Challenges Faced by Hilly Hospitals during Covid-19 Second Wave Disaster: Quantitative Study in Garhwal Region, Uttarakhand

Covid -19 second wave was considered a disaster in India as it was more havoc than the first one. Shortness of breath in patients leads to more demand for oxygen and hospitalization. So, there was a challenge for the hospitals to combat this disease. In the covid second wave, moderate to severe cases were treated at three hospital levels (CHC, Sub-district, and District hospital). This disease was not limited to bigger cities but spread to rural and hilly areas. We conducted quantitative research among government hospitals in five hilly districts of Uttarakhand at three levels of hospitals. Data were collected from a close-ended questionnaire using a judgmental sampling technique and analysed with the help of tables and bar charts. Questions were set based on the pilot study. The challenges explored through this study were divided into five main headings and eleven sub-headings. The main headings were Manpower, Surge capacity, logistics, coordination, and management of non-covid patients. Sub-headings were a shortage of medical staff, shortage of paramedical staff, shortage of sweepers, shortage of ambulance drivers, shortage of ICU beds, shortage of oxygen beds, shortage of covid drugs (Remdesivir and Steroids), oxygen cylinders, PPE kits, difficulty in coordination with staff and difficulty in managing non- covid patients.Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.

Modeling and Prediction of COVID-19 Spread in India for Growth Rate Estimation

With over a year of spread of COVID-1 9 in India, it is seen that there are significant differences in the transmission characteristics across various states. Propagation analysis of COVID-19 can help us to evaluate the significance of the climatic and geographic factors, in the growth of COVID-19 cases. Individual research correlating geographical or climatic factors with COVID-19 transmission showed varying results and few contradicting also. This study aims to investigate the relation using a combination of these factors to get better understanding. With extensive data available, it is possible to develop machine learning models with high accuracy. The proposed model learns the correlations of the weather and population density with the rate of change in the number of detected cases based on the data of the regions affected in the second wave of COVID-19 in India. The model can be used to assess the disease spread risks of a region by predicting expected change in the growth rate. The prior knowledge can assist in planning region specific pandemic management in the event of future outbreak. © 2023 DMICS.

Comprehensive analysis of ambient air quality during second lockdown in national capital territory of Delhi.

The lockdown imposed in Delhi, due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant gains in air quality. Under the lockdown, restrictions were imposed on movement of people, operation of industrial establishments and hospitality sector amongst others. In the study, Air Quality Index and concentration trends of six pollutants, i.e. PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, and O3 were analysed for National Capital Territory of Delhi, India for three periods in 2021 (pre-lockdown: 15 March to 16 April 2021, lockdown: 17 April to 31 May 2021 and post-lockdown: 01 June to 30 June). Data for corresponding periods in 2018-2020 was also analysed. Lockdown period saw 6 days in satisfactory AQI category as against 0 days in the same category during the pre-lockdown period. Average PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and SO2 concentrations reduced by 22%, 31%, 25% and 28% respectively during lockdown phase as compared to pre-lockdown phase, while O3 was seen to increase. Variation in meteorological parameters and correlation of pollutants has also been examined. The significant improvement arising due to curtailment of certain activities in the lockdown period indicates the importance of local emission control, and helps improve the understanding of the dynamics of air pollution, thus highlighting policy areas to regulatory bodies for effective control of air pollution.

On the psychological levels of general population of Saudi Arabia amidst the second wave of COVID 19: a cross sectional study

Introduction and aim: The Covid-2019 pandemic has caused serious threats to the life of people all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, leading to a more alarming concern of public health. This maiden pandemic to most of the century's inhabitants has also raised a wide range of psychological problems, such as distress, panic disorder, anxiety and depression, which could be long lasting and more devastating. The main purpose of the present questionnaire based study was to measure the prevalence and severity of distress in the population of six major regions of Saudi Arabia to have an idea of the impact of the second wave of Covid-19. Methods: This initial analysis, is an important large-scale study of psychological distress among the Saudi population during the second wave of COVID-19 epidemic, as few reports exist in literature in the area. An online cross sectional study was conducted from 24th March 2021 to 15 April 2021 in important regions of KSA where bilingual questionnaires with both Arabic and English versions were circulated to volunteers. Sample size calculation was based on WHO recommended criteria, minimum sample size being 385 based on 95% confidence interval with 5% significance level. Results: Among the total participants, 33.5% showed mild level of anxiety, followed by moderate (25.5%) and severe (14.3%) anxiety levels. A total of 230 out of 525 (43.8%) showed depression symptoms and among the total participants, females expressed more depressive symptoms compared to the male participants. Conclusion: The findings of the study can be used for developing better and improved care and provision for people with psychological burden and mental illness, as it is necessary to offer targeted treatment, such as online psychotherapy in particular for the distressed.

SARS-CoV-2 variants and spike mutations involved in second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India.

Against the backdrop of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India that started in March 2021, we have monitored the spike (S) protein mutations in all the reported (GISAID portal) whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in India from 1 January 2021 to 31 August 2021. In the 43,102 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences analysed, we have identified 24,260 amino acid mutations in the S protein, based on which 265 Pango lineages could be categorized. The dominant lineage in most of the 28 states of India and its 8 union territories was B.1.617.2 (the delta variant). However, the states Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Punjab had B.1.1.7 (alpha variant) as the major lineage, while the Himachal Pradesh state reported B.1.36 as the dominating lineage. A detailed analysis of various domains of S protein was carried out for detecting mutations having a prevalence of >1%; 70, 18, 7, 3, 9, 4, and 1 (N = 112) such mutations were observed in the N-terminal domain, receptor binding domain, C -terminal domain, fusion peptide region, heptapeptide repeat (HR)-1 domains, signal peptide domain, and transmembrane region, respectively. However, no mutations were recorded in the HR-2 and cytoplasmic domains of the S protein. Interestingly, 13.39% (N = 15) of these mutations were reported to increase the infectivity and pathogenicity of the virus; 2% (N = 3) were known to be vaccine breakthrough mutations, and 0.89% (N = 1) were known to escape neutralizing antibodies. The biological significance of 82% (N = 92) of the reported mutations is yet unknown. As SARS-CoV-2 variants are emerging rapidly, it is critical to continuously monitor local viral mutations to understand national trends of virus circulation. This can tremendously help in designing better preventive regimens in the country, and avoid vaccine breakthrough infections.

Mental Health during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic-Polish Studies.

The presented research aimed to identify the impacts of the second wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on respondents' mental health state and identify variables related to the respondents' symptoms of anxiety and depression; 618 subjects participated in the research. A specially prepared survey and Polish adaptations of the following methods were used: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS 10), MINI-COPE Questionnaire (Brief COPE Inventory), Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), Scale of Death Anxiety (SDA), The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). Over 24% of the respondents reported having experienced suicidal thoughts since the start of the pandemic. Almost 16% drank alcohol in a risky or harmful way. The average value of perceived stress indicated its high and very high intensity. Over 20% had symptoms of anxiety disorders, and almost 19% had anxiety and depression symptoms. It means that almost 40% of the respondents probably have mental disorders. More women, younger people, and those with disorders prior to the onset of the pandemic were among those who manifested these disorders. They also used passive and avoidance stress coping strategies more frequently. In conclusion, the second wave of the pandemic negatively affected the mental health of the respondents. A high percentage of the respondents manifested anxiety and anxiety-depressive disorders and declared having of suicidal thoughts.