A report by a number of international organisations has set out the price tag of ending the acute stage of the COVID-19 pandemic: US$35 billion. Institutions including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics; GAVI; the Global Fund; Unitaid; the Wellcome Trust; the […]
COVID-19
Oxygen cylinders a must during COVID-19
Rajasthan has recorded a substantial increase in demand for oxygen cylinders amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This encapsulates the need for medical oxygen and ventilators imperative during this crisis. A report by Times News Network (TNN) notes that “with more oxygen-supported beds being added for COVID-19 treatment in hospitals across the state, the demand for oxygen […]
Rural India: A COVID-19 surge?
Districts in rural India are seeing a surge in cases of COVID-19 cases as the country continues its economic reopening. IndiaSpend reports “on June 1, 2020, 41 percent of Maharashtra’s COVID-19 cases were outside of Mumbai. As the lockdown has opened and testing has increased, COVID-19 cases in the rest of the state have grown. […]
Comorbidities and COVID-19: One person in every four households affected
One person in every four households are affected by comorbidities that could amplify the risk of severe COVID-19, the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or simply coronavirus. The data comes from the West Bengal state capital of Kolkata, where a survey of as many as 85,000 people found that approximately […]
Forced evictions: Driving India’s homelessness crisis
It is a travesty that people lose their health insurance during this pandemic. So it follows that it is a travesty that people lose their homes. However, forced evictions accomplish just this. The Housing & Land Rights Network tweeted as much, emphasising in their message that people from marginalised communities are affected disproportionately. “[Forced evictions] […]
High-burden states: Modi to hold meeting
Tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to review the COVID-19 pandemic with the Chief Ministers and health ministers of several high-burden states and union territories. The COVID-19 pandemic in India has grown precipitously in scope. In the early stages of the outbreak of the disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or […]
India’s COVID-19 figures fluctuate
The media has been swift to herald the most recent COVID-19 figures as a potential sign of India gaining a foothold in handling the situation. While the newest figures may be encouraging, any conclusions drawn from a single day’s figures may be jumping the gun. The Hindustan Times reports that 75,083 new daily cases were […]
Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, as India on track to become first in the world
India is on track to overtake the United States as the country worst-affected in the world by cases of COVID-19 – the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or, simply, coronavirus. At the time of writing, India has confirmed more than five million cases of COVID-19 according to Worldometer data. To […]
2022 vision: Gates on when the pandemic could end
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said the COVID-19 pandemic could well end in 2022 – on the proviso that “we do a brilliant job.” In an interview with Surojit Gupta of Times News Network, Gates said “if we do a brilliant job, we end the pandemic in 2022. If we are lucky to have a […]
Accelerate testing, Centre tells high-burden states
The Government has instructed multiple states to scale up testing for COVID-19. In the Centre’s crosshairs on testing are Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra. They are among the states most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with a positivity rate in excess of the national average of 8.4 percent. Of the four states, Maharashtra […]