COVID-19/Coronavirus Current Affairs

July 26, 2020

High throughput COVID-19 testing facilities in Noida, Mumbai and Kolkata by PM Narendra Modi to fight against coronavirus in West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.
The facilities will be able to test over 10,000 samples in a day.

July 25, 2020

Indian-origin nurse, Kala Narayanasamy along with four other nurses in Singapore has been awarded with the President’s Award for Nurses for serving on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each recipient was awarded a trophy, a certificate signed by President Halimah Yacob and SGD 10,000 (USD 7,228).

July 25, 2020

An ultra-rapid testing kit for COVID-19 jointly developed by India and Israel.
This rapid testing kit can generate preliminary COVID results within 30 seconds.

July 23, 2020

A COVID-19 testing facility is established by DRDO in Leh with an aim to enhance the rate of testing of Coronavirus cases in UT of Ladakh.
The centre is inaugurated by the UT’s Lt Governor Shri RK Mathur and it is capable of screening 50 samples per day.
The facility follows the safety standards and guidelines given by ICMR.

July 21, 2020

Delhi government has approved Mukhyamantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna for door step delivery of ration in the state.
Under this scheme, poor and needy in the national capital will be delivered packets of wheat flour, rice and sugar at their doorstep.
This scheme is expected to be operational in the next 6 to 7 months.

July 19, 2020

The Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on July 19 launched the ‘Plasma Donation Campaign’.
It has been launched in association with Delhi Police at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
The Union Health Minister highlighted the role of Corona warriors and mentioned the importance of giving plasma donation a much bigger platform.

July 19, 2020

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is starting its human clinical trial of the indigenously-developed COVID-19 vaccine COVAXIN from today.
AIIMS Ethics Committee has given its nod for the human clinical trial of COVAXIN.
AIIMS-Delhi is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research(ICMR) for conducting phase I and II human trials of COVAXIN.

July 18, 2020

Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) based start-up has developed a unique user-friendly wearable band named ‘Veli Band’ that alarms proximity for helping implement social distancing norms.
This wearable device has been developed by Qual5 India Pvt. Ltd, a startup co-founded by a woman entrepreneur, mentored and funded by IIMK’s business incubator and entrepreneurship development center.
Veli Band helps implement social distancing and location/contact tracing which can help organizations comply with social distancing norms during the current pandemic situation. It will notify wearers that another band is within 3 feet (1 meter), reminding them of the need to maintain social distance.

July 18, 2020

International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, and Vehant Technologies, Noida has jointly developed KritiScan UV Baggage Disinfection System.
The device has been designed to control the spread of infection through baggage.
Kritiscan UV advanced baggage disinfecting system has a specially designed motorized conveyor to guide the baggage into the disinfection tunnel, which uses UVC light (254 nm) with appropriate irradiance to inactivate microbes and viruses.

July 17, 2020

In Maharashtra, cases of Covid-19 are raging in the Nashik district as well. However, to curb the further spread of the disease, the government has initiated a measure “HEALTHCARE SERVICE AT YOUR DOORSTEP”.
As many as 556 squads have been formed and they have been tasked to trace the COVID-19 positive patient.
The initiative taken by the state’s public health department and district administration to deploy 556 squads in predominantly tribal villages of Nashik is yielding positive results in containing the spread of Covid-19.

Focus Merit