KARE COVID 19 Response Bulletin 21

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 – War against a virus

COVID-19	Active Cases	Recovered	Casualties
India	945,982	5,506,732	101,812
World	7,950,066	26,052,303	1,036,043

The above graph shows the trends of daily confirmed cases across various states. It is observed that the highest growth rate of daily cases is in Kerala, as a result of which section 144 has been  imposed in all 14 districts. On the contrary, there is a decline in daily cases in Maharashtra, Delhi and some other states.| Prof. Shamika Ravi

The above graph depicts the case fatality ratio(CFR) across states with a population greater than 10 million people. CFR is seen to decrease in many states. But in the states of  Punjab and Assam it is steadily increasing and is a matter of concern.| Prof. Shamika Ravi 

MEDICINE

Teicoplanin – A medicine for Coronavirus

Decades-old antibiotic, Teicoplanin, has shown potential in treating COVID-19 and could be ten to twenty times more effective than HCQ and other drugs being currently used. Teicoplanin belongs to a class of antibiotics called ‘glycopeptide’, which kills bacteria by preventing them from forming the bacterial protective wall that is needed for them to survive. The drug plays a role as a potent inhibitor of main protease. In India, there are around 15 pharmaceutical companies producing the drug, including Glenmark, Biocon, Cipla, Lupin, Zydus Cadila  and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.|ThePrint

RESEARCH

Disinfecting N95 masks

Healthcare workers, facing the shortage of protective equipment such as N95 masks, are left with no other option but to reuse their gear, thus increasing the risk of spreading coronavirus infection. So, researchers have found that gently heating N95 masks in high relative humidity could inactivate SARS-CoV-2 virus trapped within the masks, without degrading their performance. Higher humidity and heat substantially reduced the amount of virus the research team could detect on the mask, although they had to be careful not to go too hot, which additional tests revealed could lower the material’s ability to filter out virus-carrying droplets. Additional results indicate that masks could be decontaminated and reused 20 times and the process works on at least two other viruses; a human coronavirus that causes common cold and the chikungunya virus.|Live Mint 

More potential ingredients for “Antibody cocktail”

A research team has identified 2 kinds of “Ultrapotent human antibodies” that could go into a drug cocktail for guarding against COVID-19. The senior authors of a study have highlighted 2 monoclonal antibodies known as S2E12 and S2M11. The antibodies were found to block SARS-CoV-2. Analysis of the antibodies’ molecular structure has  revealed that they block the virus by gumming up “spike” protein. Researches have shown that such antibodies could be combined in a drug cocktail to guard against the virus|.Geekwire

R-value dip raises hope for slow down of COVID-19 spread

The dip in R-value to below 1 over the last week in the five most infected states have raised hope for the slowing down of the spread of Coronavirus. R-value refers to the likely number of people a Covid positive patient could infect. Though the five major infected states:Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have got a dip in R-value, the national average of infected cases is still on a higher rate. Experts point out that if India could maintain this dip in R-value, a decline in active cases will be inevitable. They also added that the Government should focus on states with higher R-value but lower active cases, since they could replace the current big 5 in the near future.|Times of India

Examination of Neurological consequences of COVID-19

In a recent study, neuroscientists examined the potential link between COVID-19 and Parkinson’s disease. “Though scientists are still learning how SARS-CoV-2 invades the brain and CNS, it is clear that it’s getting in there. The virus can cause a potential degeneration of brain cells from on there” said Prof. Kevin Barnham from the Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health. Researchers also dubbed it as a silent wave because of its potential long term consequences. They also reported that people infected have experienced symptoms like hypoxia, loss of smell which are related to neurology. They also explained that these symptoms might lead to a new way of identifying Parkinson’s disease. Researchers are now hoping to establish a simple cost effective screening technique to identify Parkinson affected people at early stages, where therapies have great potential.|Times of India 

BUSINESS

Impact of lockdown on Indian businesses

This pandemic has brought about huge changes in recent times. This changed orientation has adversely affected the global economy with uncertainty about future conditions worsening the situation. The Institute for Competitiveness along with the Times Network has developed an in-depth business perception survey that captures how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted business operations and what they expect the government to do in response to it. The findings of the survey reflect that the pandemic created various operational and financial challenges for Indian business. There were many challenges that have forced business to adapt, causing them to tweak their long-term plans going from lock down to post lock down period. Recognising the silver lining of this crisis, India Inc has worked in conjunction with the government‘s focus on “Aathmanirbar Bharath”, to strengthen and embrace domestic supply systems. |Economic Times 

ECONOMY

Rising toll sparks big rush to buy COVID-19 insurance

Mounting COVID-19 deaths are causing a rush for insurance cover, making health policies against the virus the highest sellers in Indian insurance history. In the April-August period, around 6 million people bought COVID-19 health insurance policies, Corona Rakshak and Corona Kavach for a total sum assured of at least 2 trillion. Experts say with the number of COVID-19 cases still rising, the monthly growth in COVID-19 policy sales and the sum assured could reach around 30 million and 10 trillion, respectively, in a year’s time. Customers show high interest in buying the COVID-19 insurance which shows both the fear as well as the awareness.|Live Mint 

Southeast Asian Economies face generational downturn from COVID-19

It has long been acknowledged that the health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic could eventually be dwarfed by the economic effects of the measures designed to bring the contagion under control. The World Bank observes that the pandemic has unleashed a “triple shock” on the economies of East Asia and the Pacific: the impact of the pandemic itself, the economic impact of containment measures and the regional impacts of the broader global recession. According to the World Bank, the hardest-hit economies include those which are most exposed to the global collapse in tourism and exports. This crisis is therefore tailor-made for Southeast Asia. The World Bank’s bleak assessment suggests that the economic effects of COVID-19 will still be with us, long after the fever breaks.|The diplomat

TECHNOLOGY

COVID-19 increases urgency of digital technology investments for oil and gas

According to EY survey on oil and gas digital transformation, it is necessary to digitize these sectors along with upgradation of the skills of the current workforce in order to use Technology. Oil and gas executives anticipate greater access to workers with digital skills within the next three years, which will help alleviate the current talent and skills shortage, according to the EY survey. The proportion of executives whose companies have adequate access to workers with cloud computing skills is expected to improve 11 percentage points over current availability along with digital literacy (+18), data science (+26) and artificial intelligence (AI, +24), respectively.|EY

ENVIRONMENT

Nutri-gardens build immunity and reduce exposure to COVID-19

The concepts of developing nutri-gardens at anganwadis will not only help in fighting malnutrition but can also play a crucial role in protecting children and pregnant women from coronavirus infection by reducing exposure and building immunity, say experts. It restricts movement to crowded places like vegetable markets and also helps save money during the period of economic hardship and organic fruits and vegetables help in improving immunity. Moreover, there is a need to ensure that such gardens are first established in those houses which have a pregnant woman, a child 0-24 months and a newly married woman who will soon enter the stage of conception. Instead of universal coverage of all households in a village, special priority could be given to these “high risk” nutrition households. |Deccan Herald 

Impact of COVID-19 on Environment 

The first signs came from China. When the nation assessed a strict lockdown in late January, most people could not evacuate their homes at all for about 3 weeks. And direct emissions of air smog smartly fell at a rate and hierarchy never observed before. “We knew modifications in emissions would be huge and worth researching,” says Joost de Gouw, a chemist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. The pandemic is a tragedy, of course, but the science we can do is significant. When the pandemic hit,  Passenger traffic fell, and traffic-related emissions particularly carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide dropped accordingly. Gas-powered vehicles directly emit CO2 and NO2 as combustion by-products. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that plays a major role in global warming. NO2 plays a key role in atmospheric reactions that produce ozone and fine particulates, both of which harm health.|C&EN 

LIFESTYLE

Why should India worry about post COVID-19 care?

Tens of thousands of people have been reporting post COVID-19 health implications, long-haul COVID-19, in India. Thrombosis is common according to experts. Extreme caution is needed, as scientists are still trying to understand the long-term effects of COVID-19. In a recent study, it has been found that COVID-19 could result in prolonged illness, “even among young adults without underlying chronic medical conditions. Indian health authorities need to focus more on post COVID-19 care, especially as the problem is bound to grow and more as more people recover from the virus. Effective public health messaging targeting these groups is warranted.|BBC

“Mask” mistakes to be avoided 

While most of the people understand the necessity to wear a mask, not many of them have understood the idea of wearing a fit mask that covers the mouth and bridge of the nose to prevent the contraction or spreading of COVID-19. Also, people quite often make the mistake of wearing the face-mask upside down due to which the mask doesn’t retain it’s secure shape. Another common blunder people make especially while wearing homemade masks is sporting them inside out thereby coming in contact with the pathogen. The same complication might arise when people touch their outer surface of the mask too. Reusing dirty or wet masks also adds on to the risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus.|Times of India 

Hair loss and COVID-19

Recent studies have found a striking correlation between hair loss and COVID-19 and it has been identified as a cause of physiological stress while fighting the virus. Apparently, the hair loss was not only observed in COVID-19 patients but also in healthy people who are coping up with other emotional stress encountered during the pandemic while some of them were traumatized by this intricacy itself. According to experts, the pandemic triggers two types of hair loss. The first one is a condition called telogen effluvium wherein people shed more hair than the typical hair loss. The other condition is alopecia areata in which the immune system attacks hair follicles. Experts recommend psychotherapy rather than medication because some antidepressants might aggravate hair loss.|Times of India

PUBLIC HEALTH

How the Global spread of COVID-19 began?

The SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the illness known as COVID-19 first spread rapidly in China, particularly in the province of Wuhan. In the space of one month, the country recorded one thousand deaths. In February cases soared. By March 11, when the WHO declared the novel coronavirus a “pandemic”, 4,500 deaths had been recorded worldwide, across 30 countries and territories. On a global scale, the deadliest week was April 13 to 19 when more than 7,460 coronavirus deaths were officially reported every day. Since the start of June, the average number of deaths per day has hovered around 5,000. According to official statistics, Africa has been less affected than other continents and Brazil became the country with the most deaths in total after the United States.|Live Mint

COVID-19 could continue till march before turning endemic

India’s COVID-19 epidemic curve appears to have peaked during the middle 2 weeks of September 2020. Too much reliance on numbers alone is not valuable as daily volume of tests is decreasing. ICMR showed the number of infections detected by RT-PCR test remain undetected. The steady state is over in the long term,not the short term. Vaccination is the only answer to prevent death. During the endemic phase, vaccination can protect vulnerable individuals. The government  should create facilities for large-scale antibody testing. India’s strength at WHO looking upon the speed with phase 3 trial progress, we can expect vaccines emerging before March 2021.|The Hindu 

Where can we get authentic information about Coronavirus?

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