The rising variant

you can count on the usual viral

symptoms with this newer variant also

known as perola it feels much like the

symptoms of the flu my body was aching I

was sore my throat was itchy and I'm

like something's not right I didn't feel

like eating and I just slept all day

info reports among the most common with

this new parola infection are a runny

nose aches and pains fatigue sneezing a

lot of coughing and a sore throat but a

second report in the UK also shows three

other not so common symptoms showing up

which include rashes eye problems and

irritation as well as diarrhea while

these may not make you sick enough to

land in the hospital there is a risk

with any of these dehydration and

respiratory complications can lead to

severe illness and even death

cobit we were having 25

000 Americans a week die from covet

we're still having 600 a week die from

coven

um which is significant but obviously a

lot lot less than 25 000 a week that's

one of the reasons infectious disease

specialist Dr Robert Frank of Ohio's

Cincinnati Children's Hospital says as

the new covid fall vaccines roll out

especially those at high risk for these

complications should consider getting

the shots

now just in case you're wondering the

states where it's been reported so far

Colorado Maryland Michigan New York Ohio

Oregon Pennsylvania Texas Virginia and

Washington

and with that kind of a spread it's

going to be very hard to avoid just

about anywhere you go

The Serious Issue :

the resurgence of coronavirus cases has caught India’s creaking healthcare system flat-footed again, with reports of shortages in critical-care beds, oxygen, delays in testing and hospitals turning away critically ill patients pouring in from across the country.

With daily infections nearing 200,000—many experts say the actual number is higher—hospitals in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad are stretched to their limits.

More regions in India are announcing lockdown-like curbs to reduce the stress on hospitals and healthcare workers, raising anxiety about job losses and another slowdown in economic activity just as the nation was emerging from the deepest recession since Independence.

Health experts had for long warned about the consequences of underfunding the country’s health infrastructure. But the recent surge has exposed India’s health preparedness even more than the most pessimistic forecasts. Large and unrestricted religious and political gatherings and open flouting of rules about wearing masks and social distancing have contributed to the current crisis.

“There is no easy solution to address the shortage of health personnel at this stage. This is the result of decades of neglect of public health in the country. There is a shortage of all categories of staff. We need primary care doctors and nurses. We have to re-purpose the existing personnel," said Lalit Kant, a scientist and former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Testing capacity, one of the crucial tools to slow the virus’s spread, is facing extreme stress. Although diagnostic capacity was ramped up after the outbreak last year, it still appears inadequate to deal with the soaring demand.

Turnaround time for test results in some states has gone up to more than 48 hours because of the huge backlog of samples, preventing the quick isolation of positive patients and impeding contact tracing as well as the quarantine of suspected cases, said Dr Harsh Mahajan, founder and chief radiologist, Mahajan Imaging, a diagnostics chain.

The total number of labs available in India is 2,449, with roughly half of them run by private operators, according to the Union health ministry.

Private diagnostic companies said they are witnessing a spike in the number of patients who are testing positive. “The requirement of negative RT-PCR reports for interstate travel has led to a surge in requests from travellers," said Dinesh Chauhan, chief executive of Core Diagnostics.

Experts have urged that only symptomatic patients should get the tests done to reduce the burden on laboratories. “Regulatory approvals that are needed for collection and testing are an added burden and a hurdle to build capacity quickly," said Ameera Shah, managing director, Metropolis Healthcare. “The demand for home visits has gone up and is difficult to scale up at the moment."