Coronavirus nCoV-2 and Covid

What does the progression of CoViD look like in South Asia and neighbouring countries? 

Indian Scientists Respond to CoViD-19 — ISRC 

“Indian Scientists’ Response to CoViD-19 (ISRC) is a voluntary group of concerned scientist citizens of India who have come together in this time of crisis to discuss the rapidly evolving situation with its dire need for science communication. The scientific community has a social and democratic responsibility in the current situation, both  in terms of analysing the situation and reaching out to the public. While governmental bodies make their decisions and professional scientific academies take principled stands, there is a need for individuals in the scientific community to also help individually and collectively.” 

For students and teachers in times of COVID-19 (ISRC) 

General information
Measures, India: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
About the disease and virus: CDC (USA)
Health Service Executive, Ireland
Harvard Medical School Corona Resource Center 

Coronavirus: research, commentary and news (Science Magazine) [continuously updated]

Scientific publications and analyses 
Stability of the virus (CoV2). Viable for 3 hrs in aerosol; not viable after 4 hrs on copper surface after 24 hrs and cardboard; lasted up to 72 hrs on plastic and stainless steel. (The New England Journal of Medicine 20/03/17)
Not a biological weapon or genetically engineered. (Nature (20/03/17)

NOT UNEXPECTED!SARS coronavirus as an agent of emerging and reemerging infection” “Coronaviruses are well known to undergo genetic recombination, which may lead to new genotypes and outbreaks. The presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb. The possibility of the reemergence of SARS and other novel viruses from animals or laboratories and therefore the need for preparedness should not be ignored.” (Clinical Microbiology Reviews 2007)
How to fight the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and its disease, COVID-19
, Michael Lin, Stanford University (pdf document 20/03/16)

Prevalence, Epidemiology
Global – Worldometers, John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center
India – Covid19 India (Kiprosh, software company) — Seems to be offline

Policy 
Interviews
Public health experts  We need more testing! Capacity! T. Sundararaman (HuffPost, 20/03/15). 
R Laxminarayan, Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Washington DC. We ARE in Phase 3 We should prepare for the tsunami, 300-500 million cases. Containment not an option any more. Could /should conduct antibodies test (blood test, faster, cheaper, not as accurate). Can check +ves using RT-PCR (genetic test, more expensive). Test the elderly and very young (1-5), protect them. Open up temporary hospitals right away (e.g., stadia with 50-100,000 beds). Call the Tatas and Birlas to make ventilators on a war footing (21/03/20); Time for a powerful display of humanity (The Hindu 20/03/19); Interview 20/03/18  (The Wire ).
What China did (interview with member of WHO team) (The New York Times 20/03/04)
Virologist What we have seen of Covid is the tip of the iceberg” Interview with David Ho, Virologist, Columbia University

Media
Simple simulations to plain the spread of Covid19 (Washington Post)
Coronavirus: why you must act now and Coronavirus: the hammer and the dance Thomas Pueyo (Medium.com). A compilation of data and analyses to inform policy, not peer reviewed.
The CoVID -19 epidemic and what needs to be done (pdf) Peoples Science Movements and Peoples Health Movements, India
How soap kills SARS CoV2 Pall Thordarson, Prof Chemistry (The Guardian)

Why the coronavirus has been so successful (The Atlantic)
Stay at home! Emily Landon, chief infectious disease epidemiologist, University of Chicago Medicine (News conference, speaking after governor, Illinois, USA, 20/03/20); Stop almost everything, restart when coronavirus is gone (The Conversation, 20/03/20)

Music Dance: Na haath milana, na baahar jaana; Break the Chain (Kathakali) 

Is there a temperature effect?
We cannot tell. Some reports suggest that the virus “has a harder time spreading between people in warmer, tropical climates” (based on this publication, 29.03/17), but the disease in spreading and increasing in South and Southeast Asia, suggesting that any such relationship is not likely to be a simple one.

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