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Category: Health

  • How to get fit and be happy this summer while sitting at home

    How to get fit and be happy this summer while sitting at home

    With summer now in full swing, individuals globally may be pondering on ideas to get fit and healthy without leaving their room. This article aims to share some innovative, fun, and easy fitness tips you can incorporate at home this summer.

    First off, despite the scorching heat outdoors, summer is an excellent time to find your inner yogi. Yoga is not only a great means to enhance physical flexibility and strength but also helps in relieving stress and bolstering overall well-being. Online yoga classes and apps offer comprehensive sessions varying in lengths and difficulties, allowing you to choose according to your flexibility and skill level.

    When it comes to cardio-based exercises, home dance workouts can provide a delightful reprieve from traditional regimens. Diverse home-dance workout formats available online, from Zumba to hip-hop routines, can contribute significantly to calorie-burning. While offering fitness benefits, these sessions also add an exciting element to your daily routine, making workouts something to look forward to.

    Alongside exercising, it’s crucial to focus on healthy nutrition. Experimenting with summer salads and smoothies is a creative way to fulfill your nutritional needs. Including a variety of colorful fresh fruits and veggies in your meals ensures you receive ample vitamins and minerals, essential for maintaining a robust immune system, particularly important during these pandemic times.

    Moreover, proper hydration in summer can’t be overstated. Try adding fruits like watermelon or cucumber to your drinking water for a refreshing twist on staying hydrated. Also, you can experiment with homemade iced herbal teas, which are equally hydrating and provide numerous health benefits.

    Finally, mental health is as vital as physical fitness. Adopt mindfulness exercises or meditation to help manage stress effectively, improve focus and induce better sleep.

    Getting fit this summer while staying home doesn’t have to be tedious. Armed with these tips, you’re ready to transform your summer fitness journey into an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

  • Red alert: WHO, UNICEF say largest decline in childhood vaccinations in almost 30 years

    Red alert: WHO, UNICEF say largest decline in childhood vaccinations in almost 30 years

    The largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years has been recorded in official data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

    According to WHO, 18 million children did not receive a single vaccine in 2021, which is the largest decline in 29 years, due to Covid-related disruptions, emergencies and misinformation. Around 25 million children around the world missed out on routine vaccinations in 2021, which is two million more than those who missed out in 2020 and six million more than in 2019, highlighting the growing number of children at risk from devastating but preventable diseases. The percentage of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a marker for immunisation coverage within and across countries – fell 5 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81 per cent.

    The decline was due to many factors including an increased number of children living in conflict and fragile settings, increased misinformation and Covid-related issues such as service and supply chain disruptions.

    However, Pakistan returned to pre-pandemic levels of vaccination coverage due to high-level government commitment and significant catch-up immunisation efforts. WHO and UNICEF applauded Pakistan’s efforts to achieve this in the midst of a pandemic, when healthcare systems and health workers were under significant strain.

    “This is a red alert for child health. We are witnessing the largest sustained drop in childhood immunisation in a generation. The consequences will be measured in lives,” said Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director.

    “While a pandemic hangover was expected last year as a result of Covid-19 disruptions and lockdowns, what we are seeing now is a continued decline. Covid-19 is not an excuse. We need immunisation catch-ups for the missing millions or we will inevitably witness more outbreaks, more sick children and greater pressure on already strained health systems,” added Russell.

  • Fact Check: Monkeypox DID NOT reach Lahore

    Fact Check: Monkeypox DID NOT reach Lahore

    Claim: Two patients with monkeypox have been admitted into Jinnah Hospital

    Fact: Medical Superintendent Jinnah Hosptial confirms that no patients with monkeypox have been admitted

    On May 23, 2022, Dr Farooq Nawaz Sahil, a resident pulmonologist at Services Hospital Lahore tweeted that 2 patients with monkeypox have been admitted to Jinnah Hospital, Lahore and are being treated in the hospital’s isolation ward. ProPakistani, a digital media platform, shared the tweet on its website which became an extremely concerning public health update, reporting the first 2 cases of monkeypox in Pakistan.

    Although shortly after his tweet, Dr Sahil deleted it, the news spread like wildfire, primarily because the residual fear of a global pandemic has not completely worn off.

    The ProPakistani post coincided with the national Institute of Health (NIH) and World Health Organization’s (WHO) warnings to expect a global rise in the number monkeypox cases reported. This made it more likely to be believed and spread a panic within social media users who started sharing it repeatedly. Some of these posts can be found on Facebook and Twitter here, here, here here, here, here, here and here.

    Team Current established correspondence with Jinnah Hospital, Lahore and confirmed with the Medical Superintendent Dr Tahir that no such cases have been reported and in fact this false information has disrupted the hospital’s environment by creating unnecessary panic in citizens in Lahore. National Institute of Health Pakistan also tweeted earlier today, clarifying that no cases of monkeypox have been reported so far.

    Verdict: FALSE

    What is Monkeypox?

    Monkeypox is a virus and a usually self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. It is transmittable through close contact (lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, bedding) with an infected person or animal. It is a viral zoonotic disease and its clinical representation is similar to smallpox. According to the WHO report, past outbreaks were not extremely widespread and increasingly got better managed with modern medicine.

    In May 2022, multiple cases of monkeypox were identified in several countries where occurence of monkeypox is not a regular phenomenon and so WHO and NIH issued warnings against the disease and suggested strongarming medical screening at border entrances.

  • India detects first case of Covid Variant XE

    India detects first case of Covid Variant XE

    India’s first case of coronavirus variant XE was detected in Mumbai on Wednesday, Indian media reported.

    The patient is a 50-year-old costume designer who returned from South Africa in February. She tested positive for Covid on March 2, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in its release.

    This strain was detected in the UK at the start of the New Year. Britain’s health agency had on April 3 said that XE was first detected on January 19 and 637 cases of the new variant have been reported in the country so far.

    The new mutation XE appears to be 10 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

    A case of the Kappa variant has also been detected in India.

  • Nearly everyone on earth is breathing polluted air: WHO report

    The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Monday that 99 per cent of people on Earth breathe air that comprises numerous contaminants, citing poor air quality for millions of deaths each year.

    According to new data from the UN health organization, air pollution affects every part of the globe, albeit the problem is far worse in developing nations.

    “Almost the entire global population (99 percent) breathes air that exceeds WHO air quality limits, and threatens their health,” the organization said in a statement.

    WHO had already established that about 90 per cent of the world’s population was impacted in its previous report from 2018, but it has subsequently expanded its boundaries.

    According to the WHO, the evidence base for the harm caused by air pollution is quickly advancing, and even low levels of certain air pollutants can cause serious illness.

    Despite UN statistics suggesting that pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions improved air quality for a short time in 2021, WHO warned that air pollution continues to be a major threat.

    The WHO report includes data on air quality from over 6,000 cities and communities in 117 countries. Keeping in view the frightening statistics, the organisation emphasised the need to immediately limit the usage of fossil fuels.

  • UN chief condemns travel restrictions, calls it ‘travel apartheid’

    UN chief condemns travel restrictions, calls it ‘travel apartheid’

    United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that a travel ban imposed because of the Covid pandemic that cuts off any one country or region as “not only deeply unfair and punitive – they are ineffective.”, report Geo News.

    Guterres said that tests should continually be performed on travelers to reduce the threat of transmission in other parts of the world.


    He further added, “We have the instruments to have safe travel. Let’s use those instruments to avoid this kind, of allow me to say, travel apartheid, which I think is unacceptable.”

    The new variant of the coronavirus, which was previously identified as B.1.1.529 infection was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from South Africa on November 24 and named it Omicron.

    Several countries, including Pakistan, have completely banned flights from some countries in Africa.

    In African countries, the rate of vaccination was recorded as very low which Guterres has previously alarmed the world about. The main reason for the lack of vaccination was the inequality distribution of vaccines and low immunisation rates which became “a breeding ground for variants.”

    The annual meeting was also held between the United Nation and African Union to solve the concern of the travel ban.

    Speaking from the Joint-Conference with UN Secretary-General, African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat also said that the travel ban cannot be justified.

  • Examinations will be held on time despite new covid variant: Shafqat Mahmood

    Examinations will be held on time despite new covid variant: Shafqat Mahmood

    Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood said on Monday that the government has no plans to suspend educational activities. He said that examinations will be taken on time and the full curriculum will be covered in it, reports Geo.

    When he was asked about the policy of the education department regarding precautionary measures against the Omicron variant, the federal minister said, “I don’t know about the new variant of coronavirus in detail, but the government wants to continue educational activities.”

    The new variant named Omicron, which was first discovered in South Africa is spreading drastically into various parts of Europe including Canada and Australia. On Saturday, Pakistan imposed a complete ban on direct/indirect inbound flights from six African countries and Hong Kong.

    Moreover, while talking about the smog situation in Lahore, Shafqat Mahmood said it will decrease by the closure of private and government schools thrice a week.

  • “I’m choking, please give me treatment” – Barkha Dutt’s father’s last words

    “I’m choking, please give me treatment” – Barkha Dutt’s father’s last words

    Senior Indian journalist Barkha Dutt shared the pain of losing her father to COVID-19. In an emotional note on Twitter, Barkha Dutt expressed her grief of how she failed in bringing her ailing father back home safe.  

    She also acknowledged the hospital staff and everyone who tried their best to help her family in this situation. The last words of her late father rang loudly in her mind, “I’m choking, please give me treatment”

    The day her father SP Dutt, was hospitalised, both Barkha and Bahar ( sister of Barkha Dutt ) narrated the difficulties they faced, right from getting an ambulance to oxygen supply issues.

    The day she cremated her father, she said in an interview that urgent help must be sent to India for the sake of the world. She also added, “It is a calamity and a crisis of the kind that I have not seen in my adult life.”

    The second wave in India has firmly gripped the country. Thousands of families have lost their loved ones due to Covid-19. The hospitals are overwhelmed and there are no beds for patients. Shortage of oxygen has killed far more people than the virus alone.

    ” I am an upper middle class Indian. I had access to a hospital, “she said in an interview, “most people I am reporting on are dying at the gates of the hospital.”

    Actors Farhan Akhtar and Abhishek Bachchan and others tweeted their condolences.

  • Pak Army to help implement coronavirus SOPs, announces PM Imran

    Pak Army to help implement coronavirus SOPs, announces PM Imran

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced that there will not not be a complete lockdown but in order to control the situation, people must follow SOPs. PM appealed to the nation that if they follow SOPs and wear masks regularly, Pakistan will not have to take any strict measures. PM said that despite suggestions of lockdowns in cities, he has not taken this decision as it affects the poor the most. “Be careful yourself. Otherwise we will have no other option.”

    PM said that the Pakistan Army will assist the police in imposing SOPs.

    Key decisions taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC):

    1. Schools in districts with positivity rates above 5% closed until Eid
    2. Markets to close at 6pm. Only shops selling essential goods to operate after 6pm
    3. Outdoor and indoor dining banned during Ramzan
    4. Indoor gyms to be closed
    5. Offices to close at 2pm daily with 50% capacity. Rest of the staff to work from home
  • Third COVID-19 wave: 135 deaths in a day set new record for Pakistan in 2021

    Third COVID-19 wave: 135 deaths in a day set new record for Pakistan in 2021

    Pakistan reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths so far this year on Wednesday, amid third wave of the pandemic that is putting the country’s health service under extreme strain.

    The government portal keeping track of the outbreak in the country registered 135 deaths in the last 24 hours — up from 118 a day earlier and the highest number of fatalities since June 20 — taking the total number of deaths on the measure to 15,754.

    According to the Ministry of National Health Services (MoNHS) data, 48,092 tests were conducted on Tuesday after which 4,681 people tested positive for the contagion disease. The total number of cases in the country is 734,423.

    Punjab recorded the most deaths during the last 24 hours at 79 followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with 49.

    Sindh has been the worst-hit with 269,840 cases followed by Punjab where 255,571 people have been tested positive, the statement said.

    Moreover, over 80% ventilators are occupied across the country with around 700 out of total 5,000+ patients in critical care.

    Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has issued revised guidelines for the second COVID-19-hit Ramzan to tackle the spread of the virus.