On July 12, France made it mandatory for healthcare workers to get vaccinated. Likewise, Greece and Italy too have made vaccination mandatory for healthcare workers from fall this year. In the U.K., care home workers would be required by law to have the COVID-19 vaccination. But if the core argument of compulsory vaccination is to … Continue reading Can vaccination of healthcare workers be made mandatory?
Italy
Coronavirus: Fewer infected people account for larger virus spread
Three studies have found that a small percentage of people who have been infected with novel coronavirus account for a large proportion of novel coronavirus spread, much above the expected average. These are called “superspreading events. Three different studies using very different methods and patient cohorts have found that a small percentage of people who … Continue reading Coronavirus: Fewer infected people account for larger virus spread
Coronavirus: Lessons India should have learnt from Singapore’s dormitory spread
It took just 12 days for novel coronavirus cases to double to two million and another 12 days to cross three million. As the spread has slowed down in Europe, there is an uptick in Africa and South America, while it continues spread wildly in the U.S. India failed to learn despite Singapore offering the … Continue reading Coronavirus: Lessons India should have learnt from Singapore’s dormitory spread
Coronavirus cases cross one million without counting asymptomatic ones
On April 2, novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases crossed one million and deaths passed 50,000. Besides missing out people with mild symptoms and underreporting, the actual number of infected people will be manifold higher as most countries do not test people who are asymptomatic. On April 2, the number of people infected with novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) … Continue reading Coronavirus cases cross one million without counting asymptomatic ones
Silent spread of coronavirus in Italy went undetected for weeks
Though the first confirmed case was reported on February 20, people in Italy have been infected in early January. The silent spread for about 50 days has led to an explosion of cases there. Italy reported its first laboratory-confirmed case of novel corornavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on February 20. But according to a study posted in a … Continue reading Silent spread of coronavirus in Italy went undetected for weeks
China reports zero cases on three days, is it just a blip?
China had zero cases on March 18-20, but one local transmission on March 21. The turnaround in China comes at a time when the virus is galloping in Europe and is quickly spreading in the U.S. In a remarkable turnaround, China had zero cases of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on March 18-20, including in Wuhan, the … Continue reading China reports zero cases on three days, is it just a blip?
Epicentre of COVID-19 pandemic shifts to Europe
Besides Italy, Spain, Germany and France reporting very high number of cases, all other countries in Europe have recorded at least one case so far, thus shifting the epicentre of the pandemic from China to Europe. With 1,08,399 cases reported from outside mainland China as on March 17, there are more number of people infected … Continue reading Epicentre of COVID-19 pandemic shifts to Europe
COVID-19: Not a time to panic but to act decisively
In addition to testing sick people and their contacts, India should adopt a more aggressive approach by looking for cases in the community to prevent the silent spread of the virus. With the virus galloping to 116 countries/regions causing more than 118,000 cases and 4,291 deaths as on March 11, the World Health Organization took … Continue reading COVID-19: Not a time to panic but to act decisively
COVID-19 has higher death rate than influenza, Tedros says
Contrary to the notion that COVID-19 has less death rate compared with influenza, WHO says about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died globally compared with generally far fewer than 1% of those infected with influenza. Contrary to the general notion that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has less death rate compared with influenza (commonly called as … Continue reading COVID-19 has higher death rate than influenza, Tedros says
Coronavirus cases in India increase to six, numbers expected to rise
Two Indians who arrived from Italy and Dubai and an Italian tourist in Jaipur were found to positive for novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on March 2 and March 3, respectively. With this the total number of cases reported from India has risen to six. On March 2, India reported two more coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases — … Continue reading Coronavirus cases in India increase to six, numbers expected to rise