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Health & Medicine

Independence Day tableau to showcase knee surgery success in Punjab on a shaky footing

indianexpress.com ·

Independence Day tableau to showcase knee surgery success in Punjab on a shaky footing

The Punjab government's Independence Day tableau showcased five retired Health Department employees performing bhangra, claiming they had benefited from the Mukhmantri Sehat Bima Yojana. However, the Opposition argues this claim is unfounded. The five retirees - Suresh Kumar, Pritam Singh, Sarwan Singh, Malkiat Singh, and Satpal Singh - could not be reached for comment after their phones were disconnected.

Punjab Civil Surgeon Dr Meenakshi Dhingra stated they performed as part of a symbolic representation and were not presented as actual patients. Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh defended the tableau, emphasizing the scheme's success, stating that 9,971 people had undergone knee replacements under the program, with the government spending approximately Rs 79 crore on such treatments.

The AAP government plans to use similar presentations to raise awareness about other medical procedures like liver and kidney transplants, cardiac stents, and open-heart surgeries.

Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

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The government has announced that it will not implement mechanical distancing measures even if a pandemic occurs again. On the 20th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Disaster Management Headquarters announced that they would not enforce a nationwide lockdown or mechanical distancing measures, such as restricting people's movement and gathering, even if a pandemic similar to COVID-19 occurs in the future. Instead, the government plans to respond to infectious diseases through 'autonomous, voluntary participation-type' quarantine, such as wearing masks and self-isolation. The government explained that it will focus on inducing the public to voluntarily participate in quarantine, such as by recommending mask-wearing and self-isolation for those with COVID-19 symptoms, rather than forcing people to follow strict quarantine rules. The government plans to amend the Infectious Disease Prevention Act to introduce penalties for violations of quarantine rules, but it will not enforce strict quarantine measures like those implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government cited the negative impact of mechanical distancing measures on the economy and daily life, and emphasized that it will respond to infectious diseases in a more flexible and realistic way. The government also plans to establish an evaluation and monitoring system to check the level of public participation in quarantine and adjust its quarantine strategy accordingly. The government plans to finalize its quarantine strategy by the end of the year and announce it to the public. Minister of Health and Welfare, Kwon Deok-cheol, stated that "we will be able to respond more flexibly and effectively to infectious diseases by inducing voluntary participation in quarantine from the public and establishing an evaluation and monitoring system."

·hani.co.kr

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