India coronavirus dispatch: The chances of catching Covid-19 on a plane

Here is a round-up of important articles from across Indian publications on Covid-19. From the role of a constitutional court, to why increasing indebtedness is not the wisest solution, and the chances of catching Covid-19 on a plane — read these and more in today’s India dispatch.

Expert Speak

Govt’s stimulus package would increase indebtedness, not the wisest solution: The increased allocation to India’s rural jobs programme may help to some extent, but some of it will fund the increased wage-rate announced earlier, and only a fraction may be available to increase the mandays of work available. Read this interview with Mahesh Vyas, managing director, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. A large part of the Centre’s stimulus package is proposing to raise the indebtedness in the country, which is “not the wisest of solutions”, he says, adding that the economy needs “unconditional, unilateral spending power”.

Opinion

Failing to perform as a constitutional court: Every day, we hear of migrant labourers walking hundreds of miles, many dying in the process. The saddest is the apathy shown by institutions meant to look out for their interests. The Supreme Court, for one, has failed to satisfactorily acknowledge that the fundamental rights of migrant labourers have been violated, and ignored these workers when they most needed protection. Read more here.

Imperative to instil confidence; Covid policy must remove fear around health and economy: Fear is driving a significant part of the current economic downturn. This includes fear for our own health as well as the uncertainty of future lockdowns. Our policy must be simple and feasible enough to instil confidence among people that the health crisis is being effectively managed by all tiers of the government, along with the business and health communities, and that its implementation will prevent additional economic losses. Read more here.

Managing Covid-19

What are my chances of catching Covid-19 on a plane? As the first set of airplanes take off, there are many questions on whether one can catch Covid-19 on the plane. The answer depends upon a series of situations. Read more here. In general, the risk of a viral infection inside an aircraft is thought to be low, except in cases where healthy fliers are sitting too close to someone carrying an infectious virus. Read more about why risk of virus transmission in an aircraft is seen as low.

Reverse migration hits Chhattisgarh’s green zone status, over 150 new Covid cases reported: Chhattisgarh’s status as a Covid-19 green zone is in jeopardy, thanks to a spurt in cases caused by reverse migration. The total number of cases in the state went up to 214 on May 23 from 59 on May 14, with the number of active cases rising to 150 from three. Chhattisgarh health department officials said some of the active cases found in this period had been discharged after two negative tests. Read more here.

India goes against emerging science to recommend HCQ for Covid-19 prevention: The Indian government issued a revised advisory on May 22, expanding the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a preventive against Covid-19 to even those healthcare workers who were not working in Covid-19 hospitals. On the same day, medical journal The Lancet published an analysis of data from nearly 15,000 patients and concluded that there was no evidence of HCQ benefiting Covid-19 patients. Rather, the drug could harm them, the analysis said. Read more here.

Citizens Under Lockdown

Online communities are helping India’s lockdown-hit farmers sell their produce: Many farmers around the country are left in the lurch by authorities to fend for themselves during the lockdown. The Harvesting Farmer Network, for instance, emerged during the lockdown as one such online network for farmers to avoid exploitation by middlemen and earn better money for their crops. The network, on which about 2,000 farmers have posted details of their crops so far, was developed by 41-year-old Ruchit Garg, a Silicon Valley professional who returned to India a few months earlier after working with major firms there. Read more here.

For Northeast workers in Goa, a struggle for dignity and dreams of home: The news of the first cases of suspected coronavirus spread over social media, and the Tangkhuls in Goa were also worried. Many of the migrant workers from Manipur in Goa wanted to go home, but now they were not sure where they would be safer. Read more about their situation here.

Understanding Covid-19

For N95 masks, a more efficient, replaceable filter: N95 masks, worn mostly by healthcare workers, are known to offer the highest level of protection against airborne infections, but they still have limitations. N95 masks filter about 85 per cent of particles smaller than 300 nanometres, or nm (1 nm is a billionth part of a metre). Sars-CoV-2, however, is in the size range of 65-125 nm, so some virus particles could slip through N95s. Now, researchers have developed a membrane that can be attached to a regular N95 mask and replaced when needed. Read more here.

Coronavirus isn’t the killer, our immune response is: The current pandemic is unique not just because it is caused by a new virus that puts everyone at risk, but also because the range of innate immune responses are diverse and unpredictable. In some it is strong enough to kill. In others it is relatively mild. Innate immunity is a person’s inborn defence against pathogens that instructs the body’s adaptive immune system to produce antibodies against viruses. Those antibody responses can be later used for developing vaccination approaches. Cells that make up the body’s innate immune system recognise pathogens, and overreacting to them in general could be detrimental to the host. This is especially true in Covid-19 patients who are overreacting to the virus. Read more here.