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People run away in panic after Kodaikanal police’s awareness campaign goes awry

In Kodaikanal, the incident where a corona patient escaped from a hospital and fled into the city has caused a lot of panic to the public in the district. With the 2nd wave of coronavirus in Tamil Nadu causing an increase in the number of infections everyday, the police are constantly raising awareness through various different ways.

In light of the same, the awareness campaign staged by the Kodaikanal police thinking they were doing something out of the box went awry, as it caused the public to run away in panic. The awareness campaign featured a person wandering into the Naidupuram area, the main part of Kodaikanal, as if escaping treatment from the hospital. The public panicked after they saw the man around with a bottle of glucose and the IV drips tube in his hand.

The man begged the public to save him, but they proceeded to flee in panic from the spot. Eventually, the commotion escalated and police said it was an awareness campaign organized to instill fear among the people about the coronavirus. There were also reports of a man disguised as a corona patient chasing people and threatening not to touch anything else.

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TNM selectively targets BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan for steam inhalation drive, stays silent on DMK MLAs launching facilities

The News Minute on Sunday (May 16) published an article about BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan opening steam inhalation facilities in Coimbatore.  which it claimed that steam inhalation is a farce based on the opinions of some ‘medical experts’.

The article titled ‘Coimbatore BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan inaugurates steam inhalation facility, criticised‘ tries to peddle that steam inhalation is a farce and quotes some ‘medical experts’ advocating against it.

“Medical experts have said that there is no scientific proof that steam inhalation helps in preventing COVID-19 infection.”, the article said.

Again on May 17, The News Minute published an article in which it targeted Vanathi Srinivasan, saying that the Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma. Subramanian has warned people against use of steam inhalation.

However, on the May 16, DMK Ministers K.N. Nehru and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi too had inspected the steam inhalation facilities set up at the Government Siddha Rehabilitation Center at Bharathidasan University. There has been no mention of this by the Bengaluru-based news outlet.

It is to be noted that ‘steam inhalation’ is part of ICMR guidelines for home isolation and care for COVID.

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The DMK too finds itself in confusion with its leaders taking contradicting positions. While Health Minister Ma. Subramanian and DMK MP Senthilkumar has warned people against using steam inhalation, the government has set up steam inhalation units at various places.

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DMK Fin Min PTR shoots the messenger for publishing Isha’s response to his diatribes, says The Hindu’s Malini needs ‘counselling’

PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, the Finance Minister of the DMK government who in an interview to The Hindu called Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev a ‘publicity hound’ and a ‘charlatan’ has now hit back at the publication itself for coming out with Isha’s response.

In his interview to The Hindu which was published on May 14, Palanivel Thiagarajan dismissed the call for relieving Hindu temples from government control and went on to make defamatory statements on Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

““Random people make random noise. These are the people who want to break the goodwill of society,” he told The Hindu.

“In the case of Jaggi, he is a publicity hound and charlatan who is trying to find another angle to make more money.” he further added. He had also called Jaggi Vasudev a ‘commercial operator’ pretending to use god and religion to get help.

In response to this disparaging remarks, volunteers of the Isha Foundation had written an open letter to Palanivel Thiagarajan saying that they were appalled at the personal attack made by a person holding such high office.

“It is deeply unfortunate that a person holding high public office should resort to name-calling of a highly respected public figure. This unseemly attack trivialises the efforts and dedication of millions of Isha volunteers worldwide who are working tirelessly in service of humanity.”, the letter read.

The letter further stated that Isha Foundation has worked with various elected governments from across the political spectrum and will continue to do so for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu.

“Cooperation and support have been the nature of our relationship with every government. We regret the deterioration of this culture and the poor standard of public discourse. This is certainly unbecoming of an elected representative and an honorable member of the State’s Cabinet.”, the letter noted.

The Hindu Publishing Group’s Chairperson Malini Parthasarathy had shared this response which The Hindu had carried in the form of an article. However, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan resorted to shooting the messenger saying that Malini Parthasarathy needs ‘counselling’ and not destroy The Hindu’s brand.

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First batch of DRDO developed 2-DG anti Covid-19 drug now available

As India fights back the second wave of the Chinese virus, the first batch of the revolutionary 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be released by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today (17 May).

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) 8 May had approved the anti-COVID-19 drug for emergency use and hospitals will start receiving the supplies of the drug from Monday (17 May) with the first batch comprising of around 10,000 doses to be supplied to various hospitals in Delhi.

An anti-Covid-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences laboratory (INMAS), a lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad.

Clinical trial results have been exceptionally good and as per reports this new life-saving drug helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.

However, what makes the drug unique is that it prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production as it accumulates in the virus-infected cells and the selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique.

A higher proportion of patients treated with 2-DG showed RT-PCR negative conversion in Covid patients and the best news is since it is a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in plenty in the country.

This is the most non-evasive Covid-19 drug as it comes in powder form in a sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water.

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MK Stalin allows Chinese vaccines to counter Chinese virus in TN

As India is trying to overcome the second wave of the Wuhan virus, the newly elected state government of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Chief Minister MK Stalin has floated a global tender for 3.5 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine and has allowed the Chinese vaccine makers to file tender.

A senior official from Tamil Nadu told IANS “We are allowing every product (vaccine) as long as it is approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and licensed by the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI),”.

As of now, six vaccines have been approved by WHO and three by DCGI. There has been no approval given for Chinese vaccines by Government of India. However, the DMK government has not banned Chinese bidders from participating based on ’emergency’.

It is worth noting that Maharashtra state government has disqualified companies located in countries sharing borders with India from participating in the bid, ergo disqualifying Chinese vaccine manufacturers.

The move of Tamil Nadu CM Stalin to allow China to participate in the tender has received flak from many quarters.

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It is to be noted that the Chinese vaccines have a low efficacy rate when compared to Made in India vaccines like COVAXIN and Covishield. Reports have emerged that anyone from Pakistan who is traveling to Saudi Arabia and has been administered the Chinese vaccine will still have to undergo quarantine the efficacy. Many have stated that Sinopharm is perhaps the worst amongst all vaccines.

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Dharumai Adheenam readies 100 beds for treating COVID patients

The Dharmapuram Adheenam, one of the 18 Saivite Mutts in Tamil Nadu has set up a 100 bed COVID care centre to cater to the rising number of Wuhan virus patients in the region.

Tamil Nadu has been witnessing the second wave of the Wuhan Virus with thousands getting affected each day. Since there are not enough beds in the Mayiladuthurai district, the Adheenam had readied the COVID care centre by converting the Dharmapuram Adheenam Arts College, which is run by the Mutt.

The 27th mutt head of Dharumapuram Adheenam, Srila Sri Masilamani Desika Gnanasambandha Paramacharya Swamigal handed over the facility to the Cheif Medical Officer. Earlier, he had also donated 11 lakhs on behalf of the Adheenam towards the Chief Minister Relief Fund.

Apart from this, the Adheenam has also been providing Kabasura Kudineer (a herbal concoction) to more than 2000 people living in the villages of the region.

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“TN CM should learn from Puducherry Lt Guv” says BJP Spokesperson SG Suryah

With the second wave of the Wuhan Virus hitting Tamil Nadu, the newly elected DMK government is fumbling to get a grip over the crisis that is unfolding in the state. Hospitals are getting overwhelmed with beds and oxygen running out of supply. On top of that, dead bodies of those who died of virus are queuing up in crematoriums.

Many are also trying to take advantage and make some money out of the crisis. Drugs like Remdesivir are getting sold in black market at sky high prices. The poor planning and crowd management for getting the drug has also put people in inconvenience. The price of ambulance service is also high in Tamil Nadu.

In light of this, BJP Tamil Nadu Spokesperson SG Suryah has asked the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to take lessons from Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundarrajan on how to deal with the pandemic. He said that in Puducherry, the price of ambulance service is in the range of ₹500 – ₹850 while in Tamil Nadu it ranges from ₹1500 to ₹4000.

He also said that unlike in Tamil Nadu where people are queueing and congregating in large numbers to get the Remdesivir drug with many returning empty handed, the Puducherry government is delivering the essential drug directly to the government and private hospitals in the Union Territory.

“CM Stalin should learn from Puducherry Lt. Governor on how to deal with the crisis”, he said.

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AI that can detect sarcasm in social media developed by researchers

Researchers from the University of Central Florida have devised an Artificial Intelligence mechanism that can actually detect sarcasm in social media posts. This is considered to become extremely beneficial to those companies that are looking to read their customers in a better manner and provide customised services to suit their target audience.

This AI is all set to revolutionize the field of customer relations, since most brands’ primary problem is understanding the customer and providing better services by listening to feedback.

“Sarcasm has been a major hurdle to increasing the accuracy of sentiment analysis, especially on social media, since sarcasm relies heavily on vocal tones, facial expressions and gestures that cannot be represented in text,” said Brian Kettler, a program manager in DARPA’s Information Innovation Office (I2O). “Recognizing sarcasm in textual online communication is no easy task as none of these cues is readily available,” he added

This AI has been built using a new technology called sentiment analysis. This is an automated mechanism that refers to sensing systems that can detect emotions like happiness, anger, and such and detecting whether it is positive, negative, or neutral-toned. This was researched by a team from UCF who went on to publish it in a journal called Entropy. The team taught the program to find patterns of sarcasm in text by using several kinds of words and sequences that might indicate sarcasm. They fed large sets of data to this program and iterated to nail the accuracy.

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Karnataka: BJP Minister converts his house for use as COVID isolation ward

The BJP minister from Karnataka has been lauded for turning his house into a corona isolation ward with bed facilities. The second wave of coronavirus is currently spreading fast across the country. This has resulted in a lack of bed facilities for patients in all hospitals in various states. Many hospitals in Karnataka too are finding it difficult to accommodate patients.

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai has converted his house in Shikaon in Haveri district into a 50-bed corona care centre with the aim of providing medical assistance to them.

The Minister has also appointed doctors and a medical team to treat the patients admitted here. The minister is currently living in Hubli with his family. He has been using this house in Shikaon, where he contested and was elected as a legislator, whenever he pays a visit here.

This selfless act of the Home Minister is being appreciated from different quarters.

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Transgenders in Chennai serve food to the hungry during lockdown

With rising cases of the Wuhan Virus pandemic, the state government has imposed a strict lockdown for a period of two weeks. Many especially the poor and homeless have been finding it difficult to cope up with the lockdown.

In light of this, a group of transgenders have took to serving food to satisfy the hunger of those without any source of income.

This service is being carried out by the transgender group called Orupidi Anbu, translating to “a handful of love”. This group of transgender people from Chennai has been providing food to more than 500 homeless people who have been hit hard by the lockdown.

There are two units of this group in the city, one for the northern part and the other for the southern part. They provide hot and neatly packed food following all social distancing protocols.  They have been serving meals twice a day – lunch and dinner – despite the financial constraints on their side.

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