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 – Global fight against a virus

COVID-19
 		Active Cases
 		Recovered
 		Casualties 
 
India2,659,72614,018,818191,281
World18,872,505124,699,0063,105,014

The second wave of COVID-19 has brought about a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, affecting the lives of many. The graph shows a sharp increase in the active cases across the states with the fastest growth being observed in Delhi. |Prof. Shamika Ravi

India records the highest number of COVID-19 cases in a day

The massive second wave of COVID-19 crossed another grim milestone as it recorded nearly 3.16 lakh cases on April 21, 2021. This is the highest single-day count recorded in any country so far. On April 21, 2021 India logged 3,15,925 new cases crossing the 3 lakh mark for the first time and going past the previous highest daily case count of 3,07,581 reported in the US on January 8. Between April 4 to April 21, cases have surged 6.76% daily which is more than four times faster than a similar growth in daily numbers in the US – the only other country which has recorded more than 1 lakh cases daily. |Times of India

COVID-19 second wave explained

The ongoing second wave of COVID-19 is shaking up the country with rapidly increasing cases. It is evident from the current high positivity rate that the virus has spread at a much faster rate during the last couple of months, and infected many more people compared to last year. The high rate could be because of increased contact between people or due the circulation of a faster-transmitting variant. The only silver lining was that it was causing fewer deaths compared to the first wave. But for the first time since July, India’s weekly Case Fatality Rate (CFR) has overtaken the overall CFR. This indicates that the current phase of the pandemic is much more deadly. The last couple of weeks have seen the infrastructure crumble under the weight of cases and several deaths have happened because of lack of hospital beds or access to critical care facilities. |Indian Express

COVID-19 in India: Why the second wave is devastating

Heartbreaking stories are coming in from across India as a second COVID wave wreaks havoc. The rise in case numbers has been exponential in the second wave. Experts say this rapid increase shows that the second wave is spreading much faster across the country. A false sense of normalcy crept in and everybody, including people and officials, did not take measures to stop the second wave. There appears to be a lack of coordination between states and the federal government over the supply of oxygen and essential drugs. Testing facilities are still poor in smaller towns and even in some cities and it’s possible that many COVID-19 related deaths are missed. |BBC

In second wave, India has twice the number of 2020’s active COVID-19 cases

India’s second wave of Coronavirus is more virulent than the first wave as the country is witnessing twice the number of maximum active COVID-19 cases seen last year. Currently there are 21,57,000 active cases in India which is twice the number of maximum active COVID-19 cases recorded last year. A total of 146 districts reported COVID-19 positivity rate of more than 15%, while 274 districts reported case positivity between 5 and 15%. The government plans to increase supplies of medical oxygen in the coming days even as a nationwide surge in Coronavirus cases soaks up supplies. The government has also been evaluating applications from suppliers overseas for oxygen imports. |Hindustan Times

No difference in mortality in COVID-19 ‘first’ and ‘second wave’: ICMR

According to leading doctors in charge of India’s national COVID-19 management plan, there was no difference in mortality among COVID-19 patients in the first and second waves. There was a significant rise in the number of people who experienced shortness of breath as a symptom of the infection and people over the age of 60 continues to be the most vulnerable to death. As compared to the first wave, the second wave had a slightly higher percentage of patients under the age of 20 (5.8%) compared to the first wave (4.2%). In the first wave, 25.5 percent of the patients were between the ages of 20 and 40, compared to 23.7 percent in the second wave, which is also ongoing. |The Hindu

First wave versus Second wave

Breathlessness has been the most observed symptom during the second wave of COVID-19 in contrast to the first wave where people had symptoms like dry cough, joint pain, headaches. Only a marginally high proportion of COVID-19 patients are  of younger age. The average age of patients affected in the first wave were 50 years and in the second wave, it is 49 years. There is no change in the death rate between the first wave and the second wave. Three main variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have already been found in India. |Live Mint

India’s COVID-19 Case Fatality is not lower than that of other countries

According to Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder and director of the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, the myth that India has a lower COVID-19 case fatality rate has led to people not taking the virus seriously. He said that the second wave was always going to happen but the question was the size of the second wave. The biggest value of the COVID-19 vaccine is reducing severe disease and mortality. Vaccination is part of the strategy and it is eventually the final strategy it is really going to have to be people taking precautions themselves. India has a dangerous age group which is between 45 to 75 years. In that age group, the case fatality rates in India are sharply higher than in countries like China, Brazil, Italy and the US.  The main way we can bring cases down is by advertising how severe the problem is so that people respond with their own behaviour. |IndiaSpend

Second wave could peak in May

The scientists have forecasted the second wave to peak in mid-May with the daily infection count exceeding 3.5 lakh, based on preliminary analysis using the available data and the Susceptible-Infected-Removed (SIR) model. The current Case Fatality Rate (CFR) for the country is approximately 1.2%. The pandemic has spread intensely across all states, the study said, is evident from the effective reproduction number R0. R0 is the number of secondary infections generated from one infected individual. The exponential growth rate for the second wave is more than double of the first wave. Although the vaccination drive is expanded gradually to include all age groups, the spread of the highly infectious new mutant of the pathogen poses a major health emergency. |Live Mint

‘Double mutant’ most common variant now: India’s genome data 

The double mutation virus – now classified as B.1.617 – was the most common in the samples sequenced in the 60 days before April 2 at 24%. The variant was first detected on October 5 and was relatively obscure till it began popping up on an increasing number of samples from January onwards. On April 1, it accounted for 80% of all analyzed genome sequences of mutant variants sent by India to the global repository GISAID. The second most commonly found variant in the last 60 days was the UK variant, or B.1.1.7, at 13% of the samples, according to the assessment by scientists from Scripps Research. Both trends could be worrying for India, at least to some degree. |Hindustan Times

Only 2-4 infections per 10k found in those vaccinated with two doses: ICMR

Studies have shown lesser virulence and mortality among vaccinated people. Only 2-4 per 10,000 “breakthrough” infections were noted in people who were vaccinated against the disease. So far 0.04% people have tested positive after the second dose of Covaxin and 0.03% after the second dose of  Covishield. The data is encouraging and should go a long way in dispelling vaccine hesitancy that continues to pose hurdles to the vaccination drive. Experts and doctors continue to insist that precautions like sanitisation and use of masks should not be abandoned even after vaccination. |Times of India

More children test positive for COVID-19 in India’s second wave

As India grapples with escaping cases in the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, Doctors across Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR)  have confirmed that even newborns and infants are testing positive for COVID-19, although their condition remains under control and rarely turns fatal. However, children between 5-12 years of age are at a greater risk and show severe symptoms of COVID-19. Experts say that the surge in pediatric cases might be because of the new mutant strain of the virus. Lack of precaution in households, increased exposure in vulnerable areas might also be the reasons for the surge. Vaccinations are also not yet available for children. Doctors caution against self medication for children and suggest immediate medical help to be the solution. |India Today

As Second Wave Brings Downside Risks, Policy Options Are Limited

As the COVID-19 cases are on the rise , the local governments are continuing to impose restrictions on movement, gatherings and high-contact services. The result is that economic activity is slowing, even as policymakers are left with fewer options to deal with another sharp economic downturn. Night curfews have been announced by eleven states accounting for about 60% of India’s GDP. As of now, the second wave is still more concentrated than the first with urban India making up two-thirds of all cases but the pandemic continues to grow at an alarming pace. Taking into account the new restrictions, the economic cost of the latest shutdowns will increase to $1.25 billion per week, from $0.52 billion earlier, according to a research note by Barclays dated April 12,2021. |Bloomberg Quint

Top doctors’ advise to tackle COVID-19 surge

AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, Narayana health chairman Dr Devi Shetty and Medanta Chairman Dr Naresh Trehan, addressed several queries regarding the COVID-19 situation in India and suggested measures that people should adopt amid the second wave. The doctors suggested the judicious use of oxygen, hospital beds and Remdesivir to tackle shortage. Dr Naresh Trehan says that Remdesivir should not be administered to everyone who tests positive. It should be used based on test results, symptoms, comorbidities of a patient, etc. Dr Devi Shetty urges people to test themselves for COVID-19 when experiencing the slightest of symptoms. Asymptomatic patients need to stay at home, follow proper COVID-19 precautions and check the oxygen saturation level. Dr Guleria advocates that the vaccines only prevent COVID-19 in the form of severe illness. Hence, it is possible to test positive even after inoculation. Following appropriate COVID-19 precautions is inevitable. |Times of India

Where can we get authentic information about Coronavirus?

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KARE COVID-19 Response So Far

43038 Cooked meals
2279 Volunteering hours clocked.
10 Tons of Vegetables transacted so far.
28+ Number of Farmers impacted so far.
555 Helpline Calls.
500 Grocery Kits & 500 kg Rice
50+ hours of student mentoring & 8 Gadgets
1400 Liquid sanitizer packs
5500 Masks
₹ 4,95,141 Funds Raised.
₹ 6,50,000 Funds Spent.
63000+ Lives Impacted

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

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