Bengal, K'taka among 9 states asked to ramp up COVID testing, strictly implement containment plan
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday advised nine states including Assam, Bihar, Telangana and Odisha to ramp up testing with special focus on containment zones, strictly implement containment plan, augment health infrastructure and ensure effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases.
As part of the coordinated strategy for effective containment and management of the COVID-19 pandemic, a high-level virtual review meeting was chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba with the chief secretaries and health secretaries of these states that are driving the present spurt of the active caseload in the country, the health ministry said.
The other states that participated in the virtual conference were Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
A graded, proactive, progressive and well coordinated strategy of COVID-19 management between the Centre and states and union territories has resulted in ever-increasing recoveries in the country, with progressively falling case fatality rate, the ministry said.
There are, however, some states which have in the recent past shown high rise in daily number of active cases and are emerging as concern areas from COVID management point of view, it underlined.
The cabinet secretary had a detailed review on the state-specific COVID response strategy with the health secretaries and other state officials as well as on the factors that were leading to rising case-load in these states in recent times.
In keeping with the 'Test Track Treat' strategy, the states were advised to ramp up the testing with a special focus on containment zones.
"Areas of concern with respect to low testing in certain states was highlighted. It was reiterated that sustained and aggressive testing is crucial for early identification of cases and to prevent spread of infection," the ministry said in a statement.
Gauba stressed the need for prompt and proper delineation of containment zones as per the guidelines of Ministry of Health, intensive contact tracing, and house-to-house active case search within the containment zones so as to effectively break the chain of transmission.
Buffer zones to be identified outside the containment zones and continued surveillance of SARI/ILI cases needs to be undertaken, the ministry said.
The states were advised to have a clear focus on health infrastructure availability including a requisite number of beds, oxygen, and ventilators with the implementation of clinical protocols ensuring the prescribed quality of care and seamless patient management.
"Effective ambulance management with zero refusal rate was also highlighted in the review meeting. Cabinet Secretary also emphasized the imperative of keeping the fatality rates low. For this, mapping of the high-risk populations must be done, particularly the elderly and aged people and those with co-morbidities. The attention of the states was drawn to the fact that early detection and timely clinical management is the key to contain the spread of COVID-19," the statement said.
According to the updated data at 8 am, Andhra Pradesh (72711 cases and 884 deaths), Bihar (31,980 cases and 217 deaths), Telangana (50,826 cases and 447 deaths), Odisha (21,099 cases and 114 deaths), West Bengal (51,757 cases and 1255 deaths), Assam (28,791 cases and 70 deaths), Karnataka (80,863 cases and 1,616 deaths), Jharkhand (6,975 cases and 67 deaths ) and Uttar Pradesh (58,104 cases and 1,289 deaths).
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
