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 vs the World: The fight against COVID-19 nightmare!

COVID-19
 		Active Cases
 		Recovered
 		Casualties 
 
India85,94030,1532,752
World4,683,467310,8161,789,335

The above graph depicts the COVID-19 death rate per million people. It is found to be low in India, S Korea, and Japan compared to Belgium, UK, Sweden, US, and Canada where the death rate is high and still on the rise.| Prof.Shamika Ravi

The graph below shows the count of the total number of cases tested & number found positive in each state along with the ratio of positive cases to overall tested in each state.

Inference:

  1. Confirmed positive cases per 100 tests: 4% in India
  2. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar & Odhisha: Infection prevalence is rising: Needs more contact tracing and testing
  3. Delhi: Infection prevalence is persistently high. Need more Contact tracing & Testing.
  4. Tamilnadu & Punjab: Struggling to go ahead with the Contact Tracing & Testing model

Health Minister on the recovery and doubling rate

The Union Health Minister has said that the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in the country has improved to 34.06% and the doubling rate improved to 12.9 days in the last week.The panel discussed the challenges before various states/UTs due to migrant labourers returning home and the returnees from abroad, for which timely detection of infection and contact tracing were the best way forward. Read more at: hindustantimes.com//recovery-rate/


FROM THE PM’S DESK

The 5 pillars of the Prime Minister’s address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the public of India by introducing lockdown 4.0 and also stated that its regulations will be released before May 18th. The tax system of the country will be eased and will be made simpler. He has further emphasized that we as Indians, should buy Indian goods and promote them with pride.

The five pillars of his speech are

  1. An economy that doesn’t talk of incremental change but a quantum jump.
  2. Infrastructure, that will be the face of modern India.
  3. Technology-driven systems.
  4. Vibrant demography of India as our strength.
  5. Demand to be stoked & supply Chain to be strengthened.

Read more at indianexpress.com/lockdown-extension

Aatma Nirbar Bharat Abhiyan-A relief scheme

In his fifth address to India since the national lockdown, Prime Minister Modi announced a relief package of Rs 20 lakh crore to ease the coronavirus distress.‘Aatma Nirbhar (Self Reliance) Bharat Abhiyan’ is believed to revive the economy’s focus on land, labor, liquidity, and laws and will benefit farmers, workers, taxpayers, SMEs, and the cottage industry. The economic package will also help cottage industries, home industry, and small-scale industries. Read more at Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IISc researchers craft a 3-ply textile-based face mask

With the existing need to rapidly manufacture cost-effective multi-layered masks, IISc researchers have ideated for the fabrication of an affordable, antimicrobial 3-ply, textile-based face mask using industrially scalable technology to prepare fibers of nanometer (nm) diameter to contain common viruses such as the influenza virus, as well as SARS-CoV-2. Read more at covid19.iisc.ac.in/virucidal-composite-fabric-for-ppe/

“Finally, a virus got me!”- Virologist Piot 

Virologist Peter Piot, who fought Ebola and HIV reflects on facing death from COVID-19 and says it was a life-changing experience for him.“You live in a routine from the syringe to infusion and you hope you make it,” he says about his time in a London hospital. Piot was one of the discoverers of the Ebola virus in 1976 and he also headed the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS between 1995 and 2008. Read more at sciencemag.org/

NASA develops COVID-19 ventilator prototype in 37 days

The device, called Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally (VITAL), was developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to free up the nation’s limited supply of traditional ventilators. VITAL can be built faster and maintained more easily than a traditional ventilator, and is composed of far fewer parts, many of which are currently available to potential manufacturers through existing supply chains.VITAL is intended to last three to four months.  Read more at nasa.gov/feature


PUBLIC HEALTH

BBMC to track O2 levels of Interleukin Like Illness (ILI) patients

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has started an initiative called ‘Pranavayu’, to observe the progress of ILI in patients to Severe Acute Respiratory Illness(SARI). This is to mainly check the patients with ILI for COVID-19. As a result, they will be hospitalized if tested positive and home quarantined if tested negative. The oxygen saturation of ILI patients would be monitored periodically using pulse oximeters to enable early detection of respiratory distress. Read more at timesofindia.indiatimes.com//bengaluru/

Men have higher levels of the key enzyme to COVID-19 making them vulnerable comparatively: Study

The first step of coronavirus’ entry into humans is by binding its spike protein to human receptor Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme2(ACE2). This receptor is found in the outer surface of cells in the lungs, heart, and kidney in humans. A recent study has revealed that ACE2 was much higher in men and that men were more likely to die from COVID-19 than women. Also, it has been found that ACE inhibitors prescribed to patients with congestive heart failure, diabetes, or kidney disease have not led to higher ACE2 concentrations and therefore has not increased the COVID-19 risk for people taking them. | in.reuters.com/

India’s COVID-19 testing scaled up to 95,000 per day

capacity for Covid-19 has been increased to 95,000 tests per day. He has also quoted in his statement that it was a huge relief to see green zones in most northeastern states. Further, in states with increasing cases, there must be effective surveillance, contact tracing, and early diagnosis. Read more at economictimes.com/testing-capacity-for-covid-19

Dharavi’s journey to becoming Mumbai’s COVID-19 hotspot

It has just been 45 days since Mumbai’s most congested ward detected its first case of coronavirus. But the number of cases now has crossed 1000 and is still on the rise. With a population density of 2,27,136 persons per sq km in a narrow congested area, “Dharavi is a sort of ticking time bomb for the civic administration, which is working on a war footing to contain the pandemic”, health expert quoted. Read more at Dharavi-The Covid-19 hotspot in mumbai


EDUCATION

Why Indian students prefer education abroad amidst COVID-19?

A study on the Indian students registered for studying abroad in the upcoming fall has surprisingly revealed around 91% of Indian students who had planned to study abroad still want to continue due to the safety measures being put in place. A brief on why these students want to study abroad and the measures being taken by universities abroad is well explained in the article. Read more at indiatoday.in/education-today/

Digital approach for accessible education

While the educators around the world are still mulling ways to redefine the process of education for the future generation, this disruptive crisis has forcibly opened a new door of a digital approach to education. The Internet has emerged as a viable option for institutions to maintain continuity. However, it will be an exaggeration to assume that digital education will replace classroom teaching. Read more at: Covid-19 impact: Opening a new door of digital approach for accessible education


ECONOMY

Impact of COVID-19 on the cloud computing industry 

The cloud may have been a frivolous expense for many companies but its necessity today is indisputable by bringing Productivity Away From the Desk, Delivering to the Needs of Millions, etc,.It’s likely that many businesses will begin scaling up their digital transformation efforts and invest heavily in cloud resources in the coming years.

Read more at timesofindia.com/cloud-computing-industry/

Top IT Relaxations in COVID-19 Relief Package

This relief package by our country’s Finance Minister will play a vital role in increasing the cash flow and would fast track the revival of business and enterprises. The key factors in this announcement are the Revision in the TDS/TCS Rates & the Extension of Due Dates.
These include1. 25% reduction in the existing rates of TCS
2. 25% reduction in existing rates of TDS
The reductions will apply to the end of this financial year.

Read more at Covid-19 Relief Package: Top Five Income Tax Relaxations


NUTRITION

What data from 20 countries show on COVID-19’s Vitamin D link

A new study has found an association between low average levels of Vitamin D and a high number of COVID-19 cases with mortality rates across 20 European countries. This study shows that Italy and Spain, both of which have experienced high Covid-19 mortality rates, have lower average vitamin D levels than most northern European countries. Read more at Explained: What data from 20 countries show on Covid-19’s Vitamin D link

This Week’s Interview | The Print

Thomas Friedman, a columni

st with The New York Times and author, asserted that the coronavirus pandemic has given a boost to globalisation like never before. Shekar Gupta in conversation with Thomas Friedman discussed an array of topics including Globalisation, Science & Economics, about current world leaders (Narendra Modi, Donald Trump & Xi Jinping), about Trade & countries – US, China, in particular. To watch the full interview: youtube.com/watch?v=KkwRieeP9gE

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.

Report as on 17.05.2020

  • 40038 Cooked meals
  • 2259 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
  • ₹ 5,00,750 Funds Raised
  • ₹ 6,30,000 Funds Spent
  • 57000+  Lives Impacted

Impact areas: 

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

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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

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