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Here is a masonry blog layout with no sidebarBe prepared for third Covid wave, have buffer stock of oxygen: SC to Centre
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah said: We need to prepare for the third surge of COVID-19 which may have altogether different parameters. We have to be ready for that. We have been reading that some experts have said that the third surge will be more harmful especially to children.
“We understand children are more resilient as compared to elders but we have to also consider that they themselves will not go to hospitals and their parents will have to take them making them vulnerable.
U.S. reverses stance, backs giving poorer countries access to COVID vaccine patents
Monsoon onset over Kerala likely on June 1: Ministry of Earth Sciences Secy
Bees in the Netherlands trained to detect COVID-19 infections
It can take hours or days to get a COVID-19 test result, but the response from the bees is immediate. The method is also cheap, potentially making it useful for countries where tests are scarce, they said.
But Dirk de Graaf, a professor who studies bees, insects and animal immunology at Ghent University in Belgium, said he did not see the technique replacing more conventional forms of COVID-19 testing in the near future.
EU seeks India’s support for plastics treaty, draft summit statement says
The draft statement said the EU and India would hold regular meetings to increase collaboration in areas including renewable energy, energy storage technology, and modernizing power grids. India aims to have 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy generation capacity by 2030, roughly five times the 93GW it has today.
Chamoli cloud burst: Situation under control now, report of damage being compiled, says official
India’s Covid deaths could double in coming weeks, forecasters warn
While coronavirus cases can be hard to predict, particularly in a sprawling nation like India, the forecasts reflect the urgent need for India to step up public health measures like testing and social distancing. Even if the worst estimates are avoided, India could suffer the world’s biggest Covid-19 death toll. The U.S currently has the largest number of fatalities at around 578,000.
RBI allows fresh moratorium for small borrowers as COVID-19 cases spike
Two pandemics clash as doctors find that Covid spurs diabetes
Among Covid-19’s many ripple effects, the worsening of the global diabetes burden could carry a heavy public-health toll. The underlying mechanisms stoking new-onset diabetes aren’t clear, though some doctors suspect the Sars-CoV-2 virus may damage the pancreas, the gland that makes insulin which is needed to convert blood sugar into energy.
Sedentary lifestyles brought on by lockdowns could also be playing a role, as might late diagnoses after people avoided doctors’ offices. Even some children’s mild coronavirus cases can be followed by the swift onset of diabetes, scientists found.
73-yr-old Australian stuck in Bengaluru sues Morrison govt for ban on flights from India
The lawyers of Gary Newman, who is stranded in Bengaluru since March last year, have argued in the federal court in Sydney that the ban was “unconstitutional”.
The application firstly said that the Commonwealth was acting outside its powers and secondly, Health Minister Greg Hunt’s declaration was in breach of an implied freedom to return home,
Death of Covid patients due to oxygen crisis ‘not less than genocide’: HC
“We are at pain in observing that death of Covid patients just for non supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is a criminal act and not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen,” read the order by a bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Siddhartha Varma.
As COVID-19 sweeps rural India, sick struggle to access healthcare
India’s COVID-19 crisis has been most acute in the capital, New Delhi, among other cities, but in rural areas – home to nearly 70% of India’s 1.3 billion people – limited public healthcare is posing particular challenges. Ill-equipped hospitals, staff shortages and long journeys to dedicated COVID-19 wards are making it harder for village patients to access treatment as a second wave pushed India’s total coronavirus cases to more than 20 million this week.
Third wave of COVID ‘inevitable’: Government
Khuntia panel submits report to centre on increasing country’s insurance penetration
Subhash Chandra Khuntia, chairman, IRDAI, revealed that a proposal to initiate pilot projects covering some states or districts prone to natural disasters like cyclone and flooding has been sent to the government and the National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA).
The idea is to cover all dwelling units in a vulnerable geographical area against natural catastrophes. The cost of coverage upto a limit can be funded by the Government and the owners can pay additional premium for higher coverage. Since dwelling unit insurance is very cheap, this is quite affordable and feasible and will save Government expenditure in terms of compensation to the affected after the incident,’..
Looking at the size of India in terms of population, geographical spread, diversity and low insurance penetration, there is tremendous scope to have more insurance companies. The market is far below the saturation point.
Germany aims for net zero emissions by 2045, 5 years early
Scientists find dangerous chemical pollutants in disposable face masks
Aa full investigation is necessary to determine the quantities and potential impacts of these particles leaching into the environment, and the levels being inhaled by users during normal breathing. This is a significant concern, especially for health care professionals, key workers, and children who are required to wear masks for large proportions of the working or school day.”
WTO mulling intellectual property waivers for vaccines
The argument, part of a long-running debate about intellectual property protections, centers on lifting patents, copyrights, and protections for industrial design and confidential information to help expand the production and deployment of vaccines during supply shortages. The aim is to suspend the rules for several years, just long enough to beat down the pandemic.
The issue has become more pressing with a surge in cases in India, the world’s second-most populous country and a key producer of vaccines, including one for Covid-19 that relies on technology from Oxford University and British-Swedish pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca.
Experts feel ‘herd immunity’ looking unlikely in US: Report
Herd immunity is a form of indirect protection from infectious diseases that can occur with some diseases when a sufficient percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through vaccination or previous infections, thereby reducing the likelihood of infection for individuals who lack immunity.
According to The New York Times, the experts believe that the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the US for years to come, still causing hospitalisations and deaths but in much smaller numbers.