Second wave of Covid-19 is determined by immune mechanism

Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Singapore from 2020 to 2021: A Revisit

The first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case was detected in Singapore on 23 January 2020. Over the two years, Singapore witnessed tightening and easing of policies in response to and in anticipation of new variants, stress on the healthcare sector, and new waves of infection. Upon confirming the reliability of the data using Benford’s analysis, the collated COVID-19 data and trends were analyzed alongside the policies between 2020 and 2021 in Singapore. Due to the proactive nature of these policies, Singapore was largely successful in reducing the imported cases that would spill over and result in community waves of infection and death. The government has taken necessary steps to support the citizens and reduce the impact of the pandemic on the economy of the country. Furthermore, there were policies that were more responsive and there are lessons to be learned from neighboring countries on their management of the pandemic. Given the endemic approach the government has adopted, the efficacy of these policies comes down to its sustainability. Since the pandemic requires frequent revisiting of these policies, Singapore’s long-term management of the pandemic (or endemic) and its impact comes down to the ability of the government to introduce sustainable policies and update these according to new developments in treatments, variants, and vaccines, bearing in mind the socioeconomic condition of the country.

The Increased Burden of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Orthopaedic Trauma Patients: Comparison of Demographics of Both the Waves of the Pandemic-An Indian Tertiary Center Experience

BACKGROUND

The second wave of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has posed new challenges in the management of Orthopedic trauma patients due to the overburdened healthcare facilities and we aim to present the differences in demographics between the first wave and the initial part of the second wave.

METHODOLOGY

This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study of our trauma registry from June 19, 2020 to October 13, 2020 (1st study period) and from April 1, 2021 to the first week of May 2021 (2nd study period). We looked into differences in the following three parameters: (1) infection rate among Orthopaedic patients in the first and second study period of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, (2) infection rate among the Health Care Workers and (3) hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections in admitted Orthopaedic trauma patients.

RESULTS

35 out of 852 patients (4.1%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection in 1st study period as compared to 48 out of 262 patients (18.3%) in the 2nd study period (p < 0.001). 23 HCW's involved in management of Orthopaedic trauma patients tested positive in the second study period compared to none in the first study period. 17 patients had Hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2nd study period compared to 7 in 1st study period. There were more asymptomatic patients for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the 2nd study period.

CONCLUSION

Significant increase in the number of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Orthopaedic trauma patients, and the increased number of HCW's affected with SARS-CoV-2 infection have been the challenges in 2nd study period.