KARE COVID 19 Response Bulletin

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.

Here is the basic information & data you need to know about COVID-19: ( link of Bulletin 0.1 )

India and the world: stand in terms of cases of COVID-19

COVID 19
India
Active Cases 3981
Recovered 325
Casualties 114 

World
Active Cases 1214973
Recovered 277402
Causalities 67841

Efficacy of lock-down imposed by the Government in tackling COVID-19 spread:

Considering an incubation period of 10 days, travel bans & imposition of Section 144 in various states on March 12, 2020 have resulted in a reduction of the growth rate of doubling of cases every 3 days to 5 days until March 29, 2020. The increase in the number of cases can also be attributed to the rise in the number of tests per million population & large congregations have also been reported to be the reasons for a spike in cases in countries like South Korea & Singapore post which large scale contact tracing & quarantine exercises were carried out.

Despite the efficacy of 21 day lockdowns in containing the spread of the virus, research reports suggest longer lockdown periods up to 49 days4. Taking into consideration socio-economic factors, a “staggered” exit with focus on COVID – 19 hotspots & quarantine has been discussed as a part of the Prime Minister’s discussion with State Chief Ministers.
 

Source: Cambridge University, CIT Chennai, Press & Information Bureau Tag: COVID Update, Research

What India can learn from countries battling COVID-19?

Shekhar Gupta, the Editor in Chief of The Print presents valuable lessons that India can learn from other countries such as Italy and Germany in tackling the pandemic. We highly recommend you to watch this video. 

Our broader takeaways include

• Focus on the highly vulnerable population – The elderly & all residents in hotspots of COVID – 19
• Extensively test both symptomatic & asymptomatic (no symptoms) cases to avoid community transmission
• Ensure security to financially vulnerable sections such as daily wage laborers, migrant workers – Provide them with a safety net where ever they’re to prevent mass exodus such as those witnessed in Delhi, UP etc.,

Tag: Insights

Geo-fencing app will be used to locate quarantine violators:

Summary:
The government has tested a “geo-fencing” application similar to the COVID-19 Quarantine Alert System (CQAS) that triggers e-mails and SMS alerts to an authorised government agency if a person has jumped quarantine or escaped from isolation, based on the person’s mobile phone’s cell tower location and it is accurate by up to 300 m. Kerala was one of the first States to use CQAS a geo-fencing application to track COVID-19 cases.

The Centre is using powers under the Indian Telegraph Act to “fetch information” from telecom companies every 15 minutes to track COVID-19 cases across the country. The States have been asked to seek the approval of their Home Secretaries under the provisions of Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. Department of Telecommunications (DoT) shared a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) with all telecom service providers stating that the data collected shall be used only for the purpose of Health Management in the context of COVID-19 and is strictly not for any other purposes. Any violation in this regard would attract penal provisions under the relevant laws. Further, after the monitoring process, the data would be deleted four weeks from thereon.

SOURCE: Corona virus  A Geo-fencing app will be used to locate quarantine violators – The Hindu
Tag: Technology

WHO launches global megatrial of the four most promising coronavirus treatments

Summary:
Vaccinations are put to trial in various parts of the globe and the pharma industries are investing millions of dollars. The WHO SOLIDARITY  has trickled down to three Drugs which are promising for the cure of COVID-19.

Remdesivir :
The new coronavirus is giving this compound a second chance to shine. Originally developed by Gilead Sciences to combat Ebola, Malaria and related viruses, remdesivir shuts down viral replication by inhibiting a key viral enzyme, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

The first COVID-19 patient diagnosed in the United States—a young man in Snohomish County in Washington—was given remdesivir when his condition worsened; he improved the next day, according to a case report in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). A Californian patient who received remdesivir—and who doctors thought might not survive—recovered as well.

Chloroquine and hydroxeychloroquine:
 It can be noted that hydroxychloroquine is banned by the Indian Government and was also requested by the President of the United States has requested usage of the same to curb the COVID–19. But,”Solidarity” the international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19, launched by the World Health Organization and partners were not inclined towards consulting the duo as a cure for the virus, but has approved  research into the drug’s potential since the drugs “received significant attention” in many countries. 

Ritonavir/lopinavir and interferon-beta:

SOLIDARITY will also have an arm that combines the two antivirals with interferon-beta, a molecule involved in regulating inflammation in the body that has also shown an effect in marmosets infected with MERS. A combination of the three drugs is now being tested in MERS patients in Saudi Arabia in the first randomized controlled trial for that disease.

But the use of interferon-beta on patients with severe COVID-19 might be risky,if it is given late in the disease.

Source : WHO launches global megatrial of the four most promising coronavirus treatments  –Sciencemag.org
Tag: Research

A prescription for action: Nine steps after the next 21 days

from  Abhijit Baneerjee and Esther Duflo (laureates:  Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 2019).

The condition of the world today is pathetic with the loss of several lives. While people who have roofs above their heads find it hard to stay home, the ones without one find it hard to find a home or even return to their hometowns. The Indian Express published an informative article on nine essential steps that we have to take up during this pandemic.

Some of the advice post lockdowns are :

1. Even if the lockdown slows down the spread, the disease will continue to widen it’s range as dormant carriers reach new populations. But, only those directly affected are tested and not the carriers.
2. If this disease is not fully eliminated in the next two weeks (highly unlikely), it will spread at an accelerating rate as soon as the curfew is lifted. To limit the extent of preventable tragedy, at least one person in the household must know the key symptoms of the disease. Spreading the awareness that some will get infected despite their best efforts and honest reporting is key.
3. Reports must be combined quickly so that the public becomes aware of the possible hotspots.
4. Each state must create a large mobile team of doctors and nurses, with testing kits and other equipment, so that they will be quickly deployed wherever the number of reports seems to be growing fast.
5. Be prepared to continue this “war effort” until the vaccine comes online. Then vaccinate as many people as possible. And start to upgrade the healthcare system and be better prepared for the next time.

Source: A prescription for action: Nine steps after the next 21 days –  Indian Express
Tag: Insights

Indian Scientists join the COVID-19 Battle

Summary:
Indian Scientists’ Response to CoViD-19 (ISRC) is a voluntary group of scientists who regularly discuss the rapidly evolving situation with its dire need for science communication. the group currently has nearly 200 members, the group has scientists from institutions such as the NCBS, the IISc, the TIFR, the  Dr. IITs, the IISERs and many others.

Several working groups have been formed by scientists. They include one on hoax busting to address disinformation spreading with respect to the coronavirus and one on science popularisation to develop material that explains concepts such as home quarantine. Other groups work on resources in Indian languages, mathematical models and applications for use.

The official twitter handle of this initiative is https://twitter.com/IndSciCOVID (@IndSciCOVID),
handled by Dr.Reeteka from NIMHANS, Bangalore.

Source – Indian scientists join the battle against COVID-19 – The Hindu 
Tag: Research

4 ways COVID-19 could change how we educate future generations.

With the world reacting to this global pandemic – Covid-19, there seems to be a changed notion of how the future generations are to be prepared for their education. This has brought up a global need for educators to revisit their way of educating young people, especially Gen X and Gen Alpha. It is going to have a long-term impact that could drastically change the view of ‘Education’ for the generations that are yet to come. This pandemic has very well changed our global outlook and there are certain lessons for educators on how to be better in teaching young learners. 

There are four important lessons that have been listed.

• People are to realise the importance of being globally interconnected and to work collaboratively across diversification.
• The educators to strengthen their contribution to the students, who are now technologically privileged. 
• It is important for the students to be taught about life skills to get themselves prepared for a period like this global outbreak which would be valuable additions to their skillset and EQ.
• This pandemic has also created a compulsion for the educational institutions to be technologically active with the students which have also thrown light on improving the role of technology in education.
• Most importantly, isolation and remote learning have taught us the importance of human face-to-face social interaction.

Source: 4 ways COVID-19 could change how we educate future generations – WeForum.org 
Tag: Education

How is Kerala Preparing for a worst-case scenario with Tech?

Kerala being one of the highly infected states, is working on tech node to ensure optimal utilization of available resources such as hospital bed, ambulances, ventilators etc.

• Why? – A sharp increase in the number of people testing positive, so it is essential to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
• Mission- Its fundamental aim is to manage the available assets and to ensure the optimal utilisation of resources available.
• How? – By having a team of Coders, Data Analysts, Software Experts, Doctors, Para Medics, Government Officers etc.,
• Purpose  – They will be building a Tech-Node for a better understanding of the situation using the collected data and plan for the future.
• Specifications – It gives a dashboard with more than 20 applications that links Hospitals, Corona Care Centers, volunteers etc.,
• What is the benefit? – It removes the maximum involvement of the human interface in arranging the needs like ambulance etc., during the lockdown period and it connects all the remote places.

Source: Covid-19: How Kerala is using tech to prepare for worst-case scenario – LiveMint
Tag: Technology

Aarogya Setu application – An effort to be proactive than being reactive

The Indian government has launched a series of measures to tackle COVID – 19, and is moving a step  forward in its efforts by launching the comprehensive Aarogya Setu application, an application aiding to track COVID – 19. “Offering credible information about COVID – 19 for all the citizens” is its primary objective. Available for both the Android and iOS users, it keeps the citizens informed about the practices required and relevant advisories with regards to the tacking of COVID-19.

It’s essential importance lies in its utility; it aids in identifying if an individual is at the risk of being invested, by checking if they came into contact with COVID – 19 infected individuals knowingly or unknowingly.  The Next Web spotted the app first by specifying that Aarogya Setu used the government data of infected people for its function. Developed by the National Informatics Center, it is highly stable and maintains the details of it’s users highly confidential.

Supporting eleven Indian languages, it requires an individual’s location and Bluetooth access to identify if one came into contact with a COVID-19 infected patient. The app also intimates if one stays in a safe location or not. 
The following are the links to download the Application ; 

   –  https://apps.apple.com/in/app/aarogyasetu/id1505825357

 –  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nic.goi.aarogyasetu

Tag: Technology

Fight Corona Ideathon

Realizing the importance of orienting the community of scientists and technologists around the country at this crucial time to scout technological solutions that can help the society and government in effectively handling the crisis arising in light of the pandemic, Fight Corona IDEAthon, a 2-day online ideathon, was jointly launched by  Forge, MHRD Innovation Cell, AICTE, MEITY Startup Hub, InnovatioCuris and other organisations of global and national prominence offered support in terms of Technology, Knowledge, Outreach, etc.,

 A short note about the winning ideas:

• The first place was bagged by Abhaytech founded by Tarak Nagarajan which is working on disposable/ reusable lung and heart monitors that can be worn at home and only require a smartphone which will help to reduce the burden for hospital-based monitoring and the bottleneck of available hospital beds. As most of the deaths are occurring due to comorbidity. The AI Algorithm developed by Abhayatech can act as a temporary doctor and constantly help in monitoring the patients and help ease the burden on doctors.
• The second place was won by Combat Robotics India Private Limited founded by Ganesh Suryawanshi which is developing a product which they call AmbuAir an automated assistive breathing support for early and revival Stage COVID-19 patients. The innovation developed by the Combat Robotics team according to them can save people’s life who can die due to lack of primary breathing aid as their device can act as an alternative to ventilators.
• Third place was given to Vyorius Drones founded by Nishant Singh Rana which is currently building healthcare delivery systems combining artificial intelligence and drones to support healthcare providers penetrate into inaccessible and remote areas to provide better health services and help save lives. In each category apart from the first three prizes, three special mention motivational prizes were awarded. All the cash prizes of the ideathon have been sponsored by AICTE and Amazon Web Services India.

“Currently, efforts are being taken to offer the winning teams with Innovation Grants funded through grant schemes implemented by Forge on behalf of DST, MeitY, and from CSR contributions raised for this purpose subsequently. As the situation is very dire, we have looked for solutions that can be launched immediately, and those that can work effectively in the short term. We have the time, the resources, the funds to back ONLY those ideas that we know are least likely to fail. In other words, we need to be sure we are only building those RIGHT Products and we also have made sure that those teams selected for grants and incubation have the plans to build those Products in the RIGHT way.”, said Vish Sahasranamam, Forge’s CEO.

Tag: Technology, Research

A Humanitarian Touch during #Coronacrisis

Where can we get authentic information about coronavirus?

KARE COVID19 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

Report as on 08.04.2020

• 500kg Rice
• 1200 Liquid sanitizer packs
• 2500 Masks
• 8555 Cooked meals
• ₹ 1,50,000 Funds Raised
• ₹ 3,00,000 Funds Spent
• 25000+  Lives Impacted

Impact areas: 
Chinnavedampatti, Saravanampatty, Vellaikinar, Coimbatore & Pollachi.