scholarly journals Making Sense of Pandemic COVID-19 and its Affect(abilities) in the Indian Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-133
Author(s):  
Abhisek Ghosal
Keyword(s):  
The Novel ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
The Third ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Come ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Restrictive Measures

This article seeks to reflect on pandemic COVID-19 and its diverse affect(abilities) in the context of India. After the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in India, the government resorted to a number of restrictive measures including quarantine, lockdown, self-isolation, and self-monitoring in order to contain the rapid spread of the new virus. This article argues that the pandemic has rendered “historical ruptures” to the world at large, and seeks to examine how it has affected the ‘usual’ ways of living of marginalised people in India, including how migrant labourers have had to strive to come to terms with the dreadful consequences of the pandemic. Furthermore, this article puts into focus how certain governmental measures are brought into effect to check the affect(abilities) of COVID-19. In order to elaborate on these affect(abilities) certain critical philosophical standpoints are drawn. In the opening section, bio-philosophical nuances of illness are expounded. These are followed, in the second section, by a discussion of neuroeconomical aspects of these affect(abilities). In the third section, theoretical notions of potentiality, singularity, and transpolitical becomings are examined through Continental philosophies. Finally, particularities of the Indian context are critically elucidated in the context of affect(abilities) of pandemic COVID-19.

scholarly journals Covid-19 crisis in Italy. Fundamental rights and freedoms: the price to pay for human health?

2020 ◽  
pp. 157-181
Author(s):  
Pablo Sebastián Cejas Romanelli
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Interpersonal Contact ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Fundamental Rights And Freedoms ◽  
Restrictive Measures

The results of the appearance of the novel coronavirus meant for many States, the application of restrictive measures of constitutionally protected rights and freedoms, with the aim -preliminarily- of protecting the health and integrity of people. Thus, a real “emergency legal framework” was created, with restrictions on interpersonal contact, and other daily situations in the life of any society. Italy stood out for being the first country where COVID-19 attacked with particular virulence. The first steps of the government at the end of January 2020 were aimed at preventing the entry of people from China, and soon after, put in place much more restrictive measures as the number of deceased patients increased. However, to some extent, all the imposed restrictions seemed to have been a price to be paid in order to protect human health.   Los resultados de la aparición del novel coronavirus significó para muchos Estados, la aplicación de medidas restrictivas de derechos y libertades constitucionalmente tutelados, con el objeto -preliminarmente- de proteger la salud e integridad de las personas. Así, se dio paso a la creación de un verdadero “sistema jurídico de emergencia”, con restricciones al contacto interpersonal, situaciones por demás cotidianas en la vida de cualquier sociedad. Italia se destacó por ser el primer país donde el COVID-19 atacó con particular virulencia. Los primeros pasos del gobierno a finales de enero de 2020 tuvieron el objetivo de impedir el ingreso de personas provenientes de China, para poco después disponer medidas mucho más restrictivas a medida que el número de pacientes fallecidos aumentaba. Sin embargo, en algún punto, las restricciones impuestas se presentan como el precio que se debió pagar a cambio de la salud humana.

Coronavirus: Towards controlling of the pandemic - Indian scenario

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 462-468
Author(s):  
Latika kothari ◽  
Sanskruti Wadatkar ◽  
Roshni Taori ◽  
Pavan Bajaj ◽  
Diksha Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Control Measures ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Infection Control Measures ◽  
The Social ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable infection caused by the novel coronavirus resulting in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV). It was recognized to be a health crisis for the general population of international concern on 30th January 2020 and conceded as a pandemic on 11th March 2020. India is taking various measures to fight this invisible enemy by adopting different strategies and policies. To stop the COVID-19 from spreading, the Home Affairs Ministry and the health ministry, of India, has issued the nCoV 19 guidelines on travel. Screening for COVID-19 by asking questions about any symptoms, recent travel history, and exposure. India has been trying to get testing kits available. The government of India has enforced various laws like the social distancing, Janata curfew, strict lockdowns, screening door to door to control the spread of novel coronavirus. In this pandemic, innovative medical treatments are being explored, and a proper vaccine is being hunted to deal with the situation. Infection control measures are necessary to prevent the virus from further spreading and to help control the current situation. Thus, this review illustrates and explains the criteria provided by the government of India to the awareness of the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Belonging in the Coronaverse: Will There Be Time?

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-115
Author(s):  
Kate Fischer ◽  
Malika Rakhmonova ◽  
Mike Tran
Keyword(s):  
College Experience ◽  
The United States ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Residential University ◽  
To Come ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
University Experience ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Older Siblings

Abstract Since the spring of 2020 SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, has upended lives and caused a rethinking of nearly all social behaviors in the United States. This paper examines the ways in which the pandemic, shutdown, and gradual move towards “normal” have laid bare and obfuscated societal pressures regarding running out of time as it pertains to the residential university experience. Promised by movies, television, and older siblings and friends as a limited-time offer, the “typical” college experience is baked into the U.S. imaginary, reinforcing a host of notions of who “belongs” on campus along lines of race, class, and age. Fed a vision of what their whole lives “should be”, students who enter a residential four-year college are already imbued with a nostalgia for what is yet to come, hailed, in Althusser’s (2006[1977]) sense, as university subjects even before their first class. The upheaval of that subjecthood during the pandemic has raised important questions about the purpose of the college experience as well as how to belong to a place that is no longer there.

scholarly journals Mobility-Guided Modeling of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Metro Manila

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Egwolf ◽  
O.P. Nicanor Austriaco
Keyword(s):  
The Philippines ◽  
The Novel ◽  
National Capital Region ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
Mobility Data ◽  
National Capital ◽  
Metro Manila ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The City

ABSTRACTCOVID-19 is a novel respiratory disease first identified in Wuhan, China, that is caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. To better understand the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, we have used real-time mobility data to modify the DELPHI Epidemiological Model recently developed at M.I.T., and to simulate the pandemic in Metro Manila. We have chosen to focus on the National Capital Region, not only because it is the nation’s demographic heart where over a tenth of the country’s population live, but also because it has been the epidemiological epicenter of the Philippine pandemic. Our UST CoV-2 model suggests that the government-imposed enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has successfully limited the spread of the pandemic. It is clear that the initial wave of the pandemic is flattening, though suppression of viral spread has been delayed by the local pandemics in the City of Manila and Quezon City. Our data also reveals that replacing the ECQ with a General Community Quarantine (GCQ) will increase the forecasted number of deaths in the nation’s capital unless rigorous tracing and testing can be implemented to prevent a second wave of the pandemic.

scholarly journals The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Among Pakistani Adults in Lahore

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saima Majeed ◽  
Elizabeth Maria Schwaiger ◽  
Abia Nazim ◽  
Ivan Suneel Samuel
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Family System ◽  
Nuclear Family ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Measurement Tools ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
The Impact

Background: In the wake of the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus and the resultant restrictive measures, mental health has become a crucial issue. Physical health is not the only aspect of humans that is at risk. Globally, the rates and severity of mental illness are being significantly impacted by this pandemic. Two scales have been validated to measure the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the levels of anxiety and obsessional thinking in clinical and non-clinical populations. The present study was designed to investigate the levels of anxiety and obsessions related to COVID-19 in the general public of Lahore, Pakistan.Materials and Methods: Data were collected via snowball sampling from May 9 to May 19. An online survey consisting of a demographic profile and two scales, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) and Obsession with COVID-19 Scale (OCS), was sent through email, WhatsApp, and Facebook groups to adults (18 years and above) of Lahore, Pakistan.Results: A total of 240 individuals (20% men and 80% women) recorded their responses. The majority belonged to a nuclear family system (60%), and their education level ranged from high school to Ph.D. The cut-off score for probable dysfunctional coronavirus anxiety and obsession levels was not met within this sample (CAS, M = 3.24, SD = 4.21; OCS, M = 4.14, SD = 3.15), suggesting that the general population of Lahore, Pakistan is not suffering from dysfunctional anxiety or obsessions related to COVID-19. Forty-seven participants' score on OCS and 35 participants' scores on CAS were above the cut-off, i.e., ≥7 and ≥9, respectively. The results of the correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship (**p < 0.619) between anxiety and obsessions related to COVID-19.Conclusion: One important, yet surprising, conclusion of this study is that the average adult in Lahore does not show much anxiety or obsessions related to COVID-19. Other studies around the world using these measurement tools have indicated significantly high levels of both anxiety and obsessions related to COVID-19. These findings may demonstrate the resilience of Pakistanis or perhaps the lack of understanding of the seriousness of the situation.

scholarly journals Information transparency: How do Department of Library and Information Science students at South Valley University perceive the state’s dealing with the novel coronavirus outbreak?

2020 ◽  
pp. 096100062096568
Author(s):  
Essam Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Information Transparency ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

This study proposes to investigate the knowledge and perception of students in the Department of Library and Information Science at South Valley University in Upper Egypt about the state’s dealing with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 that has been detected in Egypt in February 2020. A quantitative research approach was adopted in the form of a survey. The target population of the study included students ( N = 295) of the fourth year of Department of Library and Information Science at South Valley University, of which 253 responded to the study questionnaire, representing 85.8% of the total number. The study found that there is no significant relationship between the students’ gender and other variables of the study according to the statistics used. It also showed that the most popular information sources mentioned by Department of Library and Information Science students to get information related to the coronavirus were social media and the Internet/Web. The publication/dissemination of information and its availability were badly perceived by the students. About one-third of them questioned the government’s ability to deal with the novel coronavirus. They highly believe in the role of information transparency in fighting both administrative and human corruption. The students emphasized the citizens’ right to criticize the government when it does not comply with the transparency, as well as the right to access any information owned by it in any formats at any time. They were dissatisfied with the government’s ability to retrieve information, organize, store, have legislations, and own a good database of citizens, as well as its capabilities, in terms of transparency, competence, benevolence, honesty, accuracy, efficiency/effectiveness, practicality, and confidence, in relation to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Finally, the study indicated that barriers, such as the spread of administrative and human corruption, security restrictions, and the fragility of the freedom to disclose government information, were highly significant by the surveyed students.

scholarly journals Impact of the Burden of COVID-19 in Italy: Results of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and Productivity Loss

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 4233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Cesare Nurchis ◽  
Domenico Pascucci ◽  
Martina Sapienza ◽  
Leonardo Villani ◽  
Floriana D’Ambrosio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Productivity Loss ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Direct Costs ◽  
Years Of Life Lost ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life Years ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

The WHO declared the novel coronavirus disease a pandemic, with severe consequences for health and global economic activity and Italy is one of the hardest hit countries. This study aims to assess the socio-economic burden of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy through the estimation of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and productivity loss. The observational study was based on data from official governmental sources collected since the inception of epidemic until 28 April 2020. DALYs for a disease combines the years of life lost due to premature mortality in the population and the years lost due to disability of the disease. In addition to DALYs, temporary productivity loss due to absenteeism from work and permanent productivity loss due to premature mortality were estimated using the Human Capital Approach. The total DALYs amount to 2.01 per 1000 persons. The total permanent productivity loss was around EUR 300 million while the temporary productivity loss was around EUR 100 million. This evaluation does not consider other economic aspects related to lockdown, quarantine of contacts, healthcare direct costs etc. The burden of disease methodology is functional metric for steering choices of health policy and allowing the government to be accountable for the utilization of resources.

scholarly journals COVID-19: update of the Italian situation

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 834-837
Author(s):  
Carla Prezioso ◽  
Valeria Pietropaolo
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
Italian Territory

AbstractOn the March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic. The first cases in Italy were reported on January 30, 2020, and quickly the number of cases escalated. On March 20, 2020, according to the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) and National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the peak of COVID-19 cases reported in Italy reached the highest number, surpassing those in China. The Italian government endorsed progressively restrictive measures initially at the local level, and finally, at the national level with a lockdown of the entire Italian territory up to 3 May 2020. The complete Italian territory closing slowed down the contagion. This review retraces the main numbers of the pandemic in Italy. Although in decline, the new reported cases remain high in the northern regions. Since drugs or vaccines are still not available, the described framework highlights the importance of the containment measures to be able to quickly identify all the potential transmission hotspots and keep control subsequent epidemic waves of COVID-19.

Evaluation of stability and inactivation methods of SARS-CoV-2 in context of laboratory settings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Westhaus ◽  
Marek Widera ◽  
Holger F. Rabenau ◽  
Sebastian Hoehl ◽  
Denisa Bojkova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Culture Media ◽  
Heat Inactivation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Rapid Spread ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Global Concern ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Uv C

SummaryThe novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of the acute respiratory disease COVID-19, which has become a global concern due to its rapid spread. Laboratory work with SARS-CoV-2 in a laboratory setting was rated to biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) biocontainment level. However, certain research applications in particular in molecular biology require incomplete denaturation of the proteins, which might cause safety issues handling contaminated samples. In particular, it is critical to provide proof of inactivation before samples can be removed from the BSL-3.In this study, the stability of the virus in cell culture media at 4°C and on touch panel surfaces used in laboratory environment was analyzed. In addition, we evaluated common lysis buffers that are used in molecular biological laboratories for their ability to inactivate SARS-CoV-2. We have found that guanidine thiocyanate and most of the tested detergent containing lysis buffers were effective in inactivation of SARS-CoV-2, however, the M-PER lysis buffer containing a proprietary detergent failed to inactivate SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, we compared chemical and non-chemical inactivation methods including ethanol, acetone-methanol mixture, PFA, UV-C light, and heat inactivation.In conclusion, careful evaluation of the used inactivation methods are required and additional inactivation steps are necessary before removal of lysed viral samples from BSL-3.

scholarly journals How to Dispose of Medical Waste Caused by COVID-19? A Case Study of China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12127
Author(s):  
Min Su ◽  
Qiang Wang ◽  
Rongrong Li
Keyword(s):  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Global Epidemic ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Process System ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
And Control

The rapid increase in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients also means a rapid increase in medical waste that could carry the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). How to safely dispose of medical waste caused by COVID-19 is a huge challenge that needs to be solved urgently. The outbreak of the COVID-19 has led to a significant increase in the daily generation of medical waste in China and has placed a severe test on the Chinese medical waste disposal system. Unlike ordinary wastes and garbage, medical waste that is untreated or incompletely treated will not only cause environmental pollution, but also directly or indirectly cause infections and endanger people’s health. Faced with difficulties, the Chinese government formulated a policy for medical waste management and a response plan for the epidemic, which provides policy guarantee for the standardized disposal of epidemic medical waste. In addition, the government and medical institutions at all levels formed a comprehensive, refined, and standardized medical treatment process system during research and practice. China has increased the capacity of medical waste disposal in various places by constructing new centralized disposal centers and adding mobile disposal facilities. China has achieved good results in the fight against COVID-19, and the pressure on medical waste disposal has been relieved to a certain extent. However, the global epidemic situation is severe. How to ensure the proper and safe disposal of medical waste is related to the prevention and control of the epidemic situation. This study summarizes China’s experience in the disposal of medical waste in the special case of COVID-19 and hopes to provide some reference for other countries in the disposal of medical waste.

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