The arrangements come in the backdrop of the sudden spurt in the Covid-19 cases in the national capital. Delhi has a total of 44,688 cases and 1,837 people have succumbed to the disease.

“These preliminary results from the RECOVERY trial are very clear –dexamethasone reduces the risk of death among patients with severe respiratory complications,” said Martin Landray, another chief investigator of the trial from the University of Oxford.

With lockdowns too costly to continue and the surge of new cases each day too overwhelming to implement the kind of test-and-trace strategy used in South Korea and Germany, India must now focus on limiting casualties while hoping people practice social distancing on their own.

The 13 nations co-authored the cross-regional statement, which said that in times of the COVID-19 health crisis, the spread of the infodemic’ can be as dangerous to human health and security as the pandemic itself. Among other negative consequences, COVID-19 has created conditions that enable the spread of disinformation, fake news and doctored videos to foment violence and divide communities.

The researchers say that it is still unknown whether this small mutation affects the severity of symptoms of infected people, or increases mortality.