H1N1 surge: hospital footfall increases as doctors flag risks

admin — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 19:51:00 +0000

With H1N1 cases rising in the Capital, outpatient departments (OPDs) at hospitals are seeing an increasing number of patients with symptoms of the viral infection.

Doctors said that while most healthy adults are recovering without complications, vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children and people with pre-existing conditions, are at risk of developing serious complications.

Some patients have also required ventilator support due to respiratory complications, they added. Delhi has recorded 1,777 cases this season, compared with 229 cases during the monsoon in 2025.

Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said there has been an increase in cases, but hospitals are adequately prepared and had sufficient dedicated beds. “Most people are recovering soon and there is no immediate cause for concern,” he said.

Vulnerable patients

Government hospitals across the Capital have set up dedicated intensive care units (ICUs), and senior doctors said meetings have been held to discuss the increase in cases. Separate wards are also being set up where patients can be isolated for seven days.

Dr. Ramesh Chand Meena, Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said that while the number of patients visiting the OPD has increased, no patient has yet been admitted to the dedicated ICU section.

Dr. Atul Gogia, head of the infectious diseases unit at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, attributed the sudden surge to weather changes, which he said created conditions conducive to the survival and spread of respiratory viruses.

“The primary symptoms include high fever, severe body ache, cold and cough, with mild reduction in white cell counts and platelets in some patients,” he said.

‘Recovering with rest’

Dr. Vikas Mittal, director of pulmonology at CK Birla Hospital, said most healthy individuals recovered with rest, hydration and symptomatic treatment.

“Prevention includes annual influenza vaccination, hand hygiene, masking in crowded spaces, good ventilation and staying home when symptomatic,” he added.

Published – August 23, 2026 01:21 am IST

Source link

The Microsoft Windows ‘Glitch’ Is Actually A Warning For Today’s Tech

admin — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 07:45:14 +0000

Imagine a scene from Neuromancer: hackers breaking in, causing chaos with every keystroke. Now, flash back to this Friday. That sci-fi scenario? It’s suddenly not so fictional. A botched software update has just thrown real life into disarray. Planes grounded, emergency lines jammed, and check-in counters swamped with long, snaking lines of frustrated travellers.

The Microsoft outage has disrupted India’s aviation sector. As major airlines like Vistara, IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air scramble with systems down, passengers face the brunt-endless lines, delayed flights, and a ticking clock. Even as airports like Delhi and Bengaluru report disruptions in up to 90% of flights, the response has been reactive, not proactive.

Also Read | The ‘Fake’ CrowdStrike Worker Who Crippled Windows Users Worldwide

This isn’t a plot twist from Mr. Robot, where vigilantes manipulate the digital world for justice or chaos. This is our reality-the infrastructure teetering on the edge because of a glitch. As we stand in overcrowded terminals or seek urgent help to no avail, the dystopian futures of cyberpunk are already knocking on our door.

Who Pays When Software Fails Us?

Think about the price tag of such an outage. Airlines cancel thousands of flights, hospitals delay life-saving procedures, and emergency responders hit a wall. The immediate cost is staggering, sure. But what about the long game? Lost trust, furious customers, and shaken investor confidence can balloon these costs to even more astronomical levels. How many millions – or billions – are we talking about here?

Why aren’t Microsoft or CrowdStrike held to the same stringent standards as those in more traditional sectors? A single faulty brake pad can trigger nationwide recalls in the automotive world. So why does the tech industry get a free pass when their mistakes can shut down our hospitals, ground our planes, and leave us stranded at check-in counters? It’s ridiculous.

Also Read | Airports Clearing Backlog After Global IT Chaos, Centre Shares An Update

When the digital infrastructure crumbles, the fallout is accepted as part of the modern condition. And where’s the backup plan? Our entire digital life hangs by the thread of a few lines of code with no strong fail-safe in sight. Why isn’t there a robust Plan B when Plan A fails so spectacularly? Shouldn’t there be mandatory, iron-clad redundancies for technologies that our lives depend on?

Another tech glitch, and who’s caught in the crossfire? The users, because we’re over-reliant on platforms like Microsoft. They blame CrowdStrike, but that’s not the point. Apple and Linux users dodged the bullet-why aren’t we spreading our risks? It’s high time we break up with single-system dependency.

We need more than apologies when tech systems fail disastrously. It’s time for stringent regulations to hold tech giants like Microsoft and their partners accountable, just as any other sector crucial to public safety and welfare would be.

Our reliance on these platforms is too critical to allow the ‘single-system dependency’ to continue unchecked. Let’s push for diversity in our tech solutions to safeguard our digital – and physical – lives.

(Pankaj Mishra has been a journalist for over two decades and is the co-founder of FactorDaily.)