Good News Roundup: The Fight Against COVID-19 Vol. 6

Several vaccine candidates show promise as India gears up for a large-scale evacuation of its citizens stranded abroad

More than six weeks into our lockdown, we continue to bring you positive news updates from around the world. As efforts continue to be made to fight the pandemic, here are some uplifting headlines that have emerged in the past week:

Over 13 Lakh People Have Recovered

The rate of recovery seems to be picking up with the total number of recovered coronavirus patients nearing the 13-lakh mark. Increased testing and vaccine development breakthroughs provide a glimmer of hope during this global crisis.

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India Begins World’s Largest Peacetime Evacuation To Bring Stranded Citizens Home

Ever since countries began implementing travel restrictions and closing their international borders, citizens of various nationalities found themselves stranded in other countries. Governments all over the world have been undertaking small-scale operations to bring citizens home and India’s efforts are said to be the largest peacetime repatriation in modern history. The first phase is already underway with the government prepared to deploy commercial jets, military transport jets, and naval warships.

Indian citizens who wish to return as part of this evacuation exercise will be required to pay for the journey depending on the location. Stringent precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of all those involved. This includes the screening of all passengers and only allowing asymptomatic people to board. Even these passengers will be quarantined for 14 days before being tested.

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New Italian COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promise

Italy has been one of the worst-affected countries with over 2 lakh confirmed cases and around 30,000 deaths reported. The country has seen its infection rate and coronavirus deaths decline in recent weeks and the government has now announced that it has successfully developed a vaccine. Tests carried out on mice by the Spallanzani Hospital in Rome saw the generation of antibodies. Human testing is set to begin soon. This new vaccine has been developed by a firm called Takis. Dr. Emanuele Marra from Takis has said the vaccine candidate can adapt to any possible mutation of the coronavirus.

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Israel’s Bio Research Lab Claims To Have Extracted Antibodies To Neutralise COVID-19

The Israel Institute for Biological Research reported a recent breakthrough in its research to battle the coronavirus pandemic. Its lab claims to have extracted antibodies that could neutralise the virus. According to Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett’s statements to the press, the development process is complete and the vaccine is ready to move to the next stage for patenting and mass production. It is important to note that Bennett did not provide details on the status of human trials.

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New Study Recommends Best Materials For Homemade Face Masks

The shortage of personal protection equipment has been apparent since the start of the lockdowns with N95 masks being particularly hard to find. Since they are rightfully prioritised for healthcare and frontline workers, other individuals have taken to making their own face masks. A researcher’s report from ACS Nano (American Chemical Society) suggests that a combination of cotton with natural silk or chiffon can do a better job of filtering out aerosol particles. The report finds that a well-fitting facemask made from this combination of materials may offer better protection than the average homemade mask.

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In case you missed last week's edition of the good news bulletin, you can read it here.