US tops 500,000 virus deaths, matching the toll of 3 wars
Baltimore (US): The COVID-19 death toll in the US has topped 500,000, all but matching the number of Americans killed in World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined.
The lives lost, as recorded by Johns Hopkins University on Monday, are about equal to the population of Kansas City, Missouri, and greater than that of Miami; Raleigh, North Carolina; or Omaha, Nebraska.
And despite the rollout of vaccines since mid-December, a closely watched model from the University of Washington projects more than 589,000 dead by June 1.
The US toll is by far the highest reported in the world, accounting for 20 per cent of the nearly 2.5 million coronavirus deaths globally, though the true numbers are thought to be significantly greater, in part because of the many cases that were overlooked, especially early in the outbreak.
Average daily deaths and cases have plummeted in the past few weeks. Virus deaths have fallen from more than 4,000 reported on some days in January to an average of fewer than 1,900 per day. But experts warn that dangerous variants could cause the trend to reverse itself.
Some experts say not enough Americans have been inoculated yet for the vaccine to be making much of a difference.
Instead, the drop-off in deaths and cases has been attributed to the passing of the holidays; the cold and bleak days of midwinter, when many people are inclined to stay home; and better adherence to mask rules and social distancing.
The first known deaths from the virus in the US happened in early February 2020. It took four months to reach the first 100,000 dead. The toll hit 200,000 deaths in September and 300,000 in December. Then it took just over a month to go from 300,000 to 400,000 and another month to climb from 400,000 to 500,000.
The US recorded an estimated 405,000 deaths in World War II, 58,000 in the Vietnam War and 36,000 in the Korean War.
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Govt, private hospitals asked to maintain stocks of anti-rabies vaccine at all times
New Delhi (PTI): The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a public notice directing all government and private hospitals to maintain mandatory stocks of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) at all times.
The Commission referred to the November 7 Supreme Court order which issued stringent and time-bound directions to all states and Union Territories (UTs) and the central government to secure educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands/ depots and railway stations from stray dog ingress.
Major highlights of the order include identification and securing of premises of government and private educational institutions (schools, colleges, hostels), hospitals and medical facilities, sports complexes/ stadiums, bus stands/ lSBT (Inter-State Bus Terminal) and railway stations through fencing, boundary walls, gates and similar structural and administrative measures within eight weeks.
According to the order, each institution must designate a nodal officer responsible for cleanliness, prevent dog ingress, maintain liaison with municipal authorities, display the details of the nodal officer prominently and notify the municipal body.
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It also called for mandated quarterly inspections to ensure no dog habitats exist within or near these premises and to immediately remove any stray dog found inside the institution.
"All government and private hospitals must maintain mandatory stock of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and immunoglobulin (RIG) at all times," the public notice said.
"All medical colleges/ institutions are, therefore, requested to take necessary actions as per the directives of the Supreme Court," the notice stated.
The NMC also enclosed the letter sent by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava addressed to all secretaries of the government of India and all chief secretaries of states and UTs highlighting the court's order.
