COVID-19 UPDATES AS ON 19.3.2021

 

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh exhibiting a steep rise in Daily New Cases

Center closely monitoring and actively engaging with States/UTs over the rising COVID19 cases in the country

Nearly 4 cr COVID19 vaccine doses administered

Posted On: 19 MAR 2021 11:11AM by PIB Delhi

 

Some States in the country are reporting a surge in the daily new COVID cases.  Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujaratand Chhattisgarh together account 80.63% of the daily new cases.

39,726 new daily cases were reported in last 24 hours.

Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 25,833, 65% of the daily cases. It is followed by Punjab with 2,369 while Kerala reported 1,899 new cases. 

Eight States, as under, are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases.

The Centre is actively engaging with all State and UT governments, especially those showing an upsurge in daily new cases and with a high caseload of active cases. The Union Government is regularly reviewing the status of COVID containment and public health measures with them.

States/UTs have been advised to improve testing in districts reporting reduction in testing and increase the overall share of RT-PCR tests (more than 70%), especially in districts dependent on high levels of antigen testing in line with the ‘Test Track & Treat’ strategy of the government. States/UTs are also advised to carry out an average close contact tracing of minimum of 20 persons per positive case (in the first 72 hours) along with isolation and early treatment of the serious cases as per clinical protocol. It is also advised to focus on surveillance and stringent containment of those areas in selected districts which are seeing cluster of cases and focus on clinical management in districts reporting higher deaths. It has been advised that the States and UTs should also follow up on sending samples for genome testing to track virus variants of concern. All States/UTs have been tagged to 10 national labs under the INSACOG consortium with National Centerfor Disease Control (NCDC) as the nodal institute. States/UTs have been asked to limit the gathering in public places along with promoting COVID-appropriate behaviour through communication and enforcement and accelerate vaccination for priority population groups in districts reporting higher cases. Accelerating the pace of vaccination has also been stressed upon.

Recently, the Centre had deputed high level Public Health teams to Maharashtra and Punjab to assist in COVID-19 control and containment measures in view of recent spike in cases in these States. The Central Government had earlier deputed high-level teams to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir to support them in their fight against the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.The reports of Central Teams are shared with the States for further follow up action. The follow up and compliance on part of states is monitored by the Union Ministry of Health.

India’s total Active Caseload stands at 2.71 lakh (2,71,282) today, 2.82% of the total positive cases in the country. A net incline of 18,918 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours.

Three States of Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab account for 76.48% of India’s total active cases.

Nearly 4cr (3,93,39,817) vaccine doses have been administered through 6,47,480 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.

These include 76,35,188 HCWs (1st dose),47,15,173 HCWs (2nd dose), 78,33,278 FLWs (1^st dose)and21,98,414 FLWs (2^nd Dose),27,79,998 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1^st Dose)and 1,41,77,766 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years.

 

HCWs		FLWs		45 to <60 years with Co-morbidities	Over 60 years	Total
1st Dose	2nd Dose	1st Dose	2nd Dose	1st Dose	1st Dose
76,35,188	47,15,173	78,33,278	21,98,414	27,79,998	1,41,77,766	3,93,39,817

 

As on Day-62 of the vaccination drive (18^th March, 2021), more than 22 Lakh (22,02,861) vaccine doses were given.  

Of these, 18,32,287 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 32,128 sessions for 1^st dose (HCWs and FLWs) and 3,70,574 HCWs and FLWs received the 2^nd dose of vaccine.

Date: 18th March, 2021
HCWs		FLWs		45to<60 years with Co-morbidities			Over 60years		Total Achievement
1stDose	2ndDose	1stDose	2nd Dose	1stDose	1stDose					1stDose				2ndDose
65,152	81,698	1,16,527	2,88,876	3,22,595	13,28,013					18,32,287				3,70,574

 

India’s cumulative recoveries stand at 1,10,83,679 today. The national Recovery Rate is 96.56%.

Sixteen States/UTs have not reported any COVID19 deaths in the last 24 hours. These are Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Meghalaya, D&D & D&N, Nagaland, Tripura, Ladakh (UT), Manipur, Mizoram, A&N Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.

                                                                                                                                               

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HFW/COVID States data/19^thMarch2021/1

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Augmentation of National Digital Health Mission

Posted On: 19 MAR 2021 2:57PM by PIB Delhi

 

On 15^th August 2020, Hon’ble Prime Minister announced the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) following which NDHM pilot was launched in the Union Territoriesof Chandigarh, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

The status of issuance of Health IDs under NDHM as on 15^th March 2021 is as under:

State/UT	No. of Health IDs issued
Andaman & Nicobar Islands	2,08,367
Lakshadweep	20,561
Ladakh	71,379
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu	91,130
Puducherry	4,52,909
Chandigarh	1,52,749
Total	9,97,095

 

Under NDHM scheme, the expenditure for implementation of NDHM in 6 UTs   has been borne by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and expenditure till date is Rs. 11.82 crore

National Health Authority (NHA) being NDHM implement agency has initiated awareness campaigns in healthcare facilities through IEC materials like posters and banners in the 6 UTs where NDHM pilot has been rolled out.

As part of outreach activities, multiple SMS campaigns have been launched and webinars with doctors have been organized to raise awareness and increase participation in NDHM.  Additionally, videos about NDHM have been uploaded on YouTube and Twitter.

NDHM has been rolled out in 6 UTs initially. The expansion of the same will be take up after evaluation of the outcome during Phase 1 of the project.

The financial support is being provided to all States/UTs under National Health Mission to strengthened the Health Infrastructure upto PHC/CHC level. To promote innovation, participation and built trust, NDHM Sandbox environment has been developed as a closed ecosystem and made live at https://ndhm.gov.in/ .

NDHM Sandbox is a framework that allows technologies or products to be tested in the contained environment in compliance with NDHM standards. This helps organizations, including private players, intending to be a part of National Digital Health Ecosystem to be a Health Information Provider or Health Information User.

The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme is implemented all over the country to strengthen Surveillance System for epidemic prone disease to detect and respond to disease outbreaks.

In the 2015, Joint Monitoring Mission was set up to review Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and to provide recommendation to improve and strengthen the IDSP system. 

Based on the mission recommendation, this ministry has developed a web-enabled near-real-time electronic information system to provide state-of-the-art single operating picture with geospatial information for surveillance of epidemic prone diseases.

The Government has launched Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) in 7 States in 2018 and currently, it is operational in 11 States. Action is being initiated for pan-India expansion of the revised surveillance platform for which the trainings are being conducted in all the states and UT’s.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Covid Vaccination Beneficiaries

Posted On: 19 MAR 2021 2:55PM by PIB Delhi

As per the recommendation of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC), the following categories are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination:  Health Care Workers, Front Line Workers, persons aged 60 years and above and persons between 45 to 59 years of age with specified comorbidities.

Registration for vaccination can be done through Co-WIN 2.0 portal/website or through AarogyaSetu app.

As per the guidance document on COWIN 2.0, any one of the following photo identity documents can be used by citizens for availing online registration: Aadhaar Card, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), Passport, Driving License, PAN Card, NPR smart card, Pension document with photograph.

Co-WIN 2.0 has the provision that allows beneficiaries to choose the COVID vaccination centre at the time of online registration.

As of 15^th March 2021, a total of 3.05 crore beneficiaries (Health Care Workers, Front Line Workers, persons aged 60 years or more and those between 45- 59 years with comorbidities) are registered on Co-WIN 2.0 portal.

List of 20 specified Comorbidities for determination of eligibility of citizens in age group of 45 to 59 years

 

SN	Criterion
1	Heart Failure with hospital admission in past one year
2	Post Cardiac Transplant/Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)
3	Significant Left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF <40%)
4	Moderate or Severe Valvular Heart Disease
5	Congenital heart disease with severe PAH or Idiopathic PAH
6	Coronary Artery Disease with past CABG/PTCA/MI AND Hypertension/Diabetes on treatment
7	AnginaAND Hypertension/Diabetes on treatment
8	CT/MRI documented stroke AND Hypertension/Diabetes on treatment
9	Pulmonary artery hypertension AND Hypertension/Diabetes on treatment
10	Diabetes (> 10 yearsORwith complications) AND Hypertension on treatment
11	Kidney/ Liver/ Hematopoietic stem cell transplant: Recipient/On wait-list
12	End Stage Kidney Disease on haemodialysis/ CAPD
13	Current prolonged use of oral corticosteroids/ immunosuppressant medications
14	Decompensated cirrhosis
15	Severe respiratory disease with hospitalizations in last two years/FEV1 <50%
16	Lymphoma/ Leukaemia/ Myeloma
17	Diagnosis of any solid cancer on or after 1st July 2020 ORcurrently on any cancer therapy
18	Sickle Cell Disease/ Bone marrow failure/ Aplastic Anemia/ Thalassemia Major
19	Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases/ HIV infection
20	Persons with disabilities due to Intellectual disabilities/ Muscular Dystrophy/ Acid attack with involvement of respiratory system/ Persons with disabilities having high support needs/ Multiple disabilities including deaf-blindness

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Mobile Medical Units Under NHM

Posted On: 19 MAR 2021 2:54PM by PIB Delhi

Under NHM, States/UTs have been given flexibility to deploy Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) to provide a range of health care services for the populations particularly living in remote, inaccessible, un-served and underserved areas, as per the needs identified by the respective States/UTs.

Public health and hospital is a State subject. Under the National Health Mission (NHM), Government of India provides financial and technical support to States/UTs to strengthen their healthcare systems, including support for Mobile Medical Unit (MMUs), based on the requirements posed by them in their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs), subject to availability of resources.

However, under NHM, as per norms, one MMU is supported per 10 lakh population subject to capping of 5 MMUs per district.  However, further relaxation of norms is available on a case-to-case basis and where patients served though existing MMUs exceed 60 patients per day per MMU in plain area and 30 patients per day per MMU in hilly areas.

Details of Mobile Medicals Units (Operational)

 under National Health Mission(NHM)

S.N	State/UTs	Mobile Medical Units (MMUs)
1	Bihar	0
2	Chhattisgarh	30
3	Himachal Pradesh	12
4	Jammu & Kashmir	10
5	Jharkhand	92
6	Madhya Pradesh	150
7	Orissa	9
8	Rajasthan	214
9	Uttar Pradesh	170
10	Uttarakhand	17
11	Arunachal Pradesh	16
12	Assam	130
13	Manipur	9
14	Meghalaya	4
15	Mizoram	9
16	Nagaland	11
17	Sikkim	0
18	Tripura	0
19	Andhra Pradesh	67
20	Goa	0
21	Gujarat	74
22	Haryana	12
23	Karnataka	70
24	Kerala	28
25	Maharashtra	50
26	Punjab	33
27	Tamil Nadu	415
28	Telangana	0
29	West Bengal	49
30	A&N Island	0
31	Chandigarh	0
32	D&N Haveli/Daman & Diu	3
33	Delhi	2
34	Ladakh	1
35	Lakshadweep	0
36	Puducherry	4
TOTAL		1691

           Source: NHM-MIS reports as on Dec 2020.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

World Leprosy Day

Posted On: 19 MAR 2021 2:53PM by PIB Delhi

 

In India, Anti Leprosy Day is observed on 30^th January every year, i.e., Mahatma Gandhiji's martyrdom day, as Gandhiji was deeply committed to the cause of leprosy. To commemorate the anti-leprosy day, Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaigns (SLAC) are being organized since 2017 in order to reduce stigma and discrimination against persons suffering from leprosy. During SLACs, nationwide Gram Sabhas in villages across the country are organised in cooperation and coordination with allied sectors of health department. Appropriate messages from District Magistrates and appeals from Gram SabhaPramukhs (Heads of Village councils) to reduce discrimination against persons affected with leprosy are read out; pledge is taken by all Gram Sabha members to reduce the burden of disease in the community, and felicitation of persons affected with leprosy is done. Village community is encouraged to participate in these meetings, and school children are encouraged to spread awareness about the disease through plays, posters etc.

In the year 2021 too, the States were requested to organise SLACs (Sparsh Leprosy Awareness Campaigns) on 30^th January. The focus of SLACs this year was to make the community aware about the importance of early detection of leprosy followed by complete treatment in order to prevent physical disabilities. SLACs were conducted this year starting from 30^th January to 13^th February 2021.

The following activities were performed by states/ UTs during SLACs:

1.       Appeals from Gram SabhaPramukh / Members of the Panchayati Raj Institutes / Medical officers were made to remove stigma and discrimination against persons affected with leprosy.

2.       Street plays were enacted by school children. Other cultural programs were held to disseminate educative messages about leprosy.

3.       Question Answer sessions were held involving Frequently Asked Questions.

4.       Banners and posters carrying important messages on leprosy were displayed at high visibility places to promote Information, Education and Communication (IEC) about the disease.

5.       Leprosy messages were also disseminated through Public Address Systems at some places.

6.       Three Short Films (TVCs) on leprosy, developed by Central Leprosy Division, were run through multimedia devices in meetings, and other relevant gatherings held during SLACs.

7.       A pledge was taken by community members not to discriminate against persons affected with leprosy.

8.       Disability Prevention and Medical Rehabilitation(DPMR) activities were conducted at many places, wherein leprosy affected persons were provided self-care kits, Microcellular rubber(MCR) footwear etc.

9.       Besides, in connection with the commemoration of world NTD (Neglected Tropical Diseases) Day, 2021, QutabMinar was illuminated as a part of global activity. Over 50 monuments across the world were illuminated on NTD day. Leprosy happens to be one of the NTDs in India. Banners related to leprosy were also displayed, along with other NTDs, at the illuminated QutabMinar.

Under National Leprosy Eradication Program (NLEP), India has achieved enormous success in leprosy control and elimination. Leprosy elimination, which means Prevalence Rate <1 case/ 10,000 population, was achieved at the National level in 2005. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is constantly taking steps to achieve elimination of Leprosy at the sub-national level, i.e. upto the district level. A consistent progress is being made in this regard as is evident from the table below:

Financial Year	No. of districts with prevalence less than 1
2016- 17	554
2017 - 18	572
2018 - 19	588
2019-20	610

 

Besides, other indicators related to leprosy are also showing consistent improvement as can be seen from the table below:

 

Financial Year	PR	Child Cases percentage	G2D%	G2D Per million
2014-15	0.69	9.04	4.61	4.48
2015-16	0.66	8.94	4.60	4.46
2016-17	0.66	8.69	3.82	3.89
2017-18	0.67	8.15	3.61	3.34
2018-19	0.62	7.67	3.05	2.65
2019-20	0.57	6.87	2.41	1.96

 

It’s important to mention that leprosy has a long incubation period, and, therefore, leprosy eradication becomes a long drawn process. However, all efforts are being made under NLEP to make India leprosy free.

All aids and appliances including MCR footwear, and DPMR services are provided free of cost to all needy persons affected by leprosy.

The treatment for uncomplicated leprosy patients is available up to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) level. The entire treatment for leprosy patients is provided free of cost across the board under NLEP at all Government Healthcare Facilities The complicated cases are treated in District Hospitals and Tertiary care hospitals free of cost. Medical services for leprosy are integrated with other general health services, as there should not be any discrimination attached against patients suffering from leprosy. DPMR services including Reconstructive Surgeries (RCS) are also provided free of cost under NLEP. One time welfare allowance of Rs 8000/- is also paid under NLEP to each person undergoing RCS.

Government of Indiahas committed to achieve target of Leprosy Free India. In order to achieve this target, Government has launched several initiatives, such as; (i) Active Case Detection and Regular Surveillance, both in rural and urban areas in order to ensure detection of leprosy cases on regular basis and at early stage in order to prevent grade II disabilities (ii) Convergence of leprosy screening under RashtriyaBalSwasthyaKaryakram (RBSK) and Rashtriya Kishore SwasthyaKaryakram (RKSK) for screening of children (0-18 years) and under comprehensive Primary Health Care Package under Ayushman Bharat for screening of people above 30 years of age. In addition, various services are being provided under the programme for Disability Prevention and Medical Rehabilitation (DPMR) i.e., reaction management, provision of MCR footwear, Aids & Appliances, referral services for management of cases and Reconstructive surgery at District Hospitals and Medical Colleges/Central leprosy Institutes. Ultimately, it is the early case detection followed by complete treatment that will lead the country towards leprosy free status.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Upgradation of Government Medical College

Posted On: 19 MAR 2021 2:52PM by PIB Delhi

13 Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) have been approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on 03.08.2016 for the upgradation under Phase-IV of PradhanMantriSwasthyaSurakshaYojana (PMSSY).

The cost approved for each GMC is Rs. 200 crore with Central share of Rs. 120 crore and State share of Rs. 80 crore. The Ministry, while finalizing the up-gradation projects, gives priority to the States generally considered “backward” with respect to the broad socio-economic indicators. As upgradation projects are jointly funded, commitment of the State Government in terms of providing state share of funds, encumbrance free land, water & power supply and statutory clearances is also essential.

 

List of Government Medical Colleges approved under Phase-IV of PMSSY

S.No.	State	Sl. No. of College	Government Medical Colleges/Institutes
1	Bihar	1	Patna Medical College and Hospital, Patna
		2	Government Medical College, Bhagalpur
		3	Government Medical College, Gaya
2	Chhattisgarh	4	Government Medical College, Bilaspur
		5	Government Medical College, Jagdalpur
3	Delhi	6	University College of Medical Sciences  (UCMS)-Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital
4	Gujarat	7	Government Medical College, Surat
		8	Government Medical College, Bhavnagar
5	Madhya Pradesh	9	Government Medical College, Indore
6	Odisha	10	Government Medical College, Cuttack
7	Rajasthan	11	Government Medical College, Jaipur
8	Uttar Pradesh	12	Government Medical College,  Agra
		13	Government Medical College,  Kanpur

 

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh. Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.

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