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Monday, July 13, 2020

The Coronavirus Disease

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Hardi Talwani
Hardi Talwani
Global

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Hardi Talwani

Article Title

The Coronavirus Disease

Publisher

Global Views 360

Publication Date

July 13, 2020

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Computer generated representation of COVID-19 virions (SARS-CoV-2) under electron microscope

Computer generated representation of COVID-19 virions (SARS-CoV-2) under electron microscope | Source Felipe Esquivel Reed via Wikimedia

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus from the family of coronaviruses which causes COVID-19 i.e. Coronavirus Disease-2019. It is the successor of the SARS-CoV-1 which caused the SARS outbreak in the year 2003-2004. This is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus which has rapid mutation properties.

The etymology of the name suggests that 'Corona' comes from the Latin word corōna meaning crown, garland, or a wreath. When seen under an Electron Microscope, the virion which has a diameter of 50-200 nanometres looks like the solar corona hence named Coronavirus.

When the virus enters the body; it attaches itself to the binding site or the ACE 2 receptors of healthy lung cells through its spike protein. Then it enters the cell via this attachment and causes apoptosis or cell death. The virus also affects organs other than lungs such as the brain, heart and kidneys. The multiple impact points make it problematic for the researchers to create a vaccine in addition to its rapid mutation properties.

The disease might have a zoonotic origin i.e. the transmission occurs from animals to humans. On comparing the genomic sequences the Human Coronavirus strain is found to be 96% identical to Bat Coronavirus samples and 92% similar to the Pangolins samples. Human transmission of the disease takes place via air droplets when the infected person is coughing, sneezing or talking.

The first cases of this respiratory illness were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, on 31 December 2019. It is the first severe outbreak since the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. Initially, it was supposed that the site of origination is Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market but, in May 2020 the negative samples tested, by  Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, from the livestock market suggested that it was the site of the super spreading of the virus.

SARS-CoV-2 is known to have an average reproduction number of 2.2-2.6 which means that, on an average, one infected person can spread the infection to 2-3 people. Although if measures like social distancing are put into use, to reduce the exposure of the infected population, it leads to a significant reduction in transmission rates. The infection fatality rate (IFR) of COVID-19 in various studies till 16th June 2020 was projected to range 0.60% to 1% of infected people . However few studies suggested the IFR as high as 3.6%.

The testing of an individual takes place through a method known as real-time Reverse transcription Polymerization Chain reaction (rRT-PCR). The process of obtaining strains and testing the patients usually involves nasal swabs or sputum swabs; the results come in within a span of a few hours to a couple of days.

Currently, there are no known vaccines available for the virus or any specific antiviral treatments, but there are numerous vaccines in works all over the world to tackle COVID-19. Experts believe that the minimum time required to test a vaccine is 12 to 18 months.

Trials are also going on for the repurposed drugs or the drugs which are useful for treating other diseases and might be capable against COVID-19: Some of these drugs are Hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, Remdesivir, Dexamethasone, Lopinavir-ritonavir, and Convalescent plasma.

The only current solutions for tackling the pandemic are social distancing, hand wash, hygiene and face masks.

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February 4, 2021 4:44 PM

Are Black Americans victims of Police Militarization in the US

In the USA, there are reports of police using tear gas, flashbangs, and many other weapons to fight against the riots which are occurring now in over 350 cities against police brutality against the Black Community. There have been many reports on how the police brutality is disproportionate in terms of race; the Black people are thrice as likely to have violence committed on them by the police force than the whites, and the factor is 1.5 for the Hispanics. There is a first-hand account of a person present in the recent protests who talks about the use of batons on demonstrators.

This, however, leads to the question whether it was the militarization of the police force that caused violence towards minority communities. The police militarization was, in the aftermath of the 9/11 US terrorist attack, justified by the policymakers as a necessary tool to prevent the terrorist attacks in the future. This policy decision led to the military grade weapons and military style training regime for the police force. Some of the states in the US partnered with highly militarized police of Israel for training their police force. Such lethal weapons which were provided to the police force  used against terrorists were gradually used by the police force against common civilians on suspicion of minor crimes and the group of protestors.

The civil right groups were voicing concerns for many years about the use of disproportionate force on the Black and Hispanic Americans, which they blamed on the arming of police with lethal weapons. It was the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, who was shot and killed on Aug. 9, 2014, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Montana, USA that galvanised the public to demand for demilitarization of police force. As a response to public anger against the killing of Michael Brown, President Obama set up a Task Force on 21st Century Policing. This task force, in its report put special emphasis on de-escalating situations, with civilians in training and policies, and reduced funding by the Department of Homeland Security for such weapons. However these recommendations failed to have much effect on solving the issues at hand.

The continued use of such lethal weapons casts the police force as a separate, powerful entity which is to be feared, instead of a friendly cop who is trying to provide security to a citizen in distress. Such equipment serves to distance the police from the people, giving them power, and if left unchecked, entitlement over the rest of the citizens. In many instances the presence of a weapon itself leads to more aggressive behaviour and there have been calls to make the police wear body cams to restrain them from acting with disproportionate lethal force.

The racial profiling and discriminatory actions against the black and other communities that was already practiced by the police forces was now being enforced by more lethal power in the force’s hands. A study by Olugbenga Ajilore shows that counties with more race segregation were more likely to request additional weapons, and counties with an African American/Asian American population are more likely to acquire military equipment. Another report of 2017 shows a direct correlation between the degree of police militarization and the killing of civilians in police action.

It can be reasonably said that the militarization, in some sense, inflated the already existing racial profiling based violent actions of police force.

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