India in talks with US and China to fight the Covid-19 pandemic April 04, 2020 12:31
With the entire world struggling with the covid-19 pandemic, India is gearing up with all the preventive measures and equipments to ensure maximum safety for its country’s people. India has been in talks with both US and China without getting into any sort of geopolitical rivalry in the middle. Apart from these arrangements, Indian government has also been open to individual contributions and even organisations. They have also opened international funding at this point to ensure that they are hands on to fight every kind of struggle that is thrown their way. The foreign ministers of India and the United States have talked twice last month over the effective coordination concerning the containment of this virus. On the other hand, India has also been in the talks with China to get their hands on the Personal Protective Equipments for the safety of the healthcare workers. Aside from that, India is also working on keeping up with the coordination with some of the other P-5 countries for a very coordinated approach to battling this virus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also discussed with all the key leaders in West Asia and shared some ideas over the ways to contain the spread of the virus further. The external affairs minister of India, S Jaishankar and his counterpart Mike Pompeo talked about the various strategies that could help strengthen the global pharmaceutical, which is of grave importance during this time of crisis. Jaishankar also put forth the subject of extension of the issued Visa to the Indians that are residing in US and are stuck there. He urged Pompeo to extend the visa of the Indian students and the professionals who have been stuck in the country over the spread of the pandemic. The Indian ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu stated that both the countries have maintained a very strong and robust cooperation during this time of crisis with the medical specialists and the resources available around. Wednesday, April 01, 2020 also marks the 70 years of ties between India and China over their diplomatic ties that has benefitted both the countries over the decades. President Ram Nath Kovind and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping have congratulated and felicited each other over the occassion. But, in other clarifications, the officials have clarified stating that the Indian government is not accepting any kinds of funding or donations from the foreign government under the PM cares fund, which was one of the most asked questions by the people. By Somapika Dutta
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Six week old baby dies due to Covid-19 in US; death toll over 6000 April 03, 2020 14:05
Crossing the 245,000 confirmed cases in the United States, the country reported one of the youngest fatalities, the death of a six week old baby due to the Covid-19 outbreak. As per the reports from the John Hopkins reports, US has already reported over 6000 deaths, the country setting a death rate of 864 deaths in a day, the highest surge so far. Among all the latest fatalities, the most recent was reported of a six week old baby who was rushed to a Connecticut hospital late last week. Governor Ned Lamont tweeting saying, “Testing confirmed last night that the newborn was COVID-19 positive. This is absolutely heartbreaking.” While the death toll in the US is currently lesser than what it is in Italy and Spain, the numbers are a lot more than what was reported in China, the epicentre of the virus. US currently is in the lead with the number of confirmed cases in the world, at a staggering 245, 000 and more cases. Even the head of the coronavirus task force and the head of the virology unit in the National Institute of Health, Anthony Fauci stated saying that there are chances that the death toll in the US could very well cross the 100,000 mark. With the global rate of the confirmed cases has surpassed a million, majority of the world is under a complete lockdown till the situations get better. By Somapika Dutta
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Hollywood actor Andrew Jack passes away due to Covid-19 April 02, 2020 13:41
Major Ematt of Star Wars, Andrew Jack died at the age of 76 due to Covid-19 complications on Tuesday. As per the reports from his agent, Jill McCullough, they stated saying that Jack passed away at a hospital in Chertsey, England. McCullough further emphasised saying, “Andrew lived on one of the oldest working houseboats on the Thames, he was fiercely independent but madly in love with his wife, also a dialect coach.” Jack’s wife, Gabrielle Rogers, also took to Twitter to share her message across tweeting “Andrew Jack was diagnosed with coronavirus 2 days ago. He was in no pain, and he slipped away peacefully knowing that his family were all 'with' him.” We lost a man today. Andrew Jack was diagnosed with Coronavirus 2 days ago. He was in no pain, and he slipped away peacefully knowing that his family were all 'with' him.Take care out there, lovers x@RealHughJackman @chrishemsworth @RobertDowneyJr pic.twitter.com/fm5LevA8n2 — Gabrielle Rogers (@GabrielleRoger1) March 31, 2020 Apart from his prominent role in Star Wars, Jack has also worked as a dialect coach for a number of popular Hollywood movies including “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Thor:Ragnarok” and a few other Avengers movies. Several Hollywood stars including Actor Joonas Suotamo have paid their tribute to the deceased via Twitter. By Somapika Dutta
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Zen technologies to prepare ventilator prototypes for India April 01, 2020 15:45
India has been experiencing a massive hit with the confirmed coronavirus cases all across the country. The current confirmed cases in the country is nearing the 1700 mark, which is likely going to increase in the coming days. With the imposed risks, the one factor that the individuals likely need to be ready with are the ventilators. It is important to ensure that the hospitals around not just have enough resources but the essential amount of ventilators without further questions. To help India battle the incoming storm, Zen technologies are planning on preparing ventilator prototypes for India. According to the reports shared by the company on Wednesday, they believe that the product is going to be available pretty soon. Addressing this, the company further stated saying, “As a part of the corporate social responsibility. Zen Technologies has dedicated a small research and development team to develop a prototype of a ventilator for India.” While further updated have not been shared yet, if the same gets approved, it is likely going to help India by a lot and improve better facilities for the country to fight this battle with the novel coronavirus. By Somapika Dutta
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SC orders basic necessities like food and religious counselling to the migrant workers March 31, 2020 18:19
While India has been constantly fighting the wrath of the coronavirus, thousands of migrant workers from across the country has started walking towards their home during the imposed lockdown in the country for 21 days. Failing to find any means of transportation and lack of earning and shelter in their work place, the workers have been forced to walk hundreds of kilometres towards their home to at least have a safe space for themselves during this time of crisis. With the kind of chaos that the same has created, projecting risks to the worker’s and the country’s citizens, the Supreme Court has ordered that they should be supplied with food, medical aid and religious counselling from the leaders of their respective religion at the relief shelters they are staying in. Chief Justice of India S A Bobde has also advised the police to let the workers themselves manages their shelters instead of being reliant on the police for getting the same done. Solicitor Tushar Mehta has reported to the Chief Justice that as of 11 am of March 31, 2020, there is no migrant workers roaming on the road and has been allotted to their nearest relief shelter to keep themselves safe. Mehta further reported saying, “I am making a statement here that within 24 hours we will mobilise trained counselors and religious leaders. We will mobilise religious leaders, maulvis, sadhus to counsel them to stay calm.” By Somapika Dutta
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‘Peak of Coronavirus deaths likely will be in 2 weeks’ : President Donald Trump March 30, 2020 12:16
The coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by a storm, the number of confirmed cases in the United States at its peak and the most across the world. In a televised briefing on Sunday, President Trump stated saying that the peak deaths in the US is likely going to happen in the coming two weeks. This is the reason why the guidelines of “social distancing” in the state have been increased until April 30 for better measures. Trump stated saying, “Easter should be the peak number.” The same is on April 12, 2020. President Trump, in the televised briefing, further stated that according to the modelling, it is believed that the peak in the death rate is likely going to happen in the coming two weeks. Following reaching the peak, the rate should be coming down substantially. Addressing the head of the infectious disease department in the National Institute of Health, Anthony Fauci, Trump further stated that Fauci believes that the death rate due to the coronavirus pandemic is likely going to range between 100,000 to 200,000 in the United States. While Trump does empathize with the situation and said that the numbers are pretty bad, he also stated that the same could have been worse if the lockdown wasn’t imposed. He further gave the numbers saying, “Potentially 2.2 million people if we did nothing, if we didn't do the distancing. If we didn't do all the things we're doing." Trump also extended the social distancing guidelines to further slow down the spread of the pandemic in the country. The John Hopkins stat counter also recorded a highest of 518 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, a lot more than the prior day. Trump does believe that the country could take a time till June 1 for complete recovery which he priorly said to be mid-April. He appealed to the citizens to religiously follow all the imposed restrictions and ensure to practice all the precautions at home. Addressing his idea of opening up the economy quicker, President Trump said that their coronavirus taskforce headed by Anthony Fauci didn’t like the idea and opposed against it. President Trump further said that they will be making an important announcement concerning the government’s plans and strategies ahead. Further emphasising better economic relief for the citizens across the United States, President Trump stated saying, “I'm prepared to do whatever's necessary to number one, save lives and number two, bring our economy back strong, just like it was before. I think our economy has a chance to be just as good and even better than it was before." The total number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States is at 142,735 with 2, 488 deaths reported so far. By Somapika Dutta
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China offers to help build Covid-19 hospitals in India March 28, 2020 12:24
With the consistently increasing number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in India, situations might get alarming if the necessary steps aren’t taken on time. According to a Chinese daily, it was mentioned that the Chinese government is ready to lead a lending hand to the Indian government for building Covid-19 hospitals in India much like they did in Wuhan to combat the further spread. The Global Times quoted saying, “Chinese companies working on existing projects in India, with sufficient supply networks in place, can take over the construction of makeshift hospitals like those in Wuhan upon India's invitation.” This salient proposal came in with the decision of lockdown in India to further contain the spread of the virus. The possible introduction to the makeshift Covid-19 hospitals was proposed by China Railway Construction Corporation which is an integrated engineering contractor and construction groups with annual revenue of $100 billion. Zeng Guang, the Chief epidemiologist with Chinese CDC mentioned in the Global Times that the key to fighting the coronavirus pandemic for India is to prevent the imported cases and at the same time, contain the spread domestically. By Somapika Dutta
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Grocery shopping tips during coronavirus breakout – what can you do? March 27, 2020 14:43
The coronavirus pandemic has left everyone in a constant state of panic. People are either sweating about the lack of supplies or the lack of toilet paper in the departmental store. But, do you even realise that the store that you are shopping around could be a potential bearer of the coronavirus. Hundreds and thousands of people come in and out of the departmental store every day. Given the fact that the virus does have a longer incubation period, it is likely that you might be infected but shows no symptoms. In such cases, you enhance the risks of transmission. So, grocery shopping is something you need to be very alert about. There are a few readiness tips that we would love to share with you that can help minimise the risks of the virus contraction for you. Be prepared When you need to go grocery shopping, the one thing that you absolutely can’t take for granted is a list. Thinking the items on the top of your head and thinking that you will pick up anything that you see is completely foolishness. If you want things to go smoothly, it is necessary that you do keep an eye out on the items that you need in your house and need to stock up on. Having a list ensures that you can plan things accordingly. This also does come in handy especially when you are trying to stock up for a few weeks. Don’t panic buy but at the same time, ensure that you have enough to last you a week or two to reduce the grocery visits. Sanitise When you are going for grocery shopping to a local departmental store, it is very important that you sanitise the cart that you will get the vegetables in. Remember that this is important. Carry a sanitiser or rubbing alcohol with you and sanitise the entire cart. You never know who took the cart before you, so it is always better that you sanitise it to reduce the risks of contraction. Additionally, you can also carry some gloves with you, if you find the extra need but sanitising the cart is more than enough. Maintain distance We know it is necessary to go get groceries, which is why we won’t stop you from doing that but ensure that you maintain 1-2 m distance with other people while in there. This helps prevent any transmission and keeps you safe. While checking out, make sure that you maintain that distance instead of going all up against the person in front of you. You don’t know the person in front of you and you don’t know where they have been, so it is your responsibility to practice caution. Keep them in the garage If you stay in a house with a garage, experts suggest that you keep all your bought groceries in the garage for 3 days or even outside on the porch for a few days before you get it inside. This allows to destroy the virus before you take it inside. Another trick is to bring the item and run it under the water and wash it with some non-toxic soap to get rid of the possible risks of virus. Doing this with all the perishables and non-perishables help keep you safe from the virus. Wipe down the counter Wiping the counter before and after the cleaning of the groceries is important. You need to keep the surface clean before to ensure the least transmission and you need to keep the same clean after to ensure that there are no possible trace of the virus left behind on the counter. You don’t have to use anything fancy, just a regular surface cleaner is more than enough to keep you safe from the possible risks. Be mindful When it comes to buying groceries, you need to be mindful throughout the process. While several people do have the priviledge to buy in bulk and not worry about the surge in prices, there are people who don’t have that luxury. As a citizen, it is important that you think of everyone and yourself during these times of crisis and don’t panic buy. Buy just what you need and what you think will be sufficient for you and your family. Don’t overdo the same. Leave things for others. By Somapika Dutta
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This South Korean web series from 2018 predicted Coronavirus March 27, 2020 11:02
With the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown imposed on several of the countries, majority of the people are Netflix and chilling and that is where they stumbled upon this South Korean web series that was released in 2018 and predicted the incidence of the Coronavirus pandemic. While it might sound like a reach, it is actually true. The series named, “My Secret, Terrius” is one of the spookiest things to exist now. Once the short clip discussing about the coronavirus started circulating on majority of the other streaming platforms, people started getting more and more intrigued by it. The series consists of ten seasons and 32 episodes in total and is available for you to stream online on Netflix. But, it is not available in India and a few other countries. Brushing that aside, the one factor that did make this the show stealer was possibly the mention of the word by word coronavirus mutation and the fatalities in the first episode of the 10th season. During the conversation between the two characters, one being a doctor, she informs that it is a mutant type of coronavirus. When the other character asks whether it is similar to MERS, the doctors says that even though SARS, MERS and every coronavirus come from the same family, the one that infected the victim was a mutant form of the coronavirus, meaning that its new. Aside from that, the doctor also mentioned that while the MERS epidemic had a fatality rate of just 20%, the efficacy of this mutated coronavirus can kill 90% of the infected people. The kind of parallels that this scene draws from what is actually happening around the world in reality is what left people speechless and in a complete shock. The end notes of the first episode witnessed people talking about the possible impacts of a “biomedical terrorist attack” and every single person who watched the series or the clips have been in complete shock, questioning every possible scenario in question. The South Korean web series witnessed a sudden surge in its view time and started trending on all the social media platforms and had one of the maximum search results. By Somapika Dutta
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Suspected COVID-19 patient commits Suicide at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi March 19, 2020 13:28
A man of 23 years old and who is suspected to be a patient of the deadly novel coronavirus infection has committed suicide as he had jumped from the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where he has been admitted on Thursday. A statement has been made by the Delhi police where in it has said that the deceased has been admitted at 9 in the evening after he has returned from Sydney, Australia. A spokesperson of the Health Ministry has said that the patient who has been living in Sydney for the past one year has arrived in Delhi on Thursday through an Air India flight and has complained of headache in his self reporting form, after he has reached the airport. The patient has jumped off from the seventh floor of the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where he has been taken for admission and evaluation. The spokesperson if Health Ministry has added saying that the patient was not in the room when the doctors have reached the room for a check and that the body has been found lying on the ground at the same time, at around 9:15 pm by a doctor who was coming out of the building. She has immediately reported about the body lying on the floor in the ground floor and the patient has been discovered dead. The government has started medical screening of all the passengers at the international airports as a move in taking precautionary measures for the deadly novel coronavirus that has been spreading at an alarming rate all across the globe. Some suspected cases are being quarantined based on their assessment of risk, by the Health officials where as most of them are being asked to stay at home for 14 days. Nearly 14 lakh people have undergone screening at the airports since the start of the deadly novel coronavirus outbreak in the Wuhan city of China in the month of December. So far, 166 confirmed cases of people being infected by the novel coronavirus have been recorded in India. Currently, the deadly novel coronavirus which has officially been named as COVID-19 and which has been started in the Wuhan city of China has infected 2,19,555 cases across the globe and has also claimed the lives of several people with the number being recorded as 8,972 in number the number of recovered cases have been recorded to be 87,751 in number. By Shrithika Kushangi
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Services of Yes Bank Resume Today March 18, 2020 17:11
The shares of the ailing private lender Yes Bank has been trading higher on Wednesday as the Yes Bank is set to resume the services starting evening. The shares of Yes Bank which has surged significantly on Tuesday has failed in holding gains due to the volatile market conditions but a substantial recovery has been made by the Yes Bank over the past two days in the market, compared to the time when it has been placed under a moratorium for thirty days. However, the revival plan for the Yes Bank has been finalized in a quick time as it has been promised by the Reserve Bank of India. When the State Bank of India (SBI) along with a group of investigators had agreed in investing in the ailing bank which is the Yes Bank shares have crawled up on the stock market. The stocks of the Yes Bank have surged again with the liquidity assurance of Reserve Bank of India. Prashant Kumar who is the Chief Executive Officer designate of the Yes Bank has announced earlier that there are no worries on the liquidity front at the moment and that the services would be restored from 6 in the evening. The Chief Executive Officer designate of Yes Bank has also said that the complete normalcy would be restored and he has also added that the branches of the Yes Bank would remain open during the upcoming weekend if there exists too much rush, as said by Prashant Kumar on Tuesday. However, the4 shares of Yes Bank could face hiccups on the stock markets tomorrow as a withdrawal of savings or cash from the bank might be done by a large number of account holders or the depositors of the Yes Bank. Although the ailing bank which is the Yes Bank has been under pressure for a few years, it would now be remained to see if the bank would manage in getting back on its heels under Prashant Kumar’s watch. By Shrithika Kushangi
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Third casualty due to COVID-19 in India March 18, 2020 12:01
India reported third case of death caused by being infected by the deadly novel coronavirus where in a 63 year old COVID-19 patients from Mumbai has died on 17th of March which led to the authorities tightening the regulations which includes the screening facilities and the isolation facilities for the individuals. India has currently 147 confirmed cases of being infected by the deadly novel coronavirus with the highest number of cases reported in Maharashtra. The at least victim who has died due to the deadly novel coronavirus has not disclosed his travel history to Dubai. The Union Health Ministry has made a statement where in he has mentioned that the COVID-19 patients has been in a private hospital for five das where he has been subsequently referred to the Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai. The Ministry has added saying that the patient had a travel history to Dubai which he has not disclosed at the time of his admission to the private hospital. It has also been said that the wife of the patient was also been tested positive for COVID-19 and is said to be stable. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, it has been said that the patients has arrived in Mumbai from Dubai on the 5th of March has gone straight to his home after which he had complained of breathlessness and chest pain for which he has been taken to the Hinduja Hospital, as said by the officials. It has been said that the patient has been tested positive for coronavirus after the doctors has sent him for the tests at the Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai prior to carrying out a corona procedure on him. He has been admitted to Kasturba Hospital on the 12th of March where he has been undergoing treatment. Rajesh Tope who is the Health Minister of Maharashtra has told to the reporters that it is still to ascertain whether the reason behind the death of the patient is due to being infected by the deadly novel coronavirus or due to the pre- existing ailments. The minister has added saying that the patient who who has been admitted in the hospital in a serious condition was responding well to the treatment but there has been a steady increase in his heart rate and the patient has died at 7 in the morning on the 17th of March. The doctors, nurses and the other personnel at the Hinduja Hospital who has come under contact with the patient during the course of the treatment have been kept under quarantine. Two nurses are at the isolation ward in the Kasturba Hospital and more than 85 people who have dealt with the patient have been advised of home quarantine, as said by the officials. By Shrithika Kushangi
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