COVID-19 UPDATES AS ON 15.10.2020

 

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

India sets unprecedented record, Doubling Time nearly 73 Days

Further slide in %Active Cases; now about 11% of Total Cases

Posted On: 15 OCT 2020 12:56PM by PIB Delhi

India is reporting a progressively high increase in the recoveries and a persistent decline in the percentage active cases. As a result, the doubling time of the infection has sharply improved. It is now almost 73 days (72.8 days). This indicates a substantial fall in the daily New Cases and the consequent increase in time taken to double the Total Cases.

India has come a long way from registering a doubling rate of 25.5 days in mid August to now registering a doubling rate of nearly 73 days. This is the result of collaborative action by States/UTs under the Centre's strategy of comprehensive and high countrywide testing, prompt and effective surveillance and tracking, quick hospitalization and effective adherence of the Standard Treatment Protocol issued by the Union Government. This is also the combined outcome of the selfless service and dedication of doctors, paramedics, frontline workers and all other COVID-19 warriors.

 

The countrywide growing awareness regarding adoption of COVID appropriate behaviour has aided in curbing spread of the infection and seeking timely treatment.

81,514 new recoveries were added in the last 24 hour. With this, the total number of recoveries are nearly 64 Lakh (63,83,441). Higher number of single day recoveries is also reflected in the continuous increase in the national recovery rate, which has crossed 87% and now is 87.36%.

10 States/UTs account for 79% of the new recovered cases. Maharashtra has contributed more than 19,000 to the single day recoveries followed by Karnataka with more than 8,000 recoveries.

Presently the active cases comprise 11.12% of the total positive cases of the country standing at 8,12,390. They have been below the 9 lakh mark for a week now.

67,708 new confirmed cases were registered in the last 24 hours in the country.

77% of new confirmed cases are from 10 States and UTs. Maharashtra has the highest number with  more than 10,000 cases followed by Karnataka with more than 9,000 cases.

 

680 case fatalities have been reported in the past 24 hours. These have been sustained below the 1000 mark since 12 days.

Of these, nearly 80% are concentrated in ten States/UTs.

More than 23% of new fatalities reported are from Maharashtra (158 deaths).

                                                                                                                                        

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MV/SJ

HFW/COVID Doubling Time/15thOctober2020/1

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Dr Harsh Vardhan chairs Inter-ministerial Meeting to boost ‘Whole of Government’ approach for FSSAI’s ‘Vision 2050’

Champions the approach of ‘Food Security to Nutrition Security’

‘Eat Right India’ and ‘Fit India' Movement will be the game changers, and show results in the next ten years: Dr Harsh Vardhan

“Eat Right India will mitigate the Health Burden from Food Borne diseases whose Economic Cost is estimated to be $15 bn per year for India”

Posted On: 15 OCT 2020 2:48PM by PIB Delhi

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare today presided over an inter-ministerial meet with FSSAI and senior officials of various ministries to build a ‘Whole of Government’ approach to achieve ‘Vision 2050’ of the eat Right India Movement.

The Union Minister took note of the fact the economic cost of food borne diseases in India is estimated to be a whooping $15 billion. While Wasting (21%), Underweighting (36%), Stunting (38%) are common among children, with 50% of women and children suffering from anaemia; prevalence of Obesity has doubled in the decade (2005-2015) from 9.3% to 18.6% among males and from 12.6% to 20.7% among females with a corresponding rise in deaths due to NCDs. Thus, to move from Food Security to Nutrition Security, these line ministries are expected to come together to form a common platform to determine common goals and strategy and synergize their actions accordingly.

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan taking note on the alarming statistics said, “‘Eat Right India’ and ‘Fit India’ Movement will prove to be game changers in the health sector of the country. The results will be visible for all of us in the coming ten years. A systems-based approach can ensure food safety along with their secure availability, promoting a healthy diet along with taking care of the environment through sustainable practices.”

Noting that 50% of India’s 1.3 billion does not meet the Recommended Dietary Allowance for critical micronutrients, he championed the move for an approach of ‘Food Security to Nutrition Security’, “The different Ministries can make critical interventions in primary production, food processing, their regulation with respect to wastage and issues of hygiene and end-consumption. Only then will ‘Eat Right India’ become a movement in its true sense.”

Representatives of various ministries presented their views and actions taken on the critical areas of convergence with the goals of the movement.

Sh. Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, Sh. Arun Singhal, CEO FSSAI, Sh. Ram Mohan Mishra, Secretary (Women & Child Development), Shri Atul Chaturvedi,        Secretary (Animal Husbandry & Dairying), Ms. Alka Bhargava, Addl. Secretary (Agriculture), Smt. Nidhi Khare, Addl. Secretary (Consumer Affairs), Dr. Sunil Kumar, DGHS and joint secretaries of the ministries of Food, Fisheries, MSME were also present in the event.   
 

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MV/SJ

HFW/HFM FSSAI Inter Ministerial Meet/15October2020/2

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Dr. Harsh Vardhan conveys Prime Minister's clarion call of building a Jan-Andolan against COVID to all the members of Indian Red Cross Society

Dr. Harsh Vardhan chairs Annual General Meeting of IRCS as it celebrates its Centenary Year of Foundation

Posted On: 15 OCT 2020 6:02PM by PIB Delhi

 

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in his capacity as Chairman joined the Annual General Meeting of Indian Red Cross Society and St. John’s Ambulance through video conference, today.

Thanking Hon’ble President of India and President of Indian Red Cross Society & St. John Ambulance (India) Sh. Ram Nath Kovind ji for his continued encouragement and support to IRCS, he noted, “This is for the first time that a meeting of this kind in IRCS has been organized virtually. However and as we all know, this is the ‘new normal’ of our life these days. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made us to function this way.”

Congratulating all members of IRCS as it completes its 100 years of existence saving innumerable lives and improving the quality of life of a large section of people, he brought attention of the members to the present pandemic which is in its tenth month currently. He continued, “Almost every country is trying its best to minimize this impact in its own way. In India, the central government got into action much earlier and since then has launched a slew of measures to minimize the overall impact of the pandemic.”

Thanking Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi ji for his courageous leadership and vision to steer the country through the COVID pandemic, he reminded everyone of the brave contributions of India’s Corona Warriors. “As our Hon’ble Prime Minister has mentioned, India’s COVID-19 fight is people driven and gets great strength from our COVID warriors. I take this opportunity to salute all the Corona Warriors of the country and in particular, their mothers and family members, who always encouraged them to contribute towards the success of the fight against COVID-19. Our collective efforts have helped save many lives. We will continue the momentum and protect our citizens from the virus,” he added.

He then proceeded to explain about the potent Social Vaccine that can stop the disease and which also forms the foundation of Jan Andolan against COVID, “Maintaining a distance of 6 feet, regular washing of hands and wearing of masks/face covers, especially in public places can save lives along with livelihood, which has been the ultimate goal of Government.”

Expressing satisfaction at the role IRCS has played through its blood centres and blood services, he said, “IRCS through its Blood Centres  has gone out of its way to ensure that there is no shortage of blood and blood products for people in need. Innovative ways of promotion of voluntary blood donation coupled with dedicated efforts of the staff, managers & volunteers have resulted into the 24x7 operations of blood services across the country.” He thanked the members for coming up with new ventures such as the Thalassemia centre and 24X7 Control room at the NHQ blood centre and the mobile app ‘E-blood services’ developed by Red Cross that allows a person in need to reserve blood units ahead of arrival with assured availability.

Noting that the Indian Red Cross and St. John Ambulance are the leading providers of community-based first aid, he also praised the organization’s response to the recent Amphan Cyclone in West Bengal and Orissa and the flooding in the states of Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, “The Indian Red Cross Society has been building its disaster preparedness and response capacity by training its volunteers, building its relief stocks, and implementing awareness and mitigation activities. The Social Emergency Response Volunteer (SERV) project has been scaled up to train local volunteers in first-aid and disaster management.”

The minister was apprised that relief materials are not only being stocked in the regional warehouses of National Headquarters but also in the warehouses of those states which are prone to flood and other disasters.

Sh. Bhagat Singh Koshiari, Governor, Maharashtra, Sh. Bandaru Dattatreya, Governor, Himachal Pradesh, Ms. Najma Heptullah, Governor, Manipur, Smt. Baby Rani Maurya, Governor, Uttarakhand were present in the event in their capacity as President of the Red Cross of their respective states.

Sh. Avinash Rai Khanna, Vice-Chairman, IRCS, Sh. R K Jain, Secretary General, IRCS & St. John Ambulance (India), Sh. Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary and other senior officials of IRCS were also present at the event.

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MV/SJ

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