Elderly people affected with Covid 19 ended up being in a long Covid situation, where a person who has contracted COVID-19 is cured of the infection, but continues to experience its symptoms for weeks or even months.
Dr. Choudhary urged the elderly to not take long COVID-19 lightly and said one should reach out to a family physician or the nearest medical facility as they already have other problems, low immunity and even chronic diseases.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here . A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates :
TN announces opening of cinema halls with 50% capacity from August 23
In a GO on August 21, 2021, Tamil Nadu announced extended the lockdown till September 6, 2021 with further relaxations.
The GO stated that cinema halls will be allowed to open with 50% capacity. It also said that employees at the cinema halls should be vaccinated.
Other important announcements:
-- Schools allowed to open for Classes 9 to 12 from September 1
-- Decision would be taken to open classes 1 to 8 on September 15
-- Public to be allowed to visit beaches.
-- Public to be allowed with proper social distancing to zoos, parks, boat houses
-- Shops can remain open till 10 pm
-- Buses to Andhra and Karnataka will be allowed with proper social distancing
-- Creches are allowed to function
-- Swimming pools would be allowed to open only for sports personalities with 50% capacity
Rescued children send handmade 'rakhis', cards to doctors and nurses as mark of respect
Several rescued children, including those who have been orphaned due to COVID-19, have sent handmade ' rakhis ' and greetings cards to doctors and other healthcare workers at a few hospitals as a gesture to honour the 'corona warriors'.
Children from SOS Children's Villages of India, a pan-India NGO, at Greenfields, Faridabad, have sent handmade 'rakhis' and greetings cards to doctors, nurses and other staff of Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital in Saket and Max Hospital, Gurgaon, a spokesperson of the hospital group said on August 21, adding that a similar gesture has been made by children of the NGO for doctors and others at All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar too.
- PTI
Markets in Delhi to remain open beyond 8 p.m. from Aug. 23: Delhi govt
Markets in the national capital can stay open beyond 8 pm from August 23, with the Delhi government on Saturday announcing lifting of restrictions in view of a decline in COVID-19 cases in the city.
No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi on Saturday, the second consecutive day the daily fatality count stood nil, while 19 fresh cases were reported- PTI
Govt has taken "extreme care" regarding reopening schools: Karnataka CM
With schools in Karnataka reopening from August 23, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on August 21 said the government has taken "extreme care" to ensure classroom learning for students, while protecting them from the COVID pandemic.
The Karnataka government earlier this month had decided to reopen schools for students from class 9 to 12 (II PUC) across the state from August 23 in alternate batches. However, choosing to remain cautious, it subsequently decided not to reopen schools in districts where the COVID-19 positivity rate is over 2%.
The decision on resuming primary schools has been deferred till the last week of August to factor in the possible third wave of COVID and the way the infection is likely to spread.
- PTI
Panic buying in Vietnam's largest city before tighter COVID-19 lockdown
Vietnam's plan to prohibit residents of Ho Chi Minh City from leaving their homes from August 23 has triggered panic buying in the epicentre of its worst coronavirus outbreak.
The scramble for purchases is hurting efforts in the nation's largest city to contain the spiralling COVID-19 outbreak, said the official Vietnam News Agency.
Vietnam has recorded 323,000 coronavirus infections and 7,540 deaths, with Ho Chi Minh City accounting for more than half of the cases and 80% of the fatalities, according to the health ministry.
- Reuters
Over 10K Covid vaccine doses given to Delhi prison inmates
A total of 10,885 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to the inmates of three jails in the national capital so far, the Delhi Prisons Department said on August 21.
As on August 19, 1,648 Tihar jail inmates aged above 45 and 5,750 below the age of 45 years were given COVID-19 vaccine. In Rohini jail, 172 inmates above 45 years and 600 below that age were administered the vaccine while in Mandoli jail, 483 inmates aged above 45 and 2,232 below it have been inoculated, according to the data.
The first COVID-19 case was reported in Rohini jail on May 13, 2020.
- PTI
Entire Guwahati population to be vaccinated by Aug 31: Health minister
The Assam government has set a target to vaccinate the entire population of Kamrup Metropolitan district, under which the state’s largest city Guwahati falls, by end of this month, Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta said on August 21.
The vaccination drive on a mission mode will be conducted at the polling booth level of the district, with field teams already starting work on collection of data on non-vaccinated people, he said. Sharing details of the intensified vaccination drive for the district, the minister said there are 1,204 polling booths in the district the voters’ list will serve as the basic document in reaching out to the people.
- PTI
Odisha’s COVID-19 tally crosses 10-lakh mark, death toll at 7,289
Odisha's COVID-19 caseload surpassed the 10-lakh mark on August 21 as 911 more people tested positive for the infection, while 66 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 7,289, a health department official said.
The fresh infections took the state's COVID tally to 10,00,084, he added. At least 116 new cases were found among people below 18 years of age, the official said.
The daily positivity rate stands at 1.27% as the fresh cases were detected from 71,264 sample tests, he said, adding that the infection ratio among children and adolescents was at 12.73%.
- PTI
Delhi
Delhi reports zero deaths, 57 fresh infections
The Capital recorded no deaths due to COVID-19, according to the health bulletin released on Friday. This is the eleventh time since the start of the second wave of the pandemic in Delhi that zero fatalities have been logged over a 24-hour period.
A total of 57 new cases were reported, taking the tally to 14,37,274 on Friday. As many as 73,718 tests were conducted over the past 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 0.08%. The death toll remains at 25,079. Over 14.11 lakh patients have recovered from the virus and there are 459 active cases in the city, up from 448 on Thursday.
Delhi reports zero deaths, 57 fresh infections
International
Sydney police crack down on planned anti-lockdown protest
More than 1,500 police were deployed to the streets of Sydney on Saturday, August 21, 2021, and rideshares and some public transport routes to the city's downtown were blocked to prevent a planned anti-lockdown protest.
"Public safety is our first priority and you will be fined or arrested if you turn up," the New South Wales police said in a statement on its Twitter account, adding that the protest was unauthorised and risked further spreading COVID-19.
Sydney police crack down on planned anti-lockdown protest
Maharashtra
Vaccine camp for hotel employees in Mumbai
Over 20,000 employees associated with hotel industry in Mumbai will be administered the Covid-19 vaccine through the Indian Hotel & Restaurant Association (AHAR), the apex body of the industry. The vaccination drive in association with SRCC Children’s Hospital kicked off on Friday.
Commenting on the drive, Shivanand Shetty, President, AHAR said, “With no income for months, the employees had to endure a lot during this lockdown and this is to enable them to get back to work in a secure way. We are thankful to those who got vaccinated, for extending their full co-operation, and request those who are yet to take their vaccine to come forward and make this drive a grand success.”
Vaccine camp for hotel employees in Mumbai
India records 34,457 fresh COVID-19 cases, 375 deaths
A single-day rise of 34,457COVID-19 cases pushed India's tally to 3,23,93,286 on August 21, while the number of active cases declined to 3,61,340, the lowest in 151 days, according to Union health ministry data.
The death toll climbed to4,33,964with 375 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.
The 3,61,340 active cases comprise 1.12 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March last year. The national COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.54 per cent, the highest since March last year, the ministry said.
India records 34,457 fresh COVID-19 cases, 375 deaths
Delhi
Panel on oxygen-scarcity deaths rejected by Centre again: Sisodia
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on August 20, locked horns with Raj Niwas and the Delhi BJP over oxygen-scarcity deaths in the national capital during the second wave of COVID-19.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Centre had yet again rejected the high-level committee of medical experts set up by the Delhi government to get to the bottom of the matter.
Panel on oxygen-scarcity deaths rejected by Centre again: Sisodia
Tamil Nadu
Government Railway Police launches major awareness campaign on COVID-19
The Government Railway Police(GRP) has launched COVID-19 awareness campaigns throughout the State. This campaign has been conducted as the number of passengers using trains and railway stations has been steadily increasing and continuous sensitising the passengers to the need to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, said the railway police officers.
Passengers will be sensitised to need for continuing vigil against spread of SARS CoV-2. Masks, juice packets, sanitisers and awareness pamphlets were distributed to the passengers and station users. The passengers were advised on aspects of proper conduct during rail travel, wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, practice of frequent hand sanitization and taking vaccination on schedule, to combat spread of COVID-19.
Government Railway Police launches major awareness campaign on COVID-19
Karnataka
Why Karnataka’s second wave is dragging on for long
Although the second wave of COVID-19 in Karnataka has had a rapid ascent and descent, the number of new cases has remained steady within 1,800 since the beginning of this month.
Public health experts, who said the second wave is not yet over and is dragging on for a longer period, attributed it to the spillover of cases from the border districts. The surge of cases in some neighbouring States, especially in Kerala, is a major factor that is adding to the high number of cases in the border districts.
In fact, over 55% of the new cases on August 20, are from the five border districts — Dakshina Kannada (341), Hassan (101), Udupi (76), Mysuru (87) and Kodagu (95). The trend has been similar since the beginning of this month.
Why Karnataka’s second wave is dragging on for long
Karnataka
‘Long COVID’ among challenges faced by elderly during pandemic
Doctors term ‘long COVID’ as a situation where a person who has contracted COVID-19 is cured of the infection, but continues to experience its symptoms for weeks or even months.
Speaking to The Hindu , Sweta Choudhary, head, medical products and services, Nightingales Home Health Services, said though COVID-19 affects all age groups, typically, most people have mild illness, some moderate, while a small percentage are critically ill.
“Generally, the symptoms resolve in three to six weeks. But some take months, which is called long COVID. They are not still infected, but experience distressing symptoms of the virus. Most common symptoms are fatigue, long-term weakness, joint pain, chest pain, lower grade cough, muscle weakness, brain fog, depression and anxiety, among others, she added.
‘Long COVID’ among challenges faced by elderly during pandemic
Karnataka
Compulsory COVID-19 test for residents in containment zones in Udupi
The Udupi district administration will henceforth consider all persons residing in containment zones as primary contacts and will subject them to undergo COVID-19 tests compulsorily, said Udupi Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha.
Criminal cases will be filed against those who will refuse to undergo the test. Cases under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, will also be filed against such persons, he said in a statement on Thursday. The measure is to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the district effectively.
Compulsory COVID-19 test for residents in containment zones in Udupi
