South Asia - COVID-19 Coronavirus

[imstilla.grandma]

Academics from three American universities and the Delhi School of Economics in a report based on current trends and demographics have claimed that India could experience as many as 1.3 million coronavirus infections by mid-May.

India has 0.7 hospital beds for every 100,000 people, far fewer than countries like South Korea (six per 100,000) that have been able to successfully contain the virus. Ventilators are also in short supply. India has nearly 100,000 ventilators but most are owned by private hospitals and are already being used by existing patients with critical illnesses.

Some reports suggest that India needs another 70,000 ventilators, which it usually imports, but on Friday, the government announced that it had ordered only 10,000.

"Ventilators are a costly and critical piece of equipment which are going to go under production by [the state-run] Defence Research and Development Organisation," said Dr Preeti Kumar of the Public Health Foundation of India, a public-private organisation. India has one of the world’s lowest testing rates despite having over 1.3 billion people

Photographs of migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometres or crammed in trucks and empty railway crates show how the government ignored their plight.

Police have also resorted to heavy-handedness against migrants, street vendors and meat sellers. One person died in the state of West Bengal after being beaten up by police for venturing out to buy milk during the lockdown.

Meanwhile, in an apparent violation of the lockdown rules, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, was seen organising a religious function in Ayodhya town.

"Now the police are the biggest problem. They are violating government rules. Essential services are to remain open and the biggest violator is the police. I am not sure about the government's communication strategy, they are supposed to be sharp at that but clearly that is not the case if we can't communicate clearly to the police," she said.

"I know a number of people with HIV who have been stranded. Similarly, a lot of cancer patients are finding it hard to access basic healthcare services. This must be addressed urgently because one of the fallouts of COVID-19 could be that people with other diseases could end up paying the price," said Meghaney.

India has an existing welfare programme for the poor and the government appears to be using that to provide direct cash transfers and food grains.

However, nearly 85 percent of India's population works in the informal sector and migrants, in particular, do not have access to these resources.

"Poverty will kill us before the virus"- If we airlift Indians how can we abandon millions of our poor. If states wont, let the Army. My #Mojo report.
Chaos and hunger amid India coronavirus lockdown


“My daughter needs allergy medicines regularly. The medicine shops are open but how do we reach there?” said Yash Goswami in the northern town of Moradabad. “Who wants to risk a run-in with the police?”

Reuters photographers witnessed several cases of Indian police officers hitting people out on the street with sticks. One rickshaw driver, who showed bruises on his calf, said he was defying the lockdown because he was unable to feed his four children otherwise.

India’s population is even more densely packed than China’s, raising the risk of rapid transmission of the virus. Other countries in South Asia - home to a quarter of the world’s population - are also struggling as they try to put up defences against the coronavirus.
India struggles with coronavirus shutdown; Pakistan cases top 1,000

 

[imstilla.grandma]

This one woman will go down in Indian history for giving India its first coronavirustesting. Meet Minal Dakhave Bhosale who has provided a testing kit that delivers result in just two and half hours. Minal, who was expecting her baby, delivered her daughter hours after getting this kit out and approved. Based out of Pune, she and her team worked hard to get this out at Mylab Discovery. They are now the first Indian firm to get full approval to make and sell coronavirus testing kits.

As more of these kits are used, they will significantly reduce the testing time for coronavirus from six to seven hours taken by the imported kits as per Bhosale. Minal Dakhave Bhosale is Mylab’s research and development chief. Bhosale’s breakthrough is supremely important because India is now at a stage of COVID where testing is expected to go up. We as a nation are under a 21 day locked for social distancing and isolation to ensure the virus doesn’t spread too fast. However, states are sharing new numbers that suggest active cases are on the right. As the world grapples with challenge of testing kits and other equipment, the fact that we have made our own, will go a long way in our battle against COVID.

It was an emergency, so I took this on as a challenge. I have to serve my nation. – Minal Dakhave Bhosale, who went to delivery her baby an hour after submitting the test for approval
As per Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) Mylab is the only Indian company to have achieved 100 percent results.

The kit was submitted for evaluation by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) on 18 March. In the evening, Bhosale submitted the proposal to the Indian FDA and the drugs control authority CDSCO for commercial approval. Within an hour of submitting the proposal for FDA approval, she got admitted to a hospital for a c-section and the very next day, Minal delivered her daughter.
https://www.shethepeople.tv/top-sto...dakhave-bhosale-india-coronavirus-testing-kit

 

[neesaki]

I bet this has already been posted, right?
Wuhan residents say coronavirus figures released by China don't add up

 

[MassGuy]

I bet this has already been posted, right?
Wuhan residents say coronavirus figures released by China don't add up

It has. Knowing what that government did early on, and how they have behaved in the past, a lot of people were skeptical in regards to their data now.

This isn’t hard proof that they are still lying, but it does offer some evidence in that regard.

I never bought what they have been selling, and don’t buy it now.

 

[neesaki]

It has. Knowing what that government did early on, and how they have behaved in the past, a lot of people were skeptical in regards to their data now.

This isn’t hard proof that they are still lying, but it does offer some evidence in that regard.

I never bought what they have been selling, and don’t buy it now.

Any idea why these last two posts were moved over here?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Any idea why these last two posts were moved over here?

I may have made a mistake when I created this thread. I was confused how to initially address other countries. I now see there is a thread devoted to India. My main focus is India but felt the need to be inclusive to small countries perhaps not having a thread of their own such as Pakistan. I’m guessing they were moved as there isn’t a specific dedicated thread to China. The poorest countries, imo, might be some of the last countries reporting accurate stats due to economic and demographic issues.

*Almost a week after the government announced billions in aid, nothing is yet disbursed in this vast and labyrinthine country, forcing many of India’s poorest city workers to hit the roads and begin a hazardous walk home to their villages.

The dearth of state support and desperation on the streets has revealed the lack of security in India’s job market, a problem that pervades life for the poorest right across Asia.

“I have heard about the money promised, but I have no idea how I will get it. We are about 150 workers here and have barely eaten in the last few days,” Rahul Ahirwar said by phone from Delhi, where he has opted to stay put and ride out the crisis, sharing a tenement with his wife and parents.

The 26-year-old construction worker said he had called a government hotline for help but, like millions of others without paperwork or a stable job, had neither food nor fallback.

Coronavirus has infected more than 1,600 people and killed 38 in India, according to the government, since it escaped China and travelled the globe. Medics across India are struggling to curb the outbreak, saddled with a weak public healthcare system and intense overcrowding: perfect conditions for its spread.

Worst hit among the employed are the so-called daily wage workers, many of whom lack documentation to prove their eligibility for help in a country in thrall to bureaucracy. Other casual workers are cut off by lack of a bank account.

NOT LOGGED
“I have been working for the last seven years but I didn’t know about getting registered,” Ahirwar told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Wednesday, referring to a mandatory construction workers’ welfare fund.

While Ahirwar opted to stay in the capital, millions more headed for home in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

Crowds jam city bus depots and traipse along the national highways on foot, showing the lack of any safety net for more than 90% of India’s nearly 450 million workers.

Nearly 2 billion people work informally globally, most of them in emerging and developing countries mainly in South Asia and South East Asia, according to a United Nations report.

Most lack social protection, rights at work and decent working conditions, the report says.

LEFT BEHIND
India has pledged a $23 billion stimulus to provide food and cash to millions of its poorest citizens, along with $4 billion drawn from the welfare fund for construction workers. It has also asked companies not to lay off workers or cut wages, desperate to bolster morale in the pandemic.

But how to help those without bank accounts or paperwork? “An increasing number of informal workers are migrant workers and there is no way they can establish their labour records,” said economist Ravi Srivastava, director of the Centre for Employment Studies.
...
The sector employs nearly 50 million people; only 35 million are registered with the welfare fund, the government says.

That leaves millions of casuals and those working in related sectors - India has some 12 million brick kiln workers - unregistered and beyond help.

How will they deliver it to the millions of people who are not even aware how they can access the funds?” asked Ashaf Shaikh, director of Jan Sahas, a non-profit for worker rights.

For Ahirwar, the promise of state aid is no longer even on his mind. Survival is his only thought.

“Whatever little money we had is over now. There are small children here. All we need is food,” he said. ($1 = 75.3500 Indian rupees)
FEATURE-India's poor live on promises in coronavirus

 

[PommyMommy]

Singapore reports 49 new cases, with 15 yet to be traced

Singapore recorded 49 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, only eight of which had a travel history to Europe, North America or other parts of Asia.

[...]

Overall, there have been 1,049 recorded cases of the novel coronavirus in Singapore since the outbreak began. Like many other Asian countries, Singapore is currently experiencing a second wave of infections after bringing its initial outbreak more or less under control.

[...]

April 2 coronavirus news - CNN

 

[imstilla.grandma]

PM Lee's address on the COVID-19 Situation in Singapore (21 April 2020)

To our migrant workers, let me emphasise again: we will care for you, just like we care for Singaporeans. We thank you for your cooperation during this difficult period.
-PM Lee Hsien Loong

This is the result of all of us coming together, making sacrifices and adhering to the circuit breaker rules. We cannot afford to be complacent. We must press on.
-PM Lee Hsien Loong

To achieve these two objectives, we must all hunker down and press on with our tight circuit breaker measures. We have called on all Singaporeans to stay home. Go out only for essential needs, like buying food or groceries. Otherwise, please stay at home.
-PM Lee Hsien Loong

We will implement these tighter measures until 4th May. But we will not be able to completely lift the restrictions after that, and go back to business as usual. We will therefore extend the circuit breaker for four more weeks, beyond 4 May. In other words, until 1 June.
-PM Lee Hsien Loong

Now we all need to do a little bit more, make best use of the next two weeks of the tightened circuit breaker, and the four weeks of the extension and beyond. I ask for your support and cooperation. I ask for your trust and your confidence. Let us go all out to beat the virus, and break the chain of transmission.
-PM Lee Hsien Loong

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Latest: Guterres: Pandemic nearing "human rights crisis”
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s new cases of COVID-19 are slowly creeping up, recording more than 700 new cases a day for the second time in one week.

With 10,513 cases and 16 deaths in the last 24 hours bringing the confirmed death toll from the new virus to 224, Pakistan’s adviser on health is warning that the next three or four weeks will be critical. Still, Prime Minister Imran Khan has bowed to the country’s powerful religious clerics, refusing to close mosques during the fasting month of Ramadan which begin this week.

The Pakistan Medical Association has written Khan and the country’s clerics and open letter pleading with them to close the mosques, warning they are like a petrie dish for the spread of the virus in a country that has a fragile health care system, barely 3,000 intensive care beds for a population of 220 million. But Pakistan’s clerics who can bring mobs onto the streets and have previous engaged in violent protests to impose their decisions have demanded mosques remain open.

Khan has rejected his critics, saying adherents are being told to socially distance in mosques. But Khan has also left it to clerics to ensure that worshipers adhere to a 20-point protocol even as some of those same clerics have urged adherents to pack mosques.
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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Authorities in Indonesia’s capital have extended the enforceable restrictions as Muslims start their monthlong fasting season.

Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan announced that a large-scale social restriction which initially slated to end Thursday, will be extended to May 22 after consulting with health experts.

In a streamed-live media conference late Wednesday, Baswedan urged Muslims to suspend religious activities in mosques during Ramadan in an attempt to break the coronavirus transmission chain.

Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims in which they fast from dawn to sunset, is expected to fall on Friday after Islamic clerics agreed on the sighting of the moon. Faithful Muslims usually congregate for night prayers, called as Tarawih, and share iftar and meals at mosques and among communities.

Jakarta has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia, had recorded 3,383 confirmed cases with 301 fatalities as of Wednesday. Nationwide, 7,418 cases have been recorded with 635 fatalities.

President Joko Widodo has ruled out a total lockdown for the country, which is home to nearly 270 million, citing Indonesia’s cultural characteristics, its unique demography and the potential crippling economic damage.

The new measures in Jakarta, which started April 10 and to be reevaluated every two weeks, give authorities more power to press people to stay at home and force businesses to close. Police have the power to dismiss any event with more than five participants. Violators will face up to one year in jail and a 100 million rupiah ($6,350) fine.

___

 

[Baciagalupo]

Very interesting study on an outbreak in a call-center in Seoul. It even has a seating chart.
The 4 asymptomatic didn't infect any of their household.

Coronavirus Disease Outbreak in Call Center, South Korea

Of 1,143 persons who were tested for COVID-19, a total of 97 (8.5%, 95% CI 7.0%–10.3%) had confirmed cases. Of these, 94 were working in an 11th-floor call center with 216 employees, translating to an attack rate of 43.5% (95% CI 36.9%–50.4%). The household secondary attack rate among symptomatic case-patients was 16.2% (95% CI 11.6%– 22.0%). Of the 97 persons with confirmed COVID-19, only 4 (1.9%) remained asymptomatic within 14 days of quarantine, and none of their household contacts acquired secondary infections.

 

[banditgurl]

Even though in my taipei had two consecutive days of zero cases, i can’t take the situation lightly. i have to remain vigilant, because the finish line appears far off. always ask clients health status before familiar contact and stay home as much as possible

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Key points:

• Despite sharing a border with China, Vietnam has reported less than 300 cases
• Experts believe that Vietnamese coronavirus caseload statistics are accurate
• Success has been attributed to aggressive testing, contact tracing and public messaging

While cases of COVID-19 shoot up in wealthy Singapore and the disease continues on a worrying trend elsewhere in South-East Asia, Vietnam is an unlikely outlier.

It has a land border spanning more than 1,400 kilometres with China, where the novel coronavirus originated, a population of more than 90 million, and a GDP per capita 22 times less than Australia's.

Nevertheless, Vietnam's lack of coronavirus deaths remains the envy of the world
How has Vietnam, a developing nation in South-East Asia, done so well to combat COVID-19? - ABC News

 

[tresir2012]

Singapore launches Covid-secure luxury cruises ... to nowhere