-The Hindu These cases can expose a large population to the virus than would otherwise occur Chennai: Eighty-six per cent of people in China who were infected with Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) were not tested in the two-week period before travel restrictions came into force on January 23 in Wuhan and other cities. And these undetected cases contributed to the majority of virus spread in the community, says a paper published in the...

-The Indian Express There is no evidence that choice of food will make any difference in the spread of the virus. Food is certainly not the source of transmission. It may be different for people who live near abattoirs etc. * There seems to be an overwhelming optimism that heat will reduce the impact of coronavirus. What do you think? Dr. Anand Krishnan: The chances of survival of the virus will be less...

-The Indian Express All comparisons between COVID-19 and TB end with the superficial observation that they are both deadly respiratory tract infections. The world has been spooked by COVID-19, the novel flu-like virus which emerged from the slaughter-houses of China and is now sweeping across the planet, propelled by the very engine of the global economy that it now threatens to pull asunder. Thanks to the waves of news engulfing us, including...

-The Indian Express Govt has issued guidelines on home quarantine for people who have been exposed to Novel Coronavirus. What are these guidelines, and how is this regime different from being quarantined in an Army facility? In India’s fight against the Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID 2019), the Union Health Ministry has issued elaborate guidelines on how to enforce “home quarantine” for a fortnight. While less stringent than being quarantined in an Army...

-The Indian Express Threat from coronavirus is real, demands vigilance. But responses to it are bordering on paranoia. In The Plague, Albert Camus describes the French town of Oran, which is swept by a plague leading to the death of thousands of inhabitants. Camus’s novel is the story of a community struck by a destructive force, to which it refuses to surrender. The outbreak of the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus epidemic and the...