Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer Francisco Velazquez conducted a recent study of the subvariant. He did support the finding that it is more contagious and he also found two additional symptoms. The study shows that dizziness and fatigue are two new symptoms developed from the BA.2 strain.

Despite the fact that COVID-19 occurrences are decreasing, research shows that the omicron variant can re-infect patients. It can put them at risk of further infection and additional COVID-19 symptoms. People should continue to get vaccinated and booster to reduce their chance of infection, according to Velazquez. Especially since those two symptoms can be caused by other strains of the virus.

According to scientists, the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron coronavirus variant can induce more severe COVID-19 symptoms than the original omicron variation strain.

BA.2 has several characteristics that might make it capable of generating severe COVID-19 symptoms, according to recent lab trials in Japan.

“From a human standpoint, it might be a worse virus than BA.1 in terms of transmission and sickness,” said Dr. Daniel Rhoads, department director of microbiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Given the new studies conducted, most of the results would still recommend completing vaccinations. Universal COVID-19 prevention measures are still recommended. This includes frequent washing of hands, wearing of masks, and social distancing.

Though the new variant of COVID appears to be milder the WHO still recommends caution. The virus has the ability to mutate. This could develop into a strain that is deadlier than the previous Delta and Beta variants.

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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the world focused on how to tackle it. As we know now, vaccination became our key to attaining herd immunity. Many experts say this is the reason for the pandemic’s decline. The current variant that is spreading is the Omicron lineage. The symptoms appear to be milder and many cases recover faster than that of the Delta strain. This made many believe that the pandemic will soon be downgraded into endemic.

Recent studies in Netherland could refute the claim. Viruses don’t necessarily mutate to be milder. As we were all focused on COVID, another infectious disease has been moving under the radar. HIV has reached a pandemic status at some point until people began to learn how to live with it. There is a new HIV variant discovered recently that is more transmissible than the original sequence.

HIV Variant

The new HIV variant found in the Netherlands shows three to five times higher virus presence in the bloodstream. This makes the people with the virus more infectious. Also, it is found that their immune system deteriorates faster. This could lead them to develop AIDS faster than those who were infected by the original strain. This new HIV variant already has over 500 mutations scattered across its genome.

William A. Haseltine has written extensively about the HIV virus taking years to mutate and SARS-Cov 2 being able to do it in months. With HIV, it’s a long process to pass it to another person. It would take 100 sexual contacts for a man to transmit it and 200 sexual contacts for a woman. This makes the chances of the virus evolving slower and replication could take a while. Omicron on the other hand the replication only takes hours or days. This virus can be transmitted through the air we breathe.

The COVID variants depend on transmissibility to mutate. There are already many mutations some stronger than the one prior. There will be many ways for the virus to mutate to increase transmissibility but their virulence could change. It is not necessarily a milder virulence as shown by HIV mutations. As long as we give it the grounds, it will continue to mutate.

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A published report on the bioRxiv website states that the virus found in South Africa is deadlier and more contagious. Chinese Scientists from Wuhan warned about the NeoCov’. Russian news agency Sputnik reported that it has a high death and transmission rate. They estimate one out of three who are infected could die.

NeoCoV has the potential to combine the high mortality rate of MERS-high CoV (one out of every three infected people dies) with the rapid transmission rate of the existing SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Only one mutation is required for the virus to penetrate human cells. According to researchers from Wuhan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Biophysics. The novel coronavirus offers a threat, according to the findings. Since it attaches to the ACE2 receptor differently than the coronavirus pathogen. As a result, NeoCoV is not protected by antibodies or protein molecules produced by patients with respiratory disorders or who have been immunized.

Further studies are on their way to verify the information.

This is among the new strains appearing recently.

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Omicron Variant BA.1 is more contagious than delta, beta, and alpha variants. Now, a new subtype omicron BA.2 is has emerged in the UK. It began in early January and is now found in other countries. The impact of the mutation is still under study.

Currently, Denmark currently has 79% of the registered cases followed by the UK at 6%. India follows closely at 5% and Sweden at 3%. The monitoring of this new sequence depends upon a country’s health care system to sequence PCR tests.

The quick spread of this new subtype suggests that it is more contagious than the original omicron variant. Incident Director at UKHSA Meera Chand says “It is the nature of viruses to evolve and mutate, so it’s to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge as the pandemic goes on.”

While analysis is on the way, healthcare professionals advise that vaccination is still the best protection available.

Among the mutations, that scientists are looking out for is the possible combination of omicron and delta variants. This could lead deadlier virus. German virologist Christian Drosten stated in an interview. It becomes more dangerous when the variant “carries the spike protein of the Omicron virus to continue to enjoy that immune advantage, but has the rest of the genome of the delta virus.”

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Hence why some zoo animals in India acquire Covid-19 due to the zoo keepers touching the animal’s food while being infected with the virus, more on those stories here: 8 lions corona infected in Hyderabad, Four Vandalur zoo lions infected with Delta variant of Covid-19

In the yet-to-be published study, researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands studied pet dogs and cats of people who had tested positive for Covid-19.

A mobile veterinary clinic in the Netherlands, visited the homes of owners to take oropharyngeal and rectal swabs, and blood samples from their cats and dogs.

The swabs were used in PCR tests, which provide evidence of current infection, and the blood samples were tested for antibodies, which provide evidence of past infection.

About 156 dogs and 154 cats from 196 households in the Netherlands were tested in total.

The researchers found that six cats and seven dogs (4.2 per cent) had positive PCR tests and 31 cats and 23 dogs (17.4 per cent) tested positive for antibodies.

“If you have Covid-19, you should avoid contact with your cat or dog, just as you would do with other people,” said Els Broens, from Utrecht University.

“The main concern, however, is not the animals’ health — they had no or mild symptoms of Covid-19 but the potential risk that pets could act as a reservoir of the virus and reintroduce coronavirus it into the human population,” Broens said in a statement.

Eleven of the 13 owners whose pets had tested positive agreed for them to undergo a second round of testing one to three weeks after they were first tested for coronavirus.

All 11 animals tested positive for antibodies, confirming they had had Covid-19.

Three cats still had positive PCR tests and were tested for a third time.

All the coronavirus positive animals eventually cleared the infection and tested negative for the covid-19 virus.

Eight cats and dogs that lived in the same homes as the positive pets were also tested again at this second stage to check for virus transmission among pets.

The study found that none tested positive, suggesting the virus was not being passed between pets living in close contact with one another.

The research shows that COVID-19 is highly prevalent in pets of people who have had the disease, with pets in 40 out of 196 households (20.4 per cent) having antibodies for the virus.

The study was presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases held online this year due to the pandemic.

The researchers said that with other studies showing Covid-19 rates to be higher in pets that have been in contact with infected people, than in pets without such contact, the most likely route of transmission is from human to pet, rather than the other way round.

“Fortunately, to date no pet-to-human transmission has been reported. So, despite the rather high prevalence among pets from Covid-19 positive households in this study, it seems unlikely that pets play a role in the pandemic,” Broens added.

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An SOP i.e. Standard Operating Procedure document has reached Mumbai hospitals on Tuesday, according to which private hospitals will get only double the dose of the average vaccine consumed daily in a particular week last month. However, private hospitals will have the flexibility to choose the week of their choice to calculate the daily average for the vaccine. Its information will be taken from the Covin portal.

For example, if a private immunization center selected the week 10-16 to place an order for July, during which 630 doses were given, the average daily dose for that hospital would be 90 (630/7 = 90). This way a private hospital can order a maximum of 5,400 doses (90 x 30 x 2 = 5,400) for July. The SOP states that the maximum limit of one month may be revised in the second fortnight depending on the consumption of the vaccine during the first 15 days.

According to the SOP from the central government of India, as well as for those hospitals who are planning to participate in the vaccination campaign and do not already have a record of covid-19 vaccine consumption. The vaccine ceiling will be decided based on the number of beds available to them. A 50-bed hospital can order a maximum of 3,000 doses, while a 50-300-bed hospital can order up to 6,000 doses and a 300-bed hospital can order up to 10,000 doses.

The SOP states that private immunization centers can order the vaccine in four installments in a month. No approval will be required from any government authority for the purchase of corona vaccine. It will be enough just to successfully place the purchase order on Covin. Once the demand is submitted, Covin will aggregate the district and state-wise numbers before delivering them to the manufacturers. Private centers will have to pay for the vaccine on the National Health Authority portal. Earlier the rule was that private hospitals could buy 25 per cent of the vaccine directly from the manufacturers and 75 per cent was shared by the centre.

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In the circular issued by the DGCA, it has been said that, “The decision to increase the ban on international flights will not have an effect on cargo aircraft. At the same time, those flights have also been exempted in this ban, which have been specifically approved by DGCA.

In view of the Covid-19 infection, the central government of India had banned domestic and international flights on 23 March last year. Domestic flights resumed from May 25. But the ban on international flights continues. However, the government is running special operations under the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad.

Along with this, international flights are also running under Bio Bubble. Such as Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Mauritius, Ukraine, Switzerland and other countries can be traveled under their terms. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) earlier this month announced the continuation of the ban on international flights till June 30, 2021.

Let us tell you that India has air bubble agreement with 27 countries including America, Dubai, France, Kenya. Under this agreement between two countries, special international aircraft can fly between their regions.

Before the arrival of Corona, 4 lakh passengers used to travel on the domestic route in a day. When the flight started on 25 May 2020, 30 thousand passengers were traveling daily. However, after the second wave of coronavirus in India, the number of passengers occasionally reached 3 lakh 13 thousand, which is close to the level of pre-corona.

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Announcing that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that there is a credit guarantee scheme for 3 years. Loan facility will be given to small lenders. Help will be given to 11 thousand tourist guides. The Finance Minister announced measures to give relief to the Indian tourism sector. Travel agencies in India will get loans up to Rs 10 lakh, tourist guides will get loans up to Rs 1 lakh.

Nirmala said that after the end of the travel restrictions enforced as a result of coronavirus, the government will waive visa fees for the first five lakh passengers to visit the country. Under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs 100 crore will be given and a tourist will get the benefit of the scheme only once.

The Indian Finance Minister at the announcement of the economic relief package said that the scope of the Emergency Credit Facility Guarantee Scheme is being expanded, under this scheme loans have been provided to MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), other sectors without any guarantee. The Finance Minister announced a new scheme to provide loans to 25 lakh small loan creditors at lower interest rates. Under this, a loan of up to Rs 1.25 lakh will be given.

Under the credit guarantee scheme, small businesses, individual NBFCs will be able to take loans up to Rs 1.25 lakh from micro finance institutions. Its main purpose is to disburse new loans. However, on this, a maximum of 2 percent interest can be taken on the MCLR of the bank. The tenure of this loan will be 3 years and the government will guarantee it. About 25 lakh people will get the benefit of this scheme. Along with this, all types of borrowers including defaulters of 89 days will be eligible for this. Nirmala said that the Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana will continue till November. He said that efforts are being made to deliver food to the people in every nook and corner of the country.

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Adar Poonawalla has said through a tweet on Twitter that he has raised this issue at a high level. He tweeted, “I realize that many Indians, who have taken the Covidshield vaccine, are facing problems traveling to the EU. I assure everyone I have taken this to the highest level and hope That this matter will be resolved soon.

Several EU countries have begun issuing digital vaccine passports, which will allow Europeans to travel freely for work or tourism. The Vaccine Passport will serve as proof that a person has been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The European Union had previously stated that countries within the European Union should issue certificates regardless of the type of Covid-19 vaccine, but the technical specifications of the ‘Green Pass’ indicate that it may be obtained from an EU-wide marketing authorization. Covid will be limited to vaccines.

At present, four Covid-19 vaccines have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which can only be issued green passes by EU member states to those who have had them. The EMA has approved the following Covid-19 vaccines: Pfizer/BioNtech’s Comirnati, Moderna, AstraZeneca-Oxford’s Wexgerviria and Johnson & Johnson’s Johnson.

According to the report, the Covishield manufactured in India has not yet been recognized by the EMA. While both Vaxjeveria and Covishield are AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines. The Covishield vaccine in India is made by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which has been approved by the Siam Biosciences. India has also given Covidshield vaccine to many countries as a help.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a major upheaval to people’s lives throughout these months, especially to those who can be as simple as video games addict up to those who are alcohol addict, cigarettes or tobacco addict, or to those who are currently in recovery mode. Addition to alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, weed, marijuana or other drugs is seen as a choice of the people. However, at some point, this addiction becomes the necessity of the body and brain of the people who are addicted to these drugs. And, this whole pandemic and its lockdowns made the lives of people more difficult who are in the process of recovering from such addictions. A lot of people, who are in recovering mode, are facing trouble as the counselling sessions and meetings are not allowed in person during the lockdowns. We even hear the news of several people committing suicide in different parts of the country, majorly in the southern part of India.

The Negative Scenarios People Battling Addiction Are Facing During the Covid-19 Lockdown

The rehabilitation sessions influence and encourage people who are in addiction to seek the higher power and control their mind. However, the lockdown is taking a huge toll on everyone’s mental health. Many experts who deal with people who have such addictions express how much they are concerned about the mental health of their patients. According to many experts, these people require regular motivation, counselling sessions and strong will power to deal with their addictions. Though social isolation has been making it even more difficult for them to control their mind and has been making it more difficult to seek counseling and get out of the addiction cycle.

The recovery from such kinds of addiction requires people to connect with their peers, sharing their day-to-day experience of recovery, expressing the challenges they are facing and providing the solutions of problems they have overcome. These things can be done via digital platforms as well, however, the in-person connection makes a huge difference, according to experts. Other things that are making it difficult for the people who are recovering from addiction is the fear of revealing their identity. These digital video sessions often have the names appear on the screen whereas, in the sessions, you can stay anonymous. Another fear that a lot of people are facing is the fear of being recorded. Not many people like their confessions and the expression of the things they have been gone through to be recorded. Besides, it is important for people who are recovering from addiction to feel safe and not alone. Hence, in-person meetings and sessions are a very important part of being recovered from addiction.

The coronavirus (covid-19) lockdown has made it difficult for people battling the addiction to access doctors and experts. On the contrary, the lockdown has been making the addiction more severe as now such addictive people have more things in life such as self-isolation, unemployment, uncertain future, and stress about family’s wellbeing and on top of that, an unending spare time that is adding fuel to their already worst situation. The feeling of being alone, both physically and mentally, is the major reason for alcoholism.

It takes weeks and sometimes months for severe cases to recover from the addiction. The people who are going through the recovery period require regular professional supervision of the medical experts. However, during the coronavirus lockdown period, it is difficult for such people to get such professional help. In the absence of having the kind of care and attention they need, such addictive people are forced to go through the transition period alone at home, which is even riskier. It takes 6 to 24 hours from the last drink the addictive person have for alcohol withdrawal syndrome to start. The longer the person has been consuming the alcohol, the severe the alcohol withdrawal syndrome would be. It also depends on whether the person has shown any previous alcohol withdrawal syndrome or not. The people with alcohol dependence have higher risks of heart attack, low blood sugar levels and other life-threatening complications.

How to break Addiction During the covid-19 Lockdowns?

The people who are dealing with addiction must organize their day with a fixed schedule and make sure they do not have much idle time as it often leads the mind towards the thoughts of having alcohol, drugs and other addictive activities.

• You can replace alcohol with some regular and healthier drinks such as juice, milkshake, lassi or tea etc.

• Since we have more time than we usually have during this lockdown, you can indulge yourself with physical and cardio activities, yoga and meditation to make yourself physically and mentally fit.

• There is a huge importance of having a positive mind-set on your recovery level. Feed your mind with positive thoughts. Watch videos and movies that are not only good for your mind but also cheers you up, talk to the people who make you happy and provide you with positive vibes.

• Engage yourself with something or the other. Do not let your mind void even for a minute as it might fill your mind with negative thoughts or might take you towards your drinking again. Be busy with your family and friends. Play with your kids, spend time with your elders.

• Indulge yourself with daily household things, decorating your home, play good online games at a limit, learn something new online that improves your skills and expertise. This way, you can do well in your professional career and life.

• In a nutshell, when faced with a lockdown situation, trying to break the addiction cycle, distract yourself from anything that might lead you to your addiction. Create a scheduled sleep cycle and get some good sleep every day. Create a diet plan with the help of a dietician or nutritionist and follow it properly. Drink as much water as you can as it will help you hydrate yourself.

We understand that this is an unsettling time for every one of us. We all are having an emotional roller coaster right now. Having an optimistic mindset takes a stronger approach and strengthening your will power is the only things that will be going to help us get out of the addiction cycle & recover fully during this tough time of this pandemic and its lockdowns. Hence, we advise you to take care of yourself and your loved ones as this is probably the very time when we should stand together.

Want more articles like this? Try How Good Nutrition Can Help to Maintain Mental Health, Tips to Boost Your Mental Health

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Novel Coronavirus, a virus that has been threatening the entire human race for a couple of months now. A few months ago, nobody even knew the name of this hazardous pandemic that has now claimed the lives of thousands of people across the world in a very short span of time. On the very last day of the previous year i.e. December 31, 2019, the China office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) came to know the first reports of a pneumonia case in Wuhan, China that caused by Coronavirus. Notably, Wuhan has a good 11 million people within the city. Today, when I am writing this post on March 18, 2020, at noon IST, this pandemic has already affected as many as 198,729 people and claimed the lives of 7,989 across the globe. Unfortunately, the numbers may increase in the near future as there is no solid cure have come to the table as of now. However, what might give us some relief is that the number of people who have recovered from this pandemic is 82,779. Other than China, the Coronavirus has been spread across 150 countries with Italy, Iran and Spain are the most affected countries of all. On March 11, the WHO had announced the official name of the disease: COVID-19. According to the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses, Coronavirus is called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, or Sars-CoV-2 for short. On March 11, 2020, the WHO officially declared COVID-19 as a pandemic.

How Did COVID-19 Pandemic Start?

It is reported that the COVID-19 disease was stem from Wuhan Seafood market – a marketplace where wild animals are traded ‘illegally’. In earlier stages, it was thought that the first people infected with COVID-19 must have a connection with the Wuhan Seafood market as Coronaviruses are generally transmitted from animals to humans. There have been some speculations that COVID-19 is caused by bats as the genetic sequences of coronavirus is 96 per cent identical to the coronavirus exists in bats. However, the analysis and study of the COVID-19 are still on.

How Do Coronaviruses Affect Us?

Coronaviruses affect the respiratory system of the humans and cause cold, cough, fever and some other severe infections. In some of the cases, the infection leads to severe respiratory tract diseases such as pneumonia and bronchitis. COVID-19 has a severe impact on older patients with pre-existing health conditions as their immune system is comparatively weak. In 2002 as well, the Coronavirus epidemic known as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was initially detected in Southern China, affected as many as 8000 people in 26 countries and claimed the lives of 774 people.

COVID-19, Spreading Across the World

As of today, March 18, 2020, the number of cases in China alone is 80,894 and the death toll has reached 3,237. Though the new cases of COVID-19 found in China as of today are just 13, which is extremely low as China has seen more than 5000 cases in a single day in Mid-February. However, what is causing distress across the globe is that the new cases of COVID-19 in other parts of the world have not been decelerating. Italy, today, is the most affected country after China that has more than 31,506 cases of COVID-19 with a death toll of 2,503. What is heart-breaking is the fact the entire country has been compelled to the point that it had to be locked down. Other countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases include Iran with 16,169 cases and 988 deaths, Spain with 11,826 cases and 533 deaths, Germany with 9,367 cases and 26 deaths, followed by South Korea, France, the USA and Switzerland where the number of cases of coronavirus is 8,413, 7,730, 6,522 and 2,742 respectively.

COVID-19 Testing

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has not announced any standardized testing procedure as the information about this new Novel Coronavirus is limited. In many cases that have found in China, South Korea, Italy and Iran, it has seen that the symptoms of the COVID-19 are recrudesced. Meaning, when you do a coronavirus testing on a patient, it shows no symptoms. However, if you perform the test on the same person the very next day, it starts to show the COVID-19 symptoms. Even after recovering from the COVID-19 completely, coronavirus is reoccurring in patients after a while. Consequently, there are a total of 5 procedures for collecting samples to test COVID-19 that are mentioned below:

Swab Test – A medical practitioner takes the sample of your saliva from your nose and/ or throat using a special swab.

Nasal Aspirate – A medical practitioner injects a saline solution in your nose and/ or throat and remove the sample with gentle suction.

Blood Test – A Blood test can also be used to take the sample of your blood via arms. However, since COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, the blood test is not that reliable in such a scenario.

Tracheal Aspirate – It is considered as the most difficult test of COVID-19 as the medical practitioner would pass a catheter through the mouth of the patient that goes into your lungs. This thin and lighted tube is called a bronchoscope, which collects the sample.

Sputum Test – The sputum test is very common in which the medical practitioner would take the sample of the mucus from the patient’s nose with a swab.

Coronavirus Diagnosis

After collecting tissues samples of the patients, the process of converting RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) from those samples into cDNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) will be initiated. In this process, the medical practitioners will majorly focus on this conversion and will study the changes occurred. It is genuinely a very difficult test and hence, it takes 24 to 48 hours in the completion of the test.

COVID-19 in India and Thailand

While the entire world has fallen a victim to COVID-19, how can we Indians be unhurt to this pandemic? In India as well, we do have 148 cases of COVID-19 and death toll at 3. The number of COVID-19 patients is, fortunately, quite less as compared to what we have seen in the above mentioned countries. However, this number has been increasing with each passing day. Similarly in Thailand, there are a total of 212 COVID-19 cases and the death toll is restricted to one.

COVID-19 Testing in India

Amidst the chaos of this pandemic, the question arises in our minds that with COVID-19 blocking off the entire world, is India efficient enough to deal with this deadly disease? Since the test for COVID-19 requires some advanced testing and is a complex test, the Government of India has not allowed private labs to perform this test. The COVID-19 tests are only available in the government-owned labs where we have advanced medical facilities.

Government Precautionary Measures Against the Spread of COVID-19

Suspension of all Visas amid COVID-19

The Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs has issued Travel and Visa restrictions amid COVID-19 from March 13, 2020, to April 15, 2020. Under these restrictions, all the existing visas that had been issued to nationals from any country are suspended. The people with Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card who avail the visa-free travel facility in India are also included in this list. The visas of any foreign citizens who are already living in India remain valid. In a nutshell, the Government of Indian has suspended all the tourist visas.

There are some exceptions in the restrictions, basis which the visas issued to the following foreigners class remain unaffected:

• Diplomats who are working in embassies in India
• Any foreign government officials who are coming to India any government official work
• Any members of UN/ International Organisations
• Any person who is coming to India for employment
• Any person with project visa

Other than that, any foreign nationals who are willing to travel to India for ‘compelling reasons’ such as the medical emergency of a family member can get in touch with the nearest Indian Mission to apply for a fresh visa. However, the Indian Embassy has the right to accept or reject visas based on the reasons for travel.

Quarantine Rules by Indian Government

If any citizen, including Indian national, is arriving from or visited China, Italy, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Germany or France on or after February 15, 2020, s/he can be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days.

Thailand has also cancelled Visa on Arrival for India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Italy and 14 other countries amid COVID-19.

The Central Government has issued a notice to close some major landmarks including Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Delhi Government has already issued a circular to close schools, colleges and movie theatres till March 31, 2020, amidst Coronavirus spread. The Mayor of Agra has urged the Central Government to close Taj Mahal till March end as there is no screening facility for thousands of Taj Mahal visitors on a daily basis.

Indian Government Proposed SAARC Fund to Deal with COVID-19

The Indian Government recently has proposed a voluntary contribution of US $10 million for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Fund to cope with Coronavirus. This fund can be used by any of the members of the SAARC countries in case of requiring any medical equipment, medical services or any other requirements to fight COVID-19. There are 8 members in the SAARC namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The Indian Government has also assembled a Rapid Response Team of Doctors and Specialists who will be on standby and can be deployed to any of the SAARC countries.

The Indian Government has also offered to arrange online training capsules through sharing software by which all the doctors and specialists can share their experiments, experiences, findings and knowledge of the COVID-19.

The Global Impact of COVID-19

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has stated that as many as 50 million jobs could be lost in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. Further, it said that the travel sector may shrink up to 25% in the year 2020 alone.

The WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has alerted all the countries that the chances of containing COVID-19 are decreasing with each passing day, especially after the recent outbreaks of Iran and Italy, which have no direct link with China. This is one huge concern for the healthcare authorities to stop the coronavirus from spreading more.

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