Suspected coronavirus-hit drug plant shut in Karnataka
Mysuru, April 07 :
The drug-making plant of pharma major Jubilant Life Sciences at Nanjangud near Mysuru has been shut down after it was suspected to have been contaminated by coronavirus from a container that came from China with raw materials, an official said on Tuesday.
Nanjangud is about 30 km from Mysuru and 180 km southwest of Bengaluru in the southern state.
“We have also quarantined the plant’s staff and their families at their homes in the town while the affected patients are under treatment at a designated hospital in Mysuru,” Sankar said.
In an e-mail to IANS, the Noida-based pharma company said the plant operations were suspended last week and all its personnel were under self-quarantine.
“The container has been sent for forensic test to find if its surface material carried the virus as it was shipped from Covid-hit China from where the company imports applied pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for making drugs,” Sankar added.
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New Delhi, April 07 :
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the government would provide all possible help to farmers in the harvesting season and suggested harnessing technology and encouraging innovative solutions like using ‘truck aggregators’ to connect farmers with mandis on the lines of app-based cab services.
The Prime Minister, who interacted with the Central ministers via video conferencing, stressed the importance of monitoring and ensuring that benefits of PM Garib Kalyan Yojana keep reaching the intended beneficiaries in a seamless manner.
He said that planning should incorporate the possibility of further spread of coronavirus. He said there should be continuous monitoring to maintain timelines of production of essential medicines and protection equipment.
“Micro-level planning is essential to maintain supply lines and availability of essentials,” he said.
According to a PMO release, the Prime Minister said that welfare of farmers is of high importance.
“He also said that the government would provide all possible help to farmers in the harvesting season. In this regard, he suggested harnessing technology and encouraging exploration of innovative solutions like using ‘truck aggregators’ to connect farmers with mandis, on the lines of app-based cab services,” the release said.
The Prime Minister also underlined the need to devise a strategy to ensure procurement of tribal products so that the source of income of the indigenous tribal populace remains intact.
The Prime Minister also asked the Ministers to popularise the Aarogya Setu app in the rural areas and grassroots institutions to further spread information and awareness about the pandemic.
The release said the ministers praised the initiative of 9pm9minute, saying that people from all corners of the country participated in it, bringing together the entire populace in the battle against the pandemic.
They apprised the Prime Minister about efforts to tackle difficulties faced by migrant labour, prevent misuse of social media to create panic and maintenance of supply lines of essentials.
The also talked of issues faced by frontline workers and efforts to mitigate them. Top officials of the central government gave detailed presentations on steps being taken to meet the emerging challenges.
The meeting was attended by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officials.