Good News Roundup: The Fight Against COVID-19 Vol. 4

Low-cost detection kits, ear guards for face masks and brightly illuminated mountains are some of the positives during this pandemic

The nation is a week away from the lockdown being lifted or possibly extended yet again. Globally, the pandemic crisis continues to spread while healthcare officials are working around the clock to treat the worst affected. Various efforts are also being made towards a vaccine, a focussed cure and more reliable detection kits for COVID-19 along with means to prevent infection. Here is some more good news from around the world:

Over 7 Lakh People Have Recovered

The number of total COVID-19 patients that have recovered worldwide has gone up by almost 2 lakh since our last Good News roundup. According to the latest reports, it now stands at approximately 7.4 lakh people. The increased rate of testing around the world is also helping the battle against the pandemic to identify and treat coronavirus patients in a timely manner.

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Low-cost COVID-19 Test Kit Being Developed By IIT-D

A low cost COVID-19 detection kit costing a few hundred rupees has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and it has been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The team at IIT-D has been working on this detection kit since January-end and it is the first probe-free assay for COVID-19 approved by ICMR. They were able to identify unique regions in the COVID-19 genome that are not present in other human coronaviruses, making it easier to detect.

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Eleven Indian States And Union Territories Are Reportedly Coronavirus-Free

As of April 24, the 11 Indian states and union territories have declared themselves free of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Goa, no new coronavirus case has been reported since April 3 after seven initial cases. Manipur had two COVID-19 patients who have recovered and tested negative earlier in the week. In Tripura, there are over a 100 coronavirus suspects under surveillance and over 200 have been placed under home quarantine. However, there are zero active cases in the state. The other states and union territories with no reported active cases are Puducherry, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Daman and Diu, Nagaland, Sikkim, Lakshadweep, and Dadra and Nagar Havelli. 

93-year-old Becomes Oldest Indian To Recover From COVID-19

A 93-year-old man and his 88-year-old wife were infected by the coronavirus from coming in contact with their daughter and son-in-law who had returned from Italy. The couple was treated at Kottayam Medical College Hospital in Kerala. He also suffers from hypertension and diabetes which puts him at a greater risk. Currently, the oldest patient in the world to recover from COVID-19 was a 106-year-old in the UK.

Teen 3D Prints Ear Guards For Healthcare Workers

A young boy in Canada by the name of Quinn has been using his 3D-printer to print ear guards. It is a small contraption that offers relief by alleviating the pressure off the ears from the plastic bands of face masks. He first looked into ear guards when a family friend who worked at the local hospitals expressed their desire for a pair.

After exploring and trying various ear guard templates online, they found the most efficient one to manufacture multiple batches for local hospital workers. Following the popular response to his 3D-printed ear guards, Quinn has been making hundreds more to distribute to hospitals across Canada, USA, the UK and even Singapore. The young boy’s actions have inspired other 3D-printing enthusiasts around the world to do the same and help out.

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Flags Of Nations Affected By Coronavirus Projected On Swiss Mountain

The Matterhorn Mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland, is a stunning natural structure and its star quality is its symmetrical and pyramid shape. On behalf of the village of Zermatt, the mountain has been illuminated as a sign of solidarity during the coronavirus crisis. Light artist Gerry Hofstetter has been illuminating Matterhorn with the flags of the nations most affected by the pandemic since March 24 as well as other symbols and messages of hope. Dozens of national flags have illuminated the Swiss mountain since then, including countries like India, Italy, Spain, Portugal, USA, China and various Gulf nations.

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In case you missed the last week's Vol.3 of the good news bulletin, you can catch up here.