India Overtakes Russia To Become The Third Country With Highest COVID-19 Cases In The World!
With the strong faith that ‘we shall overcome someday’ we are fighting this pandemic together. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has kept the world within doors. It is quite worrisome to know that as many as 11,556,681 people around the globe have been tested positive for COVID-19. So far, 536,776 have lost their lives, and 6,531,107 have recovered (as on July 6th, 2020). India has now replaced Russia as the country with third-most COVID-19 cases and first among Asian countries.
COVID-19 In Russia:
Russia is a European country which has a total of 681,251 COVID-19 cases and 10,161 deaths. The virus spread was confirmed in Russia from 31 January 2020. Early prevention measures included extensive testing, closing the country’s border, and total lockdown. On 5th July 2020, India overtook Russia in terms of the number of coronavirus confirmed cases. On 19 March 2020, the first death of a COVID-19 patient was confirmed in Moscow, the capital city of Russia.
Russia conducted a vigorous testing during the early stage of coronavirus spread. As of 23rd March 2020, Russia had 4 testing systems and had carried out over 165,000 tests for the virus which is among the highest testing numbers in the world. Coronavirus testing rate seemed to be high-reaching in Russia because the country has tested more than 10 million people for COVID-19. This shows that the country is more concerned about testing their citizens for the deadly virus. Apart from the high testing rate, the country also had multiple preventive measures. The Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin had visited the coronavirus patients in person at Moscow hospital on 24 March 2020 to know the pandemic situation better.
Despite the high testing rates and preventive measures, the coronavirus spread in Russia seem to be high. During the month of May 2020, Russia experienced a severe spread of the coronavirus. Ever since the Russian President Vladimir Putin eased the nationwide lockdown imposed on 30th March 2020, the corona virus spread was immense. The lockdown was imposed too late. By the time lockdown was imposed, the virus spread was already high in Russian cities like Moscow, and Saint Petersburg. By the constant preventive measures and government’s untiring support, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 has been reduced. However, the spread of the virus has been not reduced. It is evident that significant challenges lie ahead of Russia to save their country from the fast spreading virus.
Pandemic Status in India:
Currently, there are 697,836 COVID-19 cases and 19,700 deaths due to COVID-19 in India.
The government of India takes all necessary actions to make sure that the people of India are prepared well to face the challenge and threat caused by the growing pandemic of COVID-19. Aarogya Setu is a mobile app that was launched by the Indian government. The aim of launching the app was to make the people aware of the COVID-19 situation in the country. Daily coronavirus updates were made available through the app at the people’s fingertip. The app was installed by more than 100 million people within 40 days of launch.
The COVID-19 cases in India seem to be increasing rapidly. The discovery of a vaccine will definitely help us to escape from the pandemic. Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), a Hyderabad-based, Indian company has developed a new vaccine for COVID-19 in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology (NIV). This new vaccine is named as Covaxin and it is to be launched on August 15, 2020. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare provided permission for the human clinical trial of the vaccine. The human clinical trial was scheduled from July 2020. If the phase I and II clinical trials on humans turn out to be successful, then Covaxin will be India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. This vaccine would largely help us control the spread of the deadly virus.
In recent day, around 8000 to 9000 coronavirus cases have been noticed in India. This sudden increase of the virus spread has alarmed the whole country. Also, India is ranked as the country with third largest number coronavirus patients in the world because of the fast COVID-19 cases growth. Indian states like Maharastra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttra Pradesh, Gujarat has the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases.
The reason for this fast spread of the virus is due to the late imposed lockdown, ease of lockdown in the month of May, over population, people failed to maintain social distance, less availability of the rapid test kit, poor medical facility. In this over populated country people’s co-operation is foremost. If people of the nation fail to stay at home and maintain social distance, nothing can save us for the dangerous pandemic. Despite this tough situation the Indian government is striving positively to contribute to the battle against coronavirus and to save the nation.
Clutching A Solution for The Coronavirus Pandemic:
Of course, the pandemic will stop at some time. But it is our turn to clutch a solution to stop this virus spread. Consider the direction of the wind when social distancing – A study conducted by Professor Yu Feng from Oklahoma State University claimed that droplets when coughing or sneezing can travel from person to person in the direction of wind. So do not stand close to the person in the direction of the wind. Masks can reduce the risk of contamination by up to 6 times. It has made mandatory by the government that everyone stepping out of their house must wear a mask. Fitting the mask properly must also be considered. One must use a good quality mask and must wash it frequently.
Social distancing is the major preventive measure above all. Maintain a minimum of two metre distance when in a public place is an effective way to reduce the risk of a pandemic. At two meters, the risk decreases greatly because gravity pulls the carrier droplets to the ground. Thus, social distancing will prevent the transmission of disease. ‘Let us stay apart to do our part.’ Travelling from place to place or country to country has a high risk to virus spread. Virus can be easily transmitted from a person to person if the place is not sanitized. Good sanitation can be expected everywhere. Thus, avoid travelling and stay at home.
Washing the hands is a clean habit that can vanish the virus. Similarly, using sanitizer is also a healthy habit. Sanitizers can be effectively used while being outdoors. Consuming a healthy diet can also help to a great extent. Most of the Indian recipes contains ginger and turmeric which helps in boosting immunity. We must consume immune rich foods to protect us from the virus attack. Intake of citrus, broccoli, spinach, almonds, yogurt can assist in fighting the virus.
Solving the Pandemic:
Hope, faith, trust are the mantras that we should keep in our minds during this severe pandemic condition. Let us HOPE for the best, let us have FAITH to overcome, let TRUST that this too shall pass.
India is now sky-rocketing the spread of virus. So, we Indian must virtually unite in is this war against the coronavirus. By staying indoors, we can contribute to the nation’s growth by defeating the virus. The economy has been largely damaged because of the coronavirus pandemic. We can heal this condition by staying indoors and taking preventive actions. Challenges like this pandemic comes in life, it is our duty to tackle, fight and overcome the challenges skillfully to make life happier. ‘If you rush it, you will ruin it, pray and be patient.’ Let us heal the world together and make it a happy place to live.
