KARE COVID19 Response Bulletin 2
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, cyclones, 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 & Bulletin 01
blog.kct.ac.in/category/kare/
India and the world: stand in terms of cases of COVID-19
| COVID-19 | Active Cases | Recovered | Casualties |
| India | 12974 | 2230 | 507 |
| World | 2164111 | 595433 | 146198 |
COVID-19 Clusters and why knowing them is important?
A disease cluster is defined as an aggregation of cases in an identifiable subpopulation.
Reports show that the novel coronavirus can travel about six feet from a diseased person and cause infection between two and four individuals. Thus, when people congregate in a place the chance of a disease spread multiplies, resulting in a cluster of cases. The size of a disease cluster could vary widely from just four cases to as many as 5,000 depending on the place visited by the infected individuals.
How to Plot a cluster?
The following are 2 descriptive images of how a cluster in Singapore burst into the maximum spread of the virus.
Part A of the graphic maps the first set of patients who were infected at a conference in Singapore between January 20 and 22.
Part A: Patients infected at a Singapore conference
Part B: Activity trails of primary and secondary contacts
The above 2 graphs show why understanding clusters in important this international conference is what made Corona a Pandemic and how clusters turn far more impact.
Identifying Clusters in India!
Discovering a cluster is akin to a fire alarm going off. Every moment wasted will spread the fire further. The faster the infected individuals are identified and quarantined, the lesser the number of future contacts. But this is easier said than done.
As of 11.04.2020 at least 1,023 positive cases in 17 States/Union Territories have been linked to the recently discovered Delhi cluster in India. The cluster which was discovered in late March originated in a congregation.
As of April 2, 9,000 people linked to the event. but The COVID-19 cluster related to the Nanjangud pharmaceutical company that has led to more than 40 cases of infection among its employees and their primary contacts, is still a mystery, said health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey.
How have clusters functioned in other countries?
Almost all countries have discovered a large cluster and in most of them, the number of COVID-19 cases shot up after identification of the infected and contact tracing began. As of April 4, South Korea has mapped 83% of its cases to some clusters. More than 51% of the country’s cases originated from the Shincheonji Congregation.
Source: Coronavirus | Why must COVID-19 clusters be identified? Tags-#Research
Rapid Anti-body Testing
What is the rapid antibody testing cleared by ICMR in select areas. The two kinds of antibodies & what they mean. And US allows convalescent Plasma Therapy. In episode 436 of #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta explains these & some other big developments
Source: Coronavirus lockdown extended in India: Full list of new rules, guidelines and restrictions | The Print | Tags-#Tech #Research
Lockdown 2.0 rules:
Know what’s permitted and what’s not
With India entering the second phase of a nationwide lockdown, the government has put forth a new set of guidelines to be followed by people in order to contain the spread of this novel coronavirus. The new lockdown rules and regulations are to be followed until May 3 with few conditional relief offered to areas that are not hotspots for the novel coronavirus. The exhaustive guidelines detail whether citizens are allowed to move, what industries can function, what items can be sold, what measures are to be followed by workplaces remaining open during the lockdown phase, and much more.
The following short video by India Today addresses the list of activities allowed and prohibited from April 20.
Gist of Research Papers Regarding
COVID-19
Demography of infection:
Genomic analysis has revealed that bats are the primary source of SARS-CoV-2. However, the intermediate source of origin and its transfer to humans is not known.
COVID-19 infection: Origin, transmission, and characteristics of human
Reproduction Number (R0)
This tells the average number of people who will catch a disease from one contagious person. R0 for COVID-19 is estimated to be around 2–3*.
Introduction to the ‘Bhilwara model’ Govt. is set to use!
As the coronavirus cases in the country are rising rapidly, higher officials are discussing implementing the ‘Bhilwara Model’ throughout the country. Bhilwara is a textile town in Rajasthan, having a population of over 24 lakhs.
Bhilwara became a hotspot for coronavirus during the initial time. Recording over 27 positive cases and 2 deaths. But things changed drastically when the district administration came up with a strategy to control the situation.
The strategy followed in Bhilwara consisted of six very basic but crucial steps:
Isolating the district; mapping the hotspots; door-to-door screening; aggressive contact tracing; ramping up quarantine and isolation wards; and readying a monitoring mechanism for rural areas.
After the implementation of this strict model, bhilwara showed very good results. With zero newly tested positive cases in the past week and 13 patients have recovered completely. This attracted everyone, tempting everyone to follow the same model. If followed correctly and effectively this model will be useful throughout the country.
Source : This is the ‘Bhilwara model’ Modi govt is looking to use across India to fight Covid-19 | Tags #India #Insights
UN biodiversity chief calls for ban on wildlife market
Being the initiator for the Coronavirus and all the other pandemics in the past, ‘Wet Markets’ are brought up for a permanent ban in order to prevent such emergence of deadly viruses in the future. United Nations’ biodiversity chief, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema has called for this ban.
Since the wildlife market in Wuhan was the starting point of the virus after a shrimp seller was found as one of the ‘patient zero’, this thought of such a ban has been demanded by environmentalists around the world. She also mentioned the cases of Ebola in Africa and Nipah virus in India and advised the countries to bring a permanent ban on such markets that sell live and dead animals. Along with the ban, Though this would disappoint all the meat-eaters around the world, ceasing the trade of meat could help the world consider the relationship between humans and nature.
Source: COVID-19 pandemic: UN biodiversity chief calls for ban on wildlife market | Tags #Environment
Detecting COVID-19 with voices – MobApp
A new app, which will be used to collect data to develop machine learning algorithms that could automatically detect whether a person is suffering from COVID-19 based on the sound of their voice, their breathing, and coughing, has been launched by researchers at the University of Cambridge.
As COVID-19 is a respiratory condition, the sounds made by people with the condition – including voice, breathing, and cough sounds – are very specific. A large, crowdsourced data set will be useful in developing machine learning algorithms that could be used for automatic detection of the condition.
The COVID-19 Sounds App collects basic demographic and medical information from users, as well as spoken voice samples, breathing and coughing samples through the phone’s microphone. The app will also ask users if they have tested positive for the coronavirus. The app will not provide any medical advice.
Source : New app collects the sounds of COVID-19 | Tags- #Science, #Tech
Genome Sequencing and Science
COVID-19 is a member of the group of the coronavirus family that can potentially spread the infection to both humans and animals. COVID-19 is a highly detrimental virus.
Genomic analysis is essential to find the effect and evolution of the virus. Also, a study of one type of coronavirus has found that these mutate slowly, which lessens their chances of growing more deadly. Thus, to know more about these viruses, and resist their spread, COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium started the whole-genome sequencing of COVID – 19.
Whole-genome sequencing is determining the entire DNA sequence of an organism’s genetic material. Sequencing the genome of COVID – 19, a £20 million investment, is done by procuring samples from infected patients and giving those samples to sequencing centers. Sequencing helps in knowing COVID-19, its spread, it’s adaptation in host humans, response to drugs, required treatments in the future and thus helps in making important decisions regarding the pandemic.
Source: COVID-19 genome sequencing | Tags #Science #Research
India a Reliable Global Power
– COVID Diplomacy
The Global crisis has kindled India to emerge as a responsible and reliable international power at a time when many nations have floundered.
India has begun sending dispatches of rescue medicines as gifts to neighboring countries to help them fight the coronavirus pandemic. The government has also removed exports of COVID-19 drugs to many countries under commercial agreements signed with Indian pharmaceutical companies.
Exports from special economic zones are allowed after steps have been taken to secure the supplies India may need if the worst case of COVID-19 occurs.
Source: COVID diplomacy establishes India as are liable and responsible global power economy Tags #Trade #Economy
A Humanitarian Touch during #Coronacrisis
The Give India has collected a whooping ₹13,86,79,837 from over 1,13,082 Donors from all over the Globe. Their main focus is on the Contribution of support to COVID hit families and Aid the Government in handling the crisis. They are also inclined to help the in-need population of the country and they are receiving huge traction.
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 20.04.2020
- 165 Registered Volunteers
- 100 Migrant Labours Accommodated
- 1350 liters Liquid sanitizer packs
- 2900 Masks
- 16363 Cooked Meals
- ₹ 2,50,000 Funds Raised
- ₹ 4,50,000 Funds Spent
- 37500+ Lives Impacted
Impact areas:
Chinnavedampatti, Saravanampatty, Vellaikinar, Coimbatore & Pollachi.
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
