Social Distancing and Self-Isolation to Save Yourself from Coronavirus ( COVID-19)

It is challenging to know at early stages when you are infected by the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease. There is a most common and rare symptom loss of smell that could signal you must be tested. According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch, the virus could ultimately infect between 40% and 70% of the population worldwide. Some people might show no symptoms at all but many of those cases would be mild, while the prospect of being infected with a new virus can be devastating. The most symptoms are fever, coughing and shortness of breath. These symptoms usually appear between two days and two weeks of exposure to the virus. Doctors recently added "loss of smell" as a potential symptom that may show up alone without any other symptoms.  As the coronavirus outbreak continues to accelerate Globally creating serious worry among people. 

As COVID-19 is an infectious disease and grows faster among the people coming in close contracts. Therefore, the social distancing and self-isolation have come out as the best methods to avoid the fast spread of the disease. Most of the countries adopted the methods of lock-down to avoid the community transmission to control the disease. 

Even after all the protective measure the disease is still fast spreading globally and creating fear and worry in the entire world as till now there is no direct medicine to cure the decrease. Therefore keeping in mind the current situation it is recommended that each person should take proper care about himself and his family and stay at home to save lives. 

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to accelerate in the U.S., cleaning supplies are disappearing off the shelves and people are worried about every subway rail, kitchen counter and toilet seat they touch.  A new analysis found that the virus can remain viable in the air for up to 3 hours, on copper for up to 4 hours, on cardboard up to 24 hours and on plastic and stainless steel up to 72 hours. This study was originally published in the preprint database medRxiv on March 11, and now a revised version was published March 17 in The New England Journal of Medicine. What's more, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found on "a variety of surfaces" in cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic people who were infected with COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, up to 17 days after the passengers disembarked, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, this was before disinfection procedures took place and "data cannot be used to determine whether transmission occurred from contaminated surfaces," according to the analysis. In other words, it's not clear if the viral particles on these surfaces could have infected people. Another study published in February in The Journal of Hospital Infection analyzed several dozen previously published papers on human coronaviruses (other than the new coronavirus) to get a better idea of how long they can survive outside of the body.[1]

The new coronavirus spreads mostly through person-to-person contact within about a 6-foot (1.8 meters) radius, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People with COVID-19, which is the disease caused by the coronavirus, spread viral droplets, particles through coughing and sneezing. The particles can land, on the face, in the mouth or nose of those nearby or by touching a surface where the virus has recently landed and then touching one's mouth, nose or eyes. Fortunately, ethanol, hydrogen-peroxide or bleach-based cleaners are effective at killing those coronaviruses that do survive on surfaces.  Unlike some extremely contagious pathogens, the virus is not thought to spread via smaller droplets that can remain airborne for long periods. In a study of the stool samples of those diagnosed with COVID-19 found that viral particles in those stools looked viable under a microscope. "This means that stool samples may contaminate hands, food, water, etc.," the China CDC wrote in the report. For instance, if a person did not wash their hands after touching a surface contaminated with infected stool residue, there is a chance they could become infected if they touch their eyes, nose or mouth with their hands, Live Science previously reported. To avoid catching the new coronavirus, health officials recommend avoiding close contact with people who are sick. A facemask is not a substitute for staying home when you are sick, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, recommends avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Frequent hand-washing — 20 seconds, with soap and water — and 60%-95% alcohol-based hand sanitizers can kill the virus.[2]

As per the Journal of the American Medical Association, as many as 98% of COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized had a fever, between 76% and 82% had a dry cough, and 11% to 44% reported exhaustion and fatigue.  As per the current WHO ( World Health Organisation ) reports the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 75,000 people worldwide, most of them in Europe and USA. Most affected nations have called for complete lockdown to stop spread of the deadly virus.

The WHO said on 25^th March, 2020 that countries which have locked down their populations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus need to use the time to find and attack the virus.

With around 75,000 deaths globally, Italy is the most affected country with 16,523 and Spain 13341, USA 10871, France 8911, UK 5373, Iran 3739 and China 3331 deaths the country where the initial outbreak occurred. The United States has also seen the 10871 deaths but the highest number of infections crossing 4 Lakhs.

Coronavirus has now spread to over 205 countries across the world affecting billions of people. "Asking people to stay at home and shutting down population movement is buying time, and reducing pressure on health systems. On their own these measures won't extinguish epidemics," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. [3]

Physicians work with state health departments and the CDC to determine who should be tested for the new virus. However, the CDC also recommends that people with COVID-19 or any respiratory illness monitor their symptoms carefully. If you become ill with the said symptoms and think you have been exposed to the virus, the CDC recommends calling your doctor first rather than traveling to a clinic worsening shortness of breath is reason to seek medical care, particularly for older individuals or people with underlying health conditions.

The disease appears to become more severe with age, with the 30- to 79-year-old age range predominating the detected cases in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, according to a study in JAMA. Children seem to be at less risk of suffering noticeable symptoms of the disease. However, a recent study of 2,000 children confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19 found that 6% developed severe or critical illness. The detailed study is published in the March 16 issue of the journal Paediatrics.

In more serious cases of COVID-19, patients experience pneumonia, which means their lungs begin to fill with pockets of pus or fluid. This leads to intense shortness of breath and painful coughing.

 Govts in various countries have taken right decision to lock down. This is one of the best strategy to control the further spread of the Corona Virus. But the problem is that few people in general not observing it seriously and taking it casual. As per the rampant growth of Coronavirus and affecting the serious health issues around the world and in India the social distancing and self-isolation is the best strategy to save yourself from Covid-19.

Therefore, the entire individuals globally in general are required to take necessary precautions and take good care of themselves and their near and dear ones to ensure well-being of their families and the society in large. Humanity has overcome many difficult challenges and together we can overcome.

 Lockdowns are now imposed in several countries. But the people are required to follow the lock down seriously and ensure the following to save themselves form the infection of Coronavirus (Covid-19) and get the real benefits and satisfy the real objectives of the lock-down.

Family should identify only one adult in a family for going out. Only he or she should go out. NOBODY ELSE.

•ONE dress: Use only one dress and same dress every time you go out. Use full-length dress. Don't mix this dress with your other dresses.

•ONE wallet: Use only one wallet. Don't mix these currency, coins and cards with other which already are there at home.

•ONE shopping bag: Use only one and same shopping bag every time.

•ONE vehicle: Use same vehicle and key. Avoid public transportation.

•ONE go: Avoid going out multiple times. Finish all your work in one go.

Avoid taking mobile phone or restrict using it.

Avoid crowding and come back immediately once you finish your work.

Use your non - dominant hand or elbow to open the door or push the buttons.

Once you come back: Keep your dress, wallet, bags, keys in a separate bag. Do not mix with others.

We must embrace the social distancing and self-isolation, always wash our hands, face thoroughly before touching anything and anyone, and always use N-95 Masks. Clean our mobile phone surface with sanitizer.

We must remember that we CAN'T AVOID exposure but definitely we CAN severely reduce its spread and impacts to avoid community transmission. As the community, transmission has the potential to create havoc globally. If we can avoid the community transmission, we can definitely save the world from the most difficult time of the last two centuries.

Please click here for current global updates of COVID-19

Please click here for current updates in India of COVID-19

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[1] https://www.livescience.com/how-long-coronavirus-last-surfaces.html  visited on 7th April, 2020.

[2] https://www.livescience.com/how-coronavirus-spreads.html Visited on 7th April, 2020.

[3] As per the Reports from India Today, 26^th March, 2020.

Corona Virus (Covid-19) Pandemic and Work from Home: Challenges of Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to biggest number of employees globally bound to work remotely. The people working from home required awareness and knowledge of phishing scams, the fastest growing type of cybercrime, many of which are now playing on fears of the Coronavirus. Employees from organizations of all sizes and types now have minimal cybersecurity resources, if any, compared to what is normally available to them.

Organisations are required to ensure any endpoint that an employee is using is fully protected. As the Absolute 2019 Global Endpoint Security Trend Report showed, 42 per cent of endpoints are unprotected at any given time. Therefore, the people working from home should immediately get educated about their cyber privacy and cybersecurity failing which the global cybercrime damage may costs as much as double by the end of this year.

As the home-working becomes the new normal, criminals are seeking to capitalise on the widespread panic – and succeeding, alas. New coronavirus-themed phishing scams are leveraging fear, hooking vulnerable people and taking advantage of workplace disruption.

Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world, and one of the biggest problems with mankind. The impact on society is reflected in the Official Cybercrime Report, which is published annually by Cybersecurity Ventures. The most effective phishing attacks play on emotions and concerns, and that coupled with the thirst for urgent information around coronavirus makes these messages hard to resist.

According to the report, cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. This represents the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history, risks the incentives for innovation and investment, and will be more profitable than the global trade of all major illegal drugs combined.

Cybercrime costs include damage and destruction of data, forensic investigation, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, fraud, post-attack disruption to the normal course of business, stolen money, lost productivity, theft of personal and financial data, embezzlement, and reputational harm and theft of intellectual property. There are 10 tips on how to spot a phishing scam. As the Phishing emails usually want you to click on something, for instance to update your payment details, or access the latest information on COVID-19.

People working from home should be aware on how to detect and react to phishing frauds, and other types of cyber-attacks. If they act immediately and thoroughly, then cybercrime damage costs can be contained and kept at the current level. If the carelessness due to lack of awareness will continue, it may cause heavy loss globally. As per the Cybersecurity Ventures’ estimation that cybercrime damage costs could potentially double during the Coronavirus outbreak period is concerned not only with phishing scams, but also with ransomware attacks, insecure remote access to corporate networks, remote workers exposing login credentials and confidential data to family members and visitors to the home, and other threats.[1]

Malicious actors are also using COVID-19 or coronavirus-related names in the titles of malicious files to try to trick users into opening them. One example is Eeskiri-COVID-19.chm (“eeskiri” is Estonian for rule), which is actually a keylogger disguised as a COVID-19 help site. If unpacked, it will gather a target’s credentials, set up the keylogger, and then send any gathered information to maildrive[.]icu.

The mention of current events for malicious attacks is nothing new for threat actors, who repeatedly use the timeliness of hot topics, occasions, and popular personalities in their social engineering strategies. In haste to uncover the supposed good news you could inadvertently reveal personal and professional secrets. Indeed, in these difficult times, when it comes to cybersecurity, it’s worth to relax and ask yourself that to Whom you should trust before proceeding on cyberspace.

Delhi Police issued advisory on cybercrime threat amid coronavirus. People are advised to be careful before login to any website and carefully check the authenticity of the website. Most of the website are malicious and engaged in Phishing. Think very carefully before clicking on a tempting link purporting to be from the World Health Organization (WHO), or similar, with positive information about the cure for COVID-19.  Chances are it will be a hacker preying on your understandable anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic. Please be careful and double cross check before login or clicking to any links and websites. The following website have already been blocked and categorized as phishing sites.[2]

adaminpomes[.]com/em/COVID-19/index-2[.]php

mersrekdocuments[.]ir/Covid/COVID-19/index[.]php

bookdocument[.]ir/Covid-19/COVID-19/index[.]php

laciewinking[.]com/Vivek/COVID-19/

teetronics[.]club/vv/COVID-19/

glofinance[.]com/continue-saved-app/COVID-19/index[.]php

starilionpla[.]website/do

ayyappantat[.]com/img/view/COVID-19/index[.]php

mortgageks[.]com/covid-19/

cdc[.]gov.coronavirus.secure.portal.dog-office.online/auth/auth/login2.html

Data from artificial intelligence endpoint security platform SentinelOne shows that from February 23, 2020 to till 4^th April, 2020 there was an upward trend of attempted attacks with peaks at 145 threats per 1,000 endpoints, compared to 30 or 37 up to 22^nd February, 2020. In the UK alone, victims lost over £800,000 to coronavirus scams in February, reports the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. One unlucky person in particular was left £15,000 lighter after buying face masks that never arrived.

Banking trojan malware is masquerading as a WHO-developed mobile application helping individuals recover, or virtual private network (VPN) installers. And consider that Check Point research shows some 4,000 COVID-19 domains have been registered this year, many likely fronts for cybercrime. So-called ‘scareware’ will only ramp up as uncertainty rises and online searches increase as people seek information about the outbreak and solutions,” predicts Terry Greer-King, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa at California-headquartered cyber organisation SonicWall.  They know people are looking for safety information and are more likely to click on potentially malicious links or download attachments. Approximately 70 per cent of the emails Proofpoint’s threat team has uncovered deliver malware and a further 30 per cent aim to steal the victim’s credentials.

Due to high demand for virtual conferencing and other collaboration, tools could expose more vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. Companies quickly adopting consumer-grade video conferencing can make it easy for an attacker to pretend to be a member of staff. Worryingly, Apricorn research published last year found that one third of IT decision-makers admitted their organisations had suffered a data breach because of remote working. Further, 50 per cent were unable to guarantee that their data was adequately secured when being used by remote workers.

The UK government’s National Cyber Security Centre published a home-working guide earlier this week that offers tips for organisations introducing home working as well as highlighting the telltale signs of phishing emails.

Computer viruses can spread just as easily as human viruses. Just as you would avoid touching objects and surfaces that are not clean, so should you avoid opening emails from unknown parties or visiting untrusted websites. Keep you devices and networks secure. You may use hand sanitiser to remove germs from your hands, and you should have an effective antivirus solution to keep germs off your computers and networks.[3]

Home-working people must follow the following Cybersecurity Tips for their Own Welfare.[4]

1.       Enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible, adding another layer of security to any apps you use. Additionally, a password manager can help avoid risky behaviour such as saving or sharing credentials.

2.       Try to use VPN solution with encrypted network connection. It is safe for the worker to access IT resources within the organisation and elsewhere on the internet.

3.       Organisations should update their cybersecurity policy and include home and remote working. Ensure the policy is adequate as your organisation transitions to having more people outside the office. They need to include remote-working access management, the use of personal devices, and updated data privacy considerations for employee access to documents and other information.

4.       Employees should communicate with colleagues for official matters using IT equipment provided by employers. There is often a range of software installed in the background of company IT that keeps people secure. If a security incident took place on an employee’s personal device, the organisation – and the employee – may not be fully protected.

5.       Without the right security, personal devices used to access work networks can leave businesses vulnerable to hacking. If information is leaked or breached through a personal device, the company will be deemed liable.

Hope the people working from home and the concerned organisations understand the challenges of cybersecurity and follow the suggestions to be able to get the genuine output in the ongoing difficult phase of life, business and global economic downturn.

Please click here for current global updates of Covid-19

Please click here for current updates in India of Covid-19

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[1]https://cybersecurityventures.com/cybercrime-damage-costs-may-double-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/ . Visited on 4^th April, 2020.

[2]https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/cybercrime-and-digital-threats/coronavirus-used-in-spam-malware-file-names-and-malicious-domains. Visited on 4^th April, 2020.

[3] https://www.raconteur.net/technology/cyber-resilient-business .Visited on 4^th April, 2020

[4]  https://www.raconteur.net/technology/covid-19-cybersecurity . Visited on 4^th April, 2020

Scenario of the Corona Virus (Covid-19) in India

In the current lockdowns if the proper physical distancing or compliance is not properly followed, the total number of cases (asymptomatic, hospitalized and symptomatic) can even touch a massive figure.

In the most likely (Medium) scenario with moderate to full compliance but no change in virulence or temperature/humidity sensitivity, the numbers of total cases can swell up to few lakhs.

The optimistic (low) scenario constitutes decreased virulence and temperature/humidity sensitivity. To reach these numbers, Johns Hopkins and CDDEP -- a public health research organisation -- used IndiaSIM, a well-validated agent-based model of the Indian population, which has been published widely over many years and has been used for government decision-making. According to the report, hospitalised cases can reach up to 25 lakh people in the High scenario, 17-18 lakh people in Medium scenario and 13 lakh people in Low scenario.

In what could spell real trouble for the country in the next three months, a new report from prestigious Johns Hopkins University and the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) has predicted that 21-day lockdown may be ineffective to stop the COVID-19 peak arriving in April-May-June -- infecting few lakhs Indians in an optimistic (low) scenario.

Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the US-based Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, and an advisor to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Bank, had previously warned India that In a worst-case scenario, India would experience a novel coronavirus high infection rate, which would see approximately majority of confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the country, leading public health expert estimates.  India’s jam-packed cities and heavily crowded public transport also throws a unique challenge to social distancing, which is necessary to curb the spread of novel coronavirus. Now, in view of the effective enforcement of lockdown measures and countrywide curfews that were recently enforced by the Indian government, that worst-case number will not be very high. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of these infections are likely to be extremely mild.

In case if a high number of people becomes ill, with few lakhs requiring intensive medical treatment would put an immense strain on India’s healthcare system. In a worst-case scenario, estimation is based on how transmissible the novel coronavirus would be in India. If citizens fail to follow the social distancing, the virus would be as transmissible as it has been in USA, Italy, Spain, UK, Germany, France, Iran and China which will effectively take the worst-case numbers to higher side.

There are various agencies, who have been consistently updating the countrywide COVID-19 infection status and deceased, but in-fact due to less testing in the country the real number of confirmed cases is significantly higher. It is almost impossible that this [community transmission] could not have happened in a situation where about tens of thousands of people travelled from different places of the world could not properly tested during entry in the country and to imagine that none of them carried the coronavirus.

We are required to upgrade the medical facilities, expand testing, and spread awareness to promote careful prophylaxis than to politicise the issues and irrationally connecting the spread of the disease to a particular community. Now the role of media is very important to provide the real picture and solace to the community than to play dirty politics to improve their TRP. Rather than they should encourage the community in seriously preparing for the mitigation, which would require making several thousands of beds available in advance.

 The Covid-19 is going to testify few things about India like our health system capacity; our system of governance on how much people listen to what the government is saying; and our social structure, whether people are going to support and cooperate each other.[1]

As per the reports and estimations, the Ventilator demand in India may go up to 1 million while the current availability in India is estimated to be between 30,000 and 50,000 ventilators. People could need ICU treatment; India needs to urgently import ICU equipment, ventilators and a range of medicines.

The possibility of infection to doctors and nurses could further increase deaths in the general population. Healthcare workers need personal protective equipment like masks and gowns to protect themselves. In lack of the proper support they may get sick and challenging, the potential of the health support system.

As per the current WHO reports, the number of coronavirus, cases until 4th April 2020 have crossed three thousand in India (good part is that very few are critical and more than 500 are recovered) and 11.5 lakhs globally (around 80,000 cases are mild condition but around 40,000 cases are critical in nature) while the death toll crossed 86 in India and 61,000 globally.[2] Good thing is that around 236,000 cases recovered globally. However, the coming weeks of April when peak may begin and delays in testing are seriously reducing the ability of the people to protect themselves. This is the most important way in which we can reduce the epidemic. A real number of detected cases in the short term could encourage the people to take social distancing more seriously and may reduce the panic compared to a big challenge later on.

Learnings from China provides that higher temperature and humidity may likely to lower the transmission rates but it is not very clear that how this will affect the Indian scenario. However, the best strategy is to be prepared for multiple peaks and should be ready for any emergency happening later. People who will show symptoms next week are already infected and incubating the virus. Some of these will transmit before they are symptomatic. A large percentage of cases are mild, but for older individuals, the mortality rate is strikingly higher. Children are less likely to be infected and less likely to be hospitalized than adults are. Illness is less likely to be severe in children than in adults, and the infection rate is less likely in females than males.[3]

it is essential to test those who have symptoms such as coughs, cold, fever or respiratory distress even though they have no travel history or have not come in contact with an infected person. Testing is important otherwise we will not know what percentage of people with such symptoms are coronavirus-related as opposed to sufferers of ordinary seasonal colds, coughs and flu. India govt. had acted promptly to check entry into the country and while sensible steps like shutting schools, colleges, theatres and cinemas and imposing lock-down in time but woefully the testing is inadequate for a country with a 1.3 billion population.

There is no need to rush for immediate testing but if you have a cold or cough or fever or respiratory distress and it persist after about four days then you should get yourself tested. If someone is quarantined at your house, then rest of the family members should take commonsensical precautions but this does not mean that they cannot enter the premises to serve eatables. They can actually hand the tray over rather than leave it two feet away. You can wash the utensils used by such a person or their clothes and there is no need to wear gloves but you must wash your hand.  There is absolutely no scientific basis for believing drinking gaumutra and taking gobar baths could prevent the Coronavirus infection. There is also no scientific basis for any of the homeopathic remedies that are being suggested for the cure of Covid-19.[4]

Please click here for current global updates of Covid-19

Please click here for current updates in India of Covid-19

[1]https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2020-03-23-covid-19-worst-case-scenario-30-crore-indian-infected-coronavirus. Visited on 2nd April, 2020

[2] https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/. Visited on 2nd April, 2020.

[3]https://www.ndtv.com/health/coronavirus-india-may-see-25-crore-covid-19-cases-in-next-3-months-report-2201489.                        

[4] https://thewire.in/health/india-coronavirus-ramanan-laxminarayan . Visited on 2nd April, 2020.

Stay Home and Save Lives: Prevention is better than Cure from COVID-19

It is challenging to know at early stages when you are infected by the novel coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease. There is a most common and rare symptom loss of smell that could signal you must be tested. According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch, the virus could ultimately infect between 40% and 70% of the population worldwide. Some people might show no symptoms at all but many of those cases would be mild, while the prospect of being infected with a new virus can be devastating. The most symptoms, as per the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are fever, coughing and shortness of breath. These symptoms usually appear between two days and two weeks of exposure to the virus. Doctors recently added "loss of smell" as a potential symptom that may show up alone without any other symptoms, Live Science reported. 

As per the Journal of the American Medical Association, as many as 98% of COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized had a fever, between 76% and 82% had a dry cough, and 11% to 44% reported exhaustion and fatigue.  As per the current WHO ( World Health Organisation ) reports the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 21,000 people worldwide, most of them in Europe. Most affected nations have called for complete lockdown to stop spread of the deadly virus.

The WHO said on 25^th March, 2020 that countries which have locked down their populations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus need to use the time to find and attack the virus. With 7,503 deaths, Italy is the most affected country ahead of Spain with 3,434 and China with 3,281, the country where the initial outbreak occurred. The United States has also seen over 900 deaths and some 60,000 infections.

Coronavirus has now spread to over 190 countries across the world affecting billions of people. "Asking people to stay at home and shutting down population movement is buying time, and reducing pressure on health systems. On their own these measures won't extinguish epidemics," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus*. *As per the Reports from India Today.

Physicians work with state health departments and the CDC to determine who should be tested for the new virus. However, the CDC also recommends that people with COVID-19 or any respiratory illness monitor their symptoms carefully. If you become ill with the said symptoms and think you have been exposed to the virus, the CDC recommends calling your doctor first rather than traveling to a clinic Worsening shortness of breath is reason to seek medical care, particularly for older individuals or people with underlying health conditions. The CDC information page has more information on what to do if you are sick.

The disease appears to become more severe with age, with the 30- to 79-year-old age range predominating the detected cases in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, according to a study in JAMA. Children seem to be at less risk of suffering noticeable symptoms of the disease. However, a recent study of 2,000 children confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19 found that 6% developed severe or critical illness. The study is detailed in the March 16 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

In more serious cases of COVID-19, patients experience pneumonia, which means their lungs begin to fill with pockets of pus or fluid. This leads to intense shortness of breath and painful coughing.

Ultimately, the decisions about who should be tested are left to the discretion of state and local health departments, according to the CDC. However Govts in various countries have taken right decision to lock down. This is one of the best strategy to control the further spread of the Corona Virus. But the problem is that few people in general not observing it seriously and taking it casual.

For the specific details and news please click the following links.

ü  Coronavirus in the US: Map & cases

ü  How long does virus last on surfaces?

ü  How does the coronavirus spread?

ü  How deadly is the new coronavirus?

ü  Is there a cure for COVID-19?

ü  How does it compare with seasonal flu?

Please click here for current Global updates on Covid-19

Please click here for current update in India of Covid-19

The World of Legal Eagles: If a career in corporate law sounds enticing to you, keep these points in mind before taking the next steps

Dr. Tabrez Ahmad has authored a thought leadership article for the benefit of the aspirants of legal education. The article was published in January, 2017 edition of India Today Aspire. The magazine is an education and career focused publication from the India Today Group. The article is  
Titled ‘The World of Legal Eagles’.  The link is attached and shared on the blog for benefit of wider group of law aspirants.

India can save $6 bn through ethanol-blended fuel: Report

Today biofuels, and specifically ethanol are drawing renewed attention as an alternate to petroleumderived gasoline in order to address energy security, energy costs, and global warming concerns associated with liquid fossil fuels. It is noteworthy to take into consideration the emerging era of rapid transformation in the way in which economic and social development is being undertaken. Specifically, the significant growth in the transportation sector has seen a corresponding increase in demand for energy and fuel. Globally, transportation systems are generally dependent on fossil fuels, which have a significantly more harmful effect on the environment. It is not surprising that most periods of accelerated industrial development have been correlative to the international price of crude oil. However, the increased attention to environment and climate change has propelled innumerable new approaches that can incentivise the application of long-time dormant technologies. One such example is the development of the biomass and biofuel industry, which is increasingly being seen as one of the solutions to energy insecurity. Moreover, many countries, developed and developing, have attempted to shift from a fossil fuel dependent economy to a biofuel based economy as a sustainable alternative. Biofuel is a renewable fuel that is produced through biological processes, such as agriculture and anaerobic digestion, rather than geological processes, such as those involved in the production of fossil fuels.

Biofuels can be derived directly from plants, or indirectly from agricultural, commercial, domestic and industrial wastes. Renewable biofuels generally involve contemporary carbon fixation, such as those that occur in plants or microalgae through the process of photosynthesis. The most commonly used biofuel is ethanol, which is produced from various feedstocks, such as sugarcane, maize and cassava. The United States and Brazil, as the largest producers of ethanol have adopted robust policy measures for the promotion of ethanol in the transportation sector with a view to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Similar policy approaches need to be tailored to India’s needs in order for it to move India’s rapidly expanding transportation towards greener alternatives. The key to leveraging the economic, social and environmental benefits of ethanol would require India to develop flexible strategies aimed at incentivising industry and consumers to shift towards broader adoption of ethanol, bother as an oxygenate and as an alternate. As this paper discusses, the social benefits of a broader biofuel programme include an expansion in livelihood opportunities. Similarly, economic benefits include significant opportunities across the value chain for farmers, and expansion of industrial development. 

The environmental benefits are significant as well, wider ethanol usage has shown to substantially reduce harmful emissions and consequently improve air quality. In the above said background, this paper has covered in its first chapter the background and history of the adoption of ethanol blending in India. The second chapter of this paper highlights some of the challenges to EBP program and different issues ranging from imposition of varied taxes upon the interstate movement of ethanol, procedural difficulties and legislative and administrative issues in India. The third chapter has explored some of the potential economic and environmental advantages of adoption of ethanol as a biofuel in India. The fourth chapter documents global best practices and analyses the experience of three countries in specific: the United States, the Philippines and Brazil. The final chapter sets out policy recommendations based on the roadblocks and hurdles identified in Chapter II, and further provides a comprehensive roadmap for the broader adoption of biofuels in the country. It is necessary to note that, in view of India’s rapid economic growth, energy demand will continue to rise rapidly in the coming decades. There is no going back on the path and pace of economic progress that India has chosen for itself, especially after globalization. 

The increasing consumer demand of a developing nation add stress on limited sources of energy of any nation. In order to meet these increasing demands, it is important that a gradual shift from fossil fuels to renewable fuels is made. However, this process is slow and expensive, and therefore it would be necessary to make appropriate investments that are aimed at increasing efficiency of existing sources of energy while, in parallel, enabling a shift towards sustainable resources. India’s National Policy on Biofuels, 2009 does reflect these concerns and charts out ambitious goals in this regard. However, there is a need to ensure that implementation of these programs accounts for broader administrative and policy priorities, especially in the agricultural and transportation sectors. In this context, this expert paper aims to present pragmatic measures and interventions that are specifically aimed at operationalizing the objectives of this expert paper.

The report was released on 8^th December, 2016 by YB Ramakrishna, Chairman working group on Biofuels , Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Govt. of India. 

The said report is the outcome of the joint project done by PLR Chambers, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun and CSTEP ( Center of Study of Science Technology & Policy) Bangaluru. 

The report is much appreciated and published by almost all the renowned national dailies like, The Hindu Business Line ,  Times of India ,   Economic Times  to name a few.  However if you are interested to read the full report please click here . 

Need of Specialized Legal Education in India

The world is heading towards rapid progress in all fields including law. In this regard, globalization has changed the dynamism of the entire polity and society as a result of which the whole world is giving importance upon knowledge economy.

Law, as the essence of society, regulates human behavior at every micro and macro level and therefore, the functioning of the law is as dynamic as that of the society. As a result, today, the law is not used only to resolve disputes and to maintain an orderly society but has evolved to be used as an effective instrument of socio economic development and justice. Gone are the days when judges used to mechanically apply the law to sort of issues in the society. Today, it is used as a tool intended to discipline the power and empower the powerless.

Gone are the days when the legal professionals were considered the guardian angels standing for the legal order and executing one of the noblest functions of the society. Today, it may very well be argued that all these variables are overlooked in the light of amassing wealth and fame, not only in India but globally.

Today the legal profession has progressed as a branch of education attracting the best minds in the country. The legal service sector has experienced a steady and continuous growth mainly as a consequence of the growth in international trade and investment. Sectors such as corporate restructuring, privatization cross border mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property rights etc. require more sophisticated services, thereby facilitating trade in legal services and creating the essential need of the specialized law professional. Though the legal profession is by and large practiced by individual professionals in most of the countries, modern corporate issues call for collective efforts which in turn have facilitated the growth of larger law firms.

With the emergence of such opportunities, there is a major revamping and growth in the specialized legal education. Specialized learning which would provide a platform for the youth of the country to incentivize them to join the Bar with a fresh perspective and therefore the approach used was to use law as an instrument of sound decision making and problem solving, traits which are of utmost importance in the field of litigation.

In this program, we seeks to provide a correct understanding of the legal education, legal profession and the changing attitudes of the students with the changing scenarios, both at the national level as well as at the international level.