CovidGyan: Science-based website on COVID-19 launched

Scientists and engineers in India are collaborating at an unparalleled scale to understand all the aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic as the nation unites for the fight against the virus outbreak.

The topics covered range from the exact behaviour of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), transmission dynamics of the Corona flu and its diagnostics to innovative technologies to scale up the fight, means of coping up with physical distancing, and critical assessment of communications.

In aims to bring all the scientific and factual aspects of this pandemic outbreak on to a public domain, a multi-institutional, multi-lingual science communication initiative, called `CovidGyan’ has been created. This informative website is not just user-friendly but also authentic, reliable and trustworthy.

The initiative is the brainchild of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and Tata Memorial Centre (TMC). Several other prominent partners have since joined this noble effort including Vigyan Prasar,  IndiaBioscience, and the Bangalore Life Science Cluster (BLiSc), which includes Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (InStem), Centre for Cellular And Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), and National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS).

An outcome of this initiative is the launch of a website that went live on April 03, 2020. This website also named CovidGyan serves as a hub to bring together a collection of resources in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

These resources are generated by public supported research institutions in India and associated programs. The content presented here relies on the best available scientific understanding of the disease and its transmission.

Since its launch, it has been widely shared by the scientific community through various social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Efforts are underway to provide the contents in multiple Indian languages to make it more versatile. 

India was put under a 21-day lockdown on March 24 amid COVID-19 outbreak. However, Primer Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (April 14) extended the lockdown till May 3 as a precautionary measure against the pandemic for the citizens.

Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in the country, followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan. India's financial capital, Mumbai, has emerged as the epicentre of coronavirus spread in the country. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 9352 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the country and 324 fatalities have been reported.