[PaddleShifter]

Had seen this priority testing model of US but with rising cases (around 2 lacs already), I do not think that it is the right approach. A strict lockdown supplemented with increased testing can sort of guarantee the decline in the number of cases. Ofcourse, everyone without symptoms can not be tested but atleast those who have traveled domestically or have been very active in cities with higher number of cases can be tested on demand even without symptoms.

[Gansan]

What happened to the MOH site? Since yesterday not able to see state-wise breakup figures.

[vijai]

Originally Posted by Gansan

What happened to the MOH site? Since yesterday not able to see state-wise breakup figures.

It's right under latest updates on https://mohfw.gov.in

[rdst_1]

Can someone enlighten how an asymptomatic person can spread the virus?
Till now, the common stance is that the virus spreads through droplets that a person produces when the cough or sneeze.
According to an article I read, which I will link below -

Already by Day 7, though, the virus had bloomed in his nose and throat, just as copiously as in those who did become ill. Patient Z might have felt fine, but he was infected just the same.

But if the person is asymptomatic i.e. he neither coughs or sneezes, how does he transfer the virus?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/h...nsmission.html

[saisree]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

A bit of good news from a doctor friend - about the BCG vaccine that we still give babies in India - though this has been stopped in other countries including USA.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmac...virus-pandemic

One more on the same lines and are we seeing a HOPE somewhere?

"We found that countries without universal policies of BCG vaccination, such as Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States, have been more severely affected compared to countries with universal and long-standing BCG policies," noted the researchers led by Gonzalo Otazu, assistant professor of biomedical sciences at NYIT.

Source

[Jeroen]

Confused about all these fatality numbers, infection ratio’s from different sources, different countries. Well, here is a good BBC article to give you some idea.

Spoiler alert; it is lengthy and comparing one countries figures to the next is hardly useful.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...y-rates-differ

Jeroen

[itwasntme]

Downloaded the Android version of the new Aarogya Setu app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ogyasetu&hl=en

Looks very similar to Singapore's 'TraceTogether' & South Korea's 'Corona 100m' which their citizens use with a huge sense of civic responsibility & national pride. As per my colleagues resident in those countries, it really works very well in real life as per their own experiences.

Govt launches COVID-19 tracking app 'Aarogya Setu' for Android, iOS users
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/tr...s-5101621.html
The app is aimed at augmenting efforts to proactively inform the citizens about the best practices and relevant advisories pertaining to the containment of COVID-19.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Downloaded the Android version of the new Aarogya Setu app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ogyasetu&hl=en

Does the app expose the location of other individuals near us? Pic taken from Google play store.

[Miyata]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Can someone enlighten how an asymptomatic person can spread the virus?

But if the person is asymptomatic i.e. he neither coughs or sneezes, how does he transfer the virus?

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor

Cough / sneeze does not always have to be associated with symptoms of specific diseases. Any small irritation (among other triggers) in the nasal passage or respiratory tract can induce cough and/or sneeze.

The compressed air from the lungs is expelled out and out goes many many bacteria/virus particles with it.

For the asymptomatic person, his immune system was still able to fight off those specific viruses/bacteria and their number had not yet gone beyond the threshold to cause the disease state to enable visual manifestation of the disease symptoms.

Another person (social proximity) catches hold of few of those viruses/bacteria. His immune system is not as strong. The threshold of bacteria/virus for a disease state is much lower for this 2nd person and symptoms manifest quickly enough - thus, we just had a contagion of an infection from an asymptomatic person to another!

Doctors / virologists / epidemiologists / etc on forum could correct that or add further details if necessary.

[dailydriver]

The blame game about fudged Chinese numbers and the WHO's handling of the situation refuses to die down, with the Japanese now training their guns on the latter for its lack of discretion and alacrity.

Rename WHO as Chinese Health Organization: Japan slams UN body for ‘giving into China’s spin’

Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso has said the World Health Organization (WHO) should be renamed as the “Chinese Health Organization” as he accused the global body of toeing the China line on the coronavirus pandemic... Aso slammed WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for what he called his “inadequate evaluation to address the coronavirus outbreak"

Source

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by JithinR

Does the app expose the location of other individuals near us? Pic taken from Google play store.

No as per NIC: The App detects other devices with Aarogya Setu installed that have come in the Bluetooth / GPS proximity of your phone and captures this information. In the unfortunate case of any of those recent contacts Test positive, the App calculates your risk of infection based on recency and proximity of your interaction and recommends suitable action.

Essentially it automates 'contact tracing' which is now being done painstakingly manually for each positive patient. South Korea is using this extremely effectively to proactively warn the public.

[five46]

There is a patent pertaining to vaccine on Corona Virus which affected the Avian fauna (Patent Details: EP3172319B1.pdf). This was in 2015. Out of curiosity, I checked the patent details and found that birds too developed issues with respiratory disorders.

This patent was in 2015. I understand that the virus has jumped a specie and hence may be a lot different to the one causing havoc now. But, is this not relevant and an aid to the development of a vaccine for Humans. More so, since we talk of trials on animals too.

Or is this too much of an amateur thought?

[AZT]

News out of France. Reporting there is very factual and less sensational, our media could learn something.


Read more : https://www.standard.co.uk/news/worl...-a4403826.html

[Joxster]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

WHO predicts 1 million coronavirus cases worldwide, 50,000 deaths in next few days. We are already there!

Now officially past the 1 million mark as reported by the BBC.

More than a million cases of coronavirus have been registered globally, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University - another grim milestone as the world grapples with the spreading pandemic.

More than 51,000 people have died and more than 208,000 have recovered, according to the university's figures.

Source

Cheers

[Miyata]

I guess folks here might have seen these numbers being put out in multiple platforms and formats. Excuse me for adding it from this side, possibly yet another time and to also further motivate smokers on the forum to add one more incentive to their quit-smoking resolve -

Poor lung health appears to play a role in deaths related to COVID-19. Although smoking isn't the only factor that influences lung health, it does have a considerable effect. Researchers believe that smoking makes people more susceptible to the infection that causes COVID-19 and its complications because smoking damages the body's natural defenses against some bacteria and viruses.

With some stats on something we've all been suspecting all along now -

Data from China show the fatality rate from COVID-19 in that country overall stands at slightly above 2%. For people who had lung disease prior to the infection, that rate is much higher at 6%. Other underlying medical conditions make a difference, too. For people with cardiovascular disease who developed COVID-19 in China, the fatality rate was more than 10%. For those with diabetes, it was 7%, and in people who had high blood pressure, 6%. In addition, the older people were, the higher their risk of severe illness.

The Source.