GENRE: Explainers

Soon after a COVID patient was identified in a gated-community in Chennai, panic struck other residents living in the housing society. The patient’s family was caught unawares as their flat was sealed, and they ran out of essentials. The apartment association swung into action at this point and arranged for essentials upon the family’s request. That, however, is not the only to-do in such circumstances. Although panic during a health emergency is unavoidable, it is highly advisable for every apartment community to have an action plan ready. From forming a crisis team to arranging essentials for all residents in the…

In the one week between June 28 and July 5, Bengaluru's COVID-19 count more than tripled, with 7240 new cases. The surge in cases has overburdened the city's healthcare capacity, and as a result, there have been many reports of patients not finding hospital beds or treatment on time. This has led to panic and confusion about what one should do on testing COVID-positive. “The panic and fear of COVID is actually worse than COVID itself. That’s what we have to address before anything else,” says Dr Giridhara R Babu, Professor, Head-Lifecourse Epidemiology, Indian Institute of Public Health. Dr Giridhar…

Watched Bulbbul? The film, released in OTT recently, throws light on the all-pervasive male violence that existed a few decades ago and continues even today. Set in a fantastical background, the film is heart-rending, as it highlights the disastrous consequences of a deeply entrenched misogynistic and feudal outlook. But if you think that the film is just an anachronistic fictional tale, you couldn’t be more mistaken.  Consider this report from about a fortnight ago, in which at least five minor girls at a shelter home in Kanpur – who were being tested for COVID-19 – were found to be pregnant.…

With the Delhi government ramping up testing, the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the city is creating new records almost on a daily basis. There is also a group, including some medical professionals, who feel that the virus will eventually get to each of us, or at least most of us, and we should just stay prepared and reasonably cautious, without getting into panic mode. So how shall we manage and what can we expect, if we test positive for the virus? According to the new rules announced by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on June 22nd, home quarantine…

When Sunita R called up the customer support of the bank in late June to complain of certain technical glitches in a banking application that she uses, she was assured of a solution. Hours later, she received a call from a person, claiming to be from the support team. Sunita was instructed to download an application named ‘Quick Support’ through a link that the caller sent her via SMS. Unsuspecting, she downloaded the application. The caller then sent her a form to fill in the "Know your Customer" (KYC) details, that included Aadhaar number and other details. She was told…

It is unfortunate that we needed a pandemic to realise that we need more decentralized food production and localised distribution, better soil quality management, more dietary changes and climate and disease resilient foods. And most importantly, self reliance. This happens to be in our best interest, and also in the best interest of the environment.  The world has 1.5 billion hectares of land under agriculture. To put this in perspective, imagine the whole of India covered in agricultural fields. Now imagine four and a half such Indias. That gives us 1.5 billion hectares of land, which was once pristine forest…

India is undergoing rapid urbanisation, the pace of which poses significant challenges to urban governance. India’s urban population has expanded from 26 percent of the total population in 1991, to 31 percent (or 400 million people) in 2011. It is estimated that by 2030, more than 40 percent of the Indian population will be living in cities. The question is: Are local urban governance structures in India equipped to respond to the needs of their citizens and tackle future problems? Why is local government important? Local governments are the closest to understanding the problems and requirements of their citizens, and are therefore best equipped to make…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கொரோனா தொற்று பரிசோதனை மற்றும் சிகிச்சை செலவை உங்களின் மருத்துவ காப்பீடு உள்ளடக்கியுள்ளதா? தனியார் மருத்தவமனைகளின் கட்டணம் குறித்து கவலைப்பட வேண்டுமா? 100% கட்டண செலவையும் உங்கள் காப்பீடு நிறுவனம் திரும்ப அளிக்குமா? கோவிட்-19 மருத்தவக் காப்பீடு குறித்த நீங்கள் அறிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டியவற்றை இங்கே தொகுத்துள்ளோம். கோவிட் சிகிச்சைக்கு புதிதாக மருத்துவ காப்பீடு எடுக்க வேண்டுமா? அவசியமில்லை. எல் ஐ சி, ஓரியன்டல் இன்சுரன்ஸ், நியூ இந்தியா அஷுரன்ஸ், ஆதித்யா பிர்லா, எச் டி எஃப் சி எர்கோ போன்ற பெரும்பாலான காப்பீடு நிறுவனங்கள் தற்போதைய காப்பீட்டிலேயே, கூடுதல் பிரிமீயம் கட்டணமின்றி, கோவிட் தொற்று சிகிச்சையை சேர்த்துள்ளது. கோவிட் காரணமாக ஏற்படும் மரணத்திற்கும் இழப்பீட்டு தொகையை எல் ஐ சி உள்ளடக்கியுள்ளது மற்றும் இவை மரணத்திற்கான பிற காரணங்களுடன் இணையாக பரிசீலிக்கப்படுகின்றன. ஐசிஐசிஐ லம்பார்ட் கோவிட்-19 காப்பீடு அம்சங்கள்- கோவிட்-19 தொற்றின் முதல் அறிகுறி…

Gurugram’s population of almost 9 lakhs, has one Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) for its collection, transportation and treatment - authorized by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board. In the wake of the pandemic, this CBWTF has faced unprecedented demand from the residential sector to collect and process their COVID-19 biomedical waste as a part of its service. The agency, RWAs and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) have been grappling with many challenges, as they attempt to streamline and ensure safe, regular collection and treatment of contaminated biomedical waste from quarantine homes. Post pandemic, in Gurugram, new collection…

Does your health insurance cover testing and treatment for the novel coronavirus disease? Should you be worried about the heavy charges billed by private hospitals? Will you be reimbursed 100% by your insurer? Here is what you need to know about the health insurance policies that cover COVID-19.  Should you take a new insurance policy for covering COVID? It may not be necessary. In view of the pandemic situation, most insurance companies have modified their existing policy to include COVID treatment without charging an additional premium. Some of the companies who have done this are LIC, Oriental Insurance, New India…