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Fear of Death, Death of Fear

The last few days have been a witness as to how we spiraled down into the apocalypse of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just when we seemed to have terminated the spread of the virus, thereby bringing the pandemic to an effective halt, there was a resurgence in the strength and virulence of the corona virus. Every time we had wanted to get the latest updates on the pandemic, the TV screen peddled blood-curdling images of disease, death and despair. Be it the instances of people frantically searching for doctors, or images of people gasping for medical oxygen, or the long queue at the crematoriums, we refused to identify our nation with this pandemonium of despondence, where the tirade of death continues unabated. The usual precautions were reinstated, medical resources were mobilized with unparalleled vigour and the government of different states opted for partial or total lockdowns.Naturally, as was the case with the previous national lockdown in which stringent conditions were pressed to cont...
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Novel mutations in Covid 19 genome and its impact on healthcare management

RNA viruses are characterized by a higher rate of mutation than their hosts. The SARS CoV 2 is no exception. Most viral mutations have little to no impact on the virus’s infectivity. But depending on where the changes are located in the viral genome, they may affect a virus’s properties, such as transmission or severity. On an evolutionary basis, mutation contributes to viral genetic variability and fine tune the viral adaptation with the environment in a trial and error method where the fittest variant becomes triumphant. Currently, multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are circulating globally. Centre for disease control and prevention (CDC) established 3 classes for the SARS-CoV-2 variants: Variant of Interest (VOI), Variant of Concern (VOC), and Variant of High Consequence (VOHC).All VOI share a critical mutation called D614G. This mutant occurred in early phase of the pandemic in Europe and quickly became predominant implying enhanced transmission than the original v...
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PANDEMIC TO NORMALCY: A JOURNEY

Mankind is currently capsized in the midst of an "unprecedented" lifestorm - a predicament that has swept through the life of every man, woman and child on the planet. A disease, a pandemic sickness that obeys no boundaries of either caste, creed or religion, social status or international borders, rages through the world, picking up lives with it's cold icy fingers, spreading breathlessness, death and massacre through every street it trundles through. In most countries at the moment, there is a complete or partial lockdown in most states, financial and GDP growth has frozen and fallen below sea level, and life in general, has been compromised massively. Unemployment is on the rise by the minute, the poor are starved and dying from hunger; there is no credit support to national reserve banks and the stock markets have fallen desperately. The healthcare systems of the Third World Nations are in a desolate state; unable to cope with the amount of the cases being reported da...
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Juncture of hope and optimism

"This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper"; T S Eliot said this long back and the present situation that is making the earth writhe with pain is a burning testimony to the statement. Humans have always been the superior creature of God and with great knowledge comes great power: the power to undermine the inferior inhabitants and destroy the balance. But then, who would know that a tiny microbe can demolish the walls of superiority and would rewrite the history. Yes, corona virus it is. Ever since it saw light on earth, it has spread faster than wildfire and leaving tragic traces on every place and every country it has visited. It has effaced out nearly 2 lakhs people from the earth, and from India, more than 800 as of current figures. As rightly pointed out by poet, “Apocalypse does not point to a fiery Armageddon, but to our ignorance and complacency coming to an end.” And the present situation is apt to justify this. While corona is taking lives and p...
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Impact of COVID-19 on school education

We have seen that in the past 3 months a news has made its way from a corner on 3rd or 4th page to conquering each and every page on the newspaper . At present total number of  corona virus infectants around the globe is approx. 20 lacs with a death toll of approx. 2 lacs while in India total number of active cases is approx. 25 thousand with a death toll of approx. 1.2 thousand. These figures just tell us about the direct impact i.e. health impact of corona virus but apart from this it has also indirectly affected many lives and many sectors in world as well as India. Amongst many other sector like Real estate sector , Automobile sector etc. Education sector in India has also suffered on of the hardest hit by COVID 19 . Corona Virus transmits through air. An infectant of Corona virus can unknowinglytransmit it to thousand others just by roaming on the streets . Keeping this in consideration Indian Govt. has imposed a nationwide lockdown to minimize the transmission .All school and...
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IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON SCHOOL EDUCATION

Covid-19 has moved like wildfire — at first seemingly far away, then unnervingly close — as it has ripped across the world in a few months, leaving tens of thousands dead, economies flattened, and the futures of hundreds of millions of people in limbo. As many of us shelter in place with no end in sight, it’s only human for us to imagine how life will resume, even if the unfamiliar and unpredictable behavior of the virus has made it difficult to know with any certainty. For many, the doldrums of quarantine are now giving way to post-isolation fantasies, as people pledge to spend more time with family and friends, or finally book that bucket-list trip. But even the smallest and sweetest of goals — getting a haircut, giving a hug, or going to school — could feel like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro when we’re free.But just so we have clarity in judging how much Covid-19 has and will impact school education, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered c...
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Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on school education

The Covid-19 pandemic, basically a health related crisis has in its wrath and fury shattered not only the global health care system but has also caused havoc to the entire global economy and wrecked the educational system out and out.   As a student, my primary concern apart from health, well being and safety lies in how to pursue my education to prosper in my career, as the educational system has received the rudest jolt. The worldwide closure of all the educational institutions have grossly affected over 90% of the student population hampering the continuity of learning and its paraphernalia there by throwing their prospective careers at stake.   UNESCO is supporting countries in their valiant effort to mitigate the immediate impact of school closures, particularly for the more vulnerable and disadvantaged communities to facilitate the continuity of education through remote learning.   The severe short term disruption due to lockdown is being acutely felt...
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