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Eco/Invest/Demography

Alarmed by deaths of teachers, AMU VC writes to ICMR for study of COVID variant

In a letter to the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the VC said 16 serving and 18 retired teachers besides other employees of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have succumbed to the infection in the past 18 days. There is a possibility that ”a particular variant may be circulating in areas around the AMU campus and surrounding localities, which has led to these deaths”, he said, stressing the need for the study to control the spread of the virus.

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Researchers map how city people get health boost from nature

“Nature experience boosts memory, attention and creativity as well as happiness, social engagement and a sense of meaning in life,” said Gretchen Daily, senior author on the paper and faculty director of the Stanford Natural Capital Project. “It might not surprise us that nature stimulates physical activity, but the associated health benefits – from reducing cancer risks to promoting metabolic and other functioning – are really quite astonishing.”

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India’s brutal COVID wave brings tragic scenes to small town hospital

Medical oxygen has become a major concern with top hospitals in Delhi and other major cities issuing SOS calls that they were running out of supplies of the life saving gas because of the crush of patients.

The government is now trying to arrange supplies from abroad and from local industry. While the situation in Delhi has improved, smaller towns like Bijnor are struggling.

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India might see ‘serious livelihood crisis’, says economist Jean Dreze

“The economic consequences of local lockdowns may not be as destructive as those of a national lockdown. But in some respects, things are worse this time for the working class,” he opined.

“Compared with last year, many people have depleted savings and larger debts. Those who borrowed their way through last year’s crisis may not be able to do it again this time,” he observed.

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