New Delhi: The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world — the latest count being more than 27.2 lakh cases and more than 8.8 lakh deaths.

Researchers in Costa Rica have turned to horses to look for possible Covid-19 treatment. Asians are finding solace in a Facebook group, and college towns in the US have emerged as the ‘new front’ in pandemic.

ThePrint brings you the most important global stories on the coronavirus pandemic and why they matter.

Signs of lung damage in Covid patients weeks after recovery

Researchers in Austria have found that patients who were hospitalised with Covid-19 still show signs of lung damage, breathlessness and cough several weeks after they were  discharged, reports The Guardian.

The “long and lingering effects” of Covid-19 have been a subject of concern since many patients, even those who had a mild case of infection, continue to experience symptoms for months after they are said to have recovered.

“Now researchers in Austria have released the preliminary results of a study tracking the recovery of patients who were hospitalised with severe coronavirus infection. The results reveal that six weeks after leaving hospital, 88% of patients still showed signs of lung damage in CT scans — such as patches resembling ground glass — while 47% of patients were experiencing breathlessness. At 12 weeks, these figures were 56% and 39% respectively,” says the report.

College towns emerge as ‘new front’ in pandemic

Despite college towns bracing for a spike in Covid-19 cases due to incoming students, towns like Iowa City have become a “full blown pandemic hot spot”, reports The New York Times. It is “one of about 100 college communities around the country where infections have spiked in recent weeks as students have returned for the fall semester”, notes the report.

“Within days, students were complaining that they couldn’t get coronavirus tests or were bumping into people who were supposed to be in isolation. Undergraduates were jamming sidewalks and downtown bars, masks hanging below their chins, never mind the city’s mask mandate,” it adds.

Researchers in Costa Rica turn to horses for Covid antibodies

Scientists at the University of Costa Rica’s Clodomiro Picado Institute (ICP) will soon begin trials of a treatment for the novel coronavirus that includes antibodies taken from horses injected with the virus, reports Reuters.

“Costa Rican researchers say their method for SARS-CoV-2 treatment is based on the experience of using horse antibodies to develop snake anti-venoms. They imported the virus protein from China and the United Kingdom and injected it into six of the 110 horses that the ICP uses for testing,” explains the report.

Similar trials are also taking place in Brazil and Argentina, while in Belgium, researchers are using llamas for their trials, the report adds.

Australia to roll out 85 million vaccine doses

If two promising trials prove to be successful, Australia aims to prepare 85 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines, reports the BBC.

“Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country had struck two deals that would allow free doses to be rolled out in 2021 if they were approved for use. Mr Morrison estimated the cost to be A$1.7 bn,” said the report.

“One vaccine is from Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, while the other is a local one from the University of Queensland and CSL. Both would most likely require people to take two doses,” says the report, adding that Australia has, so far, reported more than 26,000 cases of Covid.

Asians experiencing Covid racism find solace in meme group

A Facebook group called Subtle Asian Traits has helped several Asians to cope with rising ‘anti-Asian sentiment’ due to the pandemic, reports the South China Morning Post.

“Its members discuss quintessentially Asian topics such as bubble tea, K-pop and tiger parents, swapping jokes that need no explanation. But in recent months, a more solemn topic has emerged: coping with the rise of anti-Asian sentiment due to the coronavirus pandemic,” says the report.

Robot processes Covid tests in ‘rapid time’

A robot developed by Israel-based Yaskawa Europe Technology has resulted in Covid-19 checks becoming faster, reports The Jerusalem Post.

“The new system which was rolled out two weeks ago, can process samples from upto 96 Covid-19 tests in the time it would take a standard lab worker to process one, and upto to 2,800 total tests per day,” says the report.

What else we are reading:

Daily coronavirus testing at home? Many experts are skeptical: The New York Times

Tests ‘could be picking up dead virus’: BBC

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