Zubair Ahmed: India coronavirus: Tablighi Jamaat gives blood for plasma therapy

By Dilip -
More than 1,000 positive cases were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event. The incident caused massive outrage and led to reports of Islamophobia from across the country. Plasma therapy involves transfusing antibody-rich blood into Covid-19 patients.

With the emergence of Covid-19 clusters across India directly linked to the event, there was massive outrage against the organisation and Muslims in general. Police said that the Tablighi Jamaat had ignored two orders to stop its event - attended by hundreds - even after India went into lockdown to stop the spread of the virus. They then filed manslaughter charges against the Jamaat chief, Mohammed Saad Kandhlawi. 

 India coronavirus: The 'mystery' of low Covid-19 death rates

There were reports of harassment of Muslims from many parts of the country. Some local media ran campaigns, calling Tablighi Jamaat members "viruses" and "carriers of coronavirus". Hashtags, such as "Coronjihad" trended on social media with many people saying members had deliberately infected themselves to transmit others in crowded areas, even comparing them to suicide bombers.

How does plasma therapy work? When a person has Covid-19, their immune system responds by creating antibodies, which attack the virus. Over time these build up and can be found in the plasma, the liquid portion of the blood. However, it is still in a trial stage in many countries including India, which is testing it in a few states before approving it for wider use. Several hospitals have said it has yielded "encouraging" results, with some severely ill patients recovering after being administered plasma therapy…. 
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52452468

'Homage to Humanity'

Migrant labour and the unemployed will be demanding their rights, not our mercy
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India’s anti-COVID strategy is premised on a mistaken idea and a pretence
India's poorest 'fear hunger may kill us before coronavirus'
The monster is finally at the door / Capitalism vs human survival
Just as there are no atheists on a sinking ship, there are no free-marketeers in a pandemic // “Chinese Virus,” World Market

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