ABSTRACT
Treatment of COVID-19 patients is an immense administrative as well as clinical challenge. The setting up of a dedicated COVID-19 care centre within a short time span, adequate manpower deployment, healthcare worker education and training, provision of facilities for donning and doffing and waste disposal were some of the unique administrative problems. On the other hand, as clinicians we faced enormous hurdles in attempting to treat a disease on which there was no established knowledge and no defined, well-proven treatment protocols and which could strike anyone, anywhere in myriad ways. Coupled with this difficulty in diagnosis and treatment was the challenge of serving COVID-19 patients of every age and clinical requirement, under one roof. Healthcare workers faced a tough time, handling physical discomfort while working for long hours in PPE, along with the fear and apprehension of contracting the infection in the line of duty, and carrying it back home. Mental health issues abounded, both amongst the patients and their caregivers, due to heightened fear, anxiety and loneliness. We share our experience in dealing with the pandemic, the administrative and clinical challenges we faced and some of the ways we overcame them. We further share some of the insights we gleaned from this experience, which may help in better preparation for the future. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.
ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: There is a marked inclination towards cesarean sections as the preferred mode of delivery in parturients with COVID-19 disease. However, the challenges associated with planning and performing a surgery in the COVID-19 setup are considerable. These factors may lead to widespread changes in obstetric decision-making, operative planning, and perioperative outcomes. Thus, our study aimed to study the clinical and logistical factors involved in cesarean sections in COVID-19 parturients. Material and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study performed at a dedicated COVID-19 tertiary care center in India. All women undergoing cesarean section in the specially earmarked operating room between 1st May 2020 and 31st December 2020 were included in the study. The clinical characteristics, operative details, and neonatal details, along with maternal and fetal outcomes were noted and analyzed. Results: A total of 44 women underwent cesarean section during the study period, with elective and emergency surgeries numbering 22 each. No indication, apart from COVID-19 status, was listed in over one-fourth of the women (13/44). The most common preoperative comorbidity was hypothyroidism (12/44). Median surgical duration was 117.5 min (IQR 100-133), with a median of 7.5 (IQR 6-8.25) healthcare personnel in the OT. Over one-fourth (12/44) of the delivered babies had low birth weight, while 4.5% (2/44) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: COVID-19 status alone continues to be a common indication for cesarean section. Operative time is increased, but the number of healthcare personnel involved can be trimmed with proper planning. Maternal and fetal outcomes are largely positive, with low transmission rates, but a considerable proportion of low-birth-weight neonates.
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the impact of coronavirus disease on the Renewable Energy (solar and wind) market of India. This study describes the impact on RE business over its five dimensions—continuity of operation, year on year (YOY) growth, securing financials, client and employee, and social responsibility. This commentary presents the effect on the implementation of upcoming projects, policies, and frameworks in 2020–21 are presented in detail with special emphasis on challenges faced by RE developers and off-grid companies, economic slowdown and government response and actions to mitigate the same. In the end, the paper presents possible measures and recommendations with a short-term and long-term vision, immediately aiming for safeguarding public health and gradually for the country’s economic revival and developing shock resilient RE sector. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
The corona virus disease 2019 has affected the life of almost every individual and the impact on various sectors of any country is still ongoing. The leaders across the globe are working towards containing the disease by enforcing lockdown measures and hence struggling to stabilise economy. India saw a little more than two months of lockdown, which tremendously affected manufacturing, transport, change in working pattern, supply chain and other industrial activities. This has directly affected the electrical power sector of the country, with change in power consumption and generation pattern during lockdown and delay in upcoming/ongoing projects post lockdown. This paper presents a detailed discussion on power generation and demand trend with change in energy mix during the lockdown period in the country. Subsequent impact on already stressed distribution utilities, power market, government measures and contributing factors are presented. At the end, prospective techno-economic recommendations are discussed to overhaul the power sector to make a resilient system for future. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus pandemic has entirely changed the current situation and has led people to realize the living scenario is no longer similar to before. The present-day situation is majorly subjugated with studies on developing strategies that can defer the spread of this virus, and to invent the vaccination. One of the prominent solution followed by many countries is to apply regional or country-level lockdown. This has affected the lives of many industries and become a challenge for its economic development. In this paper, we examine the correlation between the air pollutants (such as PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, CO, SOX and NOX) and weather parameters (such as temperature, humidity and dew point) with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by considering the six major red-zone hotspots identified in India. The effect of these parameters on major hotspots is examined based on Spearman’s correlation coefficients for the lockdown period announced by the Government of India. From the results, it is evident that the highest correlation is obtained for different parameters for different red-zone districts. The study results may guide the authorities to develop a decentralized approach for effective implementation of lockdown and take appropriate measures in these red-zone hotspots. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
We study an economy's response to an unexpected epidemic. The spread of the disease can be mitigated by reducing consumption and hours worked in the office. Working from home is subject to learning-by-doing. Private agents' rational incentives are relatively weak and fatalistic. The planner recognizes infection and congestion externalities and implements front-loaded mitigation. Under our calibration, the planner reduces cumulative fatalities by 48% compared to 24% by private agents, although with a sharper drop in consumption. Our model can replicate key industry and/or occupational-level patterns and explain how large variations in outcomes across regions can stem from small initial differences.
ABSTRACT
Since December 2019 world news broadcasted stories of a deadly disease caused by SARS CoV-19, which is a single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus that replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cells. Coronaviruses (CoVs) and the associated severe acquired respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) are potential agents to infect the respiratory tract of humans and animals. Much scientific effort has been focused on the development of vaccine and medicines to pro-tect future outbreaks. However, the chances to rapidly develop an effective vaccine are difficult now. Due to the sudden and explosive emergence of the disease, empirical strategies have been used to treat the patients. The increas-ing demand for natural products as an alternative therapy for pandemic viral diseases has encouraged research into the pharmacological importance of bioactive compounds from plants, especially Indian herbs. Ethnopharmaco-logical studies have been extremely relevant to discover promising drugs for the treatment of viral diseases. This review is intended to focus on the traditionally practised Indian medicinal plants and bioactive compounds with antiviral properties used for the treatment of respiratory associated viral infections and other retroviral infections. It may lead us to develop a broad spec-trum of anti-viral for the prevention and control of these viral pathogens in the current situation.