Dheeraj Kalgutkar

  Photo by Kate Trifo on Unsplash   Cases in China are skyrocketing and although they have been doing so for months now, scaremongering in India has only begun recently. Let me not go into why that might be and instead stick to the virus and its shenanigans. Reports from China indicate BF.7 has the strongest infection ability out of the Omicron subvariants in the country, being quicker to transmit than other variants, having a shorter incubation period, and with greater capacity to infect people who have had a previous COVID infection, or been vaccinated, or both.  To put this into context, BF.7 is believed to have an R0, or basic reproduction number, of 10 to 18.6. This means an infected person will transmit the virus to an average of 10 to 18.6 other people. Research has shown Omicron has an average R0 of 5.08.  The high transmission rate of BF.7, taken with the risk of hidden spread due to the many asymptomatic carriers, is understood to be c...

आए दिन मैं किसी ना किसी को ये पूछते हुए सुनता हूँ कि 'ये कोरोना आख़िर जा क्यूँ नहीं रहा है' या फ़िर 'आख़िर ये कब जाएगा?' और मैं यही जवाब देता हूँ कि, जब तक हम सतर्क नहीं बनेंगे, जब तक हम अपने तौर-तरीके जो कोरोनावायरस के फैलने के अनुकुल है उन्हें नहीं बदलेंगे तब तक ये ऐसे ही फैलते रहेगा। जब भी मैं मार्केट जाता हूँ तो मैं अनगिनत लोगों को बिना मास्क के देखता हूँ या फ़िर मास्क ऐसे पहने हुए जो ना पहनने के बराबर है। कुछ तो मार्केट तक मास्क पहनकर आते है जो ज़रूरी नहीं है पर मार्केट में जब भी किसी से बात करनी हो तो मास्क उतार देते हैं जब उसे पहनना बेहद जरूरी है। इन सबका कारण जो भी हो, पर ये सब वो चीज़े है जिनसे कोरोना के फैलने का ख़तरा रहता है। जब तक हम अपने तौर-तरीकों में सुधार नहीं लाएँगे तब तक कोरोना यूँही फैलते रहनेवाला है। ग्रीष्म में लगी जंगल के आग के भाँति कोरोना अपने आप तो थमने वाला है नहीं। तो क्या हम इस भीषण आग को रोकने की कोशिशे कर रहे हैं?  मुंबई में विपक्ष यानी भाजपा माँग कर रही है कि जब बार (bar, मधुशाला) खुले हो सकते है तो मंदिर भी खुलने चाहिए जैसे उन दोनों में क...

Misinformation and our inability to think a level down the surface are going to kill us before the virus does. Karwar which recently treated 11 coronavirus patients and discharged them successfully is about to see it manifest before its eyes. Misplaced fear and paranoia spread through news channels and Whatsapp University are consuming us. Would they devour us completely before we wake up remains an open-ended question. Karwar has zero Covid-19 positives. The 11 patients it treated were not from Karwar but many km away from it. If that makes you applause Karwar for its altruism then you must hold your hands some meters apart. Uttara Kannada district in total, by the time of writing this, has recorded 39 cases of COVID-19 positives of which 11 were earlier treated and discharged from INHS Patanjali Hospital in Karwar which is an Indian Navy hospital meant for its staff. It admitted this initial batch of positives on request of Uttara Kannada District Commissioner Dr K Harish...

There are 6,653 cases of COVID-19 in India as of 9 April 11:45 PM. And this is despite India testing the least. And our government is broadcasting these comparative low numbers as some sort of success. Think of this. If India had not tested anyone at all then India would have had zero SARS-CoV-2 positive cases. And the gullible public would have bought even that as the success of their God Modi. People are yet to realise or do not want to indulge in a thought that goes against great leader’s image how the ‘low number of recorded cases across the country might be a result of the government’s strict guidelines on who can be tested.’ The number of cases in India right now is dreary low compared to the world at large but even these numbers are not being managed respectfully. Doctors in India are facing a shortage of PPEs so much so that according to a Reuters report, PPE shortages are forcing some doctors to use raincoats and motorbike helmets. If doctors are facing this, it is not...