COVID-19

Suspense on deputy CM, other ministers in Bihar

Due to ‘right decisions taken at right time’ India better placed in COVID-19 fight: PM Modi

9:05 pm July 27, 2020

New Delhi: India is in a much better position than other countries in the fight against COVID-19 as a result of “right decisions taken at the right time”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, asserting that the country has expanded its health infrastructure at a rapid pace to deal with the pandemic. Speaking after […]

24 arrested for organising party in Port Blair hotel

7:53 pm July 27, 2020

Port Blair: Twenty-four persons were arrested in Andaman and Nicobar Islands for organising a party at a hotel, violating the guidelines related to COVID-19, police said on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, police raided hotel TSG Emerald in Phoenix Bay area of Port Blair on Sunday night, they said. It was found that total 91 […]

Vietnam bans wildlife imports, markets amid new health fears

11:23 pm July 25, 2020

Hanoi: Vietnam announced Friday that it was banning wildlife imports and would close wildlife markets in response to renewed concerns about the threat from diseases that can jump from animals to humans, such as the virus that causes COVID-19. An order signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Thursday bans all imports of wildlife […]

COVID-19 scare pushes government official to death

11:55 pm July 24, 2020

Karimnagar (Telangana): A government official here allegedly committed suicide thinking he had contracted COVID-19, police said on Friday. Mamidala Raja Venkata Ramana (54) was a superintendent in the Education Department in Mancherial which is over 80 km from Karimnagar. He suffered from cough and cold recently, and thought he had been infected with the virus. […]

Melbourne, Home-made cloth face masks may need a minimum of two layers, and preferably three, to prevent the dispersal of viral droplets associated with COVID-19, according to a study. Researchers, including those from the University of New South Wales in Australia, noted that viral droplets are generated by those infected with the novel coronavirus when they cough, sneeze, or speak. As face masks have been proven to protect healthy people from inhaling infectious droplets as well as reducing the spread from those who are already infected, several types of material have been suggested for these, but based on little or no evidence of how well they work, the scientists said. In the current study, published in the journal Thorax, the researchers compared the effectiveness of single and double-layer cloth face coverings with a surgical face mask (Bao Thach) at reducing droplet spread. They said the single layer covering was made from a folded piece of cotton T shirt and hair ties, and the double layer covering was made using the sew method described by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The scientists used a tailored LED lighting system and a high-speed camera to film the dispersal of airborne droplets produced by a healthy person with no respiratory infection, during speaking, coughing, and sneezing while wearing each type of mask. Their analysis showed that the surgical face mask was the most effective at reducing airborne droplet dispersal, although even a single layer cloth face covering reduced the droplet spread from speaking. But the study noted that a double layer covering was better than a single layer in reducing the droplet spread from coughing and sneezing. According to the researchers, the effectiveness of cloth face masks is dependent on the number of layers of the covering, the type of material used, design, fit as well as the frequency of washing. Based on their observations, they said a home made cloth mask with at least two layers is preferable to a single layer mask. "Guidelines on home-made cloth masks should stipulate multiple layers," the scientists said, adding that there is a need for more research to inform safer cloth mask design.

Home-made face masks may need at least two layers to stop COVID-19 spread: Study

8:28 pm July 24, 2020

Melbourne: Home-made cloth face masks may need a minimum of two layers, and preferably three, to prevent the dispersal of viral droplets associated with COVID-19, according to a study. Researchers, including those from the University of New South Wales in Australia, noted that viral droplets are generated by those infected with the novel coronavirus when they cough, sneeze, […]