Pandemics are caused by germs but spread by people who are in denial

BY INVITATION

Pandemics are caused by germs but spread by people who are in denial

SHAHID JAMEEL

18.04.2021 

India recorded 216,828 new Covid-19 cases and 1,182 deaths on April 15, 2021, bringing the overall tally to about 14.3 million cases and over 174,000 deaths. With a 1% daily increase in new cases and a 7% increase in active cases, the pandemic is severely affecting the healthcare system.

These statistics hide innumerable stories of despondency and desperation. Take for example Mohammed Nisar, a 60-year-old, who fell ill on April 14. Unable to get a hospital bed in his native Azamgarh, UP, his family drove him to Lucknow. With no luck there, he was driven to Aligarh, where they got him admitted in a small private hospital. He is critical and all his co-passengers have tested positive.

In early February, Sir Jeremy Farrar, an infectious disease expert and director of Wellcome Trust, told me: “There will be another phase/ peak in India I am afraid — don’t let people get into a sense it is finished…it is not!” What did he see that I didn’t? Perhaps I was blindsided by false narratives doled out daily. Distance often brings the objectivity that science demands.

The 1918 ‘Spanish’ flu had a mild first wave but returned later in the year to cause havoc. In India there were an estimated 12 to 20 million deaths in the second wave. Bombay, then with a population of 1.1 million, reported about 15,000 deaths just in the month of October 1918. What happened to the flu virus in 1918 is happening to the Covid-19 virus in 2021. It’s called mutation and its normal for a virus.

Every time a virus multiplies, random errors are introduced in its genome. While most errors are deleterious and are never seen, some offer advantage by allowing that variant to multiply faster, transmit better or evade pre-existing immunity. More spread means more hosts, more virus multiplication, more errors and more mutants. This is how viruses evolve and with close to 140 million cases globally, there is enough opportunity. Mutations can also accumulate into lineages and some variants become variants of concern (VOC).

By the end of 2020, India had over 10 million cases but only about 5,000 viruses were sequenced. Such low sequencing density can only catch major variants already circulating in the population. But it is the minor emerging ones that inform what is to come. One such variant was first reported on October 5, 2020, followed by isolated sightings in December and January, before it broke loose in February, around the time when daily cases started rising in India. Maharashtra led the way with about 15% to 20% cases there showing this ‘double mutant’, also called the Indian variant, and now the B.1.617 lineage.

Around the same time other VOCs were also increasingly seen in Indian patients. These include viruses of the UK variant lineage (B.1.1.7), the South Africa variant lineage (B.1.351) and the Brazil variant lineage (P.1). While Punjab is now taken over by the UK variant, Maharashtra is showing increasing presence of the Indian variant, Delhi has the UK and Indian variants, and West Bengal has all the VOCs. All these viruses have acquired mutations that allow them to be more ‘infectious’ and partially evade pre-existing immunity. Not surprisingly then, there are increasing reports of re-infections in those vaccinated.

Would vaccines available in India still work? We know from studies elsewhere that the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield in India) does well against the UK variant, but poorly against the South Africa and Brazil variants. Covaxin also does well against the UK variant, but has not been tested against the others. The Indian variant has not yet been tested against any vaccine. Since vaccines work by raising antibodies and T cells to multiple targets, they still remain a powerful control strategy.

Pandemics are caused by germs but spread by people. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, those in denial of the disease and the utility of vaccines are also variants of concern. This attitude prevented high rates of vaccination at a time when the daily cases were low and significant protection could have been achieved. Now it’s an uphill battle.

Those in responsible positions attribute the second wave to people not following “Covid appropriate behaviour”. After a year of false narratives on how Indians are somehow special, for an average person, the private cost of illness is very low. As a result, masks are inconvenient and crowded places cannot be avoided if one is to make a living. The daily scenes of crowded election rallies addressed by the tallest leaders and crowded religious festivals endorsed by them have further diminished this private cost of illness. Together, these human variants of concern are responsible for what awaits us in post-election West Bengal and the rest of India when pilgrims return home.

An election, just like a war, has a victor, but a pandemic has only the vanquished. Their stories will again get buried in the numbers and the lies. Both the viral and human variants of concern will win again.

Jameel is a virologist, and director, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University

Pvt vehicle not ‘public place’ under NDPS Act: Top court

Pvt vehicle not ‘public place’ under NDPS Act: Top court

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:18.04.2021

The Supreme Court has reiterated that a private vehicle would not come within the expression of a public place under the NDPS Act and different provisions mentioned in the act for private and public place must be followed.

Section 42 deals with power of entry, search, seizure and arrest without warrant or authorisation and provides a detailed procedure to follow. Section 43 deals with power of seizure and arrest in public place.

While deciding a criminal appeal, a bench of Justices U U Lalit and K M Joseph said that the explanation to Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act clearly says that a private vehicle would not come within the expression of 'public place'.

In that case, recovery was made from the accused while they were in a jeep at a public place. The Punjab and Haryana high court had held that the case of the accused would be covered by Section 43 of NDPS Act and not by Section 42.

Setting aside the HC order, the apex court said that rigor of Section 42 may get lessened in certain situations but in no case, total noncompliance of Section 42 cannot be accepted.

“The evidence in the present case clearly shows that the vehicle was not a public conveyance but was a vehicle belonging to the accused. The Registration Certificate of the vehicle, which has been placed on record, also does not indicate it to be a Public Transport Vehicle. The explanation to Section 43 shows that a private vehicle would not come within the expression public place as explained in Section 43 of the NDPS Act,” the bench said.

In a case, recovery was made from the accused while they were in a jeep at a public place. The Punjab and Haryana high court had held that the case of the accused would be covered by Section 43 of NDPS Act and not by Section 42

WhatsApp users warned against breach of information

WhatsApp users warned against breach of information

New Delhi: 18.04.2021 

Country’s cyber security agency CERT-In has cautioned WhatsApp users about certain vulnerabilities detected in the popular instant messaging app that could lead to breach of sensitive information.

A “high” severity rating advisory issued by the CERT-In, or the Indian computer emergency response team, said the vulnerability has been detected in software that has “WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for Android prior to v2.21.4.18 and WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business for iOS prior to v2.21.32.”

The v2.21.4.18 and v2.21.32 denotes the versions of the WhatsApp messenger that are downloaded by users for using the platform on their devices.

“Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in WhatsApp applications which could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code or access sensitive information on a targeted system,” it said. PTI

Ignorance of law, lack of case info extend convicts’ jail stay

Ignorance of law, lack of case info extend convicts’ jail stay

Shanmughasundaram.j@timesgroup.com

Chennai:18.04.2021

After spending 12 years behind the bars without much legal aid, 49 year-old life convict Ram (name changed) took up the case on his own and approached the Supreme Court. Now, he was out on bail and trying to win back his freedom.

As on April 15, there were 15,796 prisoners in Tamil Nadu. Of these, 4,311 and 8,683 were convicted and remanded prisoners. “Persons like me are rare. Many prisoners are illiterate and lack knowledge about their legal rights and the available facilities in the existing judicial and prison system,” said Ram, a native of Chennai, who was incarcerated from 2005 to 2018 Puzhal-I central prison in connection with a murder case.

Several hundreds of prisoners are still in the dark about their case status as they lack awareness about their legal rights or assistance from the system. “Unaware that they have to undergo their sentence concurrently, many prisoners remain in prison for more number of years,” said a probation officer.

They can do away with this by approaching court to get direction as per provision of 428 of CrPC (period of detention undergone by the accused to be set off against the sentence). But the ignorance on the part of the prisoners and lack of support from prison welfare officers leave several inmates in jails beyond stipulated imprisonment periods.

The department has trained educated convicts as paralegal volunteers to help their fellow convicts, who themselves were illiterates. However, it is not of much use. “It is difficult to get the case kattu (case brief) from advocates, making it difficult for many prisoners to use the free legal service extended by the legal service authorities,” said an ex-convict, who preferred anonymity. He was one among the 1,600-odd prisoners who had benefited from Tamil Nadu government’s premature release scheme a few years ago.

The daughter of a life convict said her father was imprisoned long beyond the stipulated period after being convicted in a murder case. Though he was eligible to be released under premature release scheme, charges under Arms Act denied him the freedom. He continues to languish in Vellore Central Prison for Men.

Activists seek facilities such as Kiosks where case details and the current status of the cases could be accessed. All prisons mus have the facility to help the inmates to have up to date details of their cases.

Job, Higher Edu Limitations Mean Courses See Few Takers

Job, Higher Edu Limitations Mean Courses See Few Takers

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:18.04.2021

A survey carried out by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) among undergraduate engineering students on regional language preference shows that a majority of students are interested in Tamil as course language.

According to AICTE, 83,195 undergraduate students took part in the online survey titled as “Undergraduate Engineering Education in Mother Tongue.” Among them, 12,487 students said they would choose to study engineering in their mother tongue Tamil if given to the option. Hindi (7,818), Telugu (3,991) and Marathi (3,226) came next. As many as 1,953 students have answered, not sure. The survey included participants with 22 mother tongues.

The ministry of education has given emphasis to provide engineering and medical studies in regional languages. The survey was to get the views of stakeholders (students) on the matter.

The state introduced Tamil BE Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering in 2010.

While the survey findings portray Tamil medium as the popular pick among the group, experts find it very surprising as the two Tamilmedium courses have hardly any takers.

“If true, there should have been a big craze to opt for Tamil-medium courses. Even at College of Engineering, Guindy, seats in the Tamil medium courses are the last ones to be filled. The gap in cut-off for Tamil medium and other students is also huge. It is an indicator that students do not prefer Tamil-medium courses,” said career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi.

“Those who picked Tamil medium are struggling in campus recruitment. They are also not able to go for higher education as the GATE is conducted only in English,” he added.

As many as 17 colleges — College of Engineering (CEG) and 16 constituent colleges of Anna University — have around 1,500 Tamil-medium seats across the two streams.

“The Tamil-medium courses are a failure as the state government could not provide the students books and journals in Tamil. Due to lack of jobs and higher education opportunities, the colleges filled less than 30% seats these past few years. Seats in CEG are filled every year, but that has nothing to do with Tamil medium,” a professor from Anna University said.

A dean of constituent college said some colleges could not fill even a single Tamil medium course seat.

“Tamil BE courses are not successful as text books, resources are not available in Tamil,” said B Chidambararajan, principal of SRM Valliammai College in Chennai.

While the AICTE allowed colleges to start a course in regional language from 2021-22, few TN institutions applied.

Man who hung a thought at THE END OF LAUGHTER

Man who hung a thought at THE END OF LAUGHTER

Comedy That Makes The Audience Think Was Actor Vivekh’s Forte. Be It Spreading Awareness On Environment Or Covid Vaccination, He Was At The Forefront Of Activities And Making A Difference

D Govardan & Neeraja Ramesh TNN

18.04.2021

When it came to his comedy sketches in films, Vivekh worked with a two-track mind — first, he baited his audience with his slapstick slice of life vignettes, and then when he had them right where he wanted, delivered a punchline that silenced them into introspection. And for that he will always be remembered – the comedian with a message in his medium.

The actor died at a hospital in Chennai on Saturday following a cardiac arrest. He was 59, and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

“Vivekh was a jovial person with no ego,” recalls N Mohan, manager to late director K Balachander who launched Vivekh’s career in 1987 with ‘Manadhil Urudhi Vendum’.

The director’s next ‘Puthu Puthu Arthangal’ (1989) made Vivekh popular and there was no looking back.

Vivekh acted in more than 200 movies, sharing screen space with generations of heroes from Rajinikanth to Dhanush. Over the years his fan following grew so much that his face began appearing on posters. Apart from comedies, he also began playing the protagonist and other character roles. In ‘Vellai Pookal’ (2019), for instance, he played the lead role of a retired police officer who goes to Seattle to reunite with his estranged son, while in ‘Dharala Prabhu’ (2020), he endeared himself to the audience as fertility expert Dr Kannadasan.

Mohan says Vivekh’s sense of humour permeated his real life. Whenever Vivekh came to meet Balachander, he recalls, he used to bring a rose. After a few visits, the director chided him for it. So, the next time he brought him an apple. “When Balachander sir chided him again, he started offering him a pen,” says Mohan.

Before his tryst with celluloid, Vivekh had donned many roles — from a harmonium player at a temple in Madurai to a telephone operator with Madurai Telephones to junior assistant in the state Secretariat in the 1980s. That was when he became a member of the Madras Humour Club, where his acting skills were noticed by film producer Kalakendra Govindharaj, who introduced him to Balachander.

“My first shot before the camera was with Vivekh for a scene in ‘Parthale Paravasam’ (2001),” says actor-director Samuthirakani, who was assisting Balachander then. “Sir said to me, if you want to learn to be an actor, act in this scene with Vivekh.”

Comedian Vadivelu, who has also acted with Vivekh, called his style acting “unique and simple”. “His dialogue delivery reached the masses as it always carried a social message,” he says.

Over the years, his comedy began to take a social turn. On screen, he began using his roles to voice concerns about a range of raging issues such as population growth, idol worship, denial of rights for better education for the less privileged and female infanticide. A voracious reader, Vivekh would sometimes scour newspapers and magazines in between shots to incorporate current civic and social issues into his dialogues.

Yoga partner and friend Vairamuthu says he was amazed by Vivekh’s knowledge on various subjects and that the two of them shared a strong bond over books and Tamil language. The industry gave Vivekh the moniker ‘Chinna Kalaivanar’, after yesteryear comedian N S Krishnan, who voiced similar concerns in the 1940s and 1950s was known as ‘Kalaivanar’.

“He helped scores of people throughout his life. He practised what he preached on screen,” says Samuthirakani. In 2010, the actor turned to activism and launched the ‘Green Kalam’ initiative, planting more than 30 lakh saplings. In 2018, he was part of TN government’s noplastic drive urging people to go green. The following year, when Chennai was reeling under a water crisis, he campaigned for rainwater harvesting. Two days before his cardiac arrest, Vivekh urged people to stay safe and get vaccinated.

“Death has no comic sense, that is the reason it took him away from us,” says Vairamuthu. “Now the trees he planted will shed tears for him.”

As hospitalizations go up so does Covid waste

As hospitalizations go up so does Covid waste

U..Tejonmayam@timesgroup.com

Chennai:18.04.2021

Biomedical waste treatment facilities in the city could soon be handling double the quantity handled in the pre-Covid period.

Government Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital dean Dr P Vasanthamani said from an average 250kg a month in pre-Covid times, the hospital disposed 3,500kg to 4,000kg waste every month between July and October 2020. Of the 450 Covid beds, 320 are now occupied. “From 905kg in February 2021, it rose to 1,617kg last month. But we streamlined the collection and disposal during last year’s peak. We have built a shed to segregate and keep Covid waste separate,” she said. Initially, between May and July 2020, the hospital generated nearly 26,000kg waste as leftover food and packaging material from the bedside were also treated as biomedical waste. “Then, food waste was disposed as general waste after guidelines were revised.”

Around 112 private hospitals in Chennai, of the 387 in the state, are treating Covid patients. More than 55 city hospitals have less than five beds vacant or are full.

In August 2020, Tamil Nadu PollutionControlBoardofficials say10 of the 12 common biomedical waste treatment facilities (CBMWTFs) incinerated an average 27 tonnes a day of Covid waste. Last month, the quantity dropped to five tonnes a day, but the daily average from April 1 to 12 was seven tonnes. The 12 CBMWTFs have the capacity to handle 55.167 tonnes a day An official from Tamil Nadu Waste Management Ltd, one of the two companies handling Covid waste from hospitals in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur, said biomedical waste collected from around 1,000 hospitals rose from 3,000kg a day to 5,000kg a day during the first wave in 2020 and the firm struggled as drivers and pickers refused to work. “We are expecting the load to go up in the coming days. But unlike last year, we have manpower, all safety gear and sanitized vehicles,” he said.

Harish Manian, CEO of MGM Healthcare, said they brought down the weight of the Covid waste by allowing staff in low risk zones like visitor screening areas to wear lightweight safety gear compared to high risk zones like ICUs. From an average 200kg of just Covid waste a day, the total waste now is around 300kg.

TNPCB chairman A V Venkatachalam said the waste increased manifold last year. “But we diligently reviewed the situationandfoundinstalled capacity of our CBMWTFs is phenomenally high. That’s why we did not face any hardship in the management of biomedical waste.”