Heena Sharma Blog

  The Maharashtra government has once again slashed the price of the RT-PCR test at Mumbai airport. In the beginning, the price was Rs 4,500. Then it was cut down to Rs 3,900. And now it is slashed to Rs 1,975, said a press release. Today the notification regarding the same will be issued and airport authorities will be informed. Before this, Mumbai airport had the highest RT-PCR rates and this was burning a hole in the wallets of the passengers. Especially those passengers who were from the same group or family. Meanwhile, Maharashtra reported 684 new Covid-19 cases, 686 recoveries, and 24 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the state health bulletin on Tuesday. 8 more patients were found infected with Omicron in the state on Tuesday. Out of these 7 are from Mumbai and one patient is from Vasai Virar. Read More

  Amid the scare from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said there is need to take a decision at the national level on whether a booster dose of the vaccine is required to curb the pandemic. Speaking after paying tribute to legendary social reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar here, he said information available showed that those who had taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had also got infected with the Omicron variant. Is booster dose required then? We have doses available today. There is a need to take a decision at the national level in this regard I think. There are different opinions about it. So, it should be told why it needs to be given or why it shouldn't. Only experts who have researched it (the infection) can talk about it," Pawar said. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the state administration are keeping a close tab on the current situation, the senior NCP leader said. Read More ...

  Thane has reported 205 new cases of coronavirus , raising the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 5,51,444, an official said on Wednesday. Besides these new cases recorded on Tuesday, the virus also claimed the lives of three more people, which pushed the death toll in the district to 11,289, he said. The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.04 per cent, he added. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,34,541, while the death toll has reached 3,293, another official said. Read More

  With the addition of 270 new cases of coronavirus , the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 5,45,549, an official said on Wednesday. Besides these new cases reported on Tuesday, the virus also claimed the lives of nine more people, which raised the death toll in the district to 11,056, he said. The COVID-19 mortality rate in the district stood at 2.02 per cent, he added. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,33,464, while the death toll has reached 3,206, another official said. Read More

  Thane has reported 229 new coronavirus cases , raising the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 5,45,280, an official said on Tuesday. These new cases were recorded on Monday, he said. The virus also claimed the lives of eight more people, which took the death toll in the district to 11,047, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.02 per cent. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,33,410, while the death toll has reached 3,203, another official said. Read More

  India recorded a single day rise of 3,998 coronavirus fatalities with Maharashtra carrying out its 14th Covid data reconciliation exercise, pushing the country's death toll to 4,18,480 while 42,015 new infections were reported, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. India's total tally of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 3,12,16,337. The ministry said that Maharashtra has carried out its 14th reconciliation exercise of Covid data in the state. As a result, the state's positive case tally has increased by 2,479 while the death tally has increased by 3,509. The active cases have increased to 4,07,170 and comprise 1.30 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.36 per cent,the data updated at 8 am showed. An increase of 1,040 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. As many as 18,52,140 tests were conducted on Tuesday taking the total cumulative test...

  The rush by India’s states to end lockdowns as new coronavirus infections drop , rather than waiting for vaccination rates to rise, risks triggering fresh restrictions and holding back the nation’s recovery, according to Oxford Economics. “States are easing lockdowns based on lower test positivity rates rather than vaccination progress,” Priyanka Kishore, head of India and South East Asia Economics at Oxford Economics, wrote in a report to clients. “This risky strategy increases the chances of renewed outbreaks that would further delay the recovery.” Provinces including national capital New Delhi have begun reopening amid signs of infections plateauing, causing mobility rates to improve as of mid-June. While that’s likely to foster return of some demand in the near-term, there’s the risk of consumption and business activity suffering going ahead should newer restrictions be placed to control a resurgent virus wave. Read More  

  Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has stayed the transfer of 100 MHADA flats here to the Tata Memorial Hospital for providing temporary accommodation to cancer patients undergoing treatment there. State Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad on Wednesday confirmed the decision. Shiv Sena MLA Ajay Chaudhary told reporters that the decision to stay the transfer order was taken after he complained to the CM about objections to it from local residents. Notably, Awhad had taken the decision to allot 100 flats in buildings of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to the hospital. The keys of the flats were handed over to the hospital authorities in May by NCP president Sharad Pawar, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in the state. Chaudhary, who is an MLA from Sewri in Mumbai, said over 1,000 families living in the vicinity objected to the disturbance created by outsiders arriving there on a temporary basis. Read More

  Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday took stock of the situation in Mumbai, Thane and other coastal districts of the state in the wake of the cyclonic storm Tauktae . According to an official statement, 12,420 people living in coastal stretches of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Raigad districts have been shifted to safer places. These include 8,380 people in Raigad, 3,896 in Ratnagiri and 144 in Sindhudurg. Thackeray reviewed the situation in Mumbai, Thane and neighbouring areas and instructed authorities to ensure that the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the region is not affected due to the cyclonic storm, the statement said. A red alert has been issued for Raigad district, while an orange alert has been issued for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar, it said. A red alert is sounded for rainfall of over 20 cm and an orange alert is for rain between 6 cm and 20 cm. Read More

  After the apex court has struck down the Maratha quota in excess of 50 per cent ceiling limit as unconstitutional, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said that he would send a formal request to the Center in this regard and if needed, he will take a delegation also for a follow-up on the same. "The Maratha community is very patiently waiting for steps from the Center. I will send a formal request to the Centre in this regard and if needed, I will take a delegation also for a follow-up on the same," Thackeray said. He also requested the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind after the Supreme Court struck down the law granting quota to Marathas. "Unfortunate that the Supreme Court rejected the law of reservation to the Maratha community in Maharashtra. We had unanimously passed a law for the sake of life with self-respect to our Maratha community. Now SC says that Maharashtra can not make law on this, onl...

  A quick intervention by staff saved the lives of 14 patients on oxygen support in the Parbhani district hospital in Maharashtra as the pipeline supplying the life-saving gas developed a leak after a branch of a tree fell on it, officials said on Wednesday. After noticing the leak on late Tuesday night, the staff of the hospital shifted the patients on jumbo oxygen cylinders for breathing, Deputy Collector Sanjay Kundetkar told PTI. "Around 11.30 pm, a branch of a tree fell on the pipeline which carries medical oxygen from the storage tank to the casualty and burns ward of the hospital, which caused leakage. The fault was detected and simultaneously 14 patients admitted in the casualty section were shifted on jumbo oxygen cylinders for breathing. The supply of oxygen was switched off for repairing the leak," he said. According to Kundetkar, the oxygen supply was interrupted for merely 2-3 minutes. He said technicians repaired the pipeline within two hours. "N...

  A train carrying three tankers loaded with liquid medical oxygen arrived at Kalamboli near Mumbai from Jamnagar in Gujarat on Monday, railway officials said. The train, carrying about 44 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen, nearly 15 tonnes in each tanker, reached Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai at around 11.30 am, covering a distance of about 860 km in over 17 hours, they said. This is the second ' Oxygen Express ' to arrive in Maharashtra, which is facing shortage of the liquid medical oxygen due to a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases . The first 'Oxygen Express' carrying seven tankers of the liquid medical oxygen reached the state from Visakhapatnam on April 23. Four of those tankers were offloaded at Nashik and three at Nagpur, considering the local need. Informing about the 'Oxygen Express' which arrived on Monday, Western Railway officials said the Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off) goods train carrying three tankers of the liquid medical oxygen on BWT wagons left from ...

  With new coronavirus -induced restrictions coming into force in Maharashtra from Thursday night, the state government said only government personnel and health workers will be allowed to travel by suburban trains in Mumbai. The fresh restrictions under the government's 'Break- the-Chain' programmer came into force at 8 pm on Thursday and will remain effective till 7 am on May 1. No one else even notified as essential services or under exemptions as per earlier government orders will be allowed to use local trains during this period, said a statement issued by the office of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray here. Government entities include civic bodies of Mumbai, Thane and other corporations, zilla parishads, government authorities, statutory commissions and agencies, the statement said. Accredited media personnel are prominent among those excluded from the use of suburban trains which are the lifeline of Mumbai and its satellite towns. Read More

  With stricter restrictions to check the COVID-19 spread coming into force in Maharashtra, the state police on Friday reintroduced the e-pass system for inter-state and inter-district travel in "extreme emergency" situations, a top police official said. Fresh restrictions on travel, attendance in offices and wedding functions announced by the Maharashtra government came into force on Thursday night. The state, which has facing an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases , was already under severe restrictions since April 14 and the fresh "lockdown- like" curbs were announced on Wednesday. Maharashtra DGP Sanjay Pandey said, "The e-pass system has been reintroduced from Friday and citizens should use it in case of absolute emergency." People have to apply onhttps://covid19.mhpolice.in/ and submit the necessary documents and mention the reason for their extreme emergency travel. "But those who do not have access to online e-pass system, can v...

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condoled the loss of lives in a blaze at a private hospital in Maharashtra's Palghar district and approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the victims. Thirteen COVID-19 patients died in the blaze at the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Virar, police said. There were 90 patients in the hospital, 18 of them in the ICU, when the fire broke out after a blast in the AC unit, an official said. The dead include five women and eight men. "The fire at a COVID-19 hospital in Virar is tragic. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," Modi was quoted as saying by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). "PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF (Prime Minister's National Relief Fund) for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the hospital fire in Virar, Maharashtra. Rs. 50,000 would be given to those ser...

  Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said the state is being allocated 26,000 Remdesivir injections per day by the Centre as against the requirement of 50,000 vials of the anti- COVID-19 drug . Talking to reporters here, Tope said he will write to the Centre to increase the allocation of Remdesivir to Maharashtra, the worst COVID-19-hit state in the country. "The state government's daily requirement is 50,000 Remdesivir injections, but the Centre's allocation is 26,000 injections per day. This is for the next 10 days, which is very serious as timely use of the injections to treat co- morbid and serious COVID-19 patients can save lives," he said. Remdesivir is listed for use in serious COVID-19 patients. In view of a sudden spike in demand of the drug due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Centre last week banned its export till the situation improves. "I will send a letter to the Union Health Ministry on Thursday to increase the alloca...

  The first ' Oxygen Express ' departed from Central Railway's Kalamboli yard on Monday evening to ferry liquid oxygen for Maharashtra from Vishakhapatnam steel plant in Andhra Pradesh amid the worsening COVID-19 situation . In a statement, the ministry of railways informed that the Mumbai Division built a ramp overnight within 24 hours at Kalamboli goods yard to facilitate loading/unloading of tankers in/from flat wagons. "The Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off) service with seven empty tankers departed from Kalamboli goods yard for Visakhapatnam steel plant siding at 8.05 pm on Monday." This train will move via Vasai Road, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Raipur Junction to Visakhapatnam steel plant siding in ECoR zone where it will be loaded with Liquid Medical Oxygen. On Sunday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, in an interview to ANI, had informed that the central government was creating a green corridor for fast movement of 'Oxygen Express' trains to facilities for the ...

  Train passengers from Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Delhi-NCR, Gujarat and Uttarakhand will now be required to produce a negative RT-PCR test report taken at most 48 hours before travelling to Maharashtra. The Maharashtra government has categorized these six states as 'places of sensitive origin' amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases . A new SOP has been put in place for travel in long-distance trains from these states to contain the spread of the coronavirus. "All passengers shall be compulsorily screened and only asymptomatic passengers shall be allowed to board the trains for Maharashtra. Social distancing should be ensured during boarding/deboarding and travel," Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte said in an order on Sunday. No unreserved ticket for Maharashtra should be issued on trains plying from these six states, the order stated. Read More

  The Shiv Sena on Monday slammed BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar for objecting to Mumbai police's grilling of a pharma firm's top executive over alleged stocking of Remdesivir vials , and wondered if there was a conspiracy to disturb the law and health order. An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' accused the BJP of having a clear agenda that the Maharashtra government should fail in handling the COVID-19 situation , and charged it with making persistent efforts in that direction with the help of the Centre. It said the Maharashtra government and the opposition should be unanimous at least on the issue of saving lives of people and no one should seek political mileage out of pyres of people dying for want of the drug, which is in high demand for treating COVID-19 patients. Mumbai police questioned a pharma company director on Saturday following information that thousands of vials of Remdesivir were to be flown out of the country, despite a...

  Half of the manufacturing units in Maharashtra could remain shut for the next fortnight as the state’s new Covid-19 norms come into effect. These include appliance and apparel makers, which fall in the non-essential category. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a 15-day statewide curfew and a host of other restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus.   According to the order, all factories producing essential goods and services will remain operational at full capacity. Export-oriented units will remain open to fulfil their export obligations. Industries that require continuous manufacturing, too, can operate with 50 per cent workforce. Relaxation has also been provided for factories that offer in-house accommodation. But, all other factories must stop their operations for the next 15 days. “Around 50 per cent of the manufacturing units in Maharashtra could remain shut because of the state government’s new restrictions. Industry should hav...