Manasi Agarwal

The second phase of Corona pandemic is killing people in hundreds every day. The country is currently second behind the USA in active cases of Corona positive.  24492 active cases were reported in the country on 16th March, which increased to 260895 on 17th April. More than 3.32 lakh new positive cases are reported every day. The recovery rate has also slowed down. Around 2 lakh people in the country have lost their lives due to Corona pandemic. Maharashtra with 34% death cases out of total cases accounts for the maximum deaths so far. It is still on top with around 40 lakh active cases (36%) followed by U.P with 9% cases. The government and private hospitals are full and there is no bed available in any one of them. There is acute shortage of liquid medicinal oxygen, ventilators and medicines for the patients. There is waiting in the cremation ghats and cemeteries are full. The States are enforcing curfew, night-curfew and weekend curfews and partial to complete lockdowns to check the spread. The AIIMS, Delhi has closed its OPD from 24 April. It took 12 days in September 2020 to reach 60 lakh cases from 50 lakh whereas in April 2021, the increase of the same number of cases took only 7 days. 12.26 crore people were vaccinated till last week. Out of which 1.61 crore had also received the second dose of vaccination. The experts and researchers are of the opinion that the cause of spurt in the second phase is double mutant variant of the virus. The double mutant variants are the two mutations-E484Q and L452R of Corona virus SARS-CoV-2. The scientists have named it B.1.617. They believe that E484Q mutation is similar to E484K mutation. It was also found in B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants of the United Kingdom and South Africa respectively. The same mutation has been observed in the fast spreading B.1.427 and B.1.429 variants in California. These changes occur in that part of the virus which strengthen it to combat transmission and antibody.

Maharashtra was the first state where these variants were detected. The genome sequencing of 61% samples have confirmed double mutant virus. The sources in the central government say that this mutant is active in nearly 10 states in the country where positive cases are rapidly spreading. The doctors say that these variants increase inside the human body by deceiving the immune system. The study of the effect of medicines on these variants could be carried out only on 1% of the cases. Therefore, nothing can be said with certainty. There is no full proof guarantee from infection even after vaccination. A team of imminent Indian doctors are of the opinion that this time the virus is spreading through air. Dr. Rakesh Mishra, Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad said that the released breath of an infected person evaporates in the summer and spreads out in the thin air. Anyone without proper protective gears gets infected immediately after coming into contact with those mini particles present in the atmosphere. But it is not spreading through air. Only the 2 to 3 meters radius area around an infected person is dangerous. The scientists have collected samples from ICU, general wards, closed and open rooms of a house of an infected person at 64 places in Hyderabad and Mohali. The virus is short-lived in the open air but remains active for 2-3 hours in closed rooms, hence proper ventilation is must. The situation in Bihar is also grim. The number of positive cases are increasing rapidly by alarming rate every day. The daily death toll is also increasing. The news are pouring that even the top notches including an ex-Minister could not get a bed in the ICU of one of the hospital due to over-crowding and he died subsequently. There is no body to take care of dead bodies lying unattended in the open. The medicines and other essentials are being sold in black. The Nitish Kumar government has imposed night curfew in the State from 18^th April and issuing new guidelines and protocols to be followed by the people on day to day basis. The police is apprehending people breaking the protocols. The doctors- Dr. Rakesh Mishra, Dr. Shivranjani, Dr.  T. Shathchandra, Dr. Aarushi Goel, Dr. Amit Tuli, Dr. Shreeniwas M, Dr. Krishna Reddy and others are of view that the proper use of the masks is the most effective measure in combating the pandemic with regular hand wash by soaps but they also advise not to wear masks with valves. The sanitizers should be used only where there is no soap available. The N95, medical and fabric masks are good but scarf and handkerchief are partially effective. They have also advised short journeys for not more than 30 minutes. The toilets are the worst places. All said and done, proper use of mask is the most effective remedy and doctors should be consulted immediately in case of any apparent symptoms.