Bihar to give job to one family member of those govt officials who died due to COVID

Railway has waived off charges for Covid testing and diet supplied during Covid related hospitalisation for non Railway patients. Railway Ministry said, government is following, whole of Government approach where all Ministries and Departments are working as one to prevent and fight the spread of COVID-19 pandemic infection.The Ministry said, Railway board has decided to waive off expenditure incurred on RTPCR and Rapid Antigen testing of Non Railway personnel. It has also waived off charges leviable for diet supplied during Covid related hospitalization. The Ministry said, Railways has been at the forefront of fighting the Covid and waiving off key medical charges is step towards making the health care accessible for all. The Centre has waived off import duty on vital diagnostic kits and reagents used in COVID-19 related diagnosis for the next six months.  The decision has been taken to supplement testing efforts.  The exemption has been given till the 31st of  October this year. 
-In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, all the twenty districts are under complete lockdown since Friday evening. The strict restrictions will continue till 7am on Monday. The vaccination drive for persons in the age group of 18 to 44 years has been deferred at least till the 15th of May.Financial Commissioner, Health & Medical Education Department Atal Dullo said that the drive would start soon after the vaccine supplies are received in the Union Territory. Meanwhile, 3,532 new COVID cases and 30 fatalities were reported in Jammu and Kashmir during the last 24 hours. Advisor to Lieutenant Governor Baseer Ahmad Khan while addressing a press conference in Srinagar said that there is no dearth of Oxygen, Covid Vaccines and Remdesivir in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the Union Territory is one of the best places which is effectively managing the prevailing unprecedented COVID scenario. He said that 20 Ton Oxygen is available at present which is quite sufficient to meet the demand.

-In Uttar Pradesh, the first phase of vaccination for the people in the age group of 18 to 44 will start today in seven districts that have more than 9,000 active COVID-19 cases. It will be extended to other cities later.  Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said, the COVID-19 vaccination drive will start in Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Meerut and Bareilly.The vaccination drive for people above 45 years age will continue as usual at 6000 vaccine centres across the state. Meanwhile the three-day  Corona curfew started in the state from last evening. It will continue till 7:00 a.m.  on Tuesday. 

-In Maharashtra, the vaccination drive for the persons in the age group of 18 to 44 years begins from Saturday. The drive coincides with the 61st Maharashtra Day which is being celebrated sans festivities. Virtually addressing the people of the state through various social media platforms on Friday  Chief Minister  Uddhav Thackeray said 12 crore vaccine doses will be needed to inoculate 6 crore people in this particular age group.

-The Bihar government has taken the decision to give a government job to one family member of those government officials who died due to COVID complications in the state. This decision was taken at the cabinet meeting which was chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. As per the decision, if the doctor or health worker dies due to Coronavirus infection picked up when on duty, the salaries due to him or her for the remaining period of his or her service will be paid to the surviving family in the form of special family pension.  In view of the spike in COVID cases, the state government has cancelled the leaves of all health officials till May 31.Meanwhile fresh Corona cases continue to rise rapidly. A record number of 15 thousand 853 fresh cases were reported in the state on Friday. This is the highest number of cases reported on a single day. 152 deaths were also reported. With this, casualties due to the pandemic has gone up to 2,560. The positivity rate has gone over 17 percent. Patna reported 2,844 positive cases, the maximum in the state,  followed by one thousand 203 in Gaya. The active cases have crossed 1,05,400. Over three lakh 62 thousand patients have recovered from the infection so far. 74 thousand 614 people took the vaccine yesterday. Over 71 lakh 53 thousand 900 people have been vaccinated in the state so far.