SECOND WAVE

The Madhya Pradesh government on May 20 announced that families of those who died during second COVID-19 wave will be given an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh. Reportedly, the state has recorded over 3,500 coronavirus fatalities since March 2021. Earlier, the government had promised monthly aid of Rs 5,000 to children who became orphan during the pandemic, along with free ration, education and interest-free loans to guardians of those children.

Amidst the COVID-19 surge, more than 80% of Japanese citizens are opposing the Tokyo Olympics and this number has increased compared to the last month. A survey showed the increase as the country has extended coronavirus state of emergency. While 43% of the respondents opine the games to be postponed, other 40% want the cancellation of the Olympics. They fear influx of global athletes and officials would increase the cases.

The ICMR-National Taskforce for COVID-19 in a May 14 meeting agreed to remove the convalescent plasma therapy from the COVID-19 treatment list, citing its ineffectiveness. The announcement came after a few clinicians and scientists wrote to Principal Scientific Advisor K VijayRaghavan on its 'irrational and non-scientific use'. The current guidelines allow ‘off-label’ use of plasma therapy for moderate COVID patients within seven days of… read-more

Skoda Auto has donated a relief package of one million euros to aid India's COVID-19 crisis. Reportedly, the donation is in partnership with the Volkswagen Group and will contain medical equipment along with financial aid. Moreover, the Indian Red Cross will monitor the distribution of these supplies at the root level. The Czech automaker has notably two manufacturing plants in the country with employees across Pune, Mumbai and Aurangabad. … read-more

UP-based Dr VK Sharma has become a lone warrior for Bargaon village during this time of the pandemic. The doctor is testing and treating the entire population of the village as the Primary Health Centre has closed down. Interestingly, Sharma's one-room clinic is visited by around 100 patients every day. However, he treats only those patients having oxygen level higher than 92 and, for less than that, Sharma recommends hospitalisation.