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Health

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The costs of India’s Covid crisis are too high

It’s now likely that the pandemic has, as feared, moved out of urban areas into India’s vast, and crowded, rural hinterland. Here, health services will be far less equipped for a surge in cases — and a distant state machinery itself may not know of localized outbreaks till it is too late.The government,faced with a crashing economy and with its cupboards completely bare, has no real way to directly improve the welfare of those most affected. Programs like Britain’s furlough scheme or the U.S.’s $600 per week unemployment aid are a distant dream in India.

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IRDA allows wide-ranging incentives by insurers to promote wellness and affordable health insurance

 Based on criteria stipulated for wellness and fitness, insurers may endeavor promoting wellness amongst health insurance policyholders by offering host of services:

-Health specific services provided by Network providers or other empanelled hospitals / service providers for the following (in addition to any such benefits already offered):

-Outpatient consultations or treatments

-Pharmaceuticals

-Health check-ups/diagnostics

-Including discounts on all the above.

–  Redeemable vouchers to obtain health supplements.

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Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine shows potential in peer review, Lancet reports

The government has announced plans to begin administering the shot more widely to medical personnel and teachers in the coming weeks, ahead of a broader national campaign slated for late this year. The move has led to concerns that political pressure could prevail over safety considerations and risk public health as the world seeks an end to the pandemic.

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Select intl passengers can avail COVID-19 tests on arrival at entry airports

If the RT-PCR test result is negative, the international passenger will be allowed to catch his or her connecting domestic flight and he or she will not need to undergo any institutional quarantine at the destination city, the ministry’s order said.

The test result will come in a maximum of seven hours. Till the results come, the passenger will have to remain in the waiting lounge of the entry airport, the order noted.

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Insurers must do more to support COVID-19-related mental health issues:GlobalData

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that 12.8 million UK working days were lost in 2019 because of work-related stress, anxiety and depression. While the HSE has continued to raise the issue of remote-working staff’s mental health during the pandemic, insurers are penalizing policyholders for flagging any related issues. Consumer campaign group Fairer Finance has found that insurers such as Budget, Virgin Money, Beagle Street and Canada Life are actually increasing the cost of premiums for consumers that declare minor stress issues.

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