Public Health Emergency Declared In Delhi, Schools Shut Till Tuesday

NEW DELHI: An unprecedented public health emergency has been declared in Delhi and nearby areas by the pollution control body mandated by the Supreme Court, as the region has been trapped in a toxic smog since Diwali. Schools in Delhi will be closed till Tuesday, November 5, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
Schools in the capital have been asked to stop all outdoor activities and sports till November 5 to minimise exposure of children to pollution.

The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has also banned construction activity till November 5 as the pollution level in the region entered the "severe plus" or "emergency" category late Thursday night, the first time since January.

The pollution authority has also banned the bursting of crackers during the winter season.


Chief Minister Kejriwal today described the city as a "gas chamber" while distributing masks to schoolchildren. He also blamed the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab, where thousands of farmers at this time of year burn crop stubble, sending vast clouds of smoke drifting across northern India.

If the air quality continues to be in the "severe plus" category for more than 48 hours, emergency measures such as odd-even car rationing scheme and banning entry of trucks are taken under the Graded Response Action Plan, the official said.
People have also been advised to not exercise in the open till the pollution level reduces and special care should be taken of the children, aged and vulnerable population. "This is a grave situation and I am hoping for your personal intervention so that there is stringent enforcement and full compliance with the directions issued," EPCA chairperson Bhure Lal said.
The high level of hazardous, lung-damaging pollutants has prompted a large number of residents to wear masks for morning walks and to work.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar accused Mr Kejriwal of playing blame-game over rising pollution levels in the city state and said blaming Punjab and Haryana will  not solve the problem. "Instead of blaming Punjab and Haryana, he would think about (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi-ji's proposal to curb pollutants produced by industries in five states (near Delhi)."

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Delhi is one of the world's most polluted cities and each winter, seasonal crop stubble burning, dense cloud cover and smoke from millions of Diwali firecrackers turn its skies a putrid yellow.

source:-https://www.ndtv.com

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Zika could infect 4 mn people: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) expects the Zika virus, which is spreading through the Americas, to affect between three million and four million people, a disease expert said on Thursday.

The WHO’s director-general said the spread of the mosquito-borne disease had gone from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions.

Marcos Espinal, an infectious disease expert at the WHO’s Americas regional office, said: “We can expect 3 to 4 million cases of Zika virus disease”. He gave no time frame. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes. An estimated 80 per cent of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the organisation will convene an emergency committee on Monday to help determine the level of the international response to the outbreak of the virus spreading from Brazil that is believed to be linked to severe birth defects. “The level of alarm is extremely high,” Ms. Chan told WHO executive board members at a meeting in Geneva. “As of today, cases have been reported in 23 countries and territories in the [Americas] region.”

Brazil’s Health Ministry said in November 2015 that Zika was linked to a foetal deformation known as microcephaly, in which infants are born with abnormally small heads. Brazil has reported 3,893 suspected cases of microcephaly, the WHO said last week, more than 30 times more than in any year since 2010 and equivalent to 1-2 per cent of all newborns in the state of Pernambuco, one of the worst-hit areas.

Ms. Chan said that while a direct causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations has not yet been established, it is “strongly suspected”.

“The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions,

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