Day Eight


Today I stirred out the farthest after the lockdown was imposed. Wearing this multipurpose bandana that had served me so well in Mongolia last year. Bought rice, dal, toothpaste and imli sauce at the Kirana store, where the staff was more keen on enforcing physical distancing than the shoppers. Quite a few asked for biscuits, which were not available. Stocking up made me feel good. There are reports that government will not extend the lockdown beyond 14th April.

The harsh lockdown appears to have been triggered by an exaggerated understanding of the fatality rate. The fatality rate of 3-4% considered for public policy decisions was based on the confirmed cases. But now there is a sense that many more people are infected but show no or insignificant symptoms. This means that fatality rate has been grossly overestimated. But this hypothesis can be validated only by rapid testing of a large population. If a large number of people test positive without displaying major symptoms, it means we are closer to herd immunity and lockdown can be lifted. Fascinating report in Technology Review. 

 Research is on to understand why some people are getting more sick due to Coronavirus. Is it their genetic make-up?
Listened to this heartrending podcast of a wife's account of taking care of her sick husband after contracting the virus.

 Meanwhile Hungary imposed an indefinite emergency. Hope this doesn't give ideas to other despots.

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