India Coronavirus Dispatch: Virus in Antarctica is not an Indian worry yet

Changes in mental health and diet, what we know about the South African variant, lockdown-driven impact to the elderly-news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Why coronavirus in Antarctica isn’t a worry for the Indian contingent yet

Earlier this week, the world found out that Covid-19 had found to its way to Antarctica. The continent is uninhabited except for those working in dozens of permanent stations set up by many countries to carry out scientific research. This includes India. 

Chile’s armed forces revealed that at least 36 people at the country's research station have been infected. However, the Indian contingent is not worried about contracting the virus. The two Indian permanent stations are at least 5,000 km away from the Chilean base, says this report in the Indian Express. Read more here

How Covid caused drastic changes in diet, increase in anxiety, loneliness 

This report in ThePrint highlights the ways in which people's mental health and dietary habits changed as the pandemic struck and compelled the government to impose an unprecedented lockdown. 

As people were confined to their homes suddenly, this period of time was marked by an increase in loneliness and isolation, especially among the elderly, the report says. The most acute change has been a sudden drop in social interaction. The elderly were particularly hard-hit in this regard as they struggled to connect with their friends and loved ones over social media, unlike others. 

Families are also having to spend a lot of time together, which has led to an increase in irritability and frustration. People also started binge eating even as physical activity declined drastically, the report says, citing medical experts. Read more here

Tourism in Northeast India: Industry Experts Urge Centre to Think of Revival Plan

Experts urge Centre to lay out a plan to revive tourism in the North East

Recent discussions between the private and government stakeholders in the North East's tourism industry brought out the challenges and opportunities in a post-pandemic world, according to this report in The Wire.

The talks held on December 20 put the onus on the state governments in the region to put together an integrated policy to revive the sector in the region. Since the tourism industry in the North East cannot rely on foreign tourists for the foreseeable future, the deliberations centred around ensuring hassle-free travel for inbound domestic tourists across the North East, the report said. For instance, tourists travelling from Assam need to drive through Nagaland to get to Manipur. Nagaland has not yet opened for tourists. It has, however, allowed visitors to pass through the state without a stopover, the report says. Read more here

What we know so far about the new Covid-19 strain found in South Africa

Even as many countries shut their borders to the UK amid concerns of a fast-spreading mutated Covid-19 variant, this report in Hindustan Times wraps up what we know so far about another variant discovered with links to South Africa.

The South African variant, "501.V2", is more transmissible than the UK variant, as this variant has mutated further than the UK variant, according to the British health secretary. Younger people with no co-morbidities are being infected by the new variant, according to the report.

The new variant was discovered through routine surveillance by the labs in South Africa. At first, the variant was confined to coastal regions but has now entered inland. Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel and Mauritius have banned flights from South Africa, according to the report. Read more here

Covid-19, lockdown hit senior citizens majorly: Survey

The Covid-19 pandemic has likely upended millions of lives in India. This included the elderly. This report in the Hindustan Times highlights the findings of a survey on the challenges the elderly had to face amid the pandemic. The survey was conducted by Antara, an integrated service provider for senior care needs. The survey was carried out in the northern, southern, western parts of India. 

One in three of the seniors spoken to feared they would contract Covid-19, the report says. As Covid-19 continues to spread, seniors remain the most vulnerable as they might need to lean on their families. The survey found 77% of seniors across the three survey regions lived independently either in their own or rented houses. Only 16% of seniors said that they lived with their children or grandchildren, the report says. Read more here