Three vaccine candidates in different stages of clinical trial: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan
New Delhi: The government is giving all necessary support for development of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus in the country and three vaccine candidates are in different phases of clinical trial, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Parliament on Sunday.
Replying to a discussion in Lok Sabha on the coronavirus pandemic, the Health Minister said there are 13,000 quarantine centres in the country with over 6 lakh beds.
"Yesterday (Saturday), we did 12 lakh tests in the country," Vardhan said. He noted that when the pandemic began, there were a few testing laboratories in the country but now India has the capacity to conduct 10 lakh tests a day.
"Three vaccine candidates are in different stages of clinical trial," Vardhan informed.
He said India had geared up to deal with the pandemic before the World Health Organization had cautioned the world about the novel coronavirus on January 30. He said the Centre had issued an advisory on it on January 17.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
