Karnataka fears massive revenue loss after currency chaos

Bengaluru, Jul 17: A total of 3,693 new COVID-19 positive cases and 115 deaths were reported in Karnataka on Friday, said the state health department.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state is presently at 55,115, including 33,205 active cases. While there are 20,757 recoveries, the death toll stands at 1,147.

With the highest single-day spike of 34,956 cases and 687 deaths, India's COVID-19 positive cases crossed the 10 lakh mark on Friday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total positive cases stand at 10,03,832 including 3,42,473 active cases, 6,35,757 cured/discharged/migrated and 25,602 deaths, according to the ministry.

The deadly coronavirus that entered India while there was still nip in the air has beaten rising mercury, humid conditions, unique Indian genome and has entered monsoon season with more potency as fresh cases are only breaking all records in the country.

India recorded a single-day spike of record 24,850 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking its total tally to 6.73 lakh corona-positive cases.

Top Indian microbiologists were hopeful in March that after the 21-day lockdown, as summer approaches, the rise in temperature would play an important role in preventing the drastic spread of COVID-19 virus in India.

Several virologists hinted that by June this year, the impact of COVID-19 would be less than what it appeared in March-April.

The claims have fallen flat as the virus is mutating fast, becoming more potent than ever.

According to experts, the novel coronavirus is a new virus whose seasonality and response to hot humid weather was never fully understood.

"The theory was based on the fact that high temperatures can kill the virus as in sterilisation techniques used in healthcare. But these are controlled environment conditions. There are many other factors besides temperature, humidity which influence the transmission rate among humans," Dr Anu Gupta, Head, Microbiologist and Infection Control, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, told IANS.

There is no built-up immunity to COVID-19 in humans.

"Also, asymptomatic people might be passing it to many others unknowingly. New viruses tend not to follow the seasonal trend in their first year," Gupta emphasized.

Globally, as several countries are now experiencing hot weather, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record hike in the number of coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 2,12,326 in 24 hours in the highest single-day increase since COVID-19 broke out.

So far over 11 million people worldwide have tested positive for the disease which has led to over 5,25,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The US remained the worst-hit country with over 28 lakh cases, followed by Brazil with 15.8 lakh.

According to Sandeep Nayar, Senior Consultant and HOD, Respiratory Medicine, Allergy & Sleep Disorders, BLK Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, whether temperature plays a role in COVID-19 infection is highly debated.

One school of thought said in the tropical regions of South Asia, the virus might not thrive longer.

"On the other hand, another school of thought has found that novel Coronavirus can survive in a hot and humid environment and tropical climate does not make a difference to the virus. According to them, this is what distinguishes the novel coronavirus from other common viruses, which usually wane in hot weather," stressed Nayar.

Not much has been studied in the past and no definite treatment or vaccine is available to date.

"Every day, new properties and manifestation of the disease come up. As of now, the only way to prevent this monster is by taking appropriate precautions. Hand hygiene, social distancing, cough etiquette and face masks definitely reduce spread of COVID-19 infection," Nayar told IANS.

Not just top Indian health experts, even Indian-American scientists had this theory in mind that sunshine and summer may ebb the spread of the coronavirus.

Ravi Godse, Director of Discharge Planning, UPMC Shadyside Pennsylvania in the US told IANS in April: "In the summer, the humidity can go up as well, meaning more water drops in the air. If the air is saturated with water and somebody sneezes virus droplets into such air, it is likely that the droplets will fall to the ground quicker, making them less infectious. So the short answer is yes, summer/sunshine could be bettera.

According to Dr Puneet Khanna, Head of Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology, Manipal Hospital, Delhi, COVID-19 death rates are not too different in tropical countries but since the disease affected them late it was yet to show its peak in these areas.

"The virus can survive well in hot and humid countries and this is proven now," he stressed.

Bengaluru, July 17: A 60-year-old woman who tested positive for Covid-19 allegedly ended her life in the Covid ward at KC General Hospital in the early hours of Friday.

The woman, the fourth Covid positive patient to end her life since April, was a resident of Mariyappanapalya near Jnanabharathi in West Bengaluru. She was found hanging from a window grille in the passage of the Covid ward around 5 am. She had used her sari to hang herself.

The police said that the woman was admitted to the hospital on July 1. She was responding well to the treatment and was almost cured. Her son was infected first and admitted to the same hospital. As she later tested positive and got admitted, her son was discharged on July 11. The police suspect that the woman may have resorted to the extreme step due to depression.

An investigating officer quoted doctors telling the police that they were about to inform the woman about her discharge date on Friday. Doctors were waiting for the report on her latest test before discharging her.

The woman’s body will be subjected to an autopsy as per the Covid standard procedure. The Malleswaram police have taken up a case of unnatural death. Investigations are on. 

On July 11, a 70-year-old man ended his life in the toilet of the Covid ward in Victoria Hospital, while a suicide was reported in the same ward on June 26. A 60-year-old woman also hanged herself in the toilet. Her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson were also admitted to hospital for Covid-19.