Coronavirus infections pass 100,000 as outbreak wreaks financial havoc

Mainland China, where the outbreak began, has seen more than 3,000 deaths, but the epidemic is now spreading faster elsewhere. The death toll in Italy, which has suffered Europes worst outbreak, was at least 148. About 3.4% of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus - known as COVID-19 - have died, far above seasonal flus fatality rate of under 1%, the World Health Organization said this week.

LONDON/LOS ANGELES: The number of people infected with coronavirus across the world surpassed 100,000 on Friday as the outbreak reached more countries and the economic damage intensified, with business districts beginning to empty and stock markets tumbling.

An increasing number of people faced a new reality as many were asked to stay home from work, schools were closed, large gatherings and events were cancelled, stores cleared of staples like toiletries and water, and face masks became a common sight....read more

COVID-19 Control Strategies - Contain, Delay, Research and Mitigate

Contain (identify, isolate and trace contacts): It is based on the fact that if it could be controlled in China it would be controlled everywhere else. They locked down the city with 5 crore people. But that has not happened anywhere else. Despite monumental contact tracing and screening efforts and prompt isolation and first-rate care of people with COVID-19, there is a continued increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across the globe. Only Kerala could do it in India.....read more

American who visited India found positive for COVID-19 in Bhutan

Reproduced from The Nation Thailand, March 6: The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has confirmed its first COVID-19 case of a visiting American tourist.

The patient, a 76-year-old from the United States of America, had come to Bhutan on Mar 2 via India where he originally arrived on Feb 21.

The Bhutanese government has imposed a two-week restriction on all incoming tourists. This is to enable rigorous monitoring, source assessment of infection and mitigate the situation. In addition, all international conferences and seminars to be held in the country in the two weeks have also been postponed. ....read more

COVID-19 Medtalks around the globe 7th March

March 7: ●1 new case in New Zealand: a woman in her 40s, partner of the third case ●1 new case in Australia (Victoria): a doctor who recently returned from the US ●99 new cases (126 in Hubei), 28 new deaths (all in Hubei) and 1,678 new discharges in China on March 6[ National Health Commission (NHC) of China]1 new case in the United States (New Jersey): a male in his 50s hospitalized at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Bergen County....read more

Spiritual prescription: Meditation vs. Concentration

Meditation is not concentration. Concentration is holding the mind to something within or outside the body; while, meditation is an unbroken flow of thoughts towards the object of concentration. It can be called prolonged concentration. Meditation is like pouring of oil from one vessel to another in a steady unbroken stream....read more

Corona prevention on today’s date

How Corona Aware Are You

Health Sutras By Dr K K Aggarwal

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Healthcare News Monitor

India could ‘withdraw’ curbs on drug exports as pharma firms fear loss of business

The Print- Himani Chandna

With drug-makers ringing an alarm over the curbs imposed on the export of their products, the Narendra Modi government could soon “withdraw” the restrictions, ThePrint has learnt. A high-level standing committee formed last month by the government to monitor the shortages of API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) — raw material used to manufacture drugs — is preparing to send a recommendation to the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) to withdraw the export curbs. India had decided to impose restrictions on the export of 13 APIs and as many formulations made from these APIs as their supplies remained disrupted due to the continuing lockdown in coronavirus-hit China. The move came after the drug-makers — in a meeting organised by the DoP Thursday — informed top government officials that “the industry has enough stock available to continue production for next three months”. Union Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers D.V. Sadananda Gowda was present at the meeting. According to a DoP official, who attended the meeting, the drug-makers expressed their concern that “their clients may start buying products from other drug-exporting countries, like Bangladesh, if restrictions on Indian products continued”. The official, however, also added that several provinces in China have started resuming production of APIs.

Government mulls incentives for companies setting up drug units based on fermentation

moneycontrol- Viswanath Pilla

In the wake of supply disruption triggered by the coronovirus outbreak in China, the government is working on a possible package to boost local manufacturing of bulk drugs and intermediates, especially those based on fermentation technology. "The government has formed an expert committee to suggest steps to boost drug manufacturing using fermentation process," said Mahesh Doshi, National President, Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA). The government, apart from possible soft loans to companies coming forward to set up fermentation-based bulk drug units, will also possibly look at giving preference to local procurements. The government is looking at 52 drugs which are critical to health security and which have high reliance on imports. India depends on China for drug raw materials such as APIs, intermediates and key starting materials. For fermentation based products import dependence increased by over 90 percent. The government in its draft pharmaceutical policy released in 2017 mentioned about plans to create mega bulk drug (API) parks where benefits of scale can be availed of by using common facilities for pollution control, effluent treatment or any such common activity. These mega parks would provide clearances for plants with minimum interface/single window clearance of various. Fermentation is a process wherein microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast are used to produce complex organic pharmaceutical compounds used in antibiotics, vitamins, statins, anti-cancer medicines, and immunosuppressant drugs.

Bihar Shocker: Govt Doctor Shot To Death In Broad Daylight, IMA Calls For A Strike On March 7

Medical Dialogues- Garima

In a shocking incident of cold-blooded murder, a 40-year-old Nalanda based government doctor was shot four times by unidentified miscreants killing him on the spot. Seeking justice for the doctor and his aggrieved family, the state Indian Medical Association (IMA) has announced that it will go on strike on March 7th if the police officials fail to take any action on the incident and make an arrest. According to recent media reports, the incident took place around 11 AM on March 5 near Rahui police station area of Nalanda; when Dr Priyaranjan Priyadarshi was on his way to the health centre where he was deployed. "Dr Priyadarshis bike was intercepted by some miscreants who were also on bikes and they pumped four bullets into his chest. He was on way to Gokul Math Additional Primary Health Centre (APHC) under Rahui block of the district," a police officer informed TOI. Aggrieved and agitated over the murder, the deceased doctors family members and doctors from other hospitals blocked the Patna-Ranchi main road near Hospital Mor for about 2 hours in the evening and demanded the arrest of the criminals besides a government job for the widow of the deceased medico and a compensation of Rs 2 crore to the family. The situation was soon pacified after the SP Nilesh Kumar, who reached the spot, assured to apprehend the culprits within 24 hours, reports Jagran. The cause of the doctors murder could not be ascertained so far. As soon as the news of the murder spread, Bihar state unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA) called an emergent meeting to discuss the situation. Condemning the incident and demanding the arrest of the miscreants, the state IMA has decided to go on strike on March 7th.

Sick Irish man flees from hospital in Cuttack, triggers coronavirus fear!

The Week

Officials in Cuttack, Odisha, were filled with anxiety on Thursday night when an Irish national, purportedly showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, sneaked out of a hospital in the city. According to reports, the Irish national showed symptoms of coronavirus when he was screened at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, where he arrived on Thursday. The Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar then referred the Irish national to the S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for undergoing detailed tests. Odisha TV quoted Bhubananda Maharana, an official at S.C.B. Hospital as saying, "A foreign national, along with his colleague, had come from Capital Hospital to S.C.B. Hospital around 8.30pm yesterday. The foreigner’s colleague consulted the doctors at pulmonary medicine department, following which he was asked to immediately admit the Irish man for diagnosis. Accordingly, the attendant went downstairs to bring the Irish national but when they did not return for long, the doctors intimated the matter to concerned authorities." The hospital informed the police shortly afterwards. The Irish man was found at a hotel in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Interestingly, Ashok Patnaik, director of Capital Hospital, told Odisha TV the Irish man had not "escaped". “The man was suffering from cold and had come to Capital Hospital for consultation... I suppose when the S.C.B. doctors asked him to get admitted for treatment, he might have become scared and came back to his hotel without informing the hospital authorities,” stated Patnaik. Patnaik added samples from the Irish national would be tested for coronavirus and his contacts would also be traced. Sudhanshu Sarangi, the police commissioner of Bhubaneswar tweeted the "The concerned Irish national is in a private hotel in Bhubaneswar & the health authorities are in touch with him".