Tag Archives: coronavirus

Facemask can detect coronavirus in air droplets or from infected person; wearers gets alert via smartphone[Details]

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Scientists have created a face mask that can detect common respiratory viruses, including influenza and the coronavirus, in the air in droplets or aerosols. The highly sensitive mask, presented September 19 in the journal Matter, can alert the wearers via their mobile devices within 10 minutes if targeted pathogens are present in the surrounding air.

“Previous research has shown face mask wearing can reduce the risk of spreading and contracting the disease. So, we wanted to create a mask that can detect the presence of virus in the air and alert the wearer,” says Yin Fang, the study’s corresponding author and a material scientist at Shanghai Tongji University.

Respiratory pathogens that cause COVID-19 and H1N1 influenza spread through small droplets and aerosols released by infected people when they talk, cough, and sneeze. These virus-containing molecules, especially tiny aerosols, can remain suspended in the air for a long time.

Fang and his colleagues tested the mask in an enclosed chamber by spraying the viral surface protein containing trace-level liquid and aerosols on the mask. The sensor responded to as little as 0.3 microliters of liquid containing viral proteins, about 70 to 560 times less than the volume of liquid produced in one sneeze and much less than the volume produced by coughing or talking, Fang says.

Facemask

Facemask

The team designed a small sensor with aptamers, which are a type of synthetic molecule that can identify unique proteins of pathogens like antibodies. In their proof-of-concept design, the team modified the multi-channel sensor with three types of aptamers, which can simultaneously recognize surface proteins on SARS-CoV-2, H5N1, and H1N1.

Once the aptamers bind to the target proteins in the air, the ion-gated transistor connected will amplify the signal and alert the wearers via their phones. An ion-gated transistor is a novel type of device that is highly sensitive, and thus the mask can detect even trace levels of pathogens in the air within 10 minutes.

“Our mask would work really well in spaces with poor ventilation, such as elevators or enclosed rooms, where the risk of getting infected is high,” Fang says. In the future, if a new respiratory virus emerges, they can easily update the sensor’s design for detecting the novel pathogens, he adds.

coronavirus

coronavirus

Next, the team hopes to shorten the detection time and further increase the sensitivity of the sensor by optimizing the design of the polymers and transistors. They are also working on wearable devices for a variety of health conditions including cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

“Currently, doctors have been relying heavily on their experiences in diagnosing and treating diseases. But with richer data collected by wearable devices, disease diagnosis and treatment can become more precise,” Fang says.

Coronavirus doesn’t infect the brain but inflicts damage, says Columbia University study

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The Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 does not directly infect the brain but can still inflict significant neurological damage, said a new study from neuro experts at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

“There’s been considerable debate about whether this virus infects the brain, but we were unable to find any signs of virus inside brain cells of more than 40 COVID-19 patients,” says James E. Goldman, professor of pathology & cell biology, who led the study with Peter D. Canoll, professor of pathology & cell biology, and Kiran T. Thakur, an Assistant Professor of Neurology.

“At the same time, we observed many pathological changes in these brains, which could explain why severely ill patients experience confusion and delirium and other serious neurological effects–and why those with mild cases may experience ‘brain fog’ for weeks and months.”

The study, published in the journal Brain, is the largest and most detailed COVID-19 brain autopsy report published to date, suggests that the neurological changes often seen in these patients may result from inflammation triggered by the virus in other parts of the body or in the brain’s blood vessels.

No Virus in Brain Cells

The study examined the brains of 41 patients with COVID-19 who succumbed to the disease, ranged in age from 38 to 97 and half had been intubated and all had lung damage caused by the virus. Many of them were of Hispanic ethnicity. All of the patients had brain MRI and CT scans.

To detect any virus in the brain, the researchers used multiple methods including RNA in situ hybridization to detect viral RNA within intact cells; antibodies that can detect viral proteins within cells; and RT-PCR, a sensitive technique for detecting viral RNA. But they found no coronavirus in the patients’ brain cells. They did detect very low levels of viral RNA by RT-PCR, but it was likely due to virus in blood vessels or leptomeninges covering the brain.

“Though there are some papers that claim to have found virus in neurons or glia, we think that those result from contamination,” Canoll says. Despite the absence of virus in the brain, they noticed many areas with damage from a lack of oxygen. They all had severe lung disease, so it’s not surprising that there’s hypoxic damage in the brain, caused by strokes, he said.

Persistent Neurological Problems in Survivors

Goldman says that more research is needed to understand the reasons why some post-COVID-19 patients continue to experience symptoms. The researchers are now examining autopsies on patients who died several months after recovering from COVID-19 to learn more.

They are also examining the brains from patients who were critically ill with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) before the COVID-19 pandemic to see how much of COVID-19 brain pathology is a result of the severe lung disease.

Week after week of lockdown increases binge drinking too, says study

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IMAGE: WINE POURED INTO GLASS, CREDIT: TAYLOR & FRANCIS:

With images of long queues soon after allowing sale of alcohol drinks atill vivid, harmful drinking among adults increases more as they spend at home in lockdown, according to a study published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The research, based on a survey of nearly 2,000 persons aged above 18 years in the US, is the first to highlight the relationship nationally between hazardous drinking and life stresses triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated ‘lockdowns’.

The findings show the odds of heavy alcohol consumption among binge drinkers – those who, within two hours, consumed five or more drinks for men and four and above for women – rose an extra 19% for every week of lockdown.

The odds of increased alcohol intake overall for binge drinkers was more than double that of people who did not drink excessively (60% vs 28%), especially those with depression or a history of the disease. Carried out by experts at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health, in Dallas, the study also highlights that:

  • During the pandemic, binge drinkers on average drank four drinks per occasion, compared to two drinks among non-binge drinkers.
  • Participants who drank at harmful levels during the pandemic would consume seven drinks maximum on one occasion. This is compared to a maximum of two per session during the pandemic for those who did not.
  • Living with children in lockdown minimally reduced the odds (by 26%) of turning to the bottle for people in general.

The researchers are now calling for new intervention and prevention strategies for people in isolation at risk of hazardous drinking. Otherwise, they say there could be long-lasting health consequences. “Increased time spent at home is a life stressor that impacts drinking and the Covid-19 pandemic may have exacerbated this stress,” says Sitara Weerakoon, a PhD candidate from the University of Texas.

“Future research should consider the potential for depressive symptoms acting as a moderator (a factor that changes the impact) in the relation between the time spent under a shelter-in-place mandate (lockdown) and binge drinking. “Additional research is (also) needed to develop best treatment for people with substance use disorders who may be more susceptible to adverse health outcomes.”

The study aim was to identify a link between COVID-19-related stress factors and changes in alcohol consumption and binge drinking since the pandemic began.

The data was from an online survey completed by 1,982 adults from mid-March to mid-April, which coincided with the first US state-wide stay-at-home order on March 19. The average age of participants was 42 and the majority were white (89%) and female (69%).

Based on survey responses, the researchers categorised participants as binge drinkers, non-binge drinkers and non-drinkers. Among the factors analysed were length of time spent in lockdown, how many adults or children they were living with, current or previous episodes of depression, and job status related to lockdown such as decreased pay.

On average, every respondent had been in lockdown for four weeks, and spent 21 hours a day at home, with the majority (72%) not leaving for work.

Overall, nearly a third (32%) of participants reported binge drinking during the pandemic with binge drinkers increasing their intake. However, non-binge drinkers consumed about the same amount of alcohol than before lockdown.

Limitations of the study include the survey data being self-reported, and the fact the question on binge-drinking did not specify a time within which the alcohol was consumed.

In addition, the majority (70%) of participants were relatively high earners, a factor already associated with hazardous alcohol use. The authors say future research is needed in a more ‘generalizable population’.

How vitamin D affects COVID-19? Penn State researcher explores further

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A Penn State researcher is studying whether vitamin D supplementation could help people ward off or reduce symptoms caused by COVID-19. Margherita Cantorna, distinguished professor of molecular immunology and nutrition in the College of Agricultural Sciences, received nearly $241,000 as part of a competitive revision to the final year of an existing NIH grant that supports her research on how vitamin D regulates the immune system in the gastrointestinal tract.

Cantorna said the addition of two key collaborators in the college’s Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences make the new work possible: virologist Troy Sutton, assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, and Girish Kirimanjiswara, associate professor whose research focuses on immunology and infectious diseases.

“Patients with acute respiratory infections have been shown to be vitamin D deficient, and vitamin D supplements have been touted as being useful in high doses for preventing seasonal influenza,” Cantorna said. “Meanwhile, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has generated interest in the potential of high-dose vitamin D supplements to prevent and treat severe disease associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Cantorna’s research group has shown that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining health in the gastrointestinal tract. Higher levels of vitamin D reduce susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease, as well as gut and lung infections in animals and people. However, too much vitamin D can be harmful.

Cantorna noted that the local and systemic inflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection is not well understood, and controlling such inflammation may improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients. Although low vitamin D status has been associated with acute respiratory diseases, research has not confirmed a causal relationship.

“We don’t yet fully understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of vitamin D in the lung or how vitamin D regulates host immunity to viral infection,” she said. “These significant knowledge gaps have hindered the development of interventions and accurate messaging that include vitamin D for the treatment and prevention of respiratory disease.”

Using mouse and hamster models, Cantorna’s team will test whether supplemental vitamin D treatments will limit viral replication and/or inflammation in the lung leading to protection against severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.

“We plan to determine the effects, dose and timing of possible vitamin D interventions in infected animals,” Cantorna said. “Because SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to infect the gastrointestinal tract, the benefits of vitamin D might include regulation of gastrointestinal immunity as well as lung immunity.”

She added that all work with SARS-CoV-2 viruses will be performed at the Eva J. Pell Laboratory for Enhanced Biological Research, which is Penn State’s state-of-the-art biosafety level 3 facility.

“In some cases, the most vulnerable people are being told they should take vitamin D supplements to protect against COVID-19, without proof of efficacy or safety,” Cantorna said. “We hope our findings can contribute to the development of responsible guidance on whether high amounts of vitamin D are safe and effective in alleviating this disease.

Study shows protective role sex steroids play in COVID-19

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Female reproductive steroids provide anti-inflammatory and antibody production suggesting COVID-19 symptom protection, said a new paper from a UIC researcher that suggests sex steroids may play a role in protecting against COVID-19 symptoms.

“Sex and Covid-19: A protective role for reproductive steroids,” by Graziano Pinna, research associate professor in psychiatry, analyzes existing research to look at reasons why COVID-19 symptom severity and mortality are more frequent in men than in women and in older people. His paper suggests female reproductive steroids play a protective role.

Female reproductive steroids, estrogen and progesterone and its physiologically active metabolite, allopregnanolone, provide anti-inflammatory functions, reshape competence of immune cells, stimulate antibody production and promote respiratory epithelial cell repair, and inhibit the ACE2 receptor, the door of access for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) to infect the organism, suggesting they may protect against COVID-19 symptoms, according to Pinna’s report. The paper is published in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Pinna became interested in the role of reproductive steroids in COVID-19 pathology in March when early case reports showed COVID-19 positive pregnant women who had no COVID-19 symptoms, had escalated symptoms — severe enough to require intensive care — immediately after giving birth. The severity of symptoms coincided with a rapid drop of estradiol, progesterone, and allopregnanolone.

“Hormones that help sustain the pregnancy – like progesterone — are 100 times more concentrated in a pregnancy’s third trimester. Estradiol, allopregnanolone, and progesterone all have important anti-inflammatory functions and are involved in resetting the immune system. This suggests that pregnant women became symptomatic, and some were even admitted to the ICU, after delivering their babies because of the rapid drop in these hormones,” said Pinna. “The correlation was really striking.”

Striking Correlation

According to recent CDC data, in the United States, 38,071 women who were pregnant contracted COVID-19, with 51 deaths — 0.13%. For non-pregnant women, the death toll is 2%. “Pregnant women are 15 times less likely to die from COVID than other women,” said Pinna.

There is a difference between the severity of symptoms, and intensive care hospitalization between men and women with COVID-19, with women being more resistant. It was thought that female hormones protected women, but it was difficult to ascertain why, said Pinna.

“This observation in pregnant women provides significant scientific background, not only as to why women are more protected than men, but also why older people are less protected than younger people because we know the older you are, the more decreased your hormones are,” said Pinna.

Pinna’s paper also discusses the importance of reproductive hormones in stimulating the production of antibodies and promoting lung cell repair after virus infection and fighting against the ‘cytokine storm’ — an immune response where the body starts to attack its own cells and tissues rather than just fighting off the virus. “Progesterone and allopregnanolone can block the incredible overreaction of the inflammatory system, repressing it and avoiding the over-expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines,” said Pinna.

Reproductive hormone protection from COVID symptoms may be warranted by oral combinations of hormonal contraceptives or by treatment with hormone replacement therapy against hypoestrogenism in postmenopausal women. Pinna said clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of progesterone or estradiol to improve COVID-19 symptoms in men and post-menopausal women are underway.

Additionally, nutrition may also play a role when diets are enriched with phytoestrogens – plant-produced ‘estrogen’ — (in foods such as soybeans, lentils, oats). Phytoestrogens have the ability to bind directly to human estrogen receptors, or can be converted to estradiol by the microbiome. The microbiome is the collective genomes of the microbes (composed of bacteria, bacteriophage, fungi, protozoa, and viruses) that live in the gut.

“Nutrition is very important and there hasn’t been much talk about it,” Pinna said. “It is important because it is something we can take care of each day to boost the immune system and make our bodies stronger against COVID.”

This new therapy for flu may help in fight against COVID-19

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A new therapy for influenza virus infections that may also prove effective against many other pathogenic virus infections, including HIV and COVID-19, has been developed by Purdue University scientists.

In an average year, more than 2 million people in the United States are hospitalized with the flu, and 30,000 to 80,000 of them die from the flu or related complications. The Purdue team’s work is detailed in Nature Communications and uses a targeted therapy approach against the virus infections.

“We target all of the antiviral drugs we develop specifically to virus-infected cells,” said Philip S. Low, the Purdue Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. “That way, we treat the diseased cells without harming healthy cells. We use this capability to deliver immune-activating drugs selectively into flu-infected cells. There is also the potential that this therapy will prove efficacious in people infected with COVID-19.”

Exorted Viral Proteins

The flu virus, like many other pathogenic viruses, exports its proteins into its host cell surface and then buds off nascent viruses in the process of spreading to adjacent host cells. Because these exported viral proteins are not present in the membranes of healthy host cells, the Purdue team has exploited the presence of viral proteins in infected cells by designing homing molecules that target drugs specifically to virus-infected cells, thereby avoiding the collateral toxicity that occurs when antiviral drugs are taken up by uninfected cells.

“We chose to start our tests with influenza virus because the results can often be applied to other enveloped viruses,” Low said. “Our lab tests show that our process works in influenza infected mice that are inoculated with 100 times the lethal dose of virus.”

Low said the new therapy may prove effective against other pathogenic virus infections such as hepatitis B, HIV and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

India’s 61% of Daily New Cases reported from Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh

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India has reported 44,489  new confirmed COVID cases have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country. Of these, 60.72% is contributed by six States/UT i.e. Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Kerala leads the tally with 6,491 new COVID cases. Maharashtra has reported 6,159 new cases, while Delhi registered another 5,246 new cases in the last 24 hours.

60.50% of the 524 case fatalities reported in the past 24 hours are concentrated in six States/UTs- Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the common states among the top six states contributing maximum to new cases as well as daily deaths.

Delhi with 99 deaths reported the maximum new fatalities. Maharashtra saw a fatality count of 65 followed by West Bengal with 51 deaths.

India’s present active caseload (4,52,344) is 4.88% of the total Positive Cases, and has been sustained below the 5% mark. and 65% of the active cases are in 8 States/UTs which have contributed to the maximum daily new cases and the daily highest deaths.

61% of the total deaths are concentrated in these 8 States/UT.

The cases per million figures of these 8 States/UTs compared to the national average (6,715) are as follows:

The following shows Case Fatality Rate (CFR) in these 8 States/UT as compared to the national average (1.46%).

Total recovered cases in India are nearing 87 lakhs (86,79,138). The national recovery rate stands at 93.66% today. 36,367 recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country.

15 States/UTs have Recovery Rate more than the national average.

20 States/UTs have reported Recovery Rate less than the national average.

 

 

Doctors use old CPAP treatment to cure patients from Covid-19

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The lives of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 are being saved by doctors who are using an existing medical treatment at an earlier stage. Dr Luigi Sedda of Lancaster University analysed the results from the team at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (WWL). Their research has now been published in the prestigious medical journal BMJ Respiratory Open.

He said: “We show that Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in the first days of hospitalisation seems to save between 10% to 20% of patients. However it is important to underline that this was a pilot study with a small sample size, although comforting evidence is starting to emerge elsewhere.”

According to NHS England, 96% of people who died with Covid had at least one serious health condition and the majority are over the age of 80. The team led by Dr Abdul Ashish used the CPAP machines on patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan.

In the case of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome, COVID-19 may cause the lungs to swell and collapse. Using CPAP treatment, which is often used at home to help people with sleep problems, helps to keep the lungs open and makes breathing easier.

The research conducted by the team showed how CPAP treatment can be delivered effectively in a ward setting, with low resources both across the country and worldwide where intensive care bed availability is limited. The research has so far helped almost a hundred patients at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary.

Consultant Respiratory Physician Dr Ashish said: “When you use CPAP early in the admission it stops the patient getting worse, therefore avoiding invasive ventilation techniques. As CPAP is readily available and can be used in a ward setting, we have demonstrated that, when used early, it can be very effective way of treating severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

“We are one of the early adopters of ward based CPAP in the North West and have developed local protocols and pathways by modifying our existing CPAP machines to deliver good outcomes for our patients.”

The researchers also found that the early use of CPAP potentially reduces lung damage during the worst of the COVID-19 infection and allows the patient to recover from the inflammatory effects. However, when used later, CPCP does not prevent lung damage thus leading to additional inflammation and a reduction in survival chances.

Ayush Ministry to conduct clinical study of Vasa and Guduchi for Covid-19 treatment

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In view of the need for accelerated solutions for Covid-19, the Ministry of AYUSH has taken up a clinical study to assess the role of Vasa Ghana, Guduchi Ghana and Vasa-Guduchi Ghana in therapeutic management of symptoms in Covid-19 positive cases.

The trials will be a “randomized, open label three armed” study, and will be conducted at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, in collaboration with the IGIB unit of CSIR.

The detailed proposal with methodology including outcome measures, clinical and laboratory parameters, the logistics of the research has been prepared. The study will use a unique Case Report Forum (CRF), suitable for Ayush mode research.

VASA  is an ayurvedic classical medicine. It is a herbal decoction (kashayam) with Vasa and Guduchi as its main ingredients, used to treat liver disorders. It is believed to reduce the aggravation of pitta in the body.

Study Protocol

The CRF and study protocol has also been peer reviewed by experts from different domains including modern medicine and their suggestions have been incorporated. The study will be undertaken subject to the required approvals like that of the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC).

The project would look into the following specific considerations:

  1. The efficacy/action of mono-herbal formulations of whole extracts of Vasa and Guduchi respectively, and polyherbal formulation of Vasa-Guduchi whole extract on therapeutic management of SARS-CoV2 positive asymptomatic and/ or mild Covid-19 symptomatic cases. The impact of the said formulations on the speed of viral replication.
  2. Whether the said mono-herbal and polyherbal formulations can alter the expression profiles of key bio markers associated with Covid-19 disease.

Vasa and Guduchi are time tested herbs in Indian healthcare traditions, used in a variety of disease conditions. The outcome of this study would therefore be of considerable interest to the entire Ayush Sector.

 

Telugu actor Jayaprakash Reddy dies of heart attack amid Covid-19 pandemic

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Telugu actor Jaya Prakash Reddy, best-known for his comic and villainous roles, died on Tuesday, aged 74. The actor suffered a cardiac arrest at his residence in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The actor was last seen in Mahesh Babu starrer Sarileru Neekevvaru (2020).

Jaya Prakash Reddy’s death has left the Telugu film industry in a shock and several condolence messages started pouring in on Twitter from all actors who worked with him in several films. Known for friends and film industry as JP, he acted as the villain in more than a hundred films and also played the comic roles in some films.

Born on Oct. 10, 1946 in Sirivella, Kurnool district, he came to limelight with his role in ‘Samarasimha Reddy’ as Veera Raghava Reddy.

Here’s a list of his filmography:

Year Title Language Role
1988 Brahma Puthrudu Telugu
1990 Shatruvu Telugu Mayor
1990 Lorry Driver Telugu Bank manager
1990 Bobbili Raja Telugu Tribal
1991 Chitram Bhalare Vichitram Telugu Phani
1993 Jamba Lakidi Pamba Telugu Hijra
1997 Preminchukundam Raa Telugu Veerabadrayya
1999 Samarasimha Reddy Telugu Veeraraghava Reddy
2000 Jayam Manade Raa Telugu Narasimha Naidu
2000 Vijayaramaraju Telugu
2001 Narasimha Naidu Telugu
2001 Anandam Telugu Sub-Inspector of Police Cameo appearance
2002 Seema Simham Telugu Kulashekar Rao
2002 Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru Telugu Constable
2002 Sontham Telugu Gulabi Thief
2002 Chennakeshava Reddy Telugu Venkat Reddy
2003 Palnati Brahmanayudu Telugu Narsinga Naidu
2003 Swetha Naagara Kannada Sarpa Kaadu Dhorey simultaneously shot in Kannada and Telugu languages
2003 Swetha Naagu Telugu Sarpararanya Dhora simultaneously shot in Kannada and Telugu languages
2003 Nijam Telugu Sidda Reddy
2003 Seetayya Telugu Rama Naidu
2003 Anjaneya Tamil Jaya Prakash
2003 Kabaddi Kabaddi Telugu Head Constable
2004 Shiva Shankar Telugu
2005 Evadi Gola Vaadidi Telugu Banda Reddy
2005 Chatrapati Telugu Municipal Commissioner
2005 Aaru Tamil Reddy (Nathan’s enemy)
2005 Chinna Tamil china’s ex boss
2005 Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana Telugu JP
2005 Narasimhudu Telugu Local MLA
2006 Kithakithalu Telugu Soundarya’s father
2006 Dharmapuri Tamil MLA Konda Mookan
2006 Vikramarkudu Telugu Home Minister
2007 Julayi Telugu Reddy
2007 Thiru Ranga Tamil Reddy
2007 Dhee Telugu Pedhananayana
2007 Godava Telugu
2008 Ready Telugu Chitti Naidu
2008 Siddu From Sikakulam Telugu Obul Reddy
2008 King Telugu Appaji
2008 Satya in Love Kannada Veda’s Father (Telugu Factionist)
2008 Krishna Telugu Jakka’s uncle
2008 Parugu Telugu Sub-Inspector
2008 Citizen Kannada Home minister of Karnataka
2009 Raju Maharaju Telugu
2009 Maa Nanna Chiranjeevi Telugu
2009 Anjaneyulu Telugu Babulal
2009 Bangaru Babu Telugu
2009 Kick Telugu Police Officer
2009 Kasko Telugu JP
2010 Seeta Ramula Kalyanam Lankalo Telugu Veera Pratap’s father
2010 Prasthanam Telugu Bangaru Raju
2010 Uthama Puthiran Tamil Chinnamuthu Goundar, Also dubbed his own voice for his character in Tamil
2010 Namo Venkatesa Telugu Bhadrappa’s grandfather
2010 Bindaas Telugu Seshadri Naidu
2011 Madatha Kaja Telugu JP
2011 Oosaravelli Telugu Sarkar
2011 Seema Tapakai Telugu Venkatappa
2011 Kandireega Telugu Rajanna
2012 Betting Bangaraju Telugu Police Officer
2012 Gabbar Singh Telugu Police Commissioner
2013 Naayak Telugu Babji’s Paternal Uncle
2013 Baadshah Telugu Aadhi’s father
2013 Shadow Telugu Home Minister Naidu
2013 Adda Telugu Cameo appearance
2013 Masala Telugu Eddulodu
2014 Legend Telugu MP
2014 Race Gurram Telugu IG J.P.
2014 Manam Telugu Home Minister J.P.
2014 Jump Jilani Telugu Veera Puli Reddy
2014 Rabhasa Telugu Peddi Reddy alias Pedayya
2014 Autonagar Surya Telugu Corporater Indra
2015 Pataas Telugu Central Minister JP
2015 Akhil Telugu Kishore’s father
2015 Temper Telugu Home Minister of A.P.
2015 LOL Telugu Somyayajulu
2015 Mosagallaku Mosagadu Telugu Kaushik
2015 Shivam Telugu Bhoji Reddy’s brother-in-law
2015 Bruce Lee – The Fighter Telugu Fight Master Dangerous David & Police Inspector G. Ramji Dual Role
2015 Tripura Telugu
2016 Sarrainodu Telugu Bhoopathi
2016 Supreme Telugu M.L.A.
2016 Hyper Telugu Party President
2016 Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu[8] Telugu
2017 Khaidi No. 150 Telugu Commissioner Krishna Murthy
2017 Radha Telugu Acharya Deva
2017 Nene Raju Nene Mantri Telugu Jailor
2017 Jai Lava Kusa Telugu Sravani’s father
2017 Raja the Great Telugu Devaraj’s henchmen
2018 Inttelligent Telugu Sathya Murthy
2018 Jai Simha Telugu Central Minister JP
2018 Jamba Lakidi Pamba
2018 MLA Telugu Indu’s father
2018 Chethilo Cheyyesi Cheppu Baava Telugu
2018 Pantham Telugu Health Minister
2018 Nela Ticket Telugu C.P. Ranjith Kumar
2018 Lover Telugu Goon
2018 Silly Fellows Telugu Jacket Janakiram
2018 Amar Akbar Anthony Telugu WATA chairman
2019 Crazy Crazy Feeling Telugu Dream father
2020 Sarileru Neekevvaru Telugu Nagendra’s Father

 

Ahead of US schools reopen, study finds kids 100 times more potential to spread Covid-19

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As schools in the United States are gearing up to open, anew study has come out stating that children are equally susceptible to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) but exhibit mild symptoms compared with adults. Though data is sparse on children, they do spread respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses far wider than previously thought.

Early reports did not find strong evidence of children as major contributors to SARS-CoV-2 spread owing to school closures ahead of the pandemic and no large-scale investigations of schools in community transmission had been conducted, said the researchers. Now that public health systems ponder to reopen schools and day cares, the new study on children’s transmission potential has sent alarm bells to public health officials in the US and elsewhere.

The study conducted between March 23 and April 27, 2020 on replication of SARS-CoV-2 in older children found similar levels of viral nucleic acid as adults, but significantly greater amounts of viral nucleic acid among those younger than 5 years. The SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on nasopharyngeal swabs collected at various hospitals and clinics including drive-through testing sites at a pediatric tertiary medical center in Chicago, Illinois.

This cohort included all individuals aged younger than 1 month to 65 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 or those with symptoms suggestive of a COVID-19–compatible illness and/or high-risk exposures. In all, 145 patients with mild to moderate illness within 1 week of symptom onset were tested.

Divided in 3 groups — young children younger than 5 years, older children aged 5 to 17 years, and adults aged 18 to 65 years — researchers found young children had significantly equivalent or more viral nucleic acid in their upper respiratory tract compared with older children and adults. Some had even 100-fold greater amount of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract.

Thus, the study suggests that young children can potentially be important drivers of SARS-CoV-2 spread in the general population, and are more likely to transmit. “Behavioral habits of young children and close quarters in school and day care settings raise concern for SARS-CoV-2 amplification in this population as public health restrictions are eased,” wrote authors in their paper published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

What’s India’s future once Coronavirus is contained? Collection of Expert Views

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Now that India is bracing for relaxation of nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, economists and world renowned Indian brains had a discussion on almost all the aspects of Indian life from e-commerce to gold-buying spree to frugal mindset to sanitation consciousness.

Here are some takeaway points:

General Outlook

  1. India seems to have suppressed the curve for long but not now with 1.6 million cases and more than 36,000 deaths so far. It looks like it might escalate further.
  2. Possibility of W Curve –  There is a good chance of re-occurrence of the virus, which could see a possibility of regular lockdowns. Businesses need to plan accordingly.
  3. Capital inflow will look for countries that are less battered. Western economies are badly battered while countries like India, Indonesia, among others are not so battered.
  4. Emotional and Economic backlash against China is expected. Already, countries and companies are working on strategy to pivot away from China as part of their supply chains. Japan has announced packages for it’s companies bringing back manufacturing home. Businesses need to keep this in mind and work accordingly.

Discretionary Spending

  1. For individuals, health and safety will become No.1 on their agenda from the 3rd of 4th place. There will be more spending on this and reduction in other discretionary spending.
  2. The ticket size of spending will drop for a while. People will spend on cheaper goods than on expensive goods, or delay spending for a while.
  3. Extreme acceleration in digital economy — home education, home entertainment, home fitness, etc
  4. Loyalty shock: People will be less loyal towards brands as other aspects will take over. People will switch brands faster due to various other concerns like safety.
  5. General Trust deficit among stakeholders like vendors, customers, employees, borrowers, banks, etc. visible. Banks will have trust deficit with borrowers, companies will have trust deficit with suppliers, and it goes on.

Liquidity and P&L

  1. Segregate Good Costs and Bad Costs
  2. Good costs (Eg. Digitization, tech costs, digital marketing, best employees, etc) need to be insulated and protected
  3. Bad Costs (Eg. Fancy office, unnecessary spending, bad performers, traditional working methods) need to be ruthlessly eliminated. Companies will not entertain or be emotional about non-core businesses.
  4. Be Frugal – Not necessary to have fancy office, fancy cars, excess employee strength, etc. Companies tend to remove all the flab and be lean.
  5. Maintain Good behaviour – Have frank and open conversation with all stakeholders like suppliers, employees, etc and try to find the middle ground, so that the burden can be shared justly.
  6. Be Future Ready – In this crisis, there will be winners and there will be losers. Those who re-orient their strategy will be winners.

Govt Stimulus

  1. Economy was in poor shape even before Covid. The govt has little leeway to provide large stimulus.
  2. Govt earns about $60-70 billion a week from taxes. Imagine what a hit a 5-week lockdown will have. Size of Indian economy is about $3 Trillion. In some scenarios, it is predicted that Govt could take a hit of nearly $1 Trillion.
  3. Inequality has already sharpened. The gap between rich and poor has further increased. Govt needs to concentrate on mass health and mass welfare. If not, 200 million people could sink into poverty.
  4. Govt must explore printing currency (Quantitative easing), but there are limitations here. It has side effects like inflation. Rich countries have more leeway for such quantitative easing.
  5. Govt will focus on more capital from outside.

Result of backlash against China

  1. Internationally, and domestically there is an emotional and economic backlash against China due to border clashes recently.
  2. Businesses with supply chains passing through China will need to insulate themselves and build alternatives.
  3. India and Indian businesses need to try to become the contract manufacturer of the world, just like China is. India needs to make use of this opportunity.
  4. All big wealth funds and sovereign funds will be awash with liquidity. This liquidity needs to be attracted to India.
  5. In every sector, there are good and bad companies. Management has to invest correctly in manufacturing and modern tech, be honest and fair to all stakeholders, etc., Those companies with good management and displaying good behaviour will come out victorious.

Export Business

  1. Indian exporters need to build trust. They need to live up to promises made. They need to deliver on time and deliver the promised quality. They shouldn’t make incorrect promises just to get more business.
  2. Bangladesh export business has built trust and a good reputation. Despite a chequered past (low quality, human rights issues, etc) they have managed to overcome and are winning.

Wholesale, Retail, etc.

  1. More people will prefer to buy from retail stores where there is perception of safety (Eg. Sanitation, cleanliness, crowds, etc). They will move away from malls and mega markets. Many will move towards online stores. Wholesale suppliers also need to concentrate on such retailers.
  2. Customers also need to be ring-fenced.
  3. A high end restaurant in Delhi is giving 40% of bill value as a gift coupon to be used anytime up to December 2020.
  4. Car companies are giving buy back offers, in case the customer loses his job in the next one year.
  5. Pricing needs to be re-approached. People are looking for cheaper prices or cheaper good.

Brick & Mortar in Discretionary Spends

  1. Cinemas could take a big hit in the near future. Entertainment could move to home.
  2. Because of this, cafes and restaurants might see some increase in business. Many chains are implementing measures like social distancing like lesser furniture, etc, to build confidence to consumers.
  3. Smaller retailers need to send a message of safety. Eg: Have sanitisers, put up notice of no Covid positive employee found in the store, maintain social distancing, etc.
  4. Since travel and tourism will take a big hit, connected purchases will also shift. Purchases that happened abroad will happen at home. (Eg. Electronics, Luxury goods and apparel, etc.,). But travel related purchases will drop.

Real Estate

  1. Indian real estate economy is sitting on a huge inventory with a huge cost-of-carry
  2. The industry is highly leveraged with low margins.
  3. Unsold inventory is considered an appreciating asset, but might turn out to be a flawed view.
  4. Market was already overdue for a huge reset, which will be accelerated by the pandemic.
  5. Also, the sharing and co-working space could be hit as more businesses try to have their own smaller spaces and more WFH employees.

Jewellery 

  1. Gold-as-an-asset could see appreciation.
  2. Jewelry, as a discretionary spend, will take a hit.
  3. The Indian wedding industry will take a hit, as social distancing, cost consciousness, travel avoidance, etc., will prevent fat weddings, destination weddings, etc. This will hit all connected industries. (Eg. Silk, partywear, etc)

Financial Markets

  1. There will be value destruction and value creation in different companies in the same sector.
  2. High Debt low margin companies will find it difficult. (indicates risky or unscrupulous management)
  3. High Debt high margin companies could be rewarded, but caution needs to be exercised. (may indicate sharp or dynamic management)
  4. No debt high margin companies are best rewarded now.
  5. Know more about the CEO and management and their actions and activities. (Eg: 3 branches of Starbucks were kept open in India for last few days. The CEO of Starbucks India sat in the Fort (Mumbai) branch throughout the day to give his employees confidence and motivation).
  6. New tech unicorns will be born. Those involved in cyber security, cloud services, online education services, etc.

Forex Markets

  1. No doomsday scenario (i.e. Dollar will become 90 rupees etc). Such scenarios don’t seem realistic
  2. Govt should be buying as much oil as possible, as such prices may never be seen in the future of oil.
  3. As the western economies are more battered and Indian economy too faces same fate, depending on the spread of the disease in India.
  4. Watch out for sharp spikes in the market. Better to avoid the spikes.

Outlook for near future

  1. Large Companies survive.
  2. Huge concern seen for employees. Companies are paying the employees even when closed.
  3. HUL decided not to cut a single rupee for their suppliers, service providers, etc. No haircuts.
  4. Safety of employees and customers is becoming a major point of focus.
  5. This is possible because they have reserves of funds, etc that have been built up over the years.

Medium and Small businesses

  1. They have to work with thin capital reserves. Excess capital is taken out of the business and applied into personal assets.
  2. Small businesses take out the surplus and purchase personal assets instead of re-investing in the business. There are various factors and motivations here.
  3. Because of this, they are unable to meet the cash expenses of even the next month.
  4. A high end restaurant chain in Delhi (with Rs.40 crore annual turnover) is unable to pay the salaries of the current month as it has no liquid reserve. Owner has invested in personal assets like house in London, etc.
  5. Medium and Small business need to have a look at how they can build some business reserves to endure such disruptions.

‘Force Majeure’ in Contracts

  1. Should force majeure clauses be triggerd in various contracts like rent, supply, etc? It will lead to litigation, but there is no point in getting into litigation now.
  2. All parties have been affected by the crisis. The tenants, the landlords, the lenders/financiers, etc.
  3. Parties need to sit across the table and find a common ground and mutually decide upon the costs, rentals, etc. Burden has to be shared.

Work From Home Scenario

  1. It is possible for lot of employees to not visit the office and still be productive.
  2. In one corporate office, it is found that it is enough that only 30% staff stay in the office. Others can be connected from homes. This leads to lesser commute expense, stress of the commute, time wasted, etc.,
  3. Parents can take care of children more effectively while Working From Home. There can be dark hours when no calls will be made.

Optimism

As per a McKinsey survey of entrepreneurs released in May, 53% of Indian entrepreneurs are optimistic, while only 25% of Japanese entrepreneurs are optimistic. Now it’s the equally bad everywhere.

 

Spike Proteins in Coronavirus before and after fusion structures found

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Scientists report two new cryo-EM structures representing the pre-fusion and post-fusion conformations of the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in coronavirus that is responsible for host cell entry and the spread of infection in human body.

These reconstructions – derived from a full-length, fully wild-type form of the S protein – demonstrate critical differences from previous cryo-EM studies that used engineered, stabilized versions of the S protein, said researchers.

Based on their findings, the authors caution that current vaccine strategies informed by structures of the engineered S protein could be relying on limited and even misleading information about the protein’s natural state.

They say it’s possible that vaccine strategies that employ full-length sequences of the S protein or whole inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (such as PiCoVacc), could spontaneously form the S protein’s postfusion structure, found here to possess several features that could distract the patient’s immune system.

Therefore, these vaccine strategies may require further evaluation, the authors say. Using cryo-EM on full-length SARS-CoV-2 samples in their natural state, Yongfei Cai and colleagues imaged the pre-fusion S protein configuration, a semi-stable state when the protein is poised to fuse with host cell membranes, and the post-fusion conformational configuration, a stable, rigid state achieved when the S protein has gone through a conformational change that would promote viral fusion with a host cell membrane.

They found their prefusion structure differed from previously described prefusion conformations in several ways, including the presence of previously unobserved disulfide bonds. The protein’s spontaneous transition from the prefusion state to the postfusion state occurred independently of whether the spike had interacted with host cell membranes, the researchers also found.

The postfusion structure was strategically “decorated” by N-linked glycans, forming spikes that might play protective roles against host immune responses, such as by inducing nonneutralizing antibody responses or shielding more vulnerable regions of the S protein. In future work, the researchers hope to image a higher-resolution structure of an intact S protein, and also aim to reconstruct regions where host cell membrane fusion occurs.

 

Not China, but Russia announces world’s first Covid-19 vaccine

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Any Covid-19 vaccine? All nations and the entire world humanity was eagerly awaiting the precious announcement from at least one top nation that its scientists have successfully completed clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccine.

When expectations were running high that it would be China, where the novel coronavirus had its origin in the city of Wuhan, unexpectedly Russia has announced first to the world that its clinical trials are completed successfully and the vaccine is ready for production.

The Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University is the one which has claimed that it has successfully completed the trails their vaccine has all the “safety of those vaccines that are currently in the market.”

Announcing the news, Vadim Tarasov, the director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Biotechnology of the Unviersity said the clinical trials have been conducted on volunteers, reports Russian news agency Sputnik, adding that the first group of volunteers would be discharged on 15 July and the second on 20 July.

Russian vaccine

The vaccine was produced by Russia’s Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology on June 18. “Sechenov University has successfully completed tests on volunteers of the world’s first vaccine against coronavirus,” Tarasov said.

“The safety of the vaccine is confirmed. It corresponds to the safety of those vaccines that are currently on the market,” said another scientist Alexander Lukashev, director of the Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases at Sechenov University.

“Sechenov University in a pandemic situation acted not only as an educational institution but also as a scientific and technological research center that is able to participate in the creation of such important and complex products as drugs,” Tarasov said.

Elsewhere, Gilead Sciences, Oxford University’s researchers and American biotech company Moderna are at the forefront of developing a Covid-19 vaccine, while a Canadian and Chinese joint project is equally pushing the date for completion of clinical trials. BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate is expected to be ready by the end of 2020.

Back to Office? Replace coffee pot, restrain from hand shake – say CDC Guidelines

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No more hand shakes or fist bumps if you are returning to your office. Temperature and symptom checks, plastic desk shields, and face coverings worn at all times — are some of the urgent recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for those who are gearing up to return to offices despite the pandemic.

“Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers, and bulk snacks, with alternatives such as prepackaged, single-serving items,” says one of the guidelines issued by the CDC.

Workers in office buildings may be at risk for exposure to the coronavirus. Office building employers, building owners and managers, and building operations specialists can take “steps to create a safe and healthy workplace and protect workers and clients,” said the CDC on its website.

Applicable anywhere in the world, including India once the lockdown is lifted next week, here’s the list:

CDC Guidelines to Office Goers

  • Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers, and bulk snacks
  • Upon arriving at work, employees should get a temperature and symptom check.
  • Inside the office, desks should be six feet apart or partition with plastic shields be erected.
  • Seating should be barred in common areas.
  • Face coverings should be worn at all times.
  • Regular hand washing of at least 20 seconds; no fist bumps or handshakes; no face touching.
  • Limit use and occupancy of elevators to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet.
  • Repeat disinfecting of surfaces, cleansing out the ventilation system, opening windows and allow ventilation.
  • Display posters in offices recommending best practices.

The guidelines would lead to a far-reaching remaking of the corporate work experience and those who are returning to work are urged to drive to work by themselves, instead of taking public transportation or car-pooling, to avoid potential exposure to the virus.

The CDC has finally advised companies to allow white-collar employees at all levels to continue work from home, which has proved effective in the last few months.

Coronavirus: Who is the loser in US-WHO rift? Global Health

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When US President Donald Trump tweeted a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week threatening to make permanent the US freeze on WHO funding that began in April, unless the organization “can actually demonstrate independence from China” within 30 days, it has heralded another onslaught on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

If President Trump sidelines the World Health Organization, experts foresee incoherence, inefficiency and resurgence of deadly diseases. The fissure between the United States and the World Health Organization has unveiled further the repercussions which could range from a resurgence of polio and malaria to barriers in the flow of information on COVID-19.

On the flip side, scientific partnerships around the world would be damaged, and the United States could lose influence over global health initiatives, including those to distribute drugs and vaccines for the new coronavirus as they become available, according to health experts.

“I don’t think this is an idle threat,” says Kelley Lee, a global health-policy researcher at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. The acrimony is poorly timed when the need of the hour is for international coordination and cooperation to contain with the coronavirus. “In this pandemic, people have said we’re building the plane while flying,” Katz says. “This proposal is like removing the windows while the plane is mid-air,” said Rebeca Katz, director of the Center for Global Health at Georgetown University in Washington DC.

Trump’s Allegations

Trump’s letter, which he tweeted on 18 May, reiterated his earlier allegations that the WHO intentionally ignored reports that COVID-19 was spreading between people in Wuhan, China, in December itself. “I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests,” he wrote.

A few of Trump’s claims such that the medical journal The Lancet had published on the new coronavirus in December was debunked the next day when the journal issued a statement calling the claim factually incorrect because their first reports on COVID-19 were published on 24 January.

Tedros has reiterated his commitment to an independent evaluation of the WHO’s response to COVID-19, and an assessment of the organization’s operations in the first part of 2020 that has already been made public. But when reporters asked Tedros, he said, “Right now, the most important thing is fighting the fire, saving lives.”

Last year, the US government gave the WHO roughly US$450 million. Nearly 75% of that was voluntary, and the other quarter was mandatory — a sort of membership fee expected from the 194 member countries, adjusted by the size of their economies and populations. The United States is the biggest donor, representing about 15% of the WHO budget.

So far this year, it has paid about one-quarter — $34 million — of its membership dues, according to a WHO spokesperson. Voluntary funds are more complicated because a large portion were paid last year, however the spokesperson says that the freeze has put a hold on new agreements, meaning that the full-blown effects of the decision will be felt in 2021.

The US government provides 27% of the WHO’s budget for polio eradication; 19% of its budget for tackling tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles; and 23% of its budget for emergency health operations. David Heymann, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says this will also amount to resurge of polio.

The WHO will survive a US funding freeze in the next few months as other donors will help to compensate for the financial gap during the pandemic. Already, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $2 billion to the coronavirus response.

Even the United States would lose its influence on what the agency does and eventually lose its voting rights. Currently, only three countries — South Sudan, Venezuela and the Central African Republic — are in this category.

With that loss, the United States will relinquish its ability to shape health agendas around the world, says Lee. Ironically, that is exactly what the Trump administration is complaining about. “If the US pulls out and leaves a vacuum, it will be filled by other countries, like China,” she says. “You’ll see a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

 

 

Amid Coronavirus, Pulitzer-winning ‘Vulture & the Little Girl’ photo makes rounds for wrong reasons

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See the heart-wrenching picture above titled “The vulture & the Little Girl’ that was taken in 1993 and went on to win a Pulitzer Award for the famous photographer Kevin Carter of South Africa.

In the picture, a vulture is waiting for the death of a hungry little girl and Carter, a photojournalist, captured it in March 1993, when famine killed many children and elders in Sudan. He was awarded the “Pulitzer Prize” for it but Carter committed suicide soon after receiving the Award, at the age of 33, despite receiving worldwide recognition and applaud for his stunning photo.

But he never realised that the same photo would drive him to suicide.

When he was busy celebrating the great honor at the time of his receiving the award and the photo was being shown on many TV channels all over the world.

Someone asked in a phone interview as to what happened to the girl in the end?

Carter replied that he could not stay there for long as he was in a hurry to catch his flight.

“How many vultures were there?” He was asked again.

“I think there was one,” Carter said.

The man on the other end of the phone said, “I’m saying there were two vultures that day, one of them with a camera.”

Realising the significance of his words, Carter was obviously upset and eventually committed suicide.

Carter forgot the basic human instinct to help the ‘girl’ save from death. All he could have done was to take the starving baby to the United Mission’s feeding center, which was only half-a-mile away. The baby might have been trying to reach the center and a lending hand would have saved her for life time.

Sold to The New York Times, the photograph first appeared on 26 March 1993, and the paper said that according to Carter, “she recovered enough to resume her trek after the vulture was chased away” but that it was unknown whether she reached the UN food center.” Next year, the photograph won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.

In 2011, the child’s father revealed the child was actually a boy, Kong Nyong, and he had reached the UN food aid station. The boy survivied the vulture but died of fever in 2007, reported El Mundo quoting the family. The reporter described the boy as girl and received Pulitzer but failed to take the boy to the nearest aid station. If he had, he would have realised that it was a boy.

Coronavirus and Prey Culture

Today, almost 26 years after, many TV channels have been highlighting the plight of migrant workers and the plight of their children and even infants. But the twist is that the picture of Carter has been used to pronounce that those with cameras in their hands, busy taking pictures of workers walking thousands of kilometres, are similar to such vultures. Had it not been for these visuals, the governments today would not have moved to help them.

“Kevin Carter had self-esteem, so he committed suicide, but the vultures named after this journalist are busy making breaking news with dignity,” writes one circulating the message on WhatsApp.

Yes, these news gatherers get incentives from the government in the form of perks such as early coronavirus testing facilities but the numbers are not one but millions of them. No one reporter could have saved them the way Carter would have done so. With TV exposure, the migrant labourers and their children could not have been saved in India. Criticizing the whistleblower is also against humanity.

 

India to undertake biggest evacuation of citizens stranded abroad amid coronavirus pandemic

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India is preparing the ground for what is billed as the biggest evacuation of its citizens, millions of them, stranded in several countries abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic beginning with the registration forms being opened online onTuesday, May 5, on their respective Indian embassy website.

Once the information is collected, India’s flag carrier Air India is ready to screen and repatriate all those willing to return home, including the United States, Europe and Asia. Quoting a senior official, ANI reported that the Indian missions will be asked to compile a list through this registration and repatriation will be coordinated with respective states. This registration exercise would help the Government of India to assess and plan for the return of Indian nationals wishing to return home for “compelling” reasons.

ANI further reported that the government has listed some categories, who would be given priority and who will get accommodated in special repatriation flights, followed by the students stranded in foreign countries. “The Middle East will first be the focus. We are still formulating if the citizens stranded will be airlifted by the Air India or commercial flights,” the source told ANI.

It is learnt from Kerala that more than 25 lakh Keralites are stranded in several Gulf countries and seeking to return home immediately. “On landing in India, every citizen will be screened to figure out if the person should be sent to quarantine centres or straight to the hospital,” the official added.

On those who are stranded in the US, the official told ANI, “The exact number of Indians stranded in the United States is still to be gathered, but the New York jurisdiction of the Indian mission alone has more than a million Indians, who have shown a willingness to return to their homes.”

However, there is no official confirmation of any evacuation flight from the US to India so far though many NRI organisations are coordinating with the authorities on evacuation plans, mainly for stranded students and visitors. ANI reported that the main purpose of this information sheet is to collect actionable data on Indian nationals willing to travel to India urgently. The registration is likely to be finished by Thursday and further plans will be announced by the government.

Hacked Wuhan lab details point out lab-origin of Coronavirus, WHO denies

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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday reiterated its earlier stand that the novel coronavirus originated in bats in China late last year and was not manipulated or constructed in a laboratory. This follows last week statement by US President Donald Trump that his government was trying to determine whether the virus emanated from a lab in Wuhan.

Refuting the reports which are pointing out that the virus was of lab origin and manipulated with HIV virus to make it deadly, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told a Geneva news briefing, “All available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulated or constructed virus in a lab or somewhere else. It is probable, likely that the virus is of animal origin.”

Though it was not clear how the virus had jumped the species barrier to humans, there had “certainly” been an intermediate animal host, she stressed.

Wuhan lab origin?

Increasingly, reports have been going viral online stating that the virus has Wuhan lab origin and manipulated to mix it with HIV virus, making deadlier than any other virus known so far. The latest such report from the Washington Post on Tuesday revealed that hackers were able able to steal nearly 25,000 emails, passwords and classified documents allegedly belonging to the WHO, the Gates Foundation, as well as the Wuhan Institute of Virology, among other organizations. The details were posted on image board website 4chan, later shared on Pastebin, a text storage site, social media platforms Twitter and Telegram.

“Using the data, far-right extremists were calling for a harassment campaign while sharing conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic,” said Rita Katz, Intelligence Group SITE’s executive director. “The distribution of these alleged email credentials were just another part of a months-long initiative across the far right to weaponize the covid-19 pandemic.”

Earlier, Luc Montagnier, a Nobel winning French scientist who co-discovered HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) came out with a theory that the novel coronavirus came from a lab, denying WHO and Chinese government clims to the contrary. Montagnier claimed that the new ‘SARS-CoV-2’ virus came as a resultant in attempting to manufacture a vaccine for the AIDS virus, which may have got accidentally released. He claimed it in a podcast by Pourquoi Docteur and also in a TV interview on April 17.

Sanjay Dutt spends the lock-down alone as wife, kids stuck in Dubai

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Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is spending time alone in Mumbai as his wife Maanayata and children were stuck in Dubai when the lockdown was announced in March. But the actor has not lost his usual self of happiness and warmth. Unlike other stars who greet audience daily with safety guidelines on TV channels, Dutt has confined himself to spending more time online chatting his family in Dubai.

Sanjay Dutt

“In the past, I have spent periods of my life in a lock-down. Back then and even now, the one thought that stays with me is the way I miss my family. For me, they are everything. Thanks to technology, I can see and talk to the multiple times in a day, and yet, I miss them terribly,” he said.

In an interview with a newspaper, the Bollywood star shared his experience during the lock-down caused due to the epidemic. However, the actor ignited warmth in the audience’s hearts and said, “These times teach you about the fragility of life, and the value of moments spent with your loved ones. We should count our blessings, and never take them for granted.”

Speaking about work in another recent interview, Sanjay Dutt said:”Acting is a physically and mentally demanding job. This isolation has given me time to recharge my batteries, rest out mentally and prepare for my next set of roles. It takes a lot of time and energy to prepare for a role, especially given the complex characters that I enjoy playing.”

On the work front, Sanjay Dutt is going to be busy once the lockdown is lifted. He is providing his audience with an array of explosively entertaining films as he has a busy year set for him with five big-banner films — KGF: Chapter 2, Shamshera, Bhuj: The Pride of India, Torbaaz and Sadak 2 down his pipeline.