China's daily Covid cases hit two-year high; reports nearly 2,000 new infections: NHC
Beijing, Mar 13: Coronavirus cases in China has hit two-year high as health officials have reported about 2,000 new infections in different parts of the country, including 20 in Beijing.
The Chinese mainland on Saturday reported 1,807 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 131 imported cases, China's National Health Commission said on Sunday.
Of the new local infections, 1,412 were reported in Jilin province, where China last Friday ordered a lockdown of the nine million residents of the provincial capital Changchun amid a new spike in COVID-19 cases in the area attributed to the highly contagious omicron variant.
Besides Changchun the latest lockdowns, also include Yucheng with 500,000 people in Shandong province.
The Commission reported that besides Jilin, 175 cases were reported in Shandong, 62 in Guangdong, 39 in Shaanxi, 33 in Hebei, 23 in Jiangsu, and 17 in Tianjin.
Beijing also reported 20 cases.
Meanwhile, the situation continue to deteriorate in Hong Kong where officials confirmed 27,647 new Covid-19 cases, including 11,858 positive, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Sunday.
The former British colony also reported COVID-related 87 deaths taking the overall toll to 3,729, the report said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
