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Ireland suspends AstraZeneca Covid vaccine over blood clot concerns Ireland is suspending use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid as a precautionary measure following further reports of blood clots in people who have received it, this time from Norway. The deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, said Ireland’s advisory body on vaccines had recommended that deployment of the AstraZeneca jab should be “temporarily deferred” with immediate effect. He stressed, though, that there was no proof that the vaccine had caused blood clots. The first reports of blood clots in people receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine came out of Austria and caused a flurry of concern, leading to a number of European countries such as Denmark pausing their use of it pending investigations. But Ireland cited the report into a death and three hospitalisations in Norway, which came out on Saturday. “Following new information received from the Norwegian Medicines Agency on Saturday evening

SIKKIM Press Release 172 RETURNEES BROUGHT IN TODAY On the third day, a total of 172 Sikkimese evacuated from different parts of the country arrived at the screening centres set up at Melli and Rangpo. There were 93 persons from South and West district. Out of ninety three people, twenty eight (28) were from South and sixty five (65) were from West. After going through thorough screening assessment following all safety protocols, the returnees were found to be asymptomatic. A total of twenty two (22) people belonging to South District have been sent to institutional quarantine centre at IHCAE Chemchey which is free of cost. While six (6) remaining have opted for paid quarantine facilities at Hotel Pangolin, Assangthang. The stranded people of West Sikkim have also been handed over to West District administration. A total of 79 persons returned through Rangpo checkpost. Among them, 73 are from East district and six from North district. After medical screening, 45 persons

Sikkim has received 4 Truenat Testing Machines with 1400 testing kits and will be ready for testing in a day or so at the New STNM hospital. The test — called the Truenat Beta CoV test enables same-day testing, reporting, and patient isolation initiation (if required). This is one of the few ICMR-approved tests to have been validated in a short period of time.

A 37-year-old woman from West Sikkim, who was undergoing dialysis at Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute Hospital in Delhi over chronic kidney failure, has tested positive for COVID-19  According to reports, one Sikkimese lady who was staying at DKK Bhawan in Delhi has contracted Covid-19.  Chief Minister Shri PS Golay confirms the Covid-19 positive case of a Sikkimese lady who was in Delhi for treatment. He informs that she is being given full care at the hospital and that all the people at DKK Bhawan have been quarantined. She is now admitted in hospital there and is in a stable condition.

Sikkim CM Shri PS GOLAY participated in a Video Conference meeting chaired by Hon’ble Union Minister for Information Technology (I.T.) and Communications Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad which also saw the participation of Ministers in-charge of I.T. of other states too. The meeting was regarding the initiatives taken in the field of Information Technology in fighting COVID-19 pandemic. It was a fruitful discussion benefiting Sikkim. The highlight of the Video Conferen ce was the commitment from the Union Minister for setting up a separate Administrative Center of BSNL headed by a high ranking official to oversee implementation of connectivity up to GPU level in the state of Sikkim. The Union Minister also assured the state government to provide all support in setting up of Electronic Manufacturing Industries and others I.T initiatives/projects submitted by the state government.

SUBJECT IN FOCUS: Partner Coordination The WHO COVID-19 Incident Management Team is working closely with partners across all levels to provide support  to countries, strengthen technical and operational networking and collaboration, and support operational  coordination of the global response.  To strengthen day-to-day operations, key agencies are embedded in the global team, including UNICEF, the United  Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM),  and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The major partner coordination  mechanisms are the Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Initiative; the Global Health Cluster (GHC); and the Global  Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), which includes technical agencies, major NGOs, including Médecins  Sans Frontières (MSF) International, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the IFRC, and other 

Shortage of personal protective equipment endangering health workers worldwide If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection. Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing. Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly. Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask. Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks. To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of mask); discard immediately in a closed bin; clean hands with alcohol-based han