India Coronavirus Dispatch: Why are so many places locking down again?

No quick return to normal says WHO, Karnataka, Andhra fret as deaths rise, why remittance-dependent states must help recruiting agencies survive-roundup of news on how India is dealing with pandemic

Opinion

Controversies over coronavirus research show science isn’t broken: Several high-profile papers on Covid-19 research have come under fire in recent weeks. Two articles addressing the safety of certain drugs taken by Covid-19 patients were retracted, and researchers are calling for the retraction of a paper that evaluated behaviours that mitigate coronavirus transmission. But despite these short-term setbacks, the scrutiny and subsequent correction of the papers actually show that science is working. Reporting of the pandemic is allowing people to see, many for the first time, the messy business of scientific progress. Read more here.

 

Managing Covid-19

As cases top 13 million, WHO says no return to normal for foreseeable future: The head of the World Health Organization has warned that the Covid-19 pandemic is worsening globally and things won’t return to “the old normal” for some time. At a press briefing Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “there will be no return to the old normal for the foreseeable future." Read more here.
 

Remarkable turnaround in Delhi, new cases now below 1,000: There has been an impressive improvement in the Coronavirus situation in Delhi in the last two weeks. Ever since June 23, when Delhi reported as many as 3,947 new cases in a single day, the daily numbers have been steadily going down. At that time, Delhi was one of the fastest growing states, growing at nearly six per cent every day. That growth rate has come down to 1.7 now. Read more here.

Why are so many places in India locking down again? This rise in local transmission comes even as most states in India have abandoned contact tracing – the identification and isolation of people who might have come in touch with a Covid-19 patient so as to break the chain of infection. To make matters worse, there seems to be an inadequate understanding of social distancing amongst people – which means any unlocking becomes risky. Read more here.
 

Indians are yet to fully receive the benefits of RBI’s coronavirus relief measures: India’s central bank wanted to ease the pain for Indians struggling with job losses and pay cuts when it announced a moratorium on loan repayments and slashed its lending rates to record lows earlier this year. But banks, it seems, are not on-board with the Reserve Bank of India’s efforts. Most banks in India haven’t fully passed on the benefits of lower repo rates to borrowers. Read more here.
 

Why remittance-dependent states must help recruiting agencies survive: The prolonged lockdown and uncertainty around oil prices and growth prospects in the Gulf have hit India’s overseas labour recruiting agents, showed an investigation by India Migration Now, a Mumbai-based migration research organisation. These agencies facilitated over 90 per cent of the overseas labour recruitment that took place through the government’s e-Migrate portal between 2010 and 2019. The industry has been idle for the last three months and agencies are struggling to pay salaries and rents. Read more here.
 

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh worry as deaths, new cases rise: With 73 deaths in Karnataka on Monday, the fourth day with over 70 deaths, the State toll stood at 757. New cases stood at 2,738 and the overall tally touched 41,581. Along with Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh watched with concern as it recorded 37 new coronavirus deaths and 1,935 new infections. Read more here.

Understanding Covid-19

The case for using hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19: The usefulness HCQ in Covid-19 has been controversial, without clarity or clear evidence one way or the other, until very recently. A study on more than 2,500 patients in six units under the Henry Ford Hospitals group in Detroit, Michigan, USA, peer-reviewed, accepted and ready for publication in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, has found good evidence that HCQ reduces Covid-19 mortality significantly. Read more here. 
 

30 patients, 2 months — how Biocon claims to have found a Covid hope in itolizumab: Biocon announced details of the trial that led the company to secure the government’s approval to use psoriasis drug itolizumab on Covid-19 patients. The drug controller general of India (DCGI) had Saturday approved itolizumab for emergency, restricted use among severe Covid-19 patients, making it the first indigenous drug to be cleared for coronavirus treatment. Read more here.

Is Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine ready? Here’s a reality check: According to Sechenov University’s own website, no such claim about the candidate being the first coronavirus vaccine has been made. Instead, it provides information on the ongoing clinical trial of the vaccine developed by Gamaleya Institute, an epidemiology research centre in Moscow, in partnership with the Russian Defence Ministry. Read more here.