COVID-19 is a highly transmissible and contagious disease, caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is compared to other coronavirus outbreaks such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). While SARS and MERS have been controlled, Covid-19 continues to spread in an uncontrolled manner even after eight months. It’s an insidious virus, evident from the high number of asymptomatic infections, which may unknowingly be passed to others.
The contagiousness of any infection is measured by the reproduction number (R0), which is the average number of susceptible individuals an infected person will transmit the disease to. When the pandemic first came to light, the R0 was 3, i.e. one infected person could spread to three uninfected persons. The R0 for India is now 1.09.
The World Health Organisation has identified four transmission patterns for any outbreak—no confirmed cases; sporadic, where the cases are scattered and occur randomly; cluster or a group of cases; and community transmission which occurs when there are larger outbreaks of local transmission in a new community with no traceable source of origin of infection.
More than one transmission pattern may occur simultaneously and the outbreak can rapidly progress from sporadic to a cluster of cases to community transmission. It is, therefore, important to plan ahead and be prepared for all possible situations, not just the current transmission pattern. Public gatherings and the ensuing cluster infections have played an important role in accelerating the spread of the disease.
Countries are still cautious...
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PIL, Difficult To Swallow?
In a recent ruling, the Bombay High Court lamented the increasing number of frivolous public interest litigations being filed in courts and echoed the sentiments of the Supreme Court that such litigations are the bane of the judicial system. Is there any way to restrict their misuse?
Till Infertility Do Us Part...
The Calcutta High Court slammed a husband for initiating divorce proceedings due to his wife's infertility and asked him to be a pillar of support for her. Courts have often taken an empathetic view in such matters
IS THAT LEGAL?
Ignorance of law is no excuse. Here are answers to frequently asked queries regarding matters that affect us on a day-to-day basis
The Big Lie
In America, The Big Lie is an idiom used by Donald Trump's opponents and the media to describe his constant gripe about election fraud. Now, it seems more suited to another Republican, Congressman George Santos (right), who has been facing growing calls to resign after he admitted fabricating parts of his resume and biography since his election in New York last year.
Flying into the Sunset
Over 50 years since the first and original jumbo jet, the Boeing 747, took to the skies and revolutionized air travel, the last of the legendary aircraft (right) was delivered to a freight charter company, bringing down the curtain on one of aviation's most successful products.
Star Crossed
Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is a Hollywood legend, having starred in a range of movies, award winning TV sitcoms, and theatre. He was most recently seen in Mission Impossible Fallout, which is an apt description of his current situation.
Walkouts in the UK
An estimated half a million workers have gone on strike, shutting down thousands of schools, public transport and border disruption. It is the biggest day of industrial action for more than a decade.
Myanmar's Misery
Two years after the military coup ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the brutal crackdown by the junta on so-called \"insurgents\" and civilian protesters has reached a new level with the use of air strikes, a new and deadly tactic in the ongoing civil war.
AMERICA'S ANGST
From messy, divisive politics to a series of mass shootings, and now black officers brutally beating another black man to death as seen in bodycam videos, America's domestic convulsions are cause for serious introspection
JUSTICE LEAGUE
There are few judicial appointment procedures in the world that are completely bereft of the overarching presence of either the executive or the legislature, or both. In the end, the judge is left with all the powers vested in him/her by the constitution to uphold the rule of law, within an atmosphere of external influences
