Coronavirus Briefing Newsletter – Times of India

India on Friday reported 3,337 Covid cases and 60 fatalities. The cumulative caseload is 43,072,176 (17,801 active cases) and 523,753 fatalitiesWorldwide: Over 512.22 million cases and over 6.23 million fatalities.Vaccination in India: Over 1.88 billion doses. Worldwide: Over 11.33 billion doses.TODAY’S TAKEThe impact of governmental Covid policies on mental healthDuring the pandemic, different countries have taken different approaches to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. A new study finds that these varied governmental policies have had differential effects on their respective citizens’ mental health.Countries that attempted to control Covid-19 transmission with stricter public restrictions had worse mental health outcomes than those which tried to suppress or eliminate COVID-19 transmission, according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health journal.The team led by researchers at Simon Fraser University in Canada used data from two surveys of 15 countries between April 2020 and June 2021. The countries were divided into two groups – eliminator countries and mitigator countries.Eliminator countries, including Australia, South Korea and Japan, implemented early and targeted actions such as international travel restrictions and earlier contact tracing.On the other hand, the mitigator countries, including Canada and several European nations, were less strict about travel and relied more on restricting social connections such as physical distancing and gathering restrictions, the researchers said.The study found that higher policy stringency – comprising eight items such as stay at home requirements, school closures and cancellation of public events adopted by the mitigator nations – was associated with worse psychological distress and life satisfaction. Significantly, the eliminator countries managed to reduce the infection levels and decrease Covid-19 deaths more than the mitigators.For future pandemics, the researchers suggest governments could prioritise policies that reduce virus transmission but impose fewer restrictions on daily life, such as restricting domestic travel instead of restricting gatherings.TELL ME ONE THINGRisk of severe illness with Omicron is similar to DeltaPatients hospitalised with the Omicron or Delta variants required similar levels of respiratory support and intensive care, claims a new study published in eBioMedicine journal..Although Omicron has generally been touted as mild, the findings led by Johns Hopkins University researchers indicate that infections with the highly contagious variant should not be underestimated.The team collected clinical specimens from over 2,000 patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, then determined which variant each patient had been infected with. Next, they measured viral load, or the amount of the virus found in each patient’s body.They found that patients with Omicron were less likely than patients with Delta to require hospitalisation, regardless of vaccination status. Only 3% of patients with Omicron were admitted to the hospital, compared with 13.8% of patients with Delta.For patients with Omicron admitted to the hospital, 67.6% required supplemental oxygen and 17.6% were taken to the intensive care unit (ICU). The comparative rates for Delta were not very different – 73% of hospitalised patients needed supplemental oxygen, and 25.4% required ICU-level care.The study also found no significant differences in viral loads between patients with Omicron and those with Delta, regardless of vaccination status.So don’t be in a hurry to get rid of your face masks and other Covid safety protocol. Better safe than sorry.Follow news that matters to you in real-time.
Join 3 crore news enthusiasts.Written by: Rakesh Rai, Sushmita Choudhury, Tejeesh Nippun Singh
Research: Rajesh Sharma