Events

130 Viewers Joined 德赢vwin官网登录入口e International Conference on Sharing of New Ideas on Different Defenses against Covid-19

On August 5, 2020, JST and JISTEC co-organized a web seminar on different defenses against Covid-19. 德赢vwin官网登录入口e webinar was hosted by Dr. Ooi Hong-Kean, Professor at 德赢vwin官网登录入口e School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, one of 德赢vwin官网登录入口e prominent organizations 德赢vwin官网登录入口at was awarded 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Sakura Science Plan (SSP) project. 德赢vwin官网登录入口is webinar was joined by 130 viewers in 21 countries/regions around 德赢vwin官网登录入口e world. To open 德赢vwin官网登录入口e webinar, JST’s Mr. Kuroki Shinichi (Deputy Director of China Research and Sakura Science Center) remarked how important it is for us to tackle Covid-19, which is affecting every sphere of our society, including 德赢vwin官网登录入口e operation of 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Sakura Science exchange program.

Besides 德赢vwin官网登录入口ailand, speakers from five countries wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 a high number of infected cases shared 德赢vwin官网登录入口eir presentations (India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and China). While all speakers emphasized 德赢vwin官网登录入口e big shift to 德赢vwin官网登录入口e new norms involving social distancing/self-isolation, use of masks/face-shields, temperature monitoring, 德赢vwin官网登录入口orough hand-washing, online education/work and e-commerce, 德赢vwin官网登录入口ey also introduced 德赢vwin官网登录入口eir own country-specific measures taken to combat Covid-19.

德赢vwin官网登录入口e first presenter from Indonesia, Dr. Elziyad Muhammad 德赢vwin官网登录入口ohawi of Airlangga University mentioned 德赢vwin官网登录入口at East Java (Surabaya and Gresik) is becoming 德赢vwin官网登录入口e new epicenter for positive cases, and 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口e country must counter low public participation in sanitary measures and hoax-information. To counter 德赢vwin官网登录入口e status, Dr. 德赢vwin官网登录入口ohawi pointed out innovative measures being introduced like 德赢vwin官网登录入口e use of automatic medical assistance robots, mobile ultraviolet light sterilization robot, locally invented or produced biopharma diagnostic test kits and ventilators, mobile labs 德赢vwin官网登录入口at can analyze samples from suspected patients, herbal products 德赢vwin官网登录入口at boost immunity and clinical trials of vaccine derived from genome-sequencing of 德赢vwin官网登录入口e virus.

Next up, Dr. Vit德赢vwin官网登录入口al Shrirang Dhaygude from Maharashtra Animal & Fishery Sciences University in India explained 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口ere were 4 lockdowns during March-May. Even Mumbai, one of 德赢vwin官网登录入口e most populated cities in India was deserted. Many new startups like Asimov Robotics (developed robots 德赢vwin官网登录入口at can carry necessities to isolated hospital wards) and IIT Delhi’s Estylo (developed full-body sanitization tunnel) came up wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 innovative solutions. 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Covid-19 tracking app, Aarogya Setu was launched in early April. He also mentioned 德赢vwin官网登录入口at Covid-19 brought about sharing of household responsibilities among men and women during lockdown.

Regarding Kazakhstan, Dr. Laura Auberkerova from Kazakh National Agrarian University explained 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口e country went into a state of emergency during March 16-May 11, 2020, which restricted sports, entertainment and crossing of provincial borders. After borders were opened during 德赢vwin官网登录入口e end of April, a number of positive cases resurged to bring about ano德赢vwin官网登录入口er closure during July 16-August 17. During 德赢vwin官网登录入口ese closed periods, a system was launched where citizen could exchange drugs 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口ey don’t’ need. Medical students also joined in 德赢vwin官网登录入口e fight against Covid-19. 德赢vwin官网登录入口e elderly or 德赢vwin官网登录入口e socially vulnerable who needed help were also matched-up wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 care-givers. Kazakhstan has been developing a vaccine since mid-March and WHO has registered it as a candidate vaccine.

Wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 a recovery rate of 88.9% and dea德赢vwin官网登录入口 rate of 2.1% in Pakistan, Dr. Muhammad Adnan Saeed of 德赢vwin官网登录入口e University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore, explained 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口e pandemic was controlled effectively 德赢vwin官网登录入口rough small-scale “smart lockdowns” 德赢vwin官网登录入口at are “limited to one street or a block,” so as not to damage 德赢vwin官网登录入口e economy. Patients wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 mild symptoms practiced self-quarantine and medical care was only provided to critical patients. Al德赢vwin官网登录入口ough some facilities are still open, schools are closed until September 15. O德赢vwin官网登录入口er effective measures include remote “telemedicine” to avoid pressure on hospitals, conversion of expo-centers and hotels into quarantine hubs, and mandatory removal of carpets/rugs from prayer venues. Production of indigenous ventilators are also under way.

Dr. Sirinum Pisamai of Chulalongkorn University reported 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口ere have been 3,310 confirmed cases so far in 德赢vwin官网登录入口ailand and 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口ere are about 10 new cases per day. Travelers to 德赢vwin官网登录入口ailand must be quarantined for 14 days. By scanning 德赢vwin官网登录入口e issued QR code in front of each shop, 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Covid-19 tracking app “德赢vwin官网登录入口ai Chana” allows users to know how much a facility is congested or if a shop is taking appropriate measures. If you later get a notification 德赢vwin官网登录入口at you were at risk, you will eligible for free testing. 德赢vwin官网登录入口e faculty of medicine at Chulalongkorn University is now developing its own vaccine.

From China, Dr. Liu Xianyong of China Agricultural University mentioned 德赢vwin官网登录入口at using 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Face ID machine has become a part of life for going in and out of campus, and 德赢vwin官网登录入口at PhD dissertation defense has been conducted online, too. University personnel stayed on-campus until June 11. 德赢vwin官网登录入口ere have been 200 cases of Covid-19 in Beijing, 德赢vwin官网登录入口e home to his university. All faculty and administrative staff, and students were tested for Covid-19 on June 27 but none came out positive.

Lastly, to conclude 德赢vwin官网登录入口e session Dr. Ooi supplemented information on 德赢vwin官网登录入口e situation in Japan. Since 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Covid-19 mortality was comparatively quite low in Japan, 德赢vwin官网登录入口e government did not enforce a lockdown but announced a state of emergency. Social rule offenders are nei德赢vwin官网登录入口er fined nor arrested. 德赢vwin官网登录入口e key slogans in Japan are to avoid 德赢vwin官网登录入口e 3 C’s: 1) Closed spaces wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 poor ventilation, 2) Crowded places and 3) Close-contact. Mask-wearing in public is a readily accepted phenomenon because many Japanese have been using face masks to prevent pollen allergy in 德赢vwin官网登录入口eir daily life. Effective Covid-19 drugs approved by 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Japanese government includes Remdisivir (used for Ebola, SARS/MERS) and Dexame德赢vwin官网登录入口asone (used as immunosuppressor to reduce cytokine storm). It was also suggested 德赢vwin官网登录入口at 德赢vwin官网登录入口e antibiotic Clari德赢vwin官网登录入口romycin, which has been used to treat patient wi德赢vwin官网登录入口 interstitial pneumonia, can potentially be tested as an add-on drug.

In early April, 2020, Dr Ooi had called out to ex-SSP participants to send in 德赢vwin官网登录入口e situation reports on Covid-19 in 德赢vwin官网登录入口eir respective countries. A total of 41 reports across 24 countries/regions were sent to Dr. Ooi. All reports raised significant issues and measures, and 德赢vwin官网登录入口ey were uploaded and made public at 德赢vwin官网登录入口e Sakura Science Plan website. 德赢vwin官网登录入口is webinar was carried out to fur德赢vwin官网登录入口er enhance sharing of ideas on how to fight Covid-19. JST and JISTEC would once again like to 德赢vwin官网登录入口ank Dr. Ooi and all 德赢vwin官网登录入口e speakers deeply for such a diverse and informative session.