1. In how many zones has India been divided in the Lockdown 3.0 ?
a. Five
b. Four
c. Three
d. Six
S-c
EXPLANATION-
• The third phase of lockdown has come into effect from 4th May 2020 till 17th May 2020 according to the orders of Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The Union Health Ministry has listed 130 districts across the country in the red zone, 284 in orange zone and 319 in green zone based on coronavirus.
• Based on this, the government has divided the states into three zones -- red zone, orange zone and green zones.
• The classification will determine the kind of restrictions placed on the movement of people and supply of goods in a district.
• Red-The districts with substantial numbers of positive cases would fall under the red zone. The coronavirus red zone will see no activity. Also, areas that show a high rate of infection, which double in less than four days - will also come under this category.
• Orange-The areas with limited number of cases in the past and with no surge in positive cases recently would be included under the orange zone. Only restricted activities such as limited public transport and farm product harvesting is expected to be allowed in coronavirus orange zone.
• Green-The districts with no coronavirus positive cases would fall under the green zone. These Zones didn't report any cases in the last 21 days.
2. Which state has launched the COVIDPHARMA mobile application?
a. Madhya Pradesh
b. Andhra Pradesh
c. Maharashtra
d. Punjab
S-b
EXPLANATION-
• The medical and health department of Andhra Pradesh has launched a mobile application, Covid Pharma, to keep track of people purchasing medicines over-the-counter (OTC) from medical stores for cough, cold and fever.
• Using the app, pharmacies will have to take down details of persons and their mobile numbers, who are making OTC purchases of medicines, including Paracetamol, for common ailments, and report that to the government.
• This will help us easily trace persons with any kind of likely symptoms of coronavirus.
• This also includes buying medicines with prescriptions. The medical shops association has consented to collect details of persons making such purchases and share those with the health department for better monitoring.
3. Which state government launched Umbare Aanganwadi to help children during lockdown?
a. Gujarat
b. Punjab
c. Madhya Pradesh
d. Andhra Pradesh
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• In view of increasing coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in India, the Women and Child Development Ministry (WCD) of Gujarat State Government has launched a unique initiative called ‘Umbare Aanganwadi (means doorstep Aanganwadi) under ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) programme to reach out to children during the lockdown.
• Under this initiative, the ICDS department of the state will mainly offer ready to eat nutritious food packets through AMUL (an Indian dairy cooperative society) to its beneficiaries including 14 lakh children between 3-6 years of age, pregnant and nursing women and adolescent girls through the network of around 53 thousand Aanganwadi.
• In addition to this, ICDS Department has also initiated a TV programme called ‘Umbare Aanganwadi’ which is telecast every alternate day through Vande Gujarat channel as well as on Jio TV &You Tube, where the regular theme-based modules of Aanganwadi are being taught in an interactive the way.
4. What is the name of the low cost mechanical ventilator developed by students using locally available material?
a. Ruhdaar
b. Bhudaar
c. Mohdaar
d. Kavach
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• A team of engineering students from IIT Bombay, NIT Srinagar and Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST), Awantipora, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir is one such group of creative individuals who have come forward to solve the problem of ventilator requirement.
• The team has come up with a low-cost ventilator named Ruhdaar using locally available materials.
• The cost of producing the prototype is around Rs 10,000 & the cost will be reduced when producing it in lump. It will be subject to medical testing for clearance and validation, after the approval will be taken for mass production.
• The main idea is to design and develop a low-cost alternative to the high-end ventilators used in hospitals costing in lakhs of rupees. It’s design is made using advanced software and will not be charged any royalty.
5. What is the name of the web dashboard developed by IIT-Delhi to predict coronavirus spread in country?
a. PRACRITI
b. PARIKSHIT
c. RAKSHA
d. KAVACH
S-a
EXPLANATION-
• Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has developed a web-based dashboard for tracking and predicting the spread of COVID-19 in India.
• The PRACRITI (Prediction and Assessment of Corona Infections and Transmission in India) dashboard will provide the R0 values of each district and state in India based on the data available from sources such as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and World Health Organisation (WHO).
• A key parameter of interest on COVID-19 is the basic reproduction number R0 and its countrywide variability. R0 refers to the number of people to whom the disease spreads from a single infected person. For instance, if an active COVID-19 patient infects two uninfected persons, the R0 is two. Hence, reduction of R0 is the key in controlling and mitigating the COVID-19 in India.
• Getting the district-wise R0 is crucial as this will enable authorities to know the exact rate of spread in India locally.
• The projections are given for a three-week period, which is updated on a weekly basis.
• The researchers believe that such a platform will be highly useful for healthcare bodies, local and central authorities, to efficiently plan for different future scenarios and resource allocation.
