CoviDiary

As we enter the last week of an extraordinary year, I hasten to put down my thoughts buzzing in my head, lest they become mere nostalgia. At the beginning of the year, all I wanted to do was travel. 2020 was supposed to my year of big travel. Angkor Vat was scheduled for February. I had penciled in many other destinations in the calendar to coincide with special events. But as the coronavirus multiplied rapidly, spreading fear and death, the plans had to remain on paper. The first month was claustrophobic. The home became a prison. Uncertainty hung thick in the air. News spread anxiety and little else. As the days telescoped into one another in a crazy, disoriented jumble, it was important to anchor the mind to some purpose in order to stay sane. Bit by bit, order began to be restored in the mind. In the second month, I opened the windows wide and let them stay open all day, shutting them only at twilight to avoid the ingress of mosquitos. I sat by the window and gazed outside. A...

The venerable NATURE has a chilling prediction on how the pandemic will play out in 2021 and beyond. It is not a good news. 

Russia appears have won the vaccine race. Putin says his own daughter has been inoculated with the vaccine that has been codenamed Sputnik V . But many experts are sceptical and are expressing concerns about the lack of transparency. Russians say 20 countries have shown interest in the vaccine and that commercial production will begin next month. The vaccine has been developed by Gamaleya Research Institute in collaboration with the Defence Ministry. Meanwhile Phase 3 trials of the Oxford Vaccine will begin soon at 17 sites in India. 

Education has been the biggest casualty of the pandemic. The response of the authorities thus far has been to curtail the learning. And no student body has protested. More than online learning, it is the online testing that has gripped the imagination of academics. Fair and credible testing is important for preserving the quality of higher education. Our college had organised a nation-wide competition inviting students to submit solutions for effective online teaching and learning methodologies. I was curious to listen to how students perceived this problem. None of the 15 final teams addressed the questions posed and instead focused their energy on designing and delivery of learning apps and redesigning the physical space. Prof Kannan Moudgulya, of IIT-B, one of the judges, rightly called this out. He said IITs are grappling with the problem of secure and credible online testing. Proctoring is big business now; it has grown 900% in last few months. Yet, the software used for remote pr...

2,000,000 Many countries understate COVID-19 fatalities. The Excess Death concept of Economist helps unearth this manipulation. 

The transmission rate (R) has dropped below 1 for the first time in 3 cities - Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. This coule be the beginning of the end for the virus. I will stop daily posts.  Return of Robin Today's Album Today's Radio Station

As I begin the new month, I wonder who is the solitary and secretive reader of this blog.  Today, I got my hair cut finally; after six long months. Hair was getting unmanageable and I decided to take the plunge despite my paranoia of coming in close proximity to the barber. It happened on an impulse. It is my first human contact during the pandemic. Only 2 barbers were working in the saloon and I had to wait as they were serving other customers. They asked me to wait inside the air-conditioned saloon, but I chose to sit outside. When I went inside, some sanitiser was perfunctorily sprayed on the chair and also on the implements. It inspired zero confidence. I asked the barber to wash his hands thoroughly before touching me. He complied. He wrapped me in a disposable cape instead of the conventional cloth cover. He was not wearing his facemask properly and I had to chide him twice. While my hair was being cut, I learned 2 things. They were in business during the entire lockdo...

Oh July, what a kind month you have been! You kept my mind so occupied that I almost forgot the raging pandemic. You brought novelties to me. You provided an aha moment. I found time to immerse myself in books, films and music and transport myself to other worlds. July, I am deeply grateful to you.  Today's Album  Today's Radio Station

All of a sudden, a novel experience.  Today's Album Today's Radio Station

LPG cylinder delivery happened today. The delivery man treated me like I am infected. He stood at least 10 feet away from the door and refused to bring the cylinder inside. Refused to accept the cash in hand and asked me to deposit it on the cylinder. And he sanitised the rim of the old cylinder before lifting it. It was a staggering experience.  Today's Album Today's Radio Station

I am struggling to find time to post on this blog every day. It is because there are too many things on my plate and not because I have been wasting my time. I started this blog in March to keep my mind occupied and also document the life during the pandemic. But non-Covid things are crowding my mind now. And paradoxically this is possible only because of the pandemic. It has presenting opportunities to explore new things. The lockdown has altered my perception of time. It has brought a new sense of urgency. My discipline has improved in recent weeks. I am able to structure my day a lot better than before. Each day feels more rewarding than the previous day.  I have nothing but gratitude for this sudden turn in circumstances. Today's Album Today's Radio Station

The coronavirus may have originated from Myanmar, Laos or Vietnam.  The bureaucracy in New York bungled badly resulting in a huge disparity in mortality rates between public and private hospitals; as much as 3 times more. A temporary facility set up in the tennis stadium at a cost of $52 million remained grossly under-utilised because of silly ambulance rules. Doctors paid $600 per hour and nurses paid $2000 per day sat twidding their thumbs on phones awaiting patients who never came. Shocking expose in this podcast . And Governor Cuomo was being praised for his excellent PR management. If things are this bad in USA, I shudder to imagine how it would be here.  Today's Album Today's Radio Station

End of yet another week What else should I seek The videos and films I watch The albums and radio I listen The books and essays I read The courses and webinars I attend Aren’t enough to fill my mind What else does it seek As I begin another week Today's Album Today's Radio Station

19 most talked about treatments for COVID19 One of the biggest casualties of COVID-19 has been education. UGC and Maharashtra Government are at loggerheads on the issue of holding final year exams. The matter is now before Bombay HC . UGC rightly says that standard of higher education would be lowered without an examination. Students ought to understand this. Not having an exam now would be a Pyrhhic Victory; it would hurt tham in the long run. They would be singled out and discriminated against.  Today's Album Today's Radio Station

Interesting webinar on hospitality industry, arguably the most badly hit by the pandemic. A poll during the webinar showed that as many as 40% would return to a hotel only in May 2021.  Today's Album Today's Radio Station

The pandemic has spurred scientific research. Not just in medicine, but also in pure science. Much of this research has been through cross-border collaboration, flying in the face of de-globalisation. But the rush to publish has been a problem. It has not exactly helped in improving the credibility of science.  Today's Album Today's Radio Station

How the pandemic has forced people to quickly adopt a new social norm - wearing a mask . Today's Album Today's Radio Station

Government has issued an advisory against wearing N95 Mask in public. People exhaling through the valve of the mask may put those close to them at risk in case they are infected.  Why has the Republican response to the pandemic been so mindbogglingly disastrous? Started 2 new projects today: To listen one complete album each day. To listen to one radio station through the day Today's Album Today's Radio Station

2 women arrived on my doorstep, dressed in blue plastic overalls. They were municipal healthcare workers and wanted to test oxygen saturation. I extended my left hand and one of them clipped the oximeter to the index finger. The reading is changla, she said and added that I should get my hands washed. I felt happy. R admonished me for opening the door without wearing a face mask. How does the Pulse Oximeter work? A bit of good news to begin the new week. The Oxford Vaccine  ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has triggered immune response in 1077 people. 140 vaccines are currently in pre-clinical trials. 10 have advanced to Phase I and 10 to Phase 2. 3 vaccines are in Phase 3 trials. 

CDC director Robert Reidfield explains why things are going horribly wrong with a new surge in USA in this interview .  Dr Redfield is pretty specific. He thinks that around Memorial Day at the end of May people from the north-east, where the virus was widespread, began to take holidays in the sunbelt. They arrived in states that had so far got off lightly, and so where people were complacent about the risks of covid-19.  Researching on plastic waste management during the pandemic for my column.  The problem of burgeoning plastic waste is compounded by the near-paralysis of waste collection and recycling. Due to restrictions of movement, rag pickers have all but vanished from the streets of the developing world. Elsewhere, waste recycling plants are operating at sub-optimal capacities because of staffing problems. Surreptitious and illegal disposal of wastes is also on the rise. The pandemic has resulted in a massive disruption, if not a total breakdown, of the w...