Health

The city that was once declared “Pensioners’ Paradise” has seen its elderly population treading the murky grounds of COVID since the past year. Data from the Health and Family Welfare Department of Karnataka tells us that while around 19,000 people were infected in the age group of 15-29 years from March 5 to April 5 as opposed to around 10,000 in the bracket of above 60 years, only 4 people died in the former age group against 214 senior citizens who succumbed to COVID. This means that the younger folks are getting infected more but they are recovering unlike senior…

Up to two million school children in Bengaluru are exposed to dangerous air pollution during their school day, risking asthma, allergic rhinitis and other chronic health impacts, according to a report produced by the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) and Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). The report was released by Healthy Air Coalition, Bengaluru, last week. Healthy Air Coalition brings together various stakeholders such as health researchers, heart and lung doctors, and public health institutes and patients to collaborate on air monitoring initiatives, share information about air pollution and health, build the capacity of health professionals, and provide insights…

On 27th April 2021, the COVID figures released by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (commonly referred to as MCGM or BMC) showed the count of positive patients in the city at 66,045.  The positivity rate in Mumbai stands at over 13% which means that approximately 1 out every 8 people getting tested is infected with the virus. Though numbers have been falling over the past week, Mumbai continues to be the worst-affected in Maharashtra. Newer hotspots in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region such as Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, and Navi Mumbai, are mushrooming. The government is struggling to ramp up health infrastructure even…

India is in the grip of a second wave of COVID-19. What's more, a new double mutated strain of SARS CoV2 has been detected. This is in addition to the Brazilian, South African and the UK strains. Reports of re-infection and positive cases among vaccinated people are coming in from various parts of the country. The new strain(s) are more infectious and affect a younger population. Cases of children being infected are being recorded. Ominously, the new COVID cases may not be detected by routine RT-PCR tests. The R-value is increasing (R-value is the reproductive value which indicates how many others…

With Mumbai recording 7367 Covid-19 cases and 75 deaths as on April 22, the second wave of the pandemic has overwhelmed the maximum city.  Mumbai has reported more than 1.38 lakh cases in April alone so far whereas in  September 2020, during the ‘first wave’, the city had reported 57,755 cases.  Until April 23, Mumbai has conducted 51.22 lakh tests and has reported 11.75% test positivity rate till date. The city’s healthcare infrastructure is under strain with only 7139 COVID beds vacant as on April 22. Of these, only 42 are ICU beds and only 21 are ventilator beds that…

In the last two weeks, Bengaluru hospitals have seen horrifying cases of COVID deaths due to the lack of oxygen supply. One such case was that of 35-year-old Subramanya. The first hospital Subramanya was admitted to was running out of oxygen, and for a long time, he was unable to find an ICU bed in another hospital. He was eventually admitted to Prashanth Hospital near Bommanahalli, but his oxygen saturation level had deteriorated so much that he couldn't be saved. Dr Vishwanath Reddy, Managing Director of Prashanth Hospital, says his hospital has been suffering from oxygen shortage too. "Our regular…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கடந்த் 11-ஆம் தேதி 2124 தொற்று எண்ணிக்கையுடன், சென்னை 2000 அளவை எட்டியுள்ளது . கோவிட்-19 இரண்டாவது அலை மிக தீவிரமாக சென்னையில் பரவி வருகிறது. முகக்கவசம் அணிவது, தனிநபர் இடைவெளி, தேவையின்றி பொது வெளியில் செல்வது என கட்டுப்பாட்டை கடைப்பிடிக்குமாறு தொடர்ந்து வலியுறுத்தப்படுகிறது. தொற்று மேலும் பரவாமல் இருக்க, புதிய வழிகாட்டுதல்கள் அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. பரிசோதனை வழிமுறைகள், தனிமைப்படுத்துதல், தடுப்பூசி நெறிமுறைகள் ஆகியவற்றை பற்றி நாம் அறிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டியதை இங்கே தொகுத்துள்ளோம்: பரிசோதனை மற்றும் மருத்துவமனை அனுமதி: கோவிட்-19 பரிசோதனையை எங்கு மேற்கொள்ளலாம்? அரசு மற்றும் தனியார் மருத்துவமனை, ஐசிஎம்ஆர் அங்கீகரித்துள்ள தனியார் பரிசோதனை மையம் ஆகியவற்றில் கோவிட்-19 பரிசோதனையை மேற்கொள்லலாம். சுயமாகவோ அல்லது மருத்துவரின் பரிந்துரையிலோ இந்த பரிசோதனையை மேற்கொள்ளலாம்.  RT-PCR பரிசோதனை மேற்கொள்ள மருத்துவரின் பரிந்துரை சீட்டு தேவையில்லை. சரியான நேரத்தில் பரிசோதனை மேற்கொள்வது அவசியம். படம்: லாஸ்யா சேகர் கோவிட்-19…

Need a a COVID bed at a hospital in Mumbai? Promising a bed to someone in need of it? Please read what BMC has to say. Dated 24th April, 9:25 p.m. https://twitter.com/mybmc/status/1385985789419343872?s=20 Ward War Rooms - Only Authority To Allocate Beds We appreciate concern of individuals & groups not related to BMC offering help to citizens tweeting to us, but citizens must know that even they will reach out to us to ask for beds. Please follow protocols in the interest of all. Bed allocation system was decentralised since a single helpline, with innumerable calls, could not have taken the…

The city has been witnessing a steady rise in the number of new COVID cases since the past few weeks. On April 23rd, the city recorded 3,842 fresh COVID cases. With the extremely high contagion rates of the virus in its mutated forms, the numbers have been spiralling out of control, creating shortage in the availability of beds, drugs and even oxygen in many cities. Naturally, the panic among citizens is also palpable and it is neither uncommon nor unnatural to find people grappling with uncertainty over what to do and how to respond if they, or any of their…

When a family is under quarantine, it means no one goes out. Does this include the pets? Well, as there is no evidence of transmission from pets to humans, does that then invalidate the statement for pets? I have wondered for a long time what then should be the procedure? After all, pets are trained to do their business outside. They signal when they want to go outside… Staring at the door, howling, whining, barking, biting, nudging you to take them out;  sometimes by tearing things, scratching the door or under the door.  Apartment complexes have very stringent rules, especially…