28,941 samples tested on April 15, says ICMR; WHO lauds health ministry

ICMR has also issued a list of 176 government laboratories and 78 private laboratories for the coronavirus testing.

Continuing its fight against coronavirus, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said a total of 2,74,599 samples have been tested for Covid-19 detection so far, with 28,941 samples being tested on Wednesday.

The samples were taken from 2,58,730 individuals which is lower than the samples tested because many suspected patients were tested more than once, according to the statement released by ICMR.

On April 15, till 9 p.m., 28,941 samples have been reported, out of which 953 were found positive for Covid-19.

"At least 11,297 individuals have been confirmed positive among suspected cases and contacts of known positive cases in India," it said.

ICMR has also issued a list of 176 government laboratories and 78 private laboratories for the coronavirus testing.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: India cases at 12380; IMF and WHO back India's efforts

Delhi has 8 government labs, including AIIMS, Lady Hardinge Medical College, National Centre for Disease Control, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences, Army Hospital Research & Referral, Maulana Azad Medical College, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital.

Other than Delhi, there are 17 in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, 15 in Uttar Pradesh, 12 in Karnataka, 10 in Kerala, nine in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, eight in Rajasthan, seven in Andhra Pradesh, five in Assam and Bihar among others.

China virus death toll reaches 1,110; world warned of 'very grave threat'

Coronavirus is believed to have emerged last year in a market that sells wild animals in Hubei's capital Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak.

The number of fatalities from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped to 1,110 nationwide on Wednesday after hard-hit Hubei province reported 94 new deaths.

In its daily update, Hubei's health commission also confirmed another 1,638 new cases in the central province, where the outbreak emerged in December. There are now more than 44,200 confirmed cases across China, based on previously released figures from the government.

The new virus is believed to have emerged last year in a market that sells wild animals in Hubei's capital Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak. The virus was officially named "COVID-19" at a conference in Geneva held by the World Health Organization, where the body's chief said countries had a chance of stopping its global spread.

WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that although 99 percent of cases are in China, where it remains "very much an emergency," it also "holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world." He urged countries to share data in order to further research the disease.

Chinese authorities dismissed two senior health officials from Hubei on Tuesday, where tens of millions of people have been under lockdown since late last month, and tightened restrictions in its capital Wuhan.

WHO warns overseas coronavirus spread may be 'tip of the iceberg'

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus epidemic jumped to 908 and the number of confirmed cases has risen over 40,000.

The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday there have been "concerning instances" of coronavirus among people with no travel history to China, warning that it could be the "tip of the iceberg", as he urged all countries to prepare for the possible arrival of the novel virus that has killed over 900 people.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus lauded the doctors, nurses and health workers for doing "their utmost" at personal risk to contain the epidemic, terming them "true heroes" of the outbreak that first surfaced in December in Wuhan city in China's central Hubei province where millions of people are under lockdown in a bid to stop it from spreading.

"There've been some concerning instances of onward 2019nCoV spread from people with no travel history to China. The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg," tweeted Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.

"In an evolving public health emergency, all countries must step up efforts to prepare for #2019nCoV's possible arrival and do their utmost to contain it should it arrive. This means lab capacity for rapid diagnosis, contact tracing and other tools in the public health arsenal," he said.

The death toll in China from the novel coronavirus epidemic jumped to 908 and the number of confirmed cases has risen over 40,000, Chinese health officials said on Monday.

Ghebreyesus said the spread of coronavirus outside China appeared to be slowing, but could accelerate, warning that any breach in solidarity is a victory for the virus.

"Containment remains our objective, but all countries must use the window of opportunity created by the containment strategy to prepare for the virus's possible arrival," he said.

"In the spirit of financial solidarity, donors have been stepping up, but we have not reached our goal of US$675 million for @WHO and vulnerable countries," Ghebreyesus said.

"Containment remains our objective, but all countries must use the window of opportunity created by the containment strategy to prepare for the virus's possible arrival," he said.

China coronavirus toll rises to 490, confirmed infections top 24000

By the end of Tuesday, a total of 490 people had died of the disease and 24,324 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions.

The death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak rose to 490 on Tuesday with the number of confirmed cases mounting to 24324, Chinese health officials announced on Wednesday.

By the end of Tuesday, a total of 490 people had died of the disease and 24,324 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in 31 provincial-level regions, China's National Health Commission reported.

It said 65 deaths were reported on Tuesday, all from Hubei province and its capital Wuhan.

Also 3,887 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported on Tuesday, it said.

Also on Tuesday, 431 patients became seriously ill, while 262 were discharged from hospital after recovery.

The commission added that 3,219 patients remained in severe condition and 23,260 people were suspected of being infected with the virus.

A total of 892 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery, it said.

Over 2.52 lakh who were in close contacts with patients had been traced with over 1.85 lakh others still under medical observation, it added.

By the end of Tuesday, 18 confirmed cases had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), including one death, 10 in the Macao SAR and 11 in Taiwan, it said.

Majority in age-group of 20-30 addicted to smoking in Dehi-NCR: Survey

According to the survey, 56 per cent of the 1,400 respondents thought that smoking helped them get relief from stress. Of them, 55 per cent admitted that they are aware of its ill-effects.

One out of every three persons in the age-group of 15-50 years in Delhi-NCR is addicted to smoking and around half of them are aged between 20 and 30, a recent survey has found.

The survey, 'Understanding Smoking Attitudes in Youth, conducted by Gurgaon-based Aviss Health Foundation also found that many of the youth resort to smoking to cope with work-related stress.

According to the survey, 56 per cent of the 1,400 respondents thought that smoking helped them get relief from stress. Of them, 55 per cent admitted that they are aware of its ill-effects.

"The fact that educated youth are take up smoking just to cope with stress, speaks volumes about the lack of focus in outreach programs," Pulmonologist Dr Himanshu Garg, who led the survey, said.

India is one of those countries in the world which is reeling under a huge burden of high mortality and morbidity linked with tobacco addiction. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India is home to 12 per cent of world's tobacco smokers.

Despite knowing its addictive nature and harmful effects of smoking, a huge number of young people are still succumbing to its temptation, Dr Himanshu Garg said.

"While government policies in India have always been designed carefully around the targeted awareness programs, the survey figures indicate that it is time to sit-up and fine-tune our strategies to address the issue more effectively," Dr Prerana Garg, who heads the Aviss Foundation, said.

Dr Nikita Jajodia, the head of research at Aviss Foundation, said policy makers need to develop evidence-based strategies which can bring structural changes, not only in terms of making stress management an integral part of higher education but also in jobs, especially in case of fresh recruits.

"Highlighting the strong link between stress and smoking and formulating outreach programs on these lines can go a long way in helping youth to abstain from this harmful addiction," Dr Jajodia said.

Business Standard

More than 1 million infected by sexually transmitted ailments daily: WHO

The study found more than 376 million new cases of the four infections in 2016.

More than 1 million people worldwide are infected daily by sexually transmitted infections chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and syphilis, according to World Health Organization estimates.

“This is a wake-up call for a concerted effort to ensure everyone, everywhere can access the services they need to prevent and treat these debilitating diseases,” WHO official Dr. Peter Salama said.

The study found more than 376 million new cases of the four infections in 2016.

By infection, there were 127 million new cases of chlamydia, 87 million of gonorrhoea, 6.3 million of syphilis and 156 million of trichomoniasis.

More Than a Million Cases Every Day

1 in 25 people globally have at least one of these sexually transmitted infections

An estimated 1 in 25 carry at least one of the infections, which left untreated can cause neurological and cardiovascular disease, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirths and an increased risk of HIV.

Some people experience multiple infections at the same time.

The data covering 2016 track men and women ages 15–49 and “since the last published data for 2012, there has been no substantive decline in either the rates of new or existing infections,” WHO said.

Business Standard

Screen time for children: WHO's new approach may do little to curb obesity

while increasing physical activity to combat the global obesity crisis is clearly vital, the WHO guidelines on screen time may not achieve this.

Business Standard : Get children more active. That’s the aim of the World Health Organisation’s new guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under five years of age. The guidelines make specific recommendations about the amount of sleep, physical activity and screen time children should have each day. For screen time, the guidelines state that children under two years old should get no screen time and children aged two to five should get no more than an hour a day.

While childhood obesity is a global crisis, cuts lives short and has significant economic costs the WHO guidelines on screen time are oversimplified.

The main evidence the WHO guidelines draw on is a 2017 review of evidence looking at the relationship between sedentary behaviour and health in children under the age of five. Of the 96 papers identified in this review, 54 focused on the association between obesity and screen use. Of these, the authors of the report rate all but one as “very low-quality evidence”, using the GRADE framework – a widely used tool for rating medical evidence.

There are two main reasons for the evidence being rated as low quality. First, almost all the studies are observational, meaning they can’t show cause and effect, only associations between screen time and obesity. Second, the findings are not consistent. Of the 54 studies, 25 found no association between screen time and obesity, 13 found that higher amounts of screen time were related to higher levels obesity and 16 found a mixture of results, depending on the type of screen time and obesity measure used.

There are better guidelines

Other guidelines on children’s screen time published by health professionals, such as the UK Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), do a better job of reflecting the complexities of the evidence and refrain from making recommendations based on time alone.

The first UK guideline on screen time was published in 2019 by the RCPCH. They aim to help parents make healthy choices for their families, suggesting that parents should consider four key questions: is screen time controlled? Does screen use interfere with what your family wants to do? Does screen use interfere with sleep? And, are you able to control snacking during screen time? This approach of encouraging parents to reflect on the screen time use of their children acknowledges that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t support parents.

WHO says maximum one-hour screen time per day for kids under 5: Key points

Infants under 1 year old should not be exposed to electronic screens and that children between the ages of 2 and 4 should not have more than one hour of "sedentary screen time'.

Young children should not spend more than an hour a day watching television and videos or playing computer games and infants less than one year old should not be exposed to electronic screens at all, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

Limiting, and in some cases eliminating, screen time for children under the age of 5 will result in healthier adults, said WHO, adding that quality sedentary time spent in interactive non-screen-based activities with a caregiver, such as reading, storytelling, singing and puzzles, is very important for child development.

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Taking away iPads and other electronic devices is only part of the solution. Children under 5 should also get more exercise and sleep in order to develop better habits, said WHO. Failure to meet current physical activity recommendations is responsible for more than 5 million deaths globally each year across all age groups.

Physically active and good sleep key for kids under 5

The United Nations agency, issuing its first such guidelines, said under-fives should also be physically active and get adequate sleep to help develop good lifelong habits and prevent obesity and other diseases in later life.

Kids between the age of 1 and 3 should spend 3 hours a day doing physical activity

In its guidelines to member states, the WHO said children between one and four years old should spend at least three hours in a variety of physical activities spread throughout the day.

No screen time for children below the age of 1

Infants under one should interact in floor-based play and avoid all screens, it said.

Being inactive is fueling a rise in the numbers of obese or overweight people worldwide, the WHO said. Excessive weight can lead to premature death from heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and some forms of cancer.

Preventing these deaths needs to start in very early life

One in three adults today are overweight or obese, and one in four adults does not do enough physical activity, she said.

“In this age group of under 5s, it is currently 40 million children around the world (who) are overweight. Of that (figure) 50 percent are in Africa and the southeast Asia region,” Bull said. That translates into 5.9 percent of children globally.