DNA Exclusive: Coronavirus mutations, its spread through air, and PM Modi's address to nation

New Delhi: The rate at which COVID-19 is spreading across the country has left everyone astonished. Despite so much work done to improve the healthcare infrastructure after the first wave of the pandemic struck, the facilities seem inadequate as the number of new cases continues to rise at an alarming rate.

The main reason the situation has come to this is that the coronavirus has become airborne, that is, it is spreading through air. The other is the creation of new variants of the virus through mutation.

Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Tuesday (April 20) explained how COVID-19 transmits through air and what are the precautions one can take to stay safe. He also discussed important points from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation.

According to the renowned medical journal ‘The Lancet’, the coronavirus can spread through air. The same has been confirmed by the NITI Aayog.

NITI Aayog member Dr. V.K. Paul has said that the infection in India is spreading rapidly through air and that is the reason behind the sharp increase in cases.

How does COVID-19 transmit through air?

When a person coughs or sneezes or speaks loudly or sings a song, several tiny droplets of saliva come out of their mouth and nose which gets suspended in air. If the person in question is infected with COVID-19, the virus would be present in those droplets.

If a person in close proximity to the infected person inhales the surrounding air, those droplets enter their system and thus they get infected.

The Lancet study says the same thing. Six scientists from the US, the UK and Canada have prepared this report. It points to the new threat, which is indeed quite worrying.

Last year, when the pandemic started, scientists advised people to follow social distancing. It is because they believed that even though the cough droplets would mix with the air, they would not get carried far enough to infect a person six feet away.

But the study says that in a room with five or ten people present, even if they do maintain the minimum distance as advised, they would get infected if a single person was COVID positive. This means social distancing could not eliminate the risk.

What precautions can one take to stay safe?

Firstly, do not stop wearing masks. Whenever you are sitting in a group, make sure that you wear a mask. In fact the doctors advise to wear double layers of masks or face covers.

Secondly, ensure proper ventilation of the rooms and halls where a group of people is present. Keep the doors and windows open to let fresh air in.

Prime Minister’s address to the nation

In today’s edition of DNA, Sudhir Chaudhary also discussed the important points underlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation.

The PM has urged the states to not impose lockdown saying that it should be undertaken as a last resort. He also appealed to the migrants to stay where there are and avoid the situation that happened last year.

PM Modi also said that the Centre is working in tandem with the state governments to avail them of the requisite amount of vaccines, oxygen and medicines.

As the PM said, “Dawai bhi, kadai bhi” is the mantra that would see us out of this danger.