Health

New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) India on Friday said its Ambassador in Beijing has taken up with the Chinese Vice Foreign Minister the issue of 39 Indian sailors stranded on two cargo ships in Chinese waters and requested early approval for crew change for Indian crew members aboard the two vessels.

Citing coronavirus-related restrictions, Chinese authorities have not allowed the ships, MV Jag Anand and MV Anastasia, to either dock or go for a crew change for months.

Chandigarh, Jan 8 (PTI) The Punjab government on Friday banned the import of poultry birds from other states with immediate effect till January 15.

"The government of Punjab imposes complete ban on import of live birds, including poultry and unprocessed poultry meat, for any purpose into the state of Punjab," the order issued by the state Animal Husbandry Department stated.

The decision will be reviewed based on the evolving situation, it said.

Indore (MP), Jan 8 (PTI) Nearly 450 chickens were culled in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city in the last 24 hours to prevent the spread of bird flu, a civic official said on Friday evening.

The Madhya Pradesh government has already ordered closure of poultry shops in Neemuch and Indore districts for a week after bird flu infection was found in some chickens.

"Nearly 450 poultry birds were culled and buried as per guidelines. We have also shut chicken shops in the city," municipal health officer Uttam Yadav said.

Jaipur, Jan 9 (PTI) Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday asked people to be careful amid the outbreak of bird flu in several states of the country.

He said the state government is taking all necessary steps to check the spread of this flu.

Due to H5N1 and H5N8 viruses from migratory birds, bird flu is spreading in many states including Rajasthan, due to which birds are dying. Bird flu can spread from birds to humans, so we also need to be careful, Gehlot tweeted.

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged the Centre to extend the ban on flights between India and the UK till January 31 in view of the extremely serious COVID situation in that country.

The Centre has decided to lift the ban and start UK flights. In view of the extremely serious situation in UK, I would urge central government to extend the ban till January 31, Kejriwal said on Twitter.

05 Jan 2021; MEMO: Egypt's Health Minister Hala Zayed has admitted that there is an oxygen crisis in hospitals following a tsunami of criticism on social media after an entire ICU ward died due to lack of oxygen.

For the past several days footage of the ward at El Husseineya Central Hospital in Ash Sharqia province has circulated online.

Sydney, Jan 4 (PTI) The crowd limit for the third Test between India and Australia, beginning here from Thursday, has been reduced to 25 per cent of the SCG's seating capacity on advice of the New South Wales government after fresh COVID-19 cases were recorded in the city.

Approximately 9500 people would be allowed to watch the game with the series currently locked at 1-1 following India's remarkable comeback in Melbourne. The SCG has a seating capacity of about 38,000.

03 Jan 2021; AA: More than 800,000 people in Russia were vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, the country’s health minister said on Saturday.

Giving details about the Sputnik V vaccine in Tver province, Mikhail Murashko said mass vaccination continues in the country.

Underlining that Russia started vaccinating people aged over 60, he said that more than 1.5 million vaccines have been delivered to various parts of the country.

02 Jan 2021; MEMO: Students will return to schools in Kuwait after 65 per cent of the Kuwaiti population have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Al-Qabas newspaper revealed.

The Kuwaiti daily reported that it would not be obligatory for teachers to be vaccinated. However, they were included within the recommended categories to be vaccinated.

Sydney, Jan 3 (AP-PTI) More Australian states and territories are reimposing travel restrictions to prevent the coronavirus spreading from new outbreaks in New South Wales and Victoria states

The Australian Capital Territory has shut out non-residents who have been in the northern beaches of Sydney, where the outbreaks are most concentrated, Greater Sydney and other smaller centers, unless they have an exemption.