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.

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


STATISTICS

India & the World: Is the curve getting flattened?

COVID-19
 		Active Cases
 		Recovered
 		Casualties 
 

India
 
39,834
 		17,8461,981
World
4,065,870
 		1,415,268278,374

The above graph shows active, deaths, recovered cases in countries with 50k+ confirmed cases

The death rates, In Maharashtra and Gujarath is high and showing an increase in the trend, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal have been on a rise, whereas in Delhi it is high but is stable.. | Shamika Ravi


LOCKDOWN 3.0

What’s allowed and what is not?

With India entering the next phase of nationwide lockdown, the Centre has allowed the state to decide what needs to be permitted based on the situation in the ground. The restrictions will depend upon the incidence of Covid-19 in different regions, which have been color-coded into red, orange, and green zones accordingly. For further information: Red, Yellow, Green Zones for Lockdown 3.0: activities allowed

Curbs and Relaxations

SCIENCE & TECH

10-Minute Coronavirus kit may be on its way-for $1

Senegal has taken its place as a global trailblazer in the quest to invent a rapid, 1$ testing kit for Covid-19. Mass manufacture of the testing kits is set to start immediately in the United Kingdom and Senegal once it meets the regulation standards 
Know more at “Novel Corona Virus Test uses CRISPR Technology” | Psychology Today

India completes one million tests for SARS CoV-2

Type of test performed : RT PCR
Number of tests per day : Over 75,000
Total laboratories in which testing was done : 419

Biotech startup Biomoneta’s air decontamination technology

Founded in 2014, this Bengaluru based startup has created patent-pending ZeBox technology, which pulls in microbes from the air and infected surfaces. This plug-and-play B2B device was developed to keep hospitals free of infection. Importantly, the device works without human intervention.

Read more at: https://yourstory.com/

Comparing the seasonal flu and Covid-19 


RESEARCH

Remidesivir-drug for emergency use in USA

Remdesivir, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, is the first drug to treat COVID-19 approved in the US based on clinical data. It is an antiviral molecule that impersonates the virus’s genetic building blocks, disrupting its ability to replicate . Trials have shown that 53.8% of the patients who were treated for 10 days have recovered.

For more information: Gilead’s remidesivir

Oxford Covid-19 vaccine-a breakthrough in COVID management

University of Oxford researchers have begun testing a COVID-19 vaccine called “ChAdOx1 nCoV-19” in human volunteers. Scientists at the National Institute of Health have inoculated six rhesus macaque monkeys with single doses of the Oxford vaccine last month. The animals were then exposed to heavy quantities of the Coronavirus. But even after 28 days, all six were healthy, says Vincent Munster, the researcher who conducted the test.

For more information: Human trials-Oxford COVID vaccine

India-The vaccine producing hub

Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest maker of vaccines by volume, is mass-producing the vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford, which started testing it on humans last week, and is a leader in the global race to develop an antidote to the novel coronavirus.

For more details: Serum Institute of India


EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN

Mild Covid-19 symptoms could be fatal soon

People with mild symptoms of COVID-19 can become seriously ill because of the overreaction of the immune system. Some of this include
“Cytokine storms” which could be fatal.
“Silent hypoxia” which reduces blood oxygen saturation levels, without shortness of breath, but the lung suddenly collapses. 

Usage of pulse oximeters to measure oxygen levels in the blood to deduct symptoms in advance can be done 

For more information: what-we-dont-know-about-covid-19/newyorker


ECONOMY

Plight of migrant workers across the country

The Migrant Workers are mostly from the northern part of India like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar who work for Construction, Transportation Services, and Domestic Work, etc. The sudden announcement of the lockdown has denied migrant workers the opportunity to collect their wages and closing of transportation facilities has left them trapped in cities without enough resources.


AGRICULTURE

COVID-19 has disrupted the availability of migrant laborers for harvesting, especially in Northwest India. The supply chain has also been interrupted because of transportation problems and other issues. Various policies like temporarily reducing taxes, increasing compensation to farmers can also be adopted for the revival of farmers.

IMPACT of COVID-19 on Agriculture.| Swaniti 

POLICY INITIATIVES BY THE GOVERNMENT

The Vandhe Bharat Mission

The Centre had announced the plans to begin massive repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad, called the “Vande Bharat Mission.”Air India and its subsidiary, Air India Express, have started operating 64 flights to nearly 12 countries. About 1.9 lakh Indians have registered, all over the world, to get back home. The first two special flights with 363 Indians from Abu Dhabi and Dubai landed in Kerala on 7th May as part of India’s massive operation. indianexpress.com


EDUCATION

Elucidation of strategies to impart education

The teaching methodologies in schools have been affected  amidst the closure as only a handful of private schools can adopt online teaching methods unlike their other counterparts. Higher education sector has also been significantly disrupted, many of the Indian students who have enrolled in universities abroad have now been barred from entering these countries. Recent graduates in India are fearing withdrawal of job offers from corporates because of the current situation. For more information: Education sector in India | Economic Times


INSIGHTS

Covid-19: Lessons learned? What comes next?

In the Lee Kuan Yew School’s Asia Thinker series, the professors at NUS, Singapore suggest that we will have to learn to live with the virus. They also state that the lockdown should be eased only after there is evidence of control over transmission over a certain period of time. Also, great care must be taken that the South Asian countries do not become the next epicenter of the outbreak. This situation would also change the way of approaching crisis management.  Global-is-Asian | LKYSPP

To Kerala, from Singapore

Over the past three years, Kerala has suffered the Nipah virus outbreak, floods, now the COVID-19 pandemic. The response of the Kerala state to the COVID-19 crisis has been breathtaking. It has set up testing kiosks, institutes that are ready for plasma trials; and it has also enacted a law on epidemic control. Learning from the experiences of Singapore, Kerala handled the returning population well and also paid more attention to the low-income groups.

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. KARE is also connecting the farmers with communities who would required vegetables in bulk.

Report as on 09.05.2020

  • 39,438 Cooked meals
  • 2244 Volunteering hours clocked
  • 10 Tons of Vegetables transacted so far
  • 28+ Number of Farmers impacted so far
  • 500kg Rice
  • 1200 Liquid sanitizer packs
  • 2500 Masks
  • ₹ 4,90,000 Funds Raised
  • ₹ 6,00,000 Funds Spent
  • 55000+  Lives Impacted

Impact areas: 

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

Volunteer yourself

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