Category: Corona Virus

Victoria's events industry says it is being left behind while others get 'special treatment'

Back to Victoria, where reaction to todays announcement of eased restrictions has been coming in.

We are deeply concerned that some activities get special treatment, and the event industry gets left behind, Simon Thelewis from the Save Victorian Events group said.

Under the new rules, an increase in outdoor stadium capacity means 25,000 people will be able to attend AFL games at the MCG, and 15,000 people will be able to attend the A-League Grand Final at AAMI Park.

Theatres will return to 50 per cent capacity, to a maximum of 1,000 people. In another week's time, capacity at stadiums will rise to 85 per cent, and to 100 per cent at theatres.

Business events remain limited to 300 people, depending on the venue, with density caps in place.

Mr Thelewis questioned why there was much higher capacity for theatres when we all have very high levels of experience in risk management and we all have comprehensive risk management plans.

Business events and the main setting they happen in still aren't even mentioned in the restrictions so event organisers and venues have to guess what might apply to them, he said.

There is still so much uncertainty.

Reporting by Yara Murray-Atfield

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COVID live updates: States react swiftly to news of Sydney's growing coronavirus cluster - ABC News

Twomore Mainers have died as health officials on Wednesday reported another 13coronavirus cases across the state.

The number of coronavirus cases diagnosed in the past 14 days statewide is 493. This is an estimation of the current number of active cases in the state, as the Maine CDC is no longer tracking recoveries for all patients. Thats down from 533 on Tuesday.

A man and a woman in their 60s and 80s from Penobscot and Piscataquis counties have succumbed to the virus, bringing the statewide death toll to 856.

Wednesdays report brings the total number of coronavirus cases in Maine to 68,877,according to the Maine CDC. Thats up from 68,864 on Tuesday.

Of those, 50,373have been confirmed positive, while 18,504were classified as probable cases, the Maine CDC reported.

The new case rate statewide Wednesday was 0.10 cases per 10,000 residents, and the total case rate statewide was 514.62

Maines seven-day average for new coronavirus cases is 30.4, down from 34.9 a day ago, down from 45.7 a week ago and down from 181.7 a month ago. That average peaked on Jan. 14 at 625.3.

The most cases have been detected in Mainers younger than 20, while Mainers over 80 years old make up the majority of deaths. More cases and deaths have been recorded in women than men. For a complete breakdown of the age and sex demographics of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, use the interactive graphic below.

So far, 2,066 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. Of those, 32 are currently hospitalized with 16 in critical care and five on a ventilator. Overall, 79 out of 377 critical care beds and 234 out of 319 ventilators are available. Meanwhile, 451 alternative ventilators are available.

The total statewide hospitalization rate on Wednesday was 15.44 patients per 10,000 residents.

Cases have been reported in Androscoggin (8,388), Aroostook (1,897), Cumberland (17,231), Franklin (1,377), Hancock (1,374), Kennebec (6,598), Knox (1,145), Lincoln (1,078), Oxford (3,640), Penobscot (6,325), Piscataquis (586), Sagadahoc (1,473), Somerset (2,281), Waldo (1,049), Washington (939) and York (13,496) counties.

For a complete breakdown of the county by county data, use the interactive graphic below.

Overall, 2,724,870 tests have been administered and the statewide positivity rate is 2.78 percent.

An additional 4756 Mainers have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. As of Wednesday, 739,693 Mainers have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 769,865 have received a final dose.

New Hampshire reported 19 new cases on Wednesday and one death. Vermont reported three new cases and no deaths, while Massachusetts reported 33 new cases and one death.

As of Wednesday morning, the coronavirus had sickened 33,566,472 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 602,476 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

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2 more Mainers have died and another 13 coronavirus case reported across the state - Bangor Daily News

The latest:

More Ontarians living in designated hot spots for the delta COVID-19 variant are eligible to book earlier second vaccine doses starting today.

Health units covering Toronto, Peel, Halton, Porcupine, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, Waterloo and York, Hamilton, Simcoe-Muskoka and Durham are considered hot spots for the more infectious virus variant.

People in those health units who received a first dose of an mRNA vaccine on or before May 30 can move up their second shots today.

The provincial vaccine booking portal openedto those eligible at 8 a.m. ET.

The province says sometime next week, all adults who received a first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna's product can book a second appointment as soon as 28 days after their initial shot.

Second doses were initially booked four months after the first in Ontario but the province is shortening that timeline as more vaccine is expected to arrive in theprovince.

Health officials inOntarioonWednesday reported 11 additional deaths and 255 new cases of COVID-19.

-From The Canadian Press, last updated at 9:55a.m. ET

As of 11:25 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Canada had reported 1,410,596confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 10,586 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 26,169.More than 33.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the country, according toCBC's vaccine tracker.

InQuebec, health officials on Wednesday reported three additional deaths and 127 new cases of COVID-19. The update came a day after the premier announced a further easing of restrictions set to begin Friday.

Across the North on Wednesday, there were no new cases reported inNunavut. Health officials inYukonand theNorthwest Territorieshadn't provided updated information for the day.

Police saidtraffic wasat a standstillWednesdayalong the Trans-Canada Highway at Nova Scotia's boundary with New Brunswick as a protest continuedover COVID-19 travel restrictions. The protest came afterPremier Iain Rankin announced on Tuesday that Nova Scotia would impose modified quarantine rules on people coming from New Brunswick.

In Atlantic Canada on Tuesday, health officials reported a total of four cases of COVID-19, including:

There were no new cases inPrince Edward Island, where officials are ramping up hiring to deal with the P.E.I. Pass travel document system.

In the Prairie provinces on Tuesday,Manitobareported 69 new cases of COVID-19. Health officials also reported five deaths, including one involving a patient being treated out of province.

Saskatchewan,meanwhile, reported no new deaths and 36 new cases of COVID-19. The update came as officials said more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the province.

InAlberta, health officials on Tuesdayreported one death and 57 new cases of COVID-19.

InBritish Columbia, health officials said Tuesday that more than one million people in the province had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The news came as the province reported no new deaths and 56 additional cases of COVID-19.

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 11:25 a.m. ET

As of early Wednesday morning, more than179.1 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to the data reported by Johns Hopkins University's case tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 3.8 million.

In the Middle East, Abu Dhabi is offering tourists free COVID-19 vaccinations, previously restricted to United Arab Emirates citizens and residency visa holders.

In Europe, the mayor of Moscowannounced new coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, saying that "the situation with the coronavirus remains very difficult" in the Russian capital.

In the Americas,Colombia reached 100,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 this week, becoming just the tenth country in the world to hit the unwanted milestone.

The South American nation of 50 million has been registering a growing number of daily cases since April, and over the past seven days it had the world's third-highest per capita death rate from COVID-19, according to data published by Oxford University and Johns Hopkins University's COVID tracker.

InAfrica,the WHO said Tuesday that the number of reported cases on the continent had risen to more than 5.2 million, with more than137,000 deaths. South Africa, the hardest-hit country on the continent, reported more than 11,000 new cases on Tuesday.

In theAsia-Pacificregion,India's vaccinations over the next few weeks could fall short of the pace set on the first day of a federal campaign, experts said.

Australia's most-populous state reported its biggest daily increase in cases in nearly a week, while New Zealand paused quarantine-free travel with the state.

-From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, last updated at 7 a.m. ET

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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Wednesday - CBC.ca

Two surveys of high school students are being released today -- and both suggest that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will be with colleges for some time.

A significant portion of students report that their college plans have changed and that they want to study close to home and inexpensively.

One survey was done by America's Promise Alliance, a national coalition of education and other groups focused on "the barriers that stand in the way of young people's success." The other was by Strada Education Network, which is focused on findings ways to improve lives "by forging pathways between education and employment."

The America's Promise survey was planned before the pandemic but was restructured after the pandemic was underway. The survey was conducted in March and April 2021 among a nationally representative sample of 2,439 high school students. (It is not clear if the results would have been changed because of the more optimistic view of the pandemic that has taken hold in the last month or two.)

"Students have witnessed tremendous upheaval in their families, schools, and communities over the past academic year," a report on the survey says. "Broader influences including the nation's economy, disruptions to the higher education landscape, and looming public health concerns have imposed a great deal of uncertainty on students lives after graduation. Overall, approximately four out of five (78percent) 11th and 12th graders reported that COVID-19 has impacted their plans after high school at least a little bit, with almost one in five reporting their plans were impacted a great deal."

The report says, "Most commonly, students reported changes to where they plan to attend college. For example, one-third (34percent) of young people report changing their plans to attend college closer to home and one-quarter (24percent) plan to attend a two-year instead of a four-year institution. Some young people (7percent) report that they no longer plan to attend college, and 16percent say they plan to attend college later."

Of the 11th and 12th graders who said their plans had changed, nearly half said that their plans have changed due to financial (47percent) or family reasons (45percent). Far fewer cited changes to their interests (24percent), the report said, "suggesting that shifting plans are driven largely by constraints beyond young peoples control."

Sean Flanagan, senior director of research at America's Promise, said large proportion of students have changed their plans. "They are really grappling with what their postsecondary education will be like," he said.

Strada surveyed 1,212 high school seniors (half from last year's senior class) whose plans had been disrupted by the pandemic.

The survey found:

The high school Classes of 2020 and 2021 have experienced massive disruption to their educational experiences, said Dave Clayton, senior vice president at Strada. In order to help those students reconnect, educators and policy makers should listen to what those students say they need: better guidance, clear information on educations connection to careers and an easier financial aid process.

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Stress from coronavirus changed the plans of high school students - Inside Higher Ed

Property management workers in protective suits deliver goods to residents at a compound under lockdown due to the recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China June 2, 2021. Picture taken June 2, 2021. China Daily via REUTERS

BEIJING, June 21 (Reuters) - The manufacturing hub of Dongguan in Chinas most populous province Guangdong launched mass coronavirus testing on Monday and cordoned off communities, after the city detected its first infections of a flare-up in the province.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 has dominated infections in the provincial upsurge, the first time it has hit China. Seen by experts as highly transmissible, the variant was first identified in India.

Dongguan launched its citywide testing programme following two cases reported since Friday.

City authorities told residents not to leave the city, except for essential reasons. Those leaving must show negative test results within 48 hours of departure.

A few entrances on highways to other cities were closed, while all shuttle buses linking airports in other cities and check-in terminals in Dongguan were halted. Some museums and libraries in the city also closed to visitors.

Its factories are still running, however.

"(Workers) need to do COVID tests, but it's not a prerequisite for them to be able to enter factories," said King Lau, who helps manage a metal coating factory.

"My staff will do (their COVID tests) after work, although there will be long queues."

Guangdong has reported 168 confirmed infections since May 21, with nearly 90% of them in its capital, Guangzhou.

The cases are few compared with the rest of the world and previous outbreaks in China. But Guangdong, a key entry point for travellers and cargo, is not taking any chances.

Although its capital has reported no cases for two successive days, the province as a whole is still detecting new infections.

PORT DISTURBANCES

Strict disinfection and quarantine measures since May 21 have led to congestion of vessels waiting to berth in one of China's busiest container ports, Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) in Shenzhen.

"The impact would be bigger than the Suez Canal incident," said Patrik Berglund, chief executive of Xeneta, an ocean freight rate benchmarking firm headquartered in Oslo.

Although 50 vessels were waiting outside the port, more than 160 were being affected, he added.

"We've seen exporters who cannot wait for the port congestion to ease turning to trucks to send the cargoes from China to Europe."

Normal operations are expected to resume by end-June.

But even as congestion at Yantian eases, traffic at the Shezhen port of Shekou and the main Guangzhou port of Nansha remains high, shipping firm Maersk said on its website.

COMPLACENCY WARNING

Chinese experts said Guangzhou's fight against the Delta variant served as a warning to other cities against complacency.

China reported 17 new confirmed mainland infections on June 20, down from 23 a day earlier, its health authority said on Monday, adding that one of the new cases one was a local infection in Dongguan, while the rest were imported.

"All our workers were asked to complete their testing yesterday, and the results were all fine," said the owner of an electronics plant in Dongguan.

"Also, we've all been given the second shot of the vaccine," said the factory owner, surnamed Wang.

Guangdong has sped up its vaccination effort since the outbreak. By May 19, before any local cases were reported, the province of 126 million people had administered 39.15 million doses. By June 20, the figure was 101.12 million, meaning more than 60% of its doses were injected over one month.

Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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China's Dongguan is latest southern city to be hit by COVID-19 - Reuters

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 178.4 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 3.86 million. More than 2.62 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

The Delta variant of COVID-19, first identified in India, is becoming the globally dominant variant of the disease, the World Health Organization's chief scientist has said.

In Russia, the number of coronavirus cases attributed to the Delta variant is rising significantly, the head of the consumer health watchdog said. COVID-19 cases have surged in Russia in the last week.

China has passed the milestone of 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to CNN. As of Saturday, a total of 1,010,489,000 doses had been given, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement.

Australian states and territories will get more doses of COVID-19 vaccines soon, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as authorities look to avoid further delays in an immunisation drive that has hit several roadblocks.

Mexico's health ministry on Sunday reported 1,578 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 36 more fatalities, bringing the total figures to 2,477,283 infections and 231,187 deaths.

Brazil recorded 44,178 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 1,025 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

2. Brazil's death toll has passed half a million

Brazils death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 500,000 on Saturday, reports Reuters, as experts warn that the worlds second-deadliest outbreak may worsen due to delayed vaccinations and the governments refusal to back social distancing measures.

Only 11% of Brazilians have been fully vaccinated and epidemiologists warn that, with winter arriving in the southern hemisphere and new variants of the coronavirus circulating, deaths will continue to mount even if immunizations gain steam.

Brazil has registered 500,800 deaths from 17,883,750 confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to Health Ministry data on Saturday, the worst official death toll outside the United States. Over the past week, Brazil has averaged 2,000 deaths per day.

COVID-19 cases in Brazil have passed half a million.

Image: Our World in Data

COVID-19 continues to devastate countries around the region with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reporting 1.1 million new cases of COVID-19 and 31,000 deaths in the Americas last week. PAHO noted upticks in six Mexican states, Belize, Guatemala, Panama and some places in the Caribbean.

PAHO warned that Colombia's COVID-19 situation is at its worst point yet, with intensive care unit beds filled in major cities.

Experts see the toll in Brazil, already the highest in Latin America, climbing far higher.

"I think we are going to reach 700,000 or 800,000 deaths before we get to see the effects of vaccination," said Gonzalo Vecina, former head of Brazilian health regulator Anvisa, predicting a near-term acceleration in fatalities.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 21 June - World Economic Forum

A medical worker receives the Covid-19 vaccine at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University on April 7, 2021 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China.

Southern Visual | Visual China Group | Getty Images

GUANGZHOU, China China has administered more than a billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccines, a key milestone in the world's largest inoculation drive.

As of Saturday, 1,010,489,000 doses had been given to people in China, according to the country's National Health Commission (NHC). More than 100 million doses had been administered in the six days up to and including Saturday.

It's unclear how many people have been full inoculated as the government does not release those numbers. But Zhong Nanshan, one of China's top health experts attached to the NHC, said in March that the country is aiming to have 40% of the population fully vaccinated by the end of June.

After the outbreak of the coronavirus in China last year, authorities moved to quickly bring it under control and largely succeeded in reopening the economy and returning life to normal. One reason behind the slow start to China's vaccination drive earlier this year was that people did not see the urgency for getting inoculated.

But the campaign has since ramped up. It took China 25 days to climb from 100 million doses to 200 million doses and just six days from 800 million to 900 million, according to state-run media Xinhua.

Still, new coronavirus outbreaks have happened in the country over the past year. Since late May, the major city of Guangzhou in the south of China has been battling the delta variant, which first emerged in India. It is the first time that variant has seen local transmission in mainland China.

The city reported zero new locally transmitted cases on Sunday following a mass testing drive and local lockdowns.

CNBC two visited vaccination sites in the city earlier this month and saw long lines as people rushed to get vaccinated.

The World Health Organization has approved for emergency use the Chinese-made Sinopharm since May, and Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines since June.

China has been shipping its vaccines to countries around the world including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia. However, U.S. and European health authorities have not authorized any Chinese vaccines for emergency use.

There have been questions over the effectiveness of the China-made vaccines. Efficacy rates for China's Covid vaccines have been found to be lower than those developed byPfizer-BioNTech andModerna.

Chile, another recipient of Chinese vaccines, released the results of a real-world study of over 10 million people in April. It found that the Sinovac vaccine reduces deaths by 80%. However, despite being one of the world's most highly vaccinated countries, Chile saw cases surge in April.

Originally posted here:

China has administered more than 1 billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccines - CNBC

(WXYZ) On Tuesday, a majority of the state's COVID-19 restrictions go away. From indoor capacity limits to broad risk management, Michiganders are returning to some for of normalcy.

Restaurants will be allowed to open at 100% capacity as the face masks and gatherings order is lifted, one of several orders that are going away Tuesday.

"it's kind of like everybody's got this pent-up demand for everything," Michael Bagley said. "It's not over yet, and i think people still need to maintain their safety and be careful."

After Tuesday, some COVID-19-related orders will remain in effect in Michigan. Those include testing protocols and other orders that protect people in long-term care facilities, prisons and jails.

Schools and correctional facilities will still be required to report COVID-19 cases.

More guidance is expected to be released later this week.

When it comes to travel in the U.S., optimism is on an upward trajectory. New data shows that 87% of people have plans to travel in the next six months. That's up from 57% back in mid-December.

David Lorenz, the vice president of Travel Michigan, said his team is focused on making Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing the draw for in-state travelers.

"It's all about the regions of the state and the sectors of the travel industry, how they will come back? Basically, Northern Michigan did very well last year," he said.

Lorenz adds that state park and campground reservations are already filling up, as people are looking for activities where they can social distance.

"Leisure travel, especially up north, is rebounding right now," he said. "City's leisure experience travel, that's going to be rebounding by the third or fourth quarter, maybe even into early next year."

Only 1 in 5 people said COVID-19 would have an influence on their travel plans. In April 2020, it was more than three times that.

Lorenz said the state's travel industry is impacted by the worker shortage and will also have an impact on Michigan's ability to bring in more tourism dollars. He said business travel may not rebound until 2022.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.

See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.

Visit our The Rebound Detroit, a place where we are working to help people impacted financially from the coronavirus. We have all the information on everything available to help you through this crisis and how to access it.

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Michigan travel industry prepares for the end of COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday - WXYZ

Peoplelineup to receive a dose of Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre in the State Department Store, GUM, in central Moscow, Russia January 18, 2021. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

MOSCOW, June 21 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned on Monday that the coronavirus situation in some Russian regions was getting worse as authorities began promoting the idea of regular revaccinations to try to halt a surge in new cases.

Putin this month spoke of how Russia, which has approved four domestically-made vaccines and sold its flagship Sputnik V vaccine to many foreign countries, had handled the pandemic better than many other nations.

But new cases have since surged, particularly in Moscow, which on Saturday registered a record 9,120 daily cases. The Kremlin on Friday blamed the increase on people's reluctance to have vaccinations and "nihilism". read more

"Unfortunately, the coronavirus threat has not receded," Putin told the lower house of parliament on Monday. "In many regions the situation has even got worse."

Grim video footage emerged on social media on Sunday, purportedly showing people sick with COVID-19 laying prone on the floor of a hospital corridor in St Petersburg, Putin's home city which is hosting some matches in the Euro 2020 soccer championship.

Local authorities are investigating the video to check its veracity.

The authorities are trying to coax and compel people to get vaccinated, offering those who do the chance to win new cars and flats, while threatening others who don't with loss of earnings and dismissal. read more

The authorities have blamed the surge, which has seen more than 17,000 new COVID-19 cases reported for a fourth day running, on the new Delta variant, while conceding that a nationwide ad campaign meant to encourage people to get vaccinated had fallen short.

It's too early to say if the surge will prove a political headache for the Kremlin which faces parliamentary elections in September. Vaccines have been widely available for months but many Russians have been reluctant.

By June 2 only 18 million of the around 144-million-strong population had received at least one dose of a vaccine.

The Kremlin has denied people's distrust in the authorities is one of the reasons behind the low vaccination rate.

Critics on social media have said state media's take down of some foreign vaccines has added to people's fears about getting vaccinated however, and have complained that some senior officials set a poor example, taking a long time to get vaccinated themselves and then only doing so behind a veil of secrecy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that revaccinations were the way forward.

"Revaccination will be and is inevitable - not just vaccination, but revaccination - for those who want to keep themselves, their relatives and loved ones safe," said Peskov.

Russia reported 17,378 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and 440 deaths linked to coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin Liffey

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Putin says COVID-19 trend is getting worse, Kremlin pushes revaccination - Reuters

COVID-19 pandemic not a one-time disaster, broader approach needed, the government tells Supreme Court.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not a one-time disaster, like an earthquake or a flood, for which victims can be compensated with just money, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.

The virus is an ongoing pandemic which will continue to attack in waves. A broader approach is essential. The government was responding to petitions in the Supreme Court to pay 4 lakh compensation to the families of every COVID-19 victim.

Unlike disasters of a short and finite duration, occurring and ending quickly, COVID-19 is a global pandemic which has affected all the countries in the world. The pandemic has claimed more than 3.85 lakh lives, a number which is likely to increase further... These deaths have affected families from all classes the rich and poor, professionals and informal workers, traders and farmers the Ministry of Home Affairs, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, said in a 189-page affidavit.

Limiting relief to monetary pay-offs was a narrow and pedantic approach. There was also no precedent of giving ex gratia compensation for a disease or disaster spread out over several months or years.

The pandemic started in the early months of January 2020 and the country is still battling the same with different intensity, different symptoms and different mutations, with no certainty regarding the end, the government said.

Massive distribution of compensation across the country at this point would dry up precious financial resources of the Centre and the States.

If the entire State Disaster Response Funds get consumed on ex gratia compensation for COVID-19 victims, the States may not have sufficient funds for organising COVID-19 response, for provision of various essential medical and other supplies, or to take care of other disasters like cyclones, floods, etc. Already the finances of State governments and the Central government are under severe strain due to the reduction in tax revenues and increase in health expenses on account of the pandemic, the affidavit explained.

Besides, the MHA said granting ex-gratia compensation for one disease while denying it for those accounting for a larger share of mortality would not be fair or proper.

It would create unfairness and invidious discrimination between persons suffering from one disease and those suffering from another, the government justified.

The court said its broader approach encompasses a different set of Minimum Standards of Relief focused on public health interventions, social protection and economic recovery for the affected communities.

Also read | 10 lakh corpus fund for every child orphaned by COVID-19

This would be a more prudent, responsible, and sustainable approach, the Ministry argued.

It said funds to the tune of 1,113.21 crore was released to States /UTs towards management and containment of COVID-19 over and above the National Health Mission coverage in 2019-2020 financial year. In 2020-21, 8,257.89 crore was released to the States/UTs to fight the pandemic.

On the question of compensating health workers who died in the line of duty, the Centre said it had provided comprehensive personal accident cover of 50 lakh to 22.12 lakh health care workers under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package. Another 442.4 crore was released to pay the insurance claims of health workers.

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Coronavirus | Massive distribution of ex gratia will strain finances, says Centre - The Hindu