CURRENT AFFAIRS
09 May 2021
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Supreme Court forms National Task Force for transparent oxygen allocation.
The Supreme Court has constituted a 12-member National Task Force to streamline and ensure the effective and transparent allocation of liquid medical oxygen on a scientific, rational and equitable basis to States and Union Territories fighting Covid-19. The apex court had expressed its dissatisfaction at the Centre’s earlier oxygen-for-bed formula. This rough-and-ready arrangement, as the court put it, was based on calculating the allotment of oxygen based on the number of ICU/non-ICU beds. The court, however, said the formula did not take into consideration the fact that many Covid-19 patients in dire need of oxygen do not get beds or were confined to home care. A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in a 24-page order released on Saturday, said the formula should be scrapped and the problem of allocation of oxygen should be looked at afresh. A new mechanism devised more scientifically should take care of present requirement for oxygen as well as be flexible enough to accommodate unforeseen demands due to emergencies which may arise within the allocated territories. The court said setting up an expert body or task force drawn of renowned national experts with diverse experience in health institutions to function within the Central government apparatus would facilitate a public health response to the pandemic based on scientific and specialised domain knowledge. The court said the decision-makers should go beyond cobbling together ad-hoc solutions based on present problems. They have to prepare for the future. The task force’s work would provide the Centre with inputs and strategies. The Convenor of the National Task Force, who shall also be a member, will be the Cabinet Secretary to the Union Government. The Task Force is to start work immediately and have an initial life-span of six months. The court urged the Task Force to take up and determine the pressing issue of the modalities of oxygen within a week.
B) DCGI approves anti-COVID drug developed by DRDO for emergency use.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted permission for emergency use of anti-Covid-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL),Hyderabad. In a release issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Defence said that as per the order, emergency use of this drug as adjunct therapy in moderate to severe Covid-19 patients is permitted. It added that being a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in plenty in the country. The drug comes in powder form in sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water. It accumulates in the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production. Its selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique. Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence, noted the release. It further said that higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid-19 patients. The drug will be of immense benefit to people suffering from Covid-19, said the Ministry.
C) Positive test for Covid-19 not mandatory for admission, says Health Ministry.
Requirement of a positive test for the Covid-19 virus is not mandatory for admission to a Covid-19 health facility and no patient will be refused services on any count, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, announcing the revised national policy for admission to various categories of Covid-19 facilities. The patient-centric measure aims to ensure prompt, effective and comprehensive treatment of patients suffering from Covid-19, said the Ministry. The revised guidelines cover medications such as oxygen or essential drugs even if the patient belongs to a different city, added the release. The revised guidelines noted that no patient shall be refused admission on the ground that he/she was not able to produce a valid identity card establishing they belonged to the city where the hospital is located. Admissions to hospital must be based on need. It should be ensured that beds are not occupied by persons who do not need hospitalisation. Further, the discharge should be strictly in accordance with the revised discharge policy, added the Ministry. The Ministry has advised Chief Secretaries of States/Union Territories to issue necessary orders and circulars, incorporating the new directions within three days, which shall be enforced till replaced by an appropriate uniform policy. The Supreme Court has taken a humanitarian view of the four-lakh-plus prison population inside overcrowded jails even as the second wave of the pandemic continues its devastating run across the country. India has more than four lakh prison inmates. It is observed that some of the prisons in India are overburdened and are housing inmates beyond optimal capacity. The requirement of decongestion is a matter concerning the health and right to life of both the prison inmates and the police personnel working, the Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, and comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Surya Kant, stressed.
D) Tamil Nadu announces two-week complete lockdown from May 10.
The Tamil Nadu government on May 8 imposed a complete lockdown (with few relaxations) for two weeks across the State between 4 a.m. on May 10 and 4 a.m on May 24 to combat the spread of Covid-19. The State government said there would be no restrictions across the State between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. shops will function during this period on May 8 and 9 to allow the public to prepare ahead of the complete lockdown. Non air-conditioned provision and grocery stores and meat stalls can remain open till 12 noon and with 50% customers. Inter-district and intra-district vehicular movement (including public transport) will remain suspended during the lockdown, except for essential travel. Travel for weddings of close relatives, funerals, job interviews and hospitals would be allowed on production of relevant documents. In a statement, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said all shops, except provision and grocery stores and meat stalls, would remain closed.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Pakistan opposition leader stopped from flying abroad.
Pakistan’s ailing opposition leader, who has been charged with corruption, was turned back on Saturday at the international airport in Lahore and prevented from leaving the country, his party spokesperson said. Shahbaz Sharif, head of the opposition bloc in the lower house of Parliament and the Pakistan Muslim League party, was not allowed to board a Qatar Airways flight to London, said Maryam Aurangzeb, the party spokeswoman. She said immigration officials at the airport said Mr. Sharif’s name was still on Shahbaz Sharif the black list so he could not leave. On Friday, the Lahore High Court ruled that Sharif could leave Pakistan and stay abroad for treatment till early July. The court had acted on a petition from Mr. Sharif, who pleaded that as a cancer survivor he now needed treatment outside of the court order drew criticism from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government, which said it would explore legal options to stop Sharif from leaving. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the government had not received any application from Sharif or his party asking that he be taken off the black list. Mr. Sharif faces corruption charges in three separate court cases. He leads his brother’s Pakistan’s Muslim League party after Nawaz Sharif, a three-time PM, was disqualified from office.
B) Scotland’s pro-independence governing party close to a majority.
Scotland’s governing Scottish National Party was on course on Saturday to win its fourth straight parliamentary election and very close to securing a majority that would enable it to make a push for another referendum on independence from the U.K. With 60 constituencies counted, the SNP had won 51 of the 129 seats and was clearly on course to extend its dominance of Scottish politics. However, given Scotland’s electoral system, also allocates some seats by a form of proportional representation, the party may fall short of the 65 seats it would need in the Edinburgh-based Parliament to have a majority. In Wales, the concluded vote count showed the Labour Party doing better than expected in the parliamentary election as it extended its 22 years in control of the Welsh government. Ballots continue to be counted from local elections in England, which already have been particularly good for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party. But it’s the Scottish election that could have the biggest U.K.-wide implications by fast-tracking another referendum on Scotland’s future within the U.K. Were the SNP to win a majority, its leader, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, would argue that she has a man. date to call another referendum. Speaking after winning her seat in Glasgow on Friday, Ms. Sturgeon said her immediate priority would be to deal with the pandemic and then when the time is right to offer this country the choice of a better future. Scotland has been part of the U.K. since 1707 and the issue of Scottish independence appeared settled when Scottish voters rejected secession by in a 2014 referendum. But the U.K.-wide decision in 2016 to leave the European Union ran against the wishes of most Scots 62% voted in favor of staying within the bloc while most voters in England and Wales wanted to leave. That gave the Scottish nationalist cause fresh legs.
