Students' Mental health

 

Everyone is going through their hardest time during the pandemic. COVID-19 has changed the way lives were used to be. Somehow people are coming back to the normal life with the passing time. 

But the major problem is how the students have dealt and would be dealing with the dilemma of uncertainties and failures.

It is strange that news reports, government policies, and the public’s concern are not into the fact that how the students’ lie is proceeding in the new normal. 

Let us see this situation in detail for the US and then for India, and see the possible recommendations.

 

Report by SERU

Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) released a report where the survey was done on around 50,000 students of 9 US public research universities. 

It found that 35% undergraduates and 32% of graduate students screened positive for major depressive disorder while 39% of all students were found to have general anxiety disorder.

Moreover, these symptoms are higher in low-income students, students of colour, LGBT, caregivers, etc. The prevalence of the major depressive disorder is two times higher than that in 2019 survey and for anxiety disorder, it is 1.5 times higher than that in 2019.

Source: SERU research paper

Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) were the tools used in the survey. Students of Science, arts, humanity, commerce, psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc were examined and varying patterns of mental health were found.

 

Picture of India

The COVID-19 scenario has an obvious impact because of the nationwide lockdown but the situation started to become worse during early 2020. 

India has seen the highest unemployment rate in the last 45 years. This is something that resulted in the fall in foreign exchange, taxes, and subsequent fall of GDP.

Irony is that these issues are not in priority neither for media nor for the government. Most of the students come from a low-income background and with the pseudo semester going on, the risk of losing a career, job or a startup, is something alarming yet given the least priority.

According to psychiatrist and other experts, the uncertain outcomes of the pandemic to their careers are the reason for anxiety among students. How long they would wait, what if the well-planned career out of unavoidable family conditions does not go the way it was thought, etc are some unsettling questions for undergraduate youth.

For graduate, postgraduate, professional students, the anxiety level is high and higher is the stress. Career building is an utmost priority for every individual and his/her parents. Job loss, pay cuts, decrease in hiring % in major sectors, etc. are some factors that gave rise to major mental health problems for youngsters not only in India but all over the world.

 

Recommendations to Overcome

Educating everyone about mental health is important because people still feel guilty of being into such problems. These disorders are as normal as a physical injury which is mandatory to be cured. 

Good communication with the students near us in regular interval should be done.

The institutions should increase resources, remove barriers as much as possible for the students to feel free to speak up. 

The faculty should involve virtually with students with this topic once a day because everyone is facing something and this would collectively help every individual.

Collective support for collective benefits

On an individual level, we should openly seek help from our family. We should be in contact with our colleagues, seek and serve help, be emotionally connected with them till everyone reaches the level they desired and worked for.

 

Unfortunately, these things didn’t actually happen. Institutions put the parents in more financial pressure by asking for full fees even for the virtual semesters. The criteria should be uniform for everyone, there should be a law for it.

Moreover, for all of us, mental health should be the topmost priority, irrespective of external circumstances. After all, we are the hope for the better tomorrow.

Farm Bill 2020 and the protest

Farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting since the day central government’s ‘farmer-friendly’ ordinances regarding agricultural changes were issued in the parliament and passed a few days ago.

HISTORY

After the independence, to improve the pathetic situation of our farmers, some laws were made in which Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) was the one. Experts say that it helped them immensely during the Green Revolution.

APMC Act of 1966 was to regulate the buying/selling of agricultural produce. Traders act as middlemen with a license. They are also called ‘Mandis’. The agricultural products are sold at the Minimum Supporting Price (MSP). The reformation in the bill was done in 2003 as there were various drawbacks in the conventional APMC rule.

ORDINANCES PASSED IN PARLIAMENT

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 is the first ordinance. Also known as Free Market in which farmers will be free to sell their agricultural produces anywhere.

The trade is no longer confined to mandis now and there will be a framework for electronic trading also. Farmers can choose their marker, price and also they can sell directly sell their produce without agents.

 

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 is the second ordinance that provides a framework for contract farming.

Farmers can sign sale contracts with wholesalers, large retailers and wealthy exporters, etc. at an agreed price for the produces. Farmers can plan ahead and invest properly on all the inputs required. Private sector investment will increase and consequently marketing price will reduce.

The laws under which contract is signed must be valid for farmer’s protection. Effective dispute resolution mechanism has been provided to solve issues regarding contract at a given time.

 

The Essential commodities (Amendment) Bill, is the third ordinance which is regarding unlimited stocks. It was first passed in 1955. It takes onions, cereals, edible oil, etc. out of essential commodities. Except for ‘extraordinary circumstances’, the law removes the stockholding limits on these items.

This law is done for better storage. In the decade, there have been complaints of crop failure and storage spoiling in FCI, private warehouses, etc. This will attract foreign investments and corporate for the concern of crop protection in the food supply chain.

Improvement in the food supply chain will stabilize the price fluctuation. The price will neither crash during surplus crops nor rise during crop failure.

THEN WHY ARE FARMERS UNHAPPY?

Farmers protesting in Punjab

1. Farmers think that the new laws would dismantle the MSP system. More than 70-80% of farmers in Punjab and Haryana benefit from MSP, which is less than 12% for the whole nation.
2. Farmers are concerned about their assured income; they don’t need large market but procurement of their usual sale of crops at the price where they lose nothing.
3. The law of contract farming is termed as ‘corporate agricultural bill’ because it would surely open the doors for big corporations to step into the agricultural business world.
4. Eventually, the big corporations would run their monopoly in fixing prices and dispute, which would be disastrous for the small farmers.
5. The bulk procurement by large market players would result in an increase in prices of onions, pulses, and edible oil which is important for daily purpose.
6. The bulk procurement may hurt farmers as corporate will hoard and beat down the actual prices, no guarantee for MSP.
7. The commission agents who work as middlemen in the market of agricultural products are at the stack of huge loss.
8.  State governments generate revenue through the through mandi fees, charges included for electronic trading and contract sign. Now buyers and sellers are free and no charges are made, eventually causing losses to the state government.
9.  The opposition at the central and some states say that this law is unconstitutional as it is harming the states and our farmers, and benefitting hoarders and black marketers.

CONSEQUENCES

Karnataka farmers opposing the bill

The protests are going on since the day laws were issued in the parliament. They were passed in an unusual manner, leaving the opposition and farmers unhappy. Though PM Modi has said that the laws are revolutionary and benefit our farmers, yet there is no sign of satisfaction or negotiation from farmers and Arhtiyas (Middlemen).

The protests are highly active in the cities of Punjab and Haryana. Western UP, Bangalore, and some parts of Tamil Nadu are also having groups of unsatisfied farmers with the ordinances.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister from Modi cabinet, has resigned in opposing the bills made for agriculture. However, the central government is considering this step for the Punjab elections to be held in February 2022.

Farmers announced the social boycott of Sunny Deol, MP from Gurdaspur. They said that despite being a son of a farmer, he has betrayed them by supporting the farm bill in parliament which is controversial and resulted in a large scale protest.

 

Government is trying to assure the farmers regarding MSP, but there are still many things left to answer, for both the central government as well as the opposition. After all, it is the question of satisfaction of our farmers which is a major issue to focus irrespective of the after-effects of any amendments made.

This was all about the bill, the events in Rajya sabha and reality of media will be in the next article.

What is right for our farmers and what is necessary to be done or improved? Share your opinion.  

Unlock 4.0 and guidelines for education institutes

All the rules and regulations of Unlock 4.0 will come into force from September 1, 2020. Everyone is concerned about whether there is any news regarding the opening of schools and colleges.

According to the press release on August 29, the regular class activity will remain shut till September 30, while the online and distance learning will continue. Union government handed the decision to the state government for further education institute related guidelines.

In addition, the government also stated that students from classes 9 to 12 can go to school, only for taking guidance from the teacher, after September 21, 2020, only outside containment zones with written permission letter. The lockdown should be strictly followed in areas coming under the containment zone and schools cannot open there. 

For students studying the postgraduate and PhD courses in technical fields that require research and lab/experimental work, the college will reopen after proper precautions and consultation with MHA(Ministry of Home Affairs).

Skill and entrepreneurship training centres will be permitted to work at the top institutes like IIE(Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship), ITI(Industrial Training Institute), etc after September 21 with required consultations.

For all the decisions mentioned above, the SOP(Standard Operating Procedure) will be issued by the MHA. 

WHAT ELSE IN UNLOCK 4.0? 

ALLOW:

• Social, cultural, political, sports, and religious functions will be allowed with a maximum of 100 people.
• Metro will operate in a graded manner.
• Inter-state and intra-state movement of persons or goods will not be restricted anymore.  

CLOSED:

• Entertainment parks, theatres, swimming pools and cinema halls will remain closed.
• International air travel will be restricted except permitted by MHA.

What's right and what's wrong?

As per decisions taken in previous unlocks and even now, it is yet uncertain to decide whether the decisions are actually right or not.

The main reason behind this question to raise is with the online classes and shut colleges for the last 6 months, the career of many students have come in danger. 

Delhi government is making decisions for the working of beer bars in restaurants, hotels, etc because they know it would bring them tax. Then why the decisions regarding the education institute are given the least priority.

It will only bring a long struggle for the nation to fight pandemic and rising unemployment, which was already there before the pandemic.

What is your view? What do you support, or suggest to all the decisions? Read and share your opinion.

BANGALORE VIOLENCE - WHAT'S INSIDE

Violence broke out on Tuesday night in the silicon valley of India when P.Naveen, nephew of a Congress legislator Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, posted something offensive on Prophet Muhammad over social media.

The WhatsApp message forwarded in various groups and people started to gather around the police station by the evening of August 11. The FIR was filed against the accused at DJ Halli police station.

Things started to go out of hands when the mob of around 2000 people gathered around the Congress MLA. When the police didn't arrest his nephew, the mob started attacking his house, DJ Halli and KG Halli police stations, and the public properties like vehicles, etc.

By around 11 at night, the violence became so ugly that police had to use tear gases and ultimately had to open fire in which three of the rioters died and around 50 policemen were injured.

The investigation started and till now 160 have been arrested including rioters, P.Naveen, and SDPI leader Muzammil Pasha. Chief Minister Yediyurappa assured strict action against those who are behind the conspiracy. 

WHO IS BEHIND ALL?

It is not yet clear whether it was a preplanned conspiracy or just a reaction came out of intolerance. Bangalore Police is finding the truth through the WhatsApp chats in which the news regarding mob gathering was spread. If the messages were intentionally spread over just to gather the people for violence, then it will be considered as a preplanned conspiracy.

The Karnataka government has decided to ban organisations like 

SDPI(Social Democratic Party of India) and PFI(Popular Front of India). Both the parties are allegedly involved in the riots. After finding evidence against both, action will be taken.

PFI has been claimed for its involvement in Mangalore riots last year and funding Delhi riots early this year. For the democratic balance and peace, such parties are required to be banned. 

Moreover, the FIRs are registered against certain groups of people, and not against any individual, for creating law and order problems.

The accused P.Naveen's parents have said that his mobile phone was stolen, he himself said that his Facebook account was hacked. While exploring through his activities, it was found that he had posted offensive things many times before.

At the same time, extremist groups always search for something to raise an issue and create violence. Everyone seems to be wrong because damaging public property is always not a solution for any sentimental matter. 

There were Muslims who were there making a human chain to protect a temple. Whether this news is true or not, this is the ideal way of reaction because, in such a diverse nation, sentiments are in large numbers and they will be targeted just to excite a particular group.

I hope this article is sensible enough and explains what the correct reaction should be.

Beirut explosion and the situation of Lebanon

A massive explosion destroyed half of the capital of Lebanon. The destruction was caused by the blast can be seen through the videos posted on social media. The impact of the blast was felt to distance more than the physical extent.

Lebanese people were already facing a collapse in the country's economic condition for more than a year and a half. An explosion like this had completely pushed the country towards a long struggle of political, financial, health conditions, etc.

REASON BEHIND BEIRUT BLAST

Everything has begun from Sept 2013 when a ship from Georgia travelling to Mozambique, stopped at the port of the city Beirut, carrying a massive 2750 metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a combustible substance required for making fertilisers, and bombs also.

It was a Russian-leased cargo ship but due to some financial and diplomatic reasons, the Russian abandoned it. Consequently, the ammonium nitrate was transferred to the dockside warehouse in Beirut. On Tuesday, August 4, it exploded and killed more than 140 people and causing thousands injured.

Questions were raised by the citizens and many officials that even after knowing the consequences the authorities showed their negligence and failed to act, and now it has costed the whole country. 

The custom officials provided solutions for the stored ammonium nitrate. They advised to donate it to the army or selling it to the explosives producing companies across the country. They also said that all their requests during the period of 2014 to 2017 were denied by the judiciary. 

It was an accident caused by the negligence of the judicial system which will, unfortunately, make the lives of Beirut citizens more miserable than before.  

LEBANON BEFORE THE BLAST

The situation of Lebanon was already miserable because of political unacceptance and economic crisis. Last year, the Lebanese currency fall was 80% and meanwhile, it increased to 85% in some time. 

With 30% population out of 68.5 lakhs are below the poverty line, the unemployment rate rose to 25% at the time of October 2019. 

An extreme fall in the GDP of the country made the situation worse as the businesses were not accepting credit cards for the transaction as they fear the banks would not pay their money. 

Many similar situations were there to worsen the financial problems in the country. The government decided to impose a tax of around 4.5 pounds on using the WhatsApp, which consequently made the Lebanese people unhappy.

The impact of coronavirus was drastic, increased poverty, unemployment, and lack of medical facilities. 

CONSEQUENCES OF EXPLOSION

Lebanon governor broke into tears after the incident took place

According to the Governor of Lebanon, Riad Salame, more than 300,000 people have become homeless, 90% of the hotels of Beirut have destroyed. The death toll is now 140 and is still increasing, with injured more than 5,000.

The property in the range of 10-20 kilometres of the blast has destroyed completely. The hospitals are facing a big challenge of differentiating the injured and the coronavirus patients. The estimate lose is of around $3 billion. 

Donald Trump has claimed that it was a bomb blast, which is yet to be investigated but several sources denied. British Government is ready to provide health-related financial aid while the Australian government has helped financially. Russia has also come forward to help.

All About Teej

For years, it has been seen how beautifully the traditional festivals and cultural sentiments in India are respected and celebrated with enthusiasm and strong belief related to them.

One of those festivals is Teej. This colourful festival is celebrated in various states, most lively in the city Jaipur. It is celebrated during the monsoon every year.

There are three Teej festivals celebrated across the country: Hariyali Teej, Kajari Teej, and Hartalika Teej. Hariyali Teej is known as chhoti (smaller) while Kajari Teej is known as badi (bigger) Teej.

Teej is one of the most joyfully celebrated festivals of  Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh. It is also celebrated in Nepal. It is the 3rd day of the new moon (Amavasya) fortnight of Shravan, the month of Hindus that comes between July and August.

HISTORY 

The monsoon festival of Teej is dedicated to the Goddess Parvati and her union with Lord Shiva. As per the Hindu mythology, the Goddess Parvati took 108 rebirths until Lord Shiva accepted her as his wife.

Due to this belief, the festival is celebrated by married women. The ritual includes fasting because it is believed that it will bless women with happy married life and long life of her spouse.

SIGNIFICANCE AND THE WAY OF CELEBRATION

The 3-day celebration is filled with joy and rituals that include married women or women who are about to get married. Each day has its own significance. On the first day, ladies enjoy a feast offered by men, also called Dar Khane Din. The second day is fasting and the third day is for offering the prayers.

Women dress up with colourful clothes, like a newly-wed bride. They try to look their best during the entire festival. In the evening, women gather to hear the 'Teej Katha' that includes stories of Gods associated with the festival and pray for the better health of their spouse with a happy married life.

In some states, women bath with red mud to purify themselves. Along with pooja ceremonies, there is another tradition associated with this festival in which swings are set up under tree branches. Jaipur is famous for the Teej procession, where a large number of people gather to see that.

Joyful celebration of Teej.

Teej is known as teeyan in Punjab. Along with the usual rituals, it also includes women gathering and performing Gidda, a traditional dance in Punjab.

Teeyan celebration in Amritsar, Punjab.

In other parts of our country, the festival is celebrated with other names and rituals. The Akha Teej or Akshaya Tritiya, the auspicious day of Lord Parasurama's birthday. Jains celebrate this festival, mostly in South Asia.

Hariyali Teej of Gujarat celebrated in the same way as that in Rajasthan. Awra Teej, celebrated in MP and Chhattisgarh, comes during the month of Vaisakh, which is the time of spring season.

Other similar festivals like Kevada Teej, Kajal Teej in Telangana, Tayi in some parts of Kerela and Karnataka, are celebrated with the same manner as the actual Teej festival is celebrated. 

Hindus in Nepal also celebrate it, Sindhi community in India and Pakistan celebrates the festival named 'Teejri'.

MARKETING STRATEGIES TO BE FOLLOWED DURING AND POST COVID-19

With a sudden change in the world’s routine due to global pandemic, things have drastically changed and how long it will continue is still unpredictable. The closing down of transport services, educational institutes, business activities of all kinds of enterprises, tourism, etc. due to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has destroyed the social and economical balance of the whole world.

In such a crisis, unemployment rate became high. Many businesses have been closed down due to lack of revenue and labour. Many of them switched to ‘work from home’ mode, but still, the loss occurred was quite high and it would be really hard to compensate and continue the regular routine for some time.

The lockdown has been lifted up in India and it is extremely necessary for the market to gain that old routine to stop closing down of businesses. Strategies should be made to help small, medium, and large scale enterprises and industries. We are forced to implement unconventional measures to recover the losses and let ourselves and others create a livelihood for the family.

Here are the 7 marketing strategies through which the financial balancing can be achieved and the reshaping of economy for a better future can be carried out.

1. Shift your conventional business method to online mode:

If in the past your business was working and conducting the required things through actual communication between buyer and seller, seller and provider, etc. then it’s time for you to make changes in your business methodology, especially if you are owning a small scale business because the large businesses have already opted for the online mode. 

As people are forced to isolation, your products or services won’t have any value if they are aimed to be sold conventionally.

For this, you can use a website advertisement campaign to increase sales, with updates and follow-ups regarding your business. This will help in the growth of your business due to a new customer base.

2. Build and grow customer relationships

This is an easier way if someone is either reluctant to change or lacking resources for adaptation. It is important to have a good relationship with the existing customers in such a critical time because if you would value them, they would value you in return. This kind of importance between the two nodes of a business environment always tends to generate a fruitful outcome.

You can build trust by giving them additional services, earning less profit, asking for reviews, talking things other then the business to deepen the trust, etc.

3. Build your market while supporting a cause   

This strategy is for some specific profit-making businesses. By spreading the right message in society through your business plan, it would influence the audience in a positive way. For example, a renowned car industry starts a brand for notebook and donates the profit for the education of the poor.

For small scale industry, this may not be possible, but any social responsibility can influence the customer base. So the idea is not so bad to think something similar, however small, and build the customer base through the same.

4. Social Media – The key to all locks of marketing

This idea is the best for small scale or newly opened businesses. Social media is the strongest and cheapest platform for marketing products and services. From all brands of clothes, eatables, utensils, jewellery, etc. to the retail business of the same, social media has been the best influencer not only for the digital marketers but also for ordinary shopkeepers also.

You can do things like advertising your product, show the updates you made in your business, special offers for promoting the business, games, coupons, and many more activities which indulge customers to talk and promote in place of you.

5. Investment should be continuous but cautious too

Changing in the business environment is not something that we are unaware of. It is advised that we should have to look forward but with cautions. Sometimes it is seen that sudden decision making is followed when something uneven happens in the business. The unnecessary investment will end up giving nothing, but some lessons, but in such a critical time, we can’t afford such a lesson. So it is better to keep moving but with open eyes.

6. Give importance to mental health

The life during the lockdown, and post lockdown isn’t easy. There is fear in most of the people’s mind about the disease. Many of them were quarantined and know how it feels to go through that period of time when you felt being avoided.

As a businessman, you should know how to prioritize mental health more than just making revenue. This can be done by any level of business by sending a message to people that depicts the message of being together in the tough times.

This can be done by writing messages on packets, creating social media posts, talking to the recovered patients, pledge to support everyone while providing your services, etc. This is a brave move where you not only working socially but also making revenue somewhere in between.

7. Don’t let the thought of closing the business enter your mind

Taking steps and moving forward is something that a businessman does because that’s what his duty is. But sometimes he/she seems to lose the battle in his mind that he won’t be able to survive in the long run. 
One should avoid such thoughts because the nature of the business goes from boom to depression and returns back in the same manner. In some of the other way the nature of the business, cash flow, personnel, etc would change and that should not affect the mental state of the owner.

UNLOCK 1.0

The lockdown is slowly getting withdrawn in India. It was extremely necessary to impose the lockdown, but somewhere during saving lives, the challenges we got in return of it were predictable as well as drastic.

In such a critical time, it is morally incorrect to blame the government because lockdown was the only way to stop the densely populated country from mass infection of COVID-19.

BENEFITS OF LOCKDOWN

Medical aspect

According to the experts and doctors, the hospitals and administration were able to utilise the resources for protecting the people from Coronavirus infection. AICTE Director recently said that the hospitals were able to arrange the beds, PPE kits, techniques like Plasma Therapy, and many other experiments were done in the midst of lockdown.

Environmental aspect

Due to less usage of vehicles, fuels, closed factories, industries, and airports, pollution has been reduced to a large extent. Not only in India but in the whole world, the climatic condition has seen positive results.

Meanwhile, there was heavy rainfall and floods in Northwest India. A cyclone was about to hit the western coast of India but fortunately, it didn't cause that much damage in Mumbai and islands of Gujarat. These circumstances were already predicted and recovered up to some extents.

CONSEQUENCES OF LOCKDOWN

Economical aspect

Before the lockdown, the situation of the Indian economy was worst among the last 5-10 years. The Global pandemic has disturbed the economy of superpower countries. Although the lockdown was critically the right decision, yet the management failed in some states badly.

In the mid-April month, the states lacked funds to continue the activities. As the government may or may not be the same as that in central, some states didn't get the proper help. Due to forceful circumstances, some states opened liquor shops in the month of May to collect the Excise tax. This is an extreme failure of management because the norms of social distancing were not followed at the Liquor shops.

The withdrawal of lockdown is because states are not financially stable. Not only Excise but the collection of GST, VAT (Value Added Tax), fuel tax, vehicle tax, etc. became necessary to run the states.

Impact on education and employment

The educational institutes like schools, colleges, coaching institutes and so on were closed. Even though working through online, the students are not sure about the future. The complete removal of lockdown is still unpredictable and the amount of stress and insecurity is high because some colleges are forcing the exams and demanding fees which are inappropriate moves.

Many companies closed down completely, causing a lot of workers to become unemployed. No new jobs are there, and even the secured jobs are in trouble.

WHAT ABOUT UNLOCK 1.0?

As mentioned earlier, the motive is to take the economy back on track. But it caused a drastic increase in COVID-19 cases in India. Till now, the total cases are almost 3,00,000. 

The only good thing is that the recovery rate is around 49%. But at places like Gujarat, the death rates are high. It is important to look into some drawbacks as the government will not be imposing the strict lockdown again. The active cases are around 1,40,000 in the country and that is a big reason to worry because the colleges are yet to open.

We as responsible citizens should understand the importance of taking the precautions and follow the guidelines properly. In addition, we should work hard at this bad time. Our ignorance can cost the lives of many. It is our responsibility to educate others and help the corona warriors.

The economy will slightly go up with time because at present maximum people are running out of money. They are stuck at home and are clueless. But somehow, the situation is slowly being improved because in some time the travelling will resume and it would restart the proceedings and the dynamics of the normal life would be maintained.

Thank you for reading. Take care.

Time to adapt the Hong Kong Strategy

The Global pandemic has already disturbed the world's routine. With the lockdown going on in almost every part of the world it is getting difficult for almost everyone to think what the next to come.

The second phase of lockdown in India is getting over in 3 days. Some states decided to extend the lockdown in order to maintain safety. But at the same time, we have to deal with the economy as well as the food crisis which is predicted to come in the future.

The Indian government adopted completed lockdown from China. It was essential because of the dense population and highly social people. The administration believes that the pandemic has made the people more mature and sensible in decision making. The corona fighters are there to accompany in new strategies.

WHAT IS HONG KONG STRATEGY?

At the initial level, the strategy could not be adopted in India. Hong Kong didn't impose complete lockdown in the country. Many people wonder that India cannot follow that, but Hong Kong is also a densely populated country with 7.5 million population, still managed to control the pandemic to some extent in spite of the second wave of infection.

Let's count some major steps taken:

1. People cooperated in practising social distancing in a dutiful manner. Generally, the people here are social, like India. 
2. Contact tracing is actively done as it helped South Korea to recover quickly, now it has worked for Hong Kong and Taiwan.
3. According to the reports, the administration allowed the business to run normally, people should compulsorily wear masks whenever they go in public.
4. When WHO advised that a healthy person need not wear a mask, Hong Kong encouraged people about the importance of social distancing and wearing masks.
5. According to an American report, temperature checks have become routine at the cafes.
6. Large scale testing.

SARS OUTBREAK IN HONG KONG

Hong Kong was the epicentre of the dangerous SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)  which was also a coronavirus. COVID-19 is somewhat similar to SARS but the disease spreading is quite different.

Hong Kong somehow survived because the disease spread through the hospital, the medical officials were checked and the disease was controlled in medical settings. Once the cases reduced in medical settings, the outbreak stopped.

The lessons that were learnt from SARS outbreak helped Hong Kong to fight and contain the coronavirus to a better extent. In the densely populated country, the cases can be restricted to 1038 and 4 deaths, the effort is quite appreciable and a potential model for the other countries for implementation.

If the Indian government can assure better encouragement among the people to follow social distancing, wear masks, conduct serious testing at travelling and transport centres, appropriate restrictions at the public places, and better health facilities then it will be easy to control the economic damage.

We should wait and see whether India acquire the Hong Kong route or not?    

Plasma Therapy

Scientists in different parts of the world are trying hard to develop an antidote against coronavirus that has already created havoc in the major parts of the world. In such a helpless situation, plasma therapy is being seen as a potential treatment for the COVID-19. It has been trusted and tested in major countries.

WHAT IS PLASMA THERAPY?

Convalescent Plasma Therapy uses antibodies from recovered patients. It was discovered in 1918 and first used during the outbreak of Spanish flu (Influenza). 

When our body fights disease, it produces antibodies. In Plasma Therapy, the blood is taken from the recovered patient. It contains antibodies which, thereafter, injected into the body of a person infected from the same disease.

Care must be taken while donating the blood. It must be safe from other diseases otherwise it cannot be used for the treatment. Safe and healthy blood is then used for extracting plasma (the liquid part of blood that contains antibodies). If the plasma is rich in antibodies, then it is injected into the infected patients.

Blood must be taken from those who are physically fit otherwise he won't be able to qualify for plasma donation. The recovered person must be symptom-free in order to donate plasma.

SOME POSSIBLE DRAWBACKS

1. It may influence the natural immune response.
2. Blood from another body can cause infection.
3. May cause disease if the blood is not checked before.

HELPED IN THE PAST

1. Spanish flu outbreak in 1918.
2. H1N1 Infection in 2009.
3. MERS Outbreak in 2015.

PLASMA THERAPY AGAINST COVID-19

The trials were done in China to check the potential of Convalescent Plasma Therapy which showed some improvement in the patient. The researchers say that the treatment is a well-tolerated and clinical improvement is being seen by the way this therapy neutralizes the viruses in our body.

TREATMENT IN INDIA

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has already suggested and agreed with the treatment involving Plasma Therapy. Kerela was the first state to plan the trials. Delhi has recently completed testing Plasma therapy on four COVID-19 patients and the results were promising.

Two patients were Gujarat also gave a promising result after the test. Maharashtra, with the most cases, got approval for testing Plasma Therapy. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that Plasma Therapy can be the best option to treat people with COVID-19 until a cure for the disease is invented.

With such an incredible option, researchers are still working to find answers to some questions. As the old patients are more, their blood may not be fit for the Therapy. Which person requires how much antibody? Which patient will benefit and which patient is vulnerable to other infections?

Effective treatment lies in the answer. We can hope for the better results from the therapy in future.    

Lessons to be learnt from South Korea

The Global circumstances are right now one of the worst in history. The world is fighting hard against the COVID-19 pandemic. While countries like Italy, Spain, France, the USA, Britain, etc. are looking clueless in front of the deadly outbreak of coronavirus, South Korea has been fighting for long and for the last one month, the curve has completely flattened there.

A healthy decrease in the new cases seen

The interesting thing is that South Korea didn't impose the lockdown like other countries did. They didn't shut everything down. Instead, they made tactical decisions regarding schools, and sensible decision for other sectors also.

The WHO head for the emergency program said that the way wide testing has been done in South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong they were able to decrease the number of new cases quite comfortably. But Hong Kong and Singapore are seeing the second wave of the pandemic, while South Korea is quite stable.

MERS OUTBREAK IN SOUTH KOREA 2015

South Korea was hit by MERS(Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), a virus that originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There were other countries also hit by this virus. South Korea recorded 186 cases of MERS with 38 deaths.

It was really hard for the country to deal with it because the outbreak exposed the weakness of the nation's medical system against a sudden pandemic. This was a wake-up call for the South Korean government to improve in their medical system as soon as possible.

They started investment in controlling infectious diseases. Also, they prepared their medical teams to fight against the medical crisis that was likely to happen in the future.

SOUTH KOREA'S ACTIONS

Technical aspect      

The government regularly communicated and still communicating the number of infected people in a geographical area. The national, as well as local government websites, were updated regularly with correct information. Communication is the key to inform people in order to reduce panic among them.

Smartphone apps were provided so that people can get updated if their local area is infected by the virus. The protocols regarding social distancing, personal hygiene, etc. were communicated via text.

It is interesting that not only medical but also the technical sector of the country came forward and helped the nation to tackle the virus. The coronavirus 119 app helps the patients who are having symptoms of cold, cough, or pneumonia to connect with the doctor and get an early diagnosis.

There are self-quarantine apps designed in order to do two tasks:

1. Monitor the condition of the patient.
2. Alarm system if the patient goes out of the designated area.

There was an app introduced by the government that checks the symptoms of travelers coming into the country and gives them medical precautions.

The Prime minister of France and President of Sweden also asked for the procedures from the South Korean president Moon Jae-in to fight the coronavirus.

South Korea also used data from credit card transactions and cellphones to find out the social connections of the suspect. These details trace out the people who came in contact with the suspect. 

Medical aspect

South Korea implemented large scale testing urgently and that resulted in the test of more than 3,00,000 people be the end of March 20.

It has seen a spike in the new cases in mid-February but since February 29, the number of new cases started decreasing and the things looked to come under control.

The Foreign minister of the country said that testing is key because it would help in the initial detection and decreases the further spread of the disease. Aggressive testing was carried out and the suspected who are either seriously or mildly ill were hospitalized. Their near ones were quarantined.

The result was seen when the recovery rate increased and the mortality rate was negligible in front of the world's figures. Right now there are around 11000 total cases and 240 deaths recorded. The government decided to slowly permit removal of the lockdown being followed in South Korea. 

CONCLUSION

South Korea controlled the coronavirus even when the lockdown was not that strict, and ready to control if the second wave hits. We can understand that our country India is a densely populated and lockdown is extremely important.

But India is hit by pandemic many times in the past. Nipah virus outbreak in Kerela, Swine flu, a disease spread from lichi that killed hundreds of children in Bihar, etc. are survived and fought by us. But still, we were unable to take any lessons from them like South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong did.

Kerela was quite successful in its approach. But its time for the whole country to step up. There are lessons that the South Korean approach can teach us and can be implemented by India to some extent.    

Thanks for reading.

The Kerela Model

We all have observed how the danger of coronavirus originated in the starting of March month. When the cases were rising in India, to around 600-700, most of them were either from Maharashtra or Kerela. But within a few weeks, Kerela has controlled the pandemic to an extent quite appreciable.

Before getting into the "Kerela model", let's find out why Kerela was one of the initial hotspots of coronavirus in our country.

WHY KERELA WAS IN DANGER?

Before such a strong move against the coronavirus, there were things that became the drawback for the state. Ironically some of them were the strengths of the state and will be strength forever. The reason for pandemic hit in Kerela were:

1. Kerela's major export includes its skilled workers, for which it receives a healthy revenue from abroad.
2. Kerela is a hub for tourism not only for India but also for the people living across the world.
3. The first three COVID-19 hit patients were evacuated from the Wuhan by the Indian government during February.

The first two reasons were the quality that Kerela pursue. A state with the highest literacy rate in India certainly produces highly skilled workers which are in demand. But COVID-19 is something that hits the travelers more, and these workers were being exported.   

The third reason was the major drawback that played a key role in increasing the number of cases in the following weeks.

NIPAH VIRUS OUTBREAK 2018

In 2018, there was an outbreak of Nipah virus in the Kerela state. It symptoms include brain fever, fever with cough, and respiratory infection. The outbreak was mainly in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. It killed 17 people.

Nipah also spread from animals to humans. It was considered the most dangerous. With no cure or vaccine, Kerela still managed to contain it effectively. This may be a very big lesson as well as motivation Kerela has in order to fight against Coronavirus.

HOW DID KERELA FOUGHT COVID-19?

By March 24, Kerela has more than 100 cases. The 2.5% population of the country had around 20% of the total corona patients in the country. If we analyze the data today, the curve has totally flatten for the state.

Kerela had a very decentralized system. In the healthcare system, there is an appropriate division of labour in both public as well as private sectors. When the Kerela was hit by a flood in 2018 this very system helped the state to recover.

Kerela imposed a strict lockdown before the national announcement. The quarantine period is longer than that of the nation, it is of 28 days in the state. Supplies are home-delivered mostly, even the mid-day meals are sent to the home as the schools are shut.

Thousands of state-employed health workers and volunteers conducted an aggressive contact-tracing. It was an approach that involved the society along with the government, even student came in, for taking maximum samples as done by South Korea. The series of such activities helped the state in controlling the coronavirus.

EQUIPPED MEDICAL SYSTEM

Kerela was the first test to procure rapid test kits from Mylab, Pune. It used the centrally procured polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Even the largest hospitals in the world are getting overrun, we have really important lessons to be learned from Kerela. From Getting the first patient in January to a very high recovery rate and very less deaths (just 3), is appreciable.

There were counselors who were constantly in contact with the normal people as well as workers working in the hotspot areas. They were discussing about dealing with stress.

There were more than a dozen labs in the state doing 800 tests per day which is quite a large and aggressive testing number, essential for the public's health. This helped in performing mass quarantine and information about the testing, quarantining or any other issue was put forward to the public on regular basis.

Kerela has the highest rate of communicable disease. People here are suffering mostly from diabetes, heart diseases, respiratory and liver diseases. Still, the healthcare system managed to work progressively and Kerela is consequently having fewer new cases and better recovery.



We can't say that Kerela is corona free but there is an approach that Kerela government is using. Not only the government but also the society is equally participating in spite of their own problems.
Sadly our media has no news about the Kerela model to show. There is no coverage of Kerela ever shown by the media. There would be debates going on about various other issues.

Maybe those debates make sense, but the nation needs a solution right now. We can't predict the future of Kerela but if the actions are done in a similar fashion as Kerela across the whole country we would be having better results and most importantly better learning.

Thanks for reading.