Coronavirus India Dispatch: Only 0.45% of Covid-19 patients on ventilator

A surge in insurance buying, insight into how EC handled Bihar elections, Delhi's worsening Covid crisis, and more-news on how the country is coping with the pandemic

Govt data says only 0.45% of India’s Covid-19 patients on a ventilator

 

A majority of active Covid-19 cases in the country are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, with only 0.45 per cent of them currently on ventilator support, shows government data. Also, 4.09 per cent of the cases are on oxygen support, and 2.73 per cent are in intensive care units. This means around 6-7 per cent of the total active Covid-19 cases are serious enough to be put on oxygen therapy. 

The Centre has been advising states to remain vigilant in the winter and the long festive season as they could threaten the gains made in the fight against the disease over the last 10 months. Read more here

Pandemic leads to a surge in insurance buying

Nearly six months of complete and then partial lockdown due to Covid-19 appears to have led to a spike in the sale of both term and health insurance cover, particularly among people aged 40-50 in Karnataka. The sale of term insurance policies in the state increased from 32 per cent to 54 per cent, from April-September, according to a recent survey by Policy Bazaar.

The sale of health insurance has also increased by 92 per cent on the year and 25 per cent from April- September. Read more here 

IN NUMBERS: Delhi's Covid cases spike as temperatures drop and pollution rises

 

India's capital, Delhi, is battling a winter surge in Covid-19 cases as temperatures plummet and air pollution rises to dangerous levels. The city confirmed more than 8,500 cases on Wednesday alone, its highest daily record yet. It also added 85 deaths in a day, putting the total beyond 7,000. The sharp spike in cases after a months-long lull has also put pressure on hospitals - more than half the available beds are already occupied. Read more here (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-54912871)

EXPLAINED: How India’s Election Commission passed the Covid-19 test

According to S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner of India and a distinguished Fellow at Ashoka University, “after facing some serious questions during the general elections in 2019, that affected its image, the Bihar elections were an opportunity for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to prove its efficiency and evenhandedness to every skeptic”.

In his view, “at a time, when all countries are looking at each other for lessons, Bihar could be a leading example of successful election management — and the ECI of a leading election management agency”.

The ECI was inspired by the successful experiences of many countries, especially South Korea, which conducted its national elections amid the pandemic with great success — and the highest-ever turnout. Read more here

As online classes drag on, fatigued students ‘losing interest, becoming asocial’, say parents

Scores of parents and teachers from across India think that there seems to be a fatigue setting in among students after taking online classes for months. Students, they say, want to go back to school, meet their friends, and play in the school playground. Parents of older students fear that their children are becoming asocial, and getting increasingly hooked to their gadgets, in the absence of face-to-face interactions. Read more here

Schools, girls’ rights, Covid relief — what India’s top philanthropist Azim Premji spends on

Former Wipro chairman Azim Premji topped the list of Indian philanthropists for the financial year 2019-20, with donations of Rs 7,904 crore, or Rs 22 crore daily, according to EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020. He is also the world’s third-largest donor for Covid relief efforts. Read more here