KASHMIR LIFE (KL): How is the second Covid-19 wave different from the first one?
SYED MUDASIR QADRI (SMQ): The second wave of Covid19 is different in many ways. Firstly, this time the virus has become more infectious. We are seeing whole families getting infected at the same time or in a few days.
Secondly, this time we are seeing lung involvement in a larger proportion of patients testing positive suggesting that the present strain is more virulent.
Thirdly, there is a shift in the age group of the people infected by the virus. This is causing increased morbidity (illness) and mortality (deaths). Last year it mainly troubled the elderly but this time the major brunt is being borne by the middle-aged and younger population.
The scenes at the hospitals are well known to most people through mainstream and social media. The patient load has tremendously increased leading to pressure on the hospital bed availability. To cater to the increasing rush of Covid19 patients, most of the beds in the major hospitals have been converted into Covid beds. The majority of these admitted patients require high flow oxygen support (15-60 LPM). This has put a lot of pressure on healthcare workers especially doctors and paramedics.
KL: Is it the same old virus or now different strains are around?
SMQ: The mutant strains that we have in the second wave seem to have evolved themselves to become more virulent and infect the younger population as well. This time the infectivity rate is much higher and the incubation period seems to have shortened. Now families test positive together. This is unlike last year when incubation periods varied and in certain cases, it took two weeks.
Esta historia es de la edición May 30, 2021 de Kashmir Life.
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Esta historia es de la edición May 30, 2021 de Kashmir Life.
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Before The Kabul Retreat
Described as the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, Afghanistan was always termed to be at peace when it was at war. But the land-locked desert country that was always in turmoil and one of the worst targets of the Great Game suffered immensely throughout, especially in the last 40 years, Masood Hussain writes
FINGERS CROSSED
Almost everybody in academia and politics that Khalid Bashir Gura spoke to, the response over Kabul happens was simple – wait and watch
Parliamentary Committee In Srinagar
The visiting 28-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs have had detailed interactions with top civil administration and discussed developmental scenario and people’s welfare measures in Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a 4-day visit. Congress leader and MP Anand Sharma is heading the committee.
MUSIC IN MUD HOUSE
Deep into north Kashmir, Faheem Mir meet a small community that sings and lives on folk music but is facing a tense situation in the last few years
THE KABUL SPILLOVER?
Security experts are divided over the possible impact of the Kabul situation on Kashmir. But the dramatic Taliban triumph has altered the region’s geopolitics, for the time being, writes Riyaz Wani
Durga Bhawan At Katra
To enhancing facilities for the convenience of the Vaishno Devi pilgrims, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation for the Durga Bhawan, a high utility pilgrim-centric facility worth Rs 24.4 crore. The facility will accommodate 4000 pilgrims.
Women Empowerment
In the first, 480 talented girls from Jammu and Kashmir were included in the degree and diploma courses of the Pragati Scholarship. Jammu and Kashmir has also got nine scholarships under the Saksham Scheme for Persons with Disabilities.
‘SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT IS THE OUTCOME OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN KASHMIR STAND-OFF'
Foreign policy expert and editor of HardNews magazine, Sanjay Kapoor believes that Taliban 2.0 has more legitimacy unlike in the past as it had signed a deal with the US and negotiated with other countries of the region, but the final verdict can be passed only after it manages ticklish issues involving half of its population, the women
Boredom Is Creative?
Getting bored is not as boring as it gets, writes Azra Hussain
LG In Bangus
Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Bungus Awaam Mela amidst grand arrangements for village games, exhilarating local performances, and other activities to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.
