COVID 19

Kumaraguru Action for Relief and Empowerment (KARE), was founded in Nov, 2015 during the Chennai floods. KARE supports the victims of natural disasters such as floods, cyclone and other calamities and has supported during Kerala floods & Gaja Cyclone. This is a volunteer movement of Kumaraguru Institutions where many join hands when the need arises.

KARE COVID 19 Response Bulletin is an effort by a group of Kumaraguru alumni, students & informed citizens alike to clear the clutter around COVID 19 by providing informative, insightful news, articles & data around the world under various tags such as Research, Technology, Education, Economy & Insights with a short summary for each.

 COVID19 Basic Info & Previous Bulletin Link: tinyurl.com/blog-KARE

STATISTICS

India vs the World – Race to control the viral outbreak

COVID-19
 		Active Cases
 		Recovered
 		Casualties 
 
India862,4873,177,67370,679
World7,015,68819,162,670
8,83,735

The above graph shows a 7-day moving average of new cases(per million) on a logarithmic scale in the hotspot countries across the world. It is found that Brazil and Peru top the list in terms of newly confirmed cases followed by USA and India.| Financial Times 

The above map depicts the first COVID-19 viral infection date along with the infected person’s travel history in each of the Indian states. All the states and the union territories, except Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, observed their first confirmed infected case from a person who has travel history from one or more already COVID-19 infected countries.| Medrxiv

UNLOCK 4.0

A day after the Union Home Ministry announced ‘Unlock 4.0’, several states came up with their own relaxations for September. Tamil Nadu scrapped the e-pass system followed for inter-district travel while the Haryana Government opened up urban markets on Mondays. The Centre gave permission to run Metro from September 7 as well, while schools and colleges will remain closed across the country. In Tamil Nadu, district buses started operating and cinema shooting will also be allowed with 75% of the crew. The Karnataka Government announced that there won’t be any need for mandatory 14 days quarantine for people coming from other states.| Indian Express

VACCINE & TESTING

No side effects seen in trials of Covaxin so far

There are over seven Coronavirus vaccines at various stages of development in the country with two of them having received the drug regulator’s go-ahead to start the human clinical trials of their vaccines. Preparations are underway at a hospital here for the commencement of the second phase of human clinical trial of ‘Covaxin’. There had been ‘no side effects’ in the first phase trial of the vaccine.The Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital is one of the 12 medical centres in the country chosen by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting the human trial. Doses of vaccines will be administered after screening.| Live Mint

The rapid real-time COVID-19 test

The U.S Food and Drug administration has approved a 15 minute COVID test by Abbot laboratories. The test detects viral proteins or antigens that are unique to SARS-CoV-2 and would provide near-realtime results thereby facilitating quick isolation of infected individuals to prevent the spreading of virus. With lots of devices and tests entering into the market,  this test stands unique as it requires no special laboratory equipment. This $5 assay serves as a simple yet an accurate test detecting the virus 97.1% of the time.|  Science Mag

RESEARCH

COVID-19 antibiotics can make bacteria resistant to antibodies: Study

According to the new study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, the prolonged use of antibiotics in individuals can have significant ramifications. There is growing interest in the role of secondary bacterial and fungal infections as a cause of increased morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients, with reports of upto 95 percent of COVID-19 inpatients being prescribed antibiotics. The researchers said that the UK national strategy aims for a world in which Antimicrobial resistance is effectively contained, controlled and mitigated by 2040.| The Hindu

Our Immune system: The biggest mystery of the pandemic

Immunologists say that the immune system is very complicated. When cells sense molecules common to pathogens and uncommon to humans, they produce proteins called cytokines. They activate a diverse squad of white blood cells. Some also directly prevent viruses from reproducing. These aggressive acts lead to inflammation. The immune system has responded to pathogens by producing antibodies or mustering defensive cells. It prepares in advance and learns from its past. It acts fast, but has checks and balances to prevent over-reactions.| The Atlantic

Indian scientists observe higher viral load in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients

A study has been conducted in Telangana with over 200 patients. It has been observed that there is a higher association between asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and viral load. The researchers from the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) and others have advised testing asymptomatic primary and secondary contacts followed by surveillance. The study analysed whole-genome sequence data of virus samples from the patients and determined the highly frequent mutations in the viral genome.| Times of India

Steroids and Hepatitis C drugs may help fight the virus

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the death rate of COVID-19 patients can be reduced by 20% using corticosteroids. Separate trials of low dose hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, and methylprednisolone, found that they improve survival of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units. The advantage of finding potent treatments among approved drugs is that they “can be advanced rapidly to clinical trials without extensive multi-year preclinical development efforts,” the researchers said. Researchers mainly work on vaccines that eliminate RNA of the COVID-19 virus which in turn is a game-changer.| Reuters

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Japan looks to AI as COVID-19 challenges quality control mantra

Robots have started sharing the work of quality-control inspectors as the quality of the product is being tested automatically using AI. But the experts say it was quite hard for them to design an algorithm to identify the defects because there can be more than 100 possible ways the quantity can be lowered. Later they rather made an algorithm stating the good quality instead of making the algorithm on defects. They said that the quality of the products made on automated lines was overwhelmingly higher and more. “Of course one has to be on-site to assess and execute solutions when issues come up, but identifying and confirming are tasks we can now do from home”, said Kazuhiro Kanno, general manager at Ricoh’s printer manufacturing unit.|  Reuters

EDUCATION

The return to school is an important and hopefully a welcoming step, but the younger generation likely has many questions. The best interest of every child should be at the center of these decisions, using the best available evidence, but exactly how this will look will vary from school to school. Going back to school will likely look a little different from what existed before. During such a worrying and disruptive time, it’s natural to have a lot of questions. But many children will need extra support to catch up on their learning when schools reopen. Parents may want to contact their child’s teacher or school to ask questions and stay informed.| UNICEF

The New Normal at the universities in China

Students in China are heading back to universities as the COVID-19 cases in China have decreased. Along with implementing strict rules, the universities have purchased “epidemic control” surveillance systems based on facial recognition, contact tracing, and temperature checks. Detailing technology systems are designed to track and save students’ movements. Also, students must apply to leave the campus as most live on campus in shared dorm rooms, presenting a challenge for health authorities. Following the new rules might be difficult for the students, but they have no other choice.| Reuters

How technology will transform learning in the COVID-19 era

The unbundling of education has brought about four tectonic shifts: career choices driven by return on investment (ROI), a move towards lifelong learning, shorter durations and new business models. Students wish to learn tangible skills such as coding, marketing and sales in a condensed time frame. The second shift we are witnessing is the move towards lifelong learning.The unbundling of education will bring about disruption in multiple waves. The first wave will include channels of learning hard skills with direct employment prospects. AI + Community = future of learning is the fact that one should let sink in.|World Economic Forum

SPORTS

COVID-19 impact and the ban of Chinese Apps in the E-sports sector

With the ban of more than 50 Chinese mobile apps and 200 other apps citing security issues, the E-sports sector in the country has faced a huge backlash over the past few weeks. When asked about the recent bans and the effect of COVID-19 on the gaming sector, Esports club co-founder Mr. Ishaan Arya said that the ban of Chinese apps had created huge uncertainty in India. He also said that even the eSports sector couldn’t escape from the negative impacts created by the whole COVID-19 situation. With the recent ban on PUBG mobile, the uncertainty has increased further. However, the ban has opened a huge market for other games like Free Fire and Call of Duty.| Times Now

ECONOMY

 India’s economy faces the worst quarterly slump ever after lockdown

Shilan Shah, an Indian economist at Capital Economics, Singapore said that the economic damage caused by pandemic-related lockdowns was much worse in India than any other country in Asia.  According to economists in a Reuters poll the hopes of economic recovery, this year were dashed as the situation was the worst in at least the past 8 years. Consumer demand and manufacturing are yet to recover. Policymakers said federal and state governments are unable to increase spending, following a more than 40% fall in tax receipts in the June quarter.| Economic Times

BUSINESS

Social enterprises – The COVID-19 Response Alliance

It has been globally reported that social enterprises have played a major role in re-starting the economy. Considering the noble causes these enterprises carry out, the availability of funds has always been a matter of concern. Thus the World Economic Forum launched the COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs which consists of  60 leading organizations to amplify support for social entrepreneurs. These Alliance members have been providing holistic support to more than 15,000 social entrepreneurs, reaching 1.5 billion people cumulatively in over 190 countries.

Key Takeaways from the work of social enterprises:

  • The importance of stakeholder capitalism is being recognized and promoted more so during this time.
  • Intrapreneurs within corporations are key changemakers and are central to the COVID response and recovery.| World Economic Forum

Future of Global Cities post COVID-19

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. However, being the revolution that it is, it has enabled this year’s massive shift to remote working. According to research conducted by JLL, the ways the office will be used will not differ from the years before but, this time, 

  • We will see an even greater emphasis placed on creating the best possible human experience.
  • Shared creative spaces and convenience retail along with high-capacity internet connectivity will be essential.
  • In cities such as New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo, we can expect massive new investment in public transport to provide more space, better air filtration, and greater reliability.
  • Destination retail, tourism, and leisure will re-emerge strongly in the post-pandemic world, especially once transport systems can return to full capacity.| World Economic Forum 

PUBLIC HEALTH

Is exercising suggestible for those suffering from COVID-19?

Experts suggest that every individual must exercise 30 to 45 mins every day, but this suggestion is not true for those suffering from COVID-19. Doctors say that exercising while suffering from COVID-19 can worsen the symptoms, even moderate exercise while suffering from mild Coronavirus could be dangerous and lead to myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle- myocardium), as when exercising the cardiac output of our heart increases. It is best to keep monitoring the heart rate when suffering from COVID- 19. To resume the fitness game, one must wait for at least 4 weeks post-illness.| Times of India

Where can we get authentic information about Coronavirus?

We Bulletin 17 Informative? Let us know your suggestions

KARE COVID-19 Response

KARE is now supporting the front-line workers through local government by providing Food, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) & sanitizers made in-house at the Kumaraguru Institutions. KARE is also connecting the farmers with communities who would required vegetables in bulk.

KARE COVID-19 Response So Far 

  • 43038 Cooked meals
  • 2259 Volunteering hours clocked
  • 10 Tons of Vegetables transacted so far
  • 28+ Number of Farmers impacted so far
  • 500 kg Rice
  • 1300 Liquid sanitizer packs
  • 2500 Masks
  • ₹ 4,95,141 Funds Raised
  • ₹ 6,50,000 Funds Spent
  • 57000+  Lives Impacted

Impact areas: 

Chinnavedampatti, Saravanampatty, Vellaikinar, Sathyamangalam, Sulthanpet, Paapampatti, Sulur, Thondamuthur, Narasipuram, Kangayam, Coimbatore & Pollachi.

TO MAKE A DONATION
KARE Bank Account Details

Account name: KCT KARE
Account number: 1245155000078376
Bank: Karur Vysya Bank
Branch: KCT Extension Counter
IFSC: KVBL0001245
Bank address: Kumaraguru College of Technology, Chinnavedampatti,Coimbatore – 641036