had agreed to complete a withdrawal of 89 Indian troops and their support staff from the nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands by May 10.

Mihaaru said the three Indian aircraft -- two helicopters and one fixed-wing plane -- will be operated by Indian civilian staff, who have already arrived.

There was no official confirmation from either the Maldivian or Indian authorities, but Mihaaru said the Maldivian National Defence Force confirmed the Indian withdrawal had begun.

Last week, the Maldives signed a "military assistance" deal with China as the Indians prepared to leave.

The Maldivian defence ministry said the deal was to foster "stronger bilateral ties" and that China would train its staff under the pact.

India is suspicious of China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in the Maldives as well as in neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Both South Asian island nations are strategically placed halfway along key east-west international shipping routes.

Relations between Male and New Delhi have chilled since Muizzu won elections in September.

New Delhi considers the Indian Ocean archipelago to be within its sphere of influence, but the Maldives has shifted into the orbit of China -- its largest external creditor.

Muizzu, who visited Beijing in January where he signed a raft of infrastructure, energy, marine and agricultural deals, has previously denied seeking to redraw the regional balance by bringing in Chinese forces to replace Indian troops.

India last month said it was bolstering its naval forces on its "strategically important" Lakshadweep islands, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of the Maldives.

The Indian naval unit based on the island of Minicoy will boost "operational surveillance" of the area, the navy said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 11,2024

Cong.jpg

Bengaluru, Mar 11: Senior Congress leader and Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said there are discussions in the party about seven to eight state ministers contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka.

He added that the party will most likely finalise the candidates for the 28 Lok Sabha segments after gauging who among the current stable of ministers will agree to contest in the 'interest of the party'.

"There are discussions that seven to eight Ministers should contest, among the ministers. Whoever agrees in the interest of the party, they will be fielded. There may be some clarity on it after today's meeting (of the screening committee)," Parameshwara told reporters here.

Asked about Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa not willing to contest, he said, "He (Mahadevappa) is saying that he doesn't want to contest and the ticket be given to his son. Party will ultimately decide whether it will be Mahadevappa or his son or someone else. He cannot be pressured if he doesn't want to (contest)."

Efforts are on to pacify those upset or disgruntled about selection of candidates, to ensure that they work in the party's interest, he said, adding that 'such things are common during polls'.

Congress has announced candidates for seven seats of Karnataka in the first list. Interestingly, Congress' first list did not have names of any of the ministers and legislators, amid reports that they are reluctant to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

According to party sources, the Congress leadership has been making efforts to convince some ministers and lawmakers to contest, as they have faced problems in identifying winnable candidates in several segments.

The Ministers instead are said to be pushing for the candidature of their family members to 'ensure' the party's victory in their respective segments, and according to sources, the leadership seem to be worried about the message it may send out if their kin are fielded.

Meanwhile, state Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the party's screening committee will meet today evening to finalise the candidates.

"We are meeting in the evening, we don't have the rights to announce the candidate. We will send it to Delhi, the Central Election Committee will meet there and may accept or reject our recommendation. They may add names into the list on their own and announce," he said.

On some Ministers like Mahadevappa and K H Muniyappa not keen on contesting the polls, he said, "do you know about it? I don't know, haven't spoken to them."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 11,2024

ramadan.jpg

Muslims of Karnataka were waiting with bated breath for this moment! The glorious crescent of the moon has been seen in a few areas of the state, thereby signalling the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan!

According to reports, people in Karnataka’s Mysuru and Bagepalli region too witnessed the crescent moon on Monday night (March 11).

Confirming the report, state moon sighting committee member Maulana Maqsood Imran, said that all Qadhis in the state have unanimously declared the beginning of new month. 

In Mangaluru, S M Rasheed Haji, treasurer of Zeenath Bakhsh Central Juma Masjid, officially announced the beginning of the blessed month following the confirmation of moon sighting by local Qadhi Thwaka Ahmed Musliyar. 

Udupi Zilla Sunni Samyukta Jama’ath Qadhi Mani Ustad too confirmed the beginning of Ramadan following reports of moon sighting in nearby area.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.