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France becomes fourth country to pass the 15,000 coronavirus death toll

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France officially registered more than 15,000 deaths from coronavirus infections on Tuesday, becoming the fourth country to go beyond that threshold after Italy, Spain and the United States, while the rate of increase of fatalities is slightly up again after steadying the days before. Reported by Reuters India 8 hours ago.

Coronavirus, Great Pandemics And Georgia: Short Historical Tale – Analysis

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As the world continues to experience deep effects (death rate, economic downturn, slowdown of globalization) of the novel Coronavirus, it is interesting to look at all the pandemics from a historical point of view. Below are several famous epidemics that affected the world and Georgia in Medieval or Modern and Contemporary periods, and which showed the countries making similar coordinated steps to stop them.

By Prof. Dr. Tedo Dundua, Dr. Apolon Tabuashvili, Dr. Emil Avdaliani*

In general, after the appearance of very mobile Mongols in Georgia, we often find the facts of the spread of incurable diseases in the historical sources. According to the Georgian chronicler, King David Ulugh fell ill at the fortified frontier during the war between the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate troops (Kartlis Tskhovreba /History of Georgia/. Editor-in-Chief R. Metreveli. Tb. 2008, p. 607). King David Ulugh and his son Giorgi died from the same disease in 1270 (Kartlis Tskhovreba /History of Georgia/. Editor-in-Chief R. Metreveli, p. 608). According to the opinion established in historiography, David Ulugh’s disease should have been typhus (Studies in History of Georgia /in Georg./. v. III. Tb. 1979, p. 576). King Vakhtang II of Eastern Georgia died from the same disease in 1292 (Kartlis Tskhovreba /History of Georgia/. Editor-in-Chief R. Metreveli, p. 651).  

**The Black Death**

Information about the appearance of a new epidemic, which later became known as the “Black Death”, came to Europe in 1346 when a plague was reported in the East (V. J. Derbes. De Mussis and the Great Plague of 1348. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). 196(1). Chicago. 1966, pp. 59-62). The name “Black Death” originated from the specifics of the disease itself as the infection usually turned the skin into black colour with such symptoms such as fever and joint pains.

A year later, in 1347, first signs of the plague appeared in the Crimean Peninsula and the disease was most likely brought by the Tatar (Mongol) armies of Khan Janibeg, ruler of the Golden Hoard, when the latter besieged Caffa (nowadays Feodosya), a town which served as an important commercial Genoese city. According to the account of the contemporary, Gabriele de’ Mussi, the infection spread among the Mongol troops from man to man or from rats to humans (M. Wheelis. Biological Warfare at the 1346 Siege of Caffa. Historical Review. Vol. 8, No. 9. Atlanta. 2002, pp. 971-975). It is believed that the Mongols catapulted the corpses of the infected over the city walls, infecting those inside and poisoning wells (V. J. Derbes. De Mussis and the Great Plague of 1348. JAMA, pp. 59-62).

Caffa’s trade relations with the Mediterranean conditioned a quick spread of the disease to Europe via Italy. It is believed that the infection was carried by rats on Genoese commercial vessels sailing from Caffa to Italy.

In the wake of the Black Death, socio-economic relations across much of Europe and Middle East drastically changed. A major reason was a near obliteration of 1/3 of the population (some think about as mush as ½ of the entire populace) of Europe (N. Johnson. M. Koyama. Negative Shocks and Mass Persecutions: Evidence from the Black Death. Journal of Economic Growth. vol. 24(4). Heidelberg. 2019, pp. 345-395). Cities and entire villages turned empty – the process which impacted the existing economic relations between cities and the village. On a positive side though, the Black Death pandemic helped to develop early stages for modern medicine paving the way for hospital-like management.

Because of Caffa’s trade relations with Sebastopolis/Sokhumi in Georgia, simultaneously with the mass spread of the Black Death plague in Europe, the pandemic reached Georgia during the reign of David IX (1346-1360). The spread of the Black Death in the country is confirmed by one note of 1348 – in the country with great hardship, there was also “great death” (Ф. Д. Жордания. Описание рукописей Тифлисского церковного музея карталино-кахетинского духовенства. II. Тифлис. 1902. № 575), which, most likely, means the spread of the Black Death. And great hardship means that agriculture and commerce were depleted, and the state borders were closed. The deadly pandemic spread in Georgia in the 1340s and lasted for a long time. According to  Georgian historian prince Vakhushti, the epidemic was widespread during the early reign of David IX’s successor, Bagrat V (1360-1393), and its scale was so wide that even the queen died along with many others (Kartlis Tskhovreba /History of Georgia/. v. IV. Editor S. Kaukhchishvili. Tb. 1973, p. 262).

The epidemic of plague appeared from time to time in Georgia in later periods too and had devastating consequences for the population, e.g., the epidemic spread in the capital Tbilisi in 1770, caused the death of the fifth of the population.

This fact is described in detail by the German traveler Johann Anton Güldenstädt, who notes that churches and cemeteries in Tbilisi occupy a large place in the already small area for the 20000 inhabitants. Overpopulated and downhill location on the clay soil of the city, which is completely swallowed up during the rain, and has no drainage, existence of the cemeteries, poor police, which allows the streets to be covered with garbage, and so on, – [All this] poisons the air, so dysentery, malignant fever and epidemics, as well as plague, are not uncommon. In 1770 the latter killed 4000 inhabitants. Great mortality would have increased even more if the houses had not been ventilated because of bad doors, paper windows, fireplaces, and so on. There is always air circulation. In 1770 during the plague the sick were mostly taken to the streets, and it was observed that there were relatively more of them left alive than those lying in the house (Johannes Gueldenstaedtius. Peregrinatio Georgica. Tomus Prior. Textum Germanicum cum Conversione Georgica Edidit Commentariisque Instruxit G. Gelašvili. Tb. 1962, p. 89).

The fact of the 1770 epidemic is mentioned by one of the Baratashvilis who notes that the king left the city, he himself took his sick son to the village, where the latter recovered by virtue of the healthy air (Materials for History of Georgia and the Caucasus /in Georg./. Part 28. Tb. 1950, p. 57).

As we can see, Georgians with a plague were moved to the streets. At the same time, they were taken away from the city to the countryside because there was more chance of healing them in the fresh air. People with the disease were given certain medicines too. And the main way to protect healthy population from an epidemic was to stay away from the place where disease was spread.

The disease spread in Tbilisi at the end of the 18^th century, but its scale was not large. As prince Alexander reported from Tbilisi on November 21, 1797, to his mother, queen Darejan, the disease was in Ganja and Karabakh, while in Tbilisi only one person died (Antiquities of Georgia /in Georg./. v. III. Editor E. Takaishvili. Tb. 1910, p. 226). Despite its small spread, the plague was there in the country until the spring of 1798 (Platon Ioseliani. Life of Giorgi XIII. Editor A. Gatserelia. Tb. 1978, p. 51), and that is why the pompously planned funeral ceremony of Erekle II, king of Eastern Georgia, was held in a rather modest way.

In the early 19^th century, quarantine was introduced in three places (Garetubani, Ortachala and Avlabari) around Tbilisi to prevent the spread of the disease (Data for the Early 19^th Century History of Georgia: Joseph Shagubatov – Description of the Internal Situation of East Georgia and Imereti. The Georgian Translation of the Russian Text, Research, Commentaries, Indices and Facsimiles are Presented for Publishing by A. Tabuashvili and G. Zhuzhunasvili. Tb. 2015, p. 25). Nevertheless, the plague epidemic hit Georgia in 1804, killing 1570 people (J. Samushia. Sergei Tuchkov’s References About Georgia /in Georg. with Engl. summary/. Proceedings of Institute of Georgian History, Faculty of Humanities, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. XI. Tb. 2016, p. 200).

Particularly devastating was the plague of 1811 in Western Georgia, which was brought to the country by Russian soldiers fighting the Ottomans. More than 30000 people died in Western Georgia alone as a result of the epidemic. The disease also spread to Eastern Georgia, killing several thousand people there (Studies in History of Georgia /in Georg./. v. IV. Tb. 1973, p. 921).

**Smallpox Disease**

Another great pandemic was smallpox.  Large-scale death rates were reported in the 18^th century in Europe, where in some years around 400,000 people died annually of smallpox. Moreover, one-third of the survivors went blind (A. Geddes. The History of Smallpox. Clinics in Dermatology. 24. Birmingham. 2006, pp. 152-157). The recurrent smallpox epidemic also caused various attempts to combat smallpox till the discovery of inoculation as an effective vaccination.

The smallpox epidemic was spreading from time to time in Georgia too. One of the historical documents mentions the smallpox epidemic. This document is a letter of Erekle II, compiled on May 11, 1772, and addressed to commander Revaz Amilakhvari. In it, among other things, it is mentioned that the smallpox was spread in Tbilisi and the royal family had to leave the city (The Documents Issued by Erekle II. 1736-1797. Editor M. Chumburidze. Tb. 2008, p. 82).

Güldenstädt also mentions this fact and informs us about the method of preventing the spreading of smallpox: “On May 15 (1772) more than 100 children were inoculated, and I especially watched my house owner’s 6-year-old healthy boy and girl who was not even a year old… One week before the illness and during the illness children are not given meat, fish and rice, they are given only wheat bread and milk; however, breast, horse and donkey’s milk are considered the healthiest, while cow’s milk is considered the most useless. The inoculator made not deep, bloody, cross-shaped incision, 1/2 inch in size, in the groove between the thumb and forefinger with the tip of a large knife; he would lift the tip of a knife into the horn, where the smallpox serum was, clean the blood with a cotton swab, and put a poisoned knife on the wound, then he used to put cotton on a wound, and wrap it in a piece of cloth. The children usually had fresh air and recovered before May 19, with three freckles on the wound. On May 22, they became swollen and white, on May 23 they joined each other. The children were not sick, and the boy ran barefoot. On this day I went out of town and returned on the 2^nd of June; I met the boy recovered and learned that he had no more freckles…” (Johannes Gueldenstaedtius. Peregrinatio Georgica. Tomus Prior, p. 63-65).

According to Güldenstädt, on May 23, 1772, he visited the king’s son, prince Yulon, who had been given a smallpox inoculation a few days earlier (Johannes Gueldenstaedtius. Peregrinatio Georgica. Tomus Prior, p. 67).

As we can see, during the spread of the smallpox epidemic in Georgia in the 18^th century, the way to protect oneself was to keep a distance from the place of the epidemic. The vaccine, according to Güldenstädt, was quite effective at the time.

**From 20^th century pandemics to the Coronavirus**

In 1918 a new flu pandemic launched worldwide. The outbreak was devastating, causing millions to die, more than the World War I casualties. During new experiments upon the old virus strain, it was proved that the 1918 pandemic was caused by an influenza A – subtype H1N1 progenitor strain (G. Tsoucalas, A. Kousoulis, M. Sgantzos. The 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, the Origins of the H1N1-virus Strain, a Glance in History. European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences (EJCBS). 2(4). New York. 2016, pp. 23-28).

The next major pandemic was and has remained (though under control) since then is HIV/AIDS. Most likely HIV originated in Kinshasa, Congo in the 1920s (HIV spread from chimpanzees to humans). Up until the 1980s, we do not know how many people were infected with HIV or developed AIDS. HIV was unknown and transmission was not accompanied by noticeable signs or symptoms. By 1980, HIV spread to five continents killing hundreds of thousands of people (P. Sharp, B. Hahn. Origins of HIV and the AIDS pandemic. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine. 1.  Huntington. 2011, pp. 1-21).

In the early 21^st century, there were other major epidemics too such as Ebola and H1N1 paving the way for the novel coronavirus – a major epidemic that covers the entire globe affects billions of people and stagnates the world economy (many similarities with the Medieval period).

Though the above pandemics took place in different historical periods, there are many similarities in how various world regions, whether it is Georgia, Western European states or Middle East countries, responded to the outbreaks. Nowadays, in the increasingly interconnected world, it is the World Health Organization that coordinates the work on battling/preventing global or local epidemics.

* Prof. Dr. Tedo Dundua, Dr. Apolon Tabuashvili, Dr. Emil Avdaliani, Institute of Georgian History, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia

Source: This article was published at Georgia Today

The post Coronavirus, Great Pandemics And Georgia: Short Historical Tale – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review. Reported by Eurasia Review 7 hours ago.

Italy records fewest new coronavirus cases in a month

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The number of new coronavirus cases in Italy has fallen Tuesday to its lowest level in a month.  Reported by FOXNews.com 7 hours ago.

France's rate of coronavirus infections, deaths accelerating again

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France said its total death toll from COVID-19 infections rose above 15,000 on Tuesday, becoming the fourth country to exceed that threshold after Italy, Spain and the United States, while the rate of increase in cases and fatalities is re-accelerating. Reported by Reuters 7 hours ago.

Roman priest offers Easter Mass on church roof amid coronavirus

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Rome, Italy, Apr 14, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A pastor at a church in Rome offered Easter Mass from the roof of the church so nearby parishioners could participate from their balconies and windows during the coronavirus lockdown in Italy.

Making the Mass visible in this way “is really to say to the people, ‘you are not alone,’” Fr. Carlo Purgatorio told CNA.

The pastor of Santa Emerenziana parish in Rome’s Trieste neighborhood, Purgatorio said the church roof overlooks a busy street on which there are a lot of apartment buildings.

 

?VIDEO | Dozens of residents of a Roman neighborhood were able to attend Easter Mass thanks to Father Carlo Purgatorio, pastor of St. Emerenziana, who celebrated the Eucharist on a rooftop. pic.twitter.com/1rFH4P0jfX

— EWTN News (@EWTNews) April 14, 2020  

Dozens participated in the Mass from their balconies and others joined via livestream April 12.

“People participated a lot, from their windows, from their terraces,” the priest said. He received many messages from appreciative parishioners afterward: “People were thankful for this initiative, because they did not feel so alone.”

Purgatorio explained that he has been livestreaming Masses and daily spiritual talks throughout the lockdown, but had the idea to offer Mass from the church terrace for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.

These significant Sundays “seemed to me, in the moment we are living, an important occasion -- when people cannot come to the church -- to still be able to live a community celebration [albeit] in this different form.”

He said he had not excluded the possibility of offering a rooftop Mass again for another Sunday in the future. Italy’s government has extended its lockdown at least through Sunday, May 3.

During quarantine, the home, Purgatorio said, has become the place of encounter, the place of prayer, and, for many, the place of work, “but it also becomes for many people the place for the celebration of the Eucharist.”

The priest said the reality of celebrating Easter without the People of God really struck him, but his parish, which is in a middle-class neighborhood, has been doing what it can to help people in need during the crisis.

“This Easter, so unique, surely helps us to transform ourselves as people,” he said, noting that though people cannot gather to receive the sacraments, they can think about how “to be Christians in a new way.”

Santa Emerenziana parish has set up a dedicated phone line for people to call to request delivery of groceries or medicine and many people have donated non-perishable food for those who need it.

“In the last few days, so many people, the majority of whom were immigrants, came to ask for help with groceries,” Purgatorio said, noting that many have lost their jobs and are struggling financially as a consequence.

The pastor said practical assistance and rooftop Masses were a small way to respond to what Pope Francis urged Catholics of the Diocese of Rome to do on the vigil of Pentecost in 2019: to listen to the cry of the city.

“I think in this moment, in this pandemic, the ‘cry’ to hear is people’s need,” he said, including “the need for the faith, for the proclamation of the Gospel, to arrive in their homes.”

Fr. Purgatorio also said it is important that a priest is not a “showman,” but that he remembers to always be “a witness of the faith in a humble way, in order to proclaim the Gospel.”

So, when we celebrate the Mass, “we always celebrate the Lord and never ourselves,” he said.
  Reported by CNA 6 hours ago.

Health care workers are 10%-20% of US coronavirus cases

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NEW YORK (AP) — Between 10% and 20% of U.S. coronavirus cases are health care workers, though they tended to be hospitalized at lower rates than other patients, officials reported Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first national data on how the pandemic is hitting doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.

The data is important new information but not necessarily surprising, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who is running the federal agency's response to the outbreak. Medical staff have also been hit hard in other countries: Media reports said about 10% of cases in Italy and Spain were health care workers.

As of the middle of last week, the CDC had reports of more than 315,000 cases in the U.S. The new report focused on about 49,000 for which researchers had data on whether or not they worked in health care. About 9,300, or 19%, of them were medical professionals. That included 27 who died.

But the data varied in how complete it was, researchers said. In 12 states that did a better job reporting on whether patients worked in medicine, around 11% of cases were health care workers.

Compared with U.S. cases overall, larger proportions of diagnosed health care workers were women, were white, and were young or middle-aged adults. That's consistent with the demographics of who works in health care, researchers said.

About 10% of the health care workers were hospitalized with symptoms, compared with 21% to 31% of overall cases. That may reflect the younger age of the workers, as well as prioritization of testing for health care employees, the report said.

Slightly more than half of a group of infected health care workers studied said their only known exposure to the virus was at work, but researchers say it’s hard to know for sure how... Reported by SeattlePI.com 6 hours ago.

Italy Might Be Clear of New COVID-19 Cases by Mid-May

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Italy, one of the hardest-hit areas from the global coronavirus pandemic, might be clear of new COVID-19 cases by the middle of May, just 10 weeks after it went into lockdown, according to data models, Newsweek reported. Reported by Newsmax 4 hours ago.

Italian Co. Proposes Summer Beach Cubicles, Lifeguard Orgs Crap On Idea

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Italy wants to inch back to normalcy using baby steps -- and as summer nears, one company suggests keeping people boxed in on their sandy shores ... say hello to beach cubicles!!! Officials in the European nation -- which has been hard-hit by… Reported by TMZ.com 4 hours ago.

AP Top Stories

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US politicians want federal burial assistance for NY, Police and jobless workers clash in Mumbai, Selected shops open for trade in Italy, UK hospital celebrates its 1st ICU survivor (April 14).

 
 
 
 
 
   Reported by USATODAY.com 3 hours ago.

Italy’s coronavirus lockdown puts restaurants out of business

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As the lockdown in Italy enters its sixth week, some restaurants and bars are already going out of business. Reported by BBC News 3 hours ago.

Subnational Response To COVID-19 Outbreak: Lessons From The Indian State Of Odisha – OpEd

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When a calamity hits a country, the central leadership comes to grips with the plight and exhibits itself as a role model. However, such tragedies come out to be a boon for political leadership at the subnational level also, giving them a virtuous opportunity to take decisive measures so that the situation remains under control, which in turn lifts the nation’s spirits. Odisha, a state in the eastern coastal part of India, has again proved why it is acknowledged as the best in the country for disaster preparedness and alleviation. Not even a year has passed after the cyclone Fani wreaked havoc in the state claiming 43 lives, and now Odisha has geared up again for another disaster – the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Way back in January 2020, when the World Health Organisation had announced there was no clear confirmation of human-to-human transmission of the novel COVID-19, the Odisha government had declared it was completely prepared to confront the novel virus. When three confirmed cases were identified in Malaysia, the state government authorities dropped a request to the Union Health Ministry to transform Bhubaneswar airport as a screening airport, one of the first in the country, since there was direct flight connectivity to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. 

That was the initial point, and more measures were on the way. The Health Department of Odisha government equipped necessities for treatment and quarantine at four major hospitals of the state – Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar, SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, VSS Institute of Medical Science and Research in Burla, and District Headquarters Hospital in Jharsuguda. Besides, the department had also notified the authorities of Paradip Seaport to prepare quarantine facilities at their hospital. All these measures were implemented before the first recorded case in India, which occurred on January 30, 2020, in Kerala.

In February, India had only a few positive cases and the central government was still speculating whether to announce a national emergency or not. Nevertheless, on March 3, the Odisha government released a special website, covid19.odisha.gov.in. The unusual fact was that there was no such website operated by the central government at that time. The portal made compulsory for all who were entering the state from foreign countries to register on their database and to self-quarantine at home. Odisha, being ruled by a regional political party Biju Janta Dal (BJD) for over 20 years, adheres to the ideology of social democracy, consequently announced a reward of Rs. 15,000 to those who obeyed the directive. According to the state health department, more than 4,000 people had registered within a week. Also, the state government widely propagated a COVID-19 helpline number, which led to thousands of people ringing up every day to seek details on preventive measures.

Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, who has been a long-time advocate of the renowned maxim “prevention is better than cure”, declared the outbreak as a disaster on March 13 under the provision of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and announced the complete shutdown of educational institutions and public places, by invoking the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. It was one of the first states in India to follow the commands of the Central government to implement such measures, which was notified on March 11. The decision was surprising to many since there was no single positive case recorded in the state at that time. On the other hand, it was unsurprising for the residents of Odisha, since the state has a history of taking preventive measures before any impending disaster.

Odisha reported its first COVID-19 patient on March 16, after a researcher who returned from Italy and travelled to Bhubaneswar via train from Delhi was tested positive. Immediately, the state government initiated a contact tracing exercise and kept his family members under quarantine and round-the-clock observation. After the third positive case on March 21, Odisha announced a 70 per cent lockdown, and by the next day, the state government prolonged it to a week-long complete lockdown until March 29. After the Indian government announced a three-week nationwide lockdown starting from March 25 to April 14, Odisha on April 9 announced to extend the lockdown until April 30, hours before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video conference to discuss the extension of lockdown with Chief Ministers. 

Until April 13, there were no new positive cases in Odisha and the tally remained at 54, one of the lowest counts in the country, out of which 17 have recovered and 1 has passed away. Mission Director of National Health Mission (NHM) Shalini Pandit stated that 80 per cent of COVID-19 patients in the state were asymptomatic and applauded the efforts of the state government. The medical authorities in the state have tested more than 5000 samples, and more than 120 persons are under isolation in different hospitals spread across the state. Moreover, the state authorities told that ample stock of vital medicines like anti-inflammatory, analgesics, and antibiotics was available in the hospitals which could be consumed over the next five months, with additional orders being placed for four more months of consumption. Also, there was no recorded shortage of N-95 masks, personal protective equipment kits, hand sanitizers, and essential equipment such as ICU ventilators, nebulisers, and oxygen concentrators. 

Additional measures taken by the state government were to provide an advance salary of 4 months to doctors and medical support staff, signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two private hospitals in the state to set up a dedicated facility for proper treatment of COVID-19 patients, along with an economic package for the lower working class, especially for the construction workers who went out of work due to the lockdown. CM Naveen Patnaik had also ordered the police to take severe action against mischief-mongers trying to provoke religious disharmony in the state after the issue of Tablighi Jamaat caught fire nationwide.

Odisha is known as the epicentre of disasters in India, primarily due to yearly cyclones and occasionally floods. The state had witnessed a huge loss of human lives during the 1999 cyclone, which was recorded as the most powerful tropical cyclone in the North Indian Ocean and among the most devastating in the region. But with the flow of time, Odisha has developed the best disaster mitigation and relief system in the country and was one of the first states to have their own disaster management authority in 1999. Since then, the initiatives led by the Odisha government to tackle disasters have received laurels not only from the Indian government but also from leading international organisations like the United Nations, World Bank, and WHO. No wonder, this time also they will overcome this situation, and thus continue their legacy of the best disaster-resilient state in India.

*Abhishek Mohanty is currently pursuing MA Political Governance at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow. Peviously he was a BRICS Youth Fellow at Fudan University, Shanghai during July-August 2019. His research focus is on Russian foreign and domestic policy, Geopolitics and geoeconomics of Post-Soviet Space and Indo-Pacific region, and Non-traditional security issues in South and Central Asia.

The post Subnational Response To COVID-19 Outbreak: Lessons From The Indian State Of Odisha – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review. Reported by Eurasia Review 37 minutes ago.

Italy & Austria follow Spain in easing curbs, but France extends lockdown

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2-million mark, and over 1,20,000 dead, the pandemic remains a potent threat around the world even as some countries begin to take careful steps to lift restrictions intended to halt the virus spread. Reported by IndiaTimes 30 minutes ago.

Sphynx Cats Amazingly React to Sound in Synchronization

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This group of four sphynx cats was sitting inside a cat bed. They were reacting to sound made by their owner amazingly in synchronization. All of them moved their head in the same direction every time.. Studio: Jukin Media

Spain and Italy Begin to Ease Lockdown to Revive Economy

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Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, is beginning to relax some lockdown measures to bring relief to the economy. Studio: Cover Video STUDIO

Spain and Italy Begin to Ease Lockdown to Revive Economy

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Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, is beginning to relax some lockdown measures to bring relief to the economy. Studio: Cover Video

'Mixed picture' in Europe, vaccine at least a year away: WHO

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The World Health Organization believes we're yet to reach the peak of the global health crisis and are cautious about the "mixed picture" in Europe, despite improvements in some countries after weeks.. Studio: Reuters Studio

Trending Now: 'Amazing' Performance By Andrea Bocelli

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#AndreaBocelli #Duomo #Milan #Italy #COVID19 Studio: CBS4 Miami

Some Italian businesses reopen as lockdown remains in place

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Dozens of businesses were allowed to resume activity in Italy on Tuesday, including bookshops, stationers and shops selling children's clothes, although harsh confinement measures remain in place. Studio: Reuters Studio

'We can't survive a five-month closure'

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As the lockdown in Italy enters its sixth week, some restaurants and bars are already going out of business. Studio: BBC World News - Affiliate

This Japanese painter found the faith through sacred art

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Rome, Italy, Apr 12, 2020 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Osamu Giovanni Micico had never read the Bible, knew nothing of the stories of Christ in the gospels, and had never heard of the apostles, when his experience studying sacred art in Italy brought him to the Catholic faith.

“When I came to Italy, painting was the only street for me as far as my profession goes. Thank God, that is also where God gave me my spiritual rebirth,” Micico told CNA.

Catholicism “transformed my life. The way I relate to others, the way I view the world. And the direction I’m taking in my life. The meaning of suffering. It all changed. My conversion gave life to death.”

From his childhood and adolescence in Tokyo, Micico was interested in drawing and painting, but he originally pursued a science-based career to please his parents.

During university, however, he encountered an artist who inspired him to pursue his passion for painting.

The 37-year-old artist moved to Florence in 2008 to study the paintings of the Old Masters, such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

He told CNA that at the time he mostly painted landscapes or portraits, except when he copied the great masterpieces to learn from them. But he did not know what he was looking at.

“I was with my Catholic friend, asking my friend, who are those fishermen?” the artist said. In a way, he noted, he encountered the gospel the same way it was encountered by people in the Middle Ages who could not read, through the symbols of art.

“I was ‘reading’ those paintings before I knew the gospel. I didn’t know what stories they represented,” he explained.

“I think like music, those paintings spoke to me with harmony and it animated my soul. It was not just technique – that they made a realistic painting – but there was something else that was very holy there.”

Another personal encounter was influential in Micico’s conversion: his friendship with Irish religious artist and Catholic Dany MacManus, who was then living in Florence.

While Micico still knew nothing about the Bible, MacManus invited him to a lecture he was giving on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. “That left an impression,” Micico said.

MacManus became Micico’s godfather at his baptism in 2010.

“Art was the entrance. I think that even without words, like with the music of Bach, one can intuit the beauty of a creator,” he said. “Ultimately, God the merciful was represented in the painting ... That’s what spoke to me.”

Micico now creates sacred art himself.

“I wanted to spread this Good News using the same medium,” he said. “I’m sure there are a lot of people who will be touched by contemporary sacred art. And if I can give my hand to this beautiful mission, by my profession, that’s fantastic. It was very natural.”

In November 2018, one of Micico’s paintings was gifted to the Archdiocese of Nagasaki. Micico’s “Holy Mother of Sorrow and Hope” was hung in Nagasaki's Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the Marian chapel, which is dedicated to the victims of the 1945 atomic bomb.

It shows Our Lady of Sorrow in the foreground, with the background depicting the exploding atomic bomb and the burning city beneath.

“I experienced that painting can be an instrument, very useful, very strong,” the painter said. “And it goes directly to the heart, like music. Even without understanding it people can stand in front of it with mouth wide open, looking at it, contemplating it.”

After his conversion, Micico learned more about the history of Christian persecution in Japan. Christianity was outlawed starting around 1600 until 1873. In the late 16th century, military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi expelled the missionaries who had brought the faith to Japan, had religious objects and Bibles destroyed. There were thousands of martyrs.

The few Catholic lay people who survived preserved the faith orally and through baptism, the only sacrament they had, for hundreds of years. During this period, they created their own sacred art, Micico said.

Some pieces were visibly religious, such as “Ecce Homo” style images of Christ. In many others, however, the Christian symbolism, for safety, was hidden in a Buddhist or Shinto style. For example, they would paint a traditional Buddhist female figure, but add a baby to her arms to create an image of the Madonna and Christ child.

“This clandestine art is so beautiful to see, as their devotion took form in this visible form,” Micico said.

“When I think of myself in that situation, I think, why would someone risk their life by painting sacred pictures? I mean, it would have been easier for them to survive without painting those pictures, but they wanted to manifest their love for the Lord.”

“Sacred art,” he said, “is not for one person, or one group of people, but for everybody, for all the generations.”

This article was originally published on CNA on Nov. 13, 2019. Reported by CNA 3 days ago.
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