Health

Srinagar, Apr 27 (PTI) National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday -- 18 days after first testing positive for the virus.

Taking to Twitter, the former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir said he was lucky that he had no symptoms except for a blocked nose.

New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI) Another consignment of containers for the transportation of medical oxygen has arrived in India from Thailand, the Union Home Ministry said on Tuesday.

This is the third consignment of empty oxygen containers flown to the country in the Indian Air Force's (IAF) transport aircraft by the home ministry amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases and a subsequent increase in demand for medical oxygen.

Bengaluru, Apr 27 (PTI) Hours before the stringent lockdown to contain COVID-19 in Karnataka came into effect on Tuesday, people flocked to railway stations, central bus terminus and waited in serpentine queues at toll plazas on national highways to board vehicles to reach their homes.

There was a mad scramble at vegetable markets and grocery shops in all major cities to stock up on essentials.

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) The European Union on Sunday said it is pooling in resources to respond rapidly to help India's fight against the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic.

A senior official of the 27-nation powerful bloc said the European Union (EU) has already activated its Civil Protection Mechanism to mobilise support for India including supplying urgently needed oxygen and medicines.

Under the mechanism, the EU plays a central role in coordinating its responses to emergencies in Europe and beyond.

Lucknow, April 25 (PTI) To ensure availability of adequate doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has ordered 50 lakhs doses of Covishield and Covaxin each from manufacturing companies.

Covishield is manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech Limited.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, the UP government said that in pursuance with the Centre's order, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is planning to take the vaccine across the state in an organised manner.

New Delhi, Apr 26 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said all citizens should get COVID vaccines for free and the country should not be made a "victim of the BJP's system".

India's vaccination campaign is all set to get a major boost from May 1 when everyone above the age of 18 will be eligible for vaccine.

"Enough of discussion. All citizens of the country should get vaccine for free. Don't make India a victim of the BJP's system," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Bhopal, Apr 25 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh administration has dialled senior officials of the Uttar Pradesh government after a tanker carrying life-saving oxygen for hospitals in Sagar district was held up during transit through Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

A tanker from Bokaro in Jharkhand was on its way to Sagar, where the availability of medical oxygen was at a critical level, two officials with knowledge of the matter said.

The MP government had sourced oxygen from steel plants in Bokaro.

24 Apr 2021; MEMO: Iran said Saturday it will suspend flights to and from India to prevent the Indian variant of coronavirus from making inroads into the already stricken country, Anadolu Agency reports.

"Today we are facing the danger of a new virus, Indian virus," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in statements during a meeting of the anti-coronavirus taskforce in Tehran.

Hyderabad, Apr 24 (PTI): The Telangana government will administer COVID-19 vaccine free of cost to the entire population in the state irrespective of their age, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao announced on Saturday.

Rao said it would cost more than Rs 2,500 crore to vaccinate everyone, and taking into consideration the importance of lives of people, this amount is worth spending.

The CM issued instructions to the Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and officers of the Medical and Health department in this regard, an official release said.

New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) Former international umpire Suresh Kumar Thakur has died due to COVID-19-related complications, Hockey India said on Saturday.

He was 51 and passed away on Friday in Mohali.

Thakur had officiated in several international tournaments including the Four Nation Tournament in Hamburg (Germany) and the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

He also officiated in the Hockey India League in 2013 and 2014.