177 Army, CAPF men killed, Rajya Sabha told

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed over a thousand militant attacks on army and Central Armed Police Forces in last years’ since 2019 in J&K and 177 personnel were killed, government informed parliament on Monday.

Replying to a question by parliamentarian Anand Sharma in the Rajya Sabha, presently in winter session, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that 594 militant attacks were recorded in 2019, 244 in 2020 and 195 as on Mid November.

He said that while 80 security forces personnel include CAPF were killed in 2019, 62 in 2020 and 35 till 15 November 2021.

The MoS Ajay Bhatt also informed that 137 soldiers, 49 air force and four navy personnel lost life due to Covid-19.

Responding to separate question by parliamentarian Dr. Santanu Sen regarding the details of the total number of defence personnel, their family members and civilian staff who got COVID-19 positive since its outbreak and those who lost their life due to virus, the minister said that 1311 family members of serving army personnel and 276 defence civilian staff died due to covid-19. He said 114 family members of serving Air Force and 41 defence civilian staff of Air Force besides 66 family members of serving navy personnel and 96 family members of defence civilian staff died due to the pathogen.

He said as per extant Rules, no special compensation for deaths occurring due to infectious disease is provided to Armed Forces personnel by the Ministry of Defence, while they are in service. However, all such cases of death while in service are provided terminal benefits, he said as per the reply.

In addition, he said, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued guidelines on the 11th September, 2021 for grant of the ex-gratia assistance of Rs. 50,000 (Rupees fifty thousand only) per deceased person, including those involved in the relief operations or associated in the preparedness activities, subject to cause of death being certified as COVID-19, as per the ‘Guidelines for Official Document for COVID19 Death’ jointly issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Indian Council of Medical Research on the 3rd September, 2021. (GNS)

Reviews public health response, stresses adherence to laid down guidelines

Jammu: Chief Secretary, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta Monday chaired a meeting of the COVID Task Force to review the public health response to COVID-19 and asked the divisional and district administrations to ensure universal testing of all foreign travelers to Jammu and Kashmir in the light of the emergence of new COVID variant Omicron.

Administrative Secretaries of Finance, Health & Medical Education, Home, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, besides Divisional Commissioners Kashmir/ Jammu, Deputy Commissioner of Anantnag, Srinagar, Kathua, Jammu, Udhampur, Reasi and Budgam, along with MD, National Health Mission, Director, Family Welfare, and other concerned officers participated in the meeting.

It was informed that the Central Government has issued guidelines for detecting cases of COVID variant Omicron from countries declared at risk.

The Chief Secretary underscored the need to adhere to the laid down guidelines and test all the incoming foreign travellers through international flights. As per the guidelines, the negative travellers will be sent for home quarantine of 7 days and re-tested on the 8th day, whereas, the COVID positive patients will be sent to institutional quarantine centres for 15 days and their samples will be sent for genome sequencing at ICMR designated testing laboratories.

It was emphasized that de-boarding from international flights must comply with the COVID appropriate behaviour (CAB) and set protocols and a special COVID helpdesk is forthwith established at the Srinagar airport. Besides, Secretary, Disaster Management was asked to monitor the situation and submit a daily report for timely intervention of the concerned agency.

The Chief Secretary impressed upon the Health Department to establish genome sequencing facilities at Government Medical Colleges, Srinagar and Jammu to fast-track the detection of Omicron variant and other mutations.

Moreover, district administrations of Budgam and Srinagar were asked to establish government quarantine centres and further explore arrangements for paid quarantine facilities for institutional quarantine to deal with any emergent situation.

The Health and Medical Education Department was asked to conduct equipment audit to establish functionality of COVID related infrastructure including COVID dedicated hospitals, ventilators, Oxygen supported beds, and Oxygen plants. The Department was directed to ensure readiness of manpower and machinery to cater to a peak caseload of at least 7500 patients per day and firm up the inventory of oxygen supply and medicines.

Further, the Chief Secretary directed the Deputy Commissioners to enhance testing rate and contact tracing for positive patients to trace infection trajectory and establish micro-containment zones at an early stage. Additionally, the Deputy Commissioners were directed to reduce the daily reported cases through strict enforcement of CAB, COVID SOPs and protocols, and micro-containment zones.

Geneva: Even as the world is entering a third year into the Covid-19 pandemic, the infectious disease that claimed the lives of more than 5 million people so far is far from over, the WHO said on Monday.

At the Special Session of the World Health Assembly, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the world remains in the grip of “the most acute health crisis in a century” even though it can be prevented, detected, and treated.

“The emergence of the highly-mutated Omicron variant underlines just how perilous and precarious our situation is.

“We shouldn’t need another wake-up call; we should all be wide awake to the threat of this virus.

“But Omicron’s very emergence is another reminder that although many of us might think we are done with Covid-19, it is not done with us,” Ghebreyesus said.

He further pushed the need for a global treaty on pandemics to help countries prevent and fight future pandemics.

“Our current system disincentivises countries from alerting others to threats that will inevitably land on their shores.

“Indeed, Omicron demonstrates just why the world needs a new accord on pandemics,” Ghebreyesus said.

He said that Covid exposed and exacerbated fundamental weaknesses in the global architecture for pandemic preparedness and response.

These include complex and fragmented governance, inadequate financing, and insufficient systems and tools.

The best way to address future pandemics would be “a legally binding agreement between nations; an accord forged from the recognition that we have no future but a common future”.

It will enable nations to come together and find common ground to make sustainable progress against common threats.

According to Ghebreyesus, the pandemic cannot end unless the vaccine crisis is solved.

More than 80 per cent of the world’s vaccines have gone to G20 countries, and low-income countries, most of them in Africa, have received just 0.6 per cent of all vaccines.

The WHO chief also called on its Member countries to support the targets to vaccinate 40 per cent of the population of every country by the end of this year, and 70 per cent by the middle of next year.

“The longer vaccine inequity persists, the more opportunity this virus has to spread and evolve in ways we cannot predict nor prevent,” Ghebreyesus said. (IANS)