When Covid-19 enters India’s slumsHere are all the things and news you should know about COVID -19
What is the coronavirus? OTHER RECENT EPIDEMICS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) ki Identified in 2003, first infected humans in China in 2002 Killed nearly 650 people in China/Hong Kong in 2002-2003 Thought to have come from bats, spread to civet …………….READ MORE
The big question in India is whether community transmission has already happened. This refers to the infection of a person who has not travelled to a country where the infection is raging and has not had contact with an infected person, directly or indirectly. Some experts believe this has already happened in India. As Ramanan Laxminarayan, Center for Disease Dynamics, ………… READ MORE
WHEN TO USE A MASK For healthy people, wear a mask only if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water If you wear a mask then you must know how to use it and dispose ……………..READ MORE
ONE-ROOM CONFINEMENT Your movement should be strictly limited to a single room in the house, preferably with an attached toilet that no one else should use. No visitors should be allowed Wear a surgical mask all the time and it should be changed every 6-8 ……………..READ MORE
With the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country, there is a surge in the myths/ rumours surrounding it. The director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Dr Randeep Guleria dispels them, while advising basic precautions …………………READ MORE
The world is in the grip of a global pandemic that is marked by both, lethality and an astounding spread, across continents. The emergence of Covid-19 is uncharted territory that demands our focused attention and a calibrated response that is also globally collaborative………………….READ MORE
Few events have united people, communities, and countries across the world as the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19). There is still a lot that is not known about it — how much it will spread; how many people maydie; when it will subside. But there is one, clear, inescapable conclusion. Covid-19, besides testing health systems across the world, will severely contract the global economy.………………….READ MORE
Much has changed since. The coronavirus is no longer just a Chinese problem, but a global one. India’s crisis is no longer just an economic one, but a health crisis too. China has moved from denial to action, and, ostensibly, is now clawing its way back to normalcy. India has just begun efforts to combat the epidemic. Will the virus impact 1% or 10% or 30% of India’s population is a question that………………….READ MORE
Ensure hygiene, use digital infra, restrict mobility, ration health care systems, and a maintain supply of essentials India houses some of the most densely populated cities in the world, where people are forced to live in cramped spaces and travel in packed metros and buses every day. With novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases on the rise — it has so far affected more than 150………………….READ MORE
The Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 is inadequate to tackle public health emergencies. The Union government recently advised the states to invoke the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. The travesty is that this fossilised 123-year-old Act does not even define what an epidemic is. This one-page, four-section-long Act is ill…………………READ MORE
The suicide of a man, who was admitted to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital after flying in from Sydney, even as test results to ascertain whether he had the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) were awaited, is a wake-up call. There has been commentary on safety measures required to deal with the outbreak and the individual, social and…………………READ MORE
Covid-19 is especially life-threatening for the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. That description also fits the European Union (EU), which is sexagenarian and has for over a decade been reeling from one crisis to the next. Institutionally, if not epidemiologically, the EU is more vulnerable to the virus than most nation…………………READ MORE
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was known to say that no great crisis must be allowed to go to waste. The coronavirus disease (Covid-19), which until last month seemed limited to China, is now at everybody’s doorstep. While many expect that countries will imitate the broad protocols used by China and contain…………………READ MORE
As the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) spreads rapidly across the world, India finds itself dealing with two types of situations. One, the perception in the general public about the magnitude of the pandemic, and two, the mindset that India…………………READ MORE
In the wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Thursday. He pointed to the severity of the challenge confronting the world and India. He spoke about how meeting this challenge would require determination and resolve, restraint and discipline. He reached…………………READ MORE
As people slowly begin to understand the enormity and seriousness of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that has brought the world to a grinding halt, India finds itself at a crossroads, with experts suspecting that community transmission is likely to follow. So far, the world has seen over 200,000 cases, more than 10,000…………………READ MORE
There are no two ways about it: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing us for the worst, while obviously trying to avoid panic. Listening to his address to the nation on Thursday, I was grateful for one thing. There was no attempt to …………………READ MORE
With the coronavirus disease, Covid-19, on a relentless march, these are desperate times across the world. The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, once said, “For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure, as to restriction, are most suitable.”…………………READ MORE
Science and the human spirit (and huge sums of money spent in research). We have to believe this. We also have to believe that the world will never be the same again. The financial crisis of 2008 asked serious questions of the world’s preferred capitalist model – and some of these are yet to be answered. Real incomes…………………… READ MORE
We have seen it in earlier outbreaks of various viruses from nipah to ebola — the gender impact on the progression of the disease is considerable, yet largely neglected. So, it would be naïve to expect that the response to the latest…………………… READ MORE
The only certainty in the coronavirus-induced global chaos is that the idea of the nation-state as the all-powerful, enforcer of social order is back. After decades of globalisation, neo-liberalisation and privatisation, in this moment of crisis, people across the globe are looking to their national governments and willingly giving…………………… READ MORE
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has meant that society has to redefine the fundamental principles which have governed it. India introduced travel restrictions and social distancing measures to ensure that the disease was restricted to those with travel history and their immediate contacts.…………………… READ MORE
The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has forced citizens to adapt to a new lifestyle. There is advocacy around these social changes — staying home, maintaining high standards of personal hygiene, and practising social distancing to remain safe. These changes are radically disruptive. But some of them could end up as somewhat more fundamental changes.…………………… READ MORE
We live in a state of coronavirusfuelled anxiety. In such times, we try to build walls and fences to keep the danger out. So, India has enforced sweeping restrictions on outsiders coming into the country, and stringent testing for those returning from abroad. The government’s strategy to contain this pandemic is largely based……………………READ MORE
India is home to one-third of the global slum population. The State needs a plan The spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in India’s slums will be even faster than in the non-slum areas we seem to be tracking so far. ……………………READ MORE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked citizens for a “few weeks” in his address to the nation on Thursday. He hinted quite clearly that the people’s curfew on March 22 would serve as a test for the future. Restrictions on mobility have kicked in over the past week. And that is why, perhaps, it did not come as an outright ……………………READ MORE
The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has led to uncertainty, forced people to reshape their lives, strained the health care system and disrupted economic livelihoods. In all of this, citizens are victims. But there is one other consequence, for which a set of citizens have been responsible — the spurt in racist attacks, ……………………READ MORE
As I was writing this column on Sunday night, the “janata curfew” (people’s curfew) and the beating of plates and applause had ended. The world’s largest democracy has set a standard that other countries can learn from. Sunday will be remembered as the day of awakening of Indians, but it remains to be seen whether we can ……………………READ MORE
As the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) spreads rapidly across the world and India, and health care systems are being brought down to their knees, the general sense is that social distancing (SD) will contain the virus. But the evidence shows that in India, SD may not produce the results we want. At the moment, the educated understand ……………………READ MORE
For instance, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention estimates deaths between 200,000 and 1.7 million in that country. There are other estimates as well – and all with ranges as wide. There are no studies for deaths in India yet (and if there are any, they are premature and based on insufficient data – which……………………READ MORE
Phrases like “social multiplier” and “going viral” have taken more sinister undertones, to be replaced by social isolation and self-quarantine. These are no longer the luxury of the reclusive, but an enforced necessity for all.……………………READ MORE
On Sunday, heeding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call, the nation stood united to applaud the services of those who are in the frontline of the battle against coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Those providing essential services include doctors, nurses, paramedics, and the support staff in hospitals and nursing homes across the country, who,……………………READ MORE
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s call for a first-of-its-kind “janata curfew” on March 22 was by the people, for the people. It was symbolic of India’s resolve to fight the deadly coronavirus disease (Covid-19) which has thrown global social life and the economy out of kilter. With a rising number of cases in India, ……………………READ MORE
The economic impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) may outlast its health effects. The global economy was stabilising before the spread of Covid-19. But now, there is a consensus that we may be headed for not just a ……………………READ MORE
India is now in a lockdown. Whether this lockdown saves us from the dangers of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) or not is a question that will be answered in the future. But there is absolutely no doubt that the economy is suffering, and will continue to suffer enormously, putting millions of Indians in serious danger. ……………………READ MORE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, announced the most radical, disruptive measure taken anywhere globally to battle the coronavirus pandemic. He announced a three-week lockdown for the entire country, and warned citizens strictly not to exit their homes for the next 21 days. Given that this applies to over 1.3 billion citizens,…………………..READ MORE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, announced the most radical, disruptive measure taken anywhere globally to battle the coronavirus pandemic. He announced a three-week lockdown for the entire country, and warned citizens strictly not to exit their homes for the next 21 days. Given that this applies to over ……………………READ MORE
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a lockdown, if there ever was a time for the nation to come together as one, it is now. If there ever was a time for the political class to stand together as one, it is now. If there……………………READ MORE
The coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) has already taken a toll on people’s health care across the world. Forty years ago, the world witnessed the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) pandemic that killed 40 million……………………READ MORE
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