About Anusha Subramanian

Anusha Subramanian, a British Chevening Scholar and a two-time award-winning journalist is a health, fitness and adventure enthusiast. She has combined her skills sets of writing and adventure training to be able to work for the larger good of the society by getting more people introduced to the outdoors and adventure.

March 19, 2020 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

Social Distancing & What You Need To Do!

Missing out on your daily diet of social interactions? Feeling anxious and irritated about being cooped up at home? Well, we have no choice but to adhere to the directive that has been put out in the wake of the recent widespread and rapid outbreak of the Coronavirus infection across the world, including India.

As few states and cities across India confront the rapid spread of COVID-19 cases, doctors say that the next two weeks is the mitigation phase of the outbreak. The virus has already spread into our communities, so now, the idea is to mitigate or reduce the risk and damage from the disease.

Newspapers, TV channels and social media are abuzz with updates revolving around COVID-19. Schools, colleges, gyms, clubs and religious places of worship have been shut till the end of the month. Public gatherings have been banned and most businesses have asked their employees to work from home.

In the wake of all this, the buzzword doing the rounds is Social Distancing. A phrase that has never seen mention in normal course but since the past week, it has been drilled into our heads constantly, reminding us to maintain distance from one and all. Social Distancing is going to be the key phrase that is going to remain for the next few weeks to come.

What is Social Distancing?

In simple terms, it means maintain distance or avoid contact with another individual. In the current scenario, it refers to staying away from another individual so as to avoid catching the virus yourself and to also avoid passing it on.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one should maintain at least 1 meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing because when someone coughs or sneezes, they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain the virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has been infected.

Lots of us might be relatively healthy or so think we are and hence feel that we might be able to withstand the rigors of an infection, but there is a concern about spreading it to vulnerable individuals and also the pressure it can put on our healthcare system if we are unable to stop the spread.

According to doctors and also directive by WHO, everyone has to practice social distancing as it helps to stop or slow the spread of infectious diseases. It means less contact between you and other people. Social distancing is critical at this point in time as COVID-19 is spreading fast and how.

It is spreading through:

Direct close contact with a person while they are infected or in the 24 hours before their symptoms appeared
Close contact with a person with a confirmed infection who coughs or sneezes
Touching objects or surfaces (such as door handles or tables) contaminated from a cough or sneeze from a person with confirmed infection, and then touching your mouth or face

According, to doctors staying home as much as possible, even if you believe you aren’t infected, is the type of altruistic decision that, when performed en masse, has the potential to slow the infection rate. When you maintain social distance as recommended, the harder it is for the virus to spread.

What Should One Do?

It is all about getting back to simple actions that can help reduce the risk to you and others.

Staying away from people if you are sick. In the current COVID-19 scenario stay more than 1 meter from people). When at home and if you are sick, ensure you are inside your room – that is the most important thing you can do.
Practicing good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene
Washing your hands frequently with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet
Cover your cough and sneeze, dispose of tissues, and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer,
Regularly disinfect high touch surfaces, such as tables, kitchen floor, and tables and doorknobs
Increase ventilation in the home by opening windows or adjusting the air conditioning
Visit shops sparingly and buy more goods and services online
Consider whether outings and travel, both individual and family, are sensible and necessary

All these simple things if followed well during social distancing will help slow the spread of disease in the community. Think of this as an ethical and moral obligation towards our society and curb your activities, practice social distancing and substitute it with safer alternatives such as was video calls, skype, hangout meetings and calls instead of in-person meetings. Let us all work towards and support our Government and our doctors who are tirelessly working towards containing the spread of COVID-19.

For more information about the Coronavirus, building immunity and home workouts during social isolation or self-quarantine, visit GOQii Play. You can also purchase N95 Masks and sanitizers from the GOQii Health Store within the App.

#BeTheForce

March 15, 2020 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

GOQii app launches ‘Contact Tracking’ feature

To help users self-track potential virus carriers to contain the spread of COVID19

Last week in Pune when the couple and their child were tested positive, immediately, the health authorities tried and traced back all those people with whom the couple and child came in contact. Tracing helped them detect two positive cases from Mumbai including the cab driver who drove them from Mumbai airport to Pune. A statement then from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of the Public Health Department, Maharashtra then said an “aggressive contact tracing activity” is in progress on a war footing after two Dubai returnees from Pune were found positive for coronavirus.

The last time, I remember reading and hearing about contact tracing was during the wild outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa. The early rollout of all measures alongside contact tracing efforts in Liberia was considered to have played a major role in the rapid decline of the country’s cases in September 2014.

In the current scenario, Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. The virus is fast spreading and it is imperative to act quickly, cautiously and focus on prevention given that there is no cure yet. In the wake of coronavirus and the call by PM Modi to caution and not panic, GOQii, as a preventive healthcare platform has launched a first of its kind ‘Contact Tracking’ features, to help users track every movement, activity and also track those who have been in close contact with them and this app feature will effectively help in social distancing as is recommended by the WHO.

This app will help especially in cases of a positive detection, where users can immediately backtrack every movement and individuals that one has come in contact with, in the last few days. This will ensure prevention, quick detection of virus carriers and thus curtail the spread of the virus.

But, before we understand why such an app feature could be important for individuals and public health workers and institutions, it is important to understand What is Contact Tracing and why is it important during an outbreak is important?

Several international research and also the WHO describes that Contact tracing is an important strategy in epidemiology and refers to the identification and diagnosis of those individuals who have come in contact with an infected person. It ultimately aims to reduce the time span required to detect and treat a case of infectious disease and hence significantly minimizes the risk of transmission to the subsequent susceptible individuals. In-fact, contact tracing continues to remain an important measure, as it aids the epidemiologist in containing the infection.

Contact tracing is closely linked with case detection and investigation processes so that subsequent symptomatic patients can be effectively managed.

Contact tracing can feel like drudgery, but in an outbreak, it’s vital to public health. During this current COVID-19 outbreak, contact tracing will help make possible early diagnosis and getting care to people who need it. The information it uncovers also helps public health authorities contain epidemics.

Given this scenario, GOQii felt ‘self-tracking’ is also essential and should be followed to track one’s daily routine. Thus, it has specially updated the app to help users self-track, to the level of keeping a tab on every person one must have come in contact with, like cab sharing apps like Uber, Lyft, Ola, E-commerce and food delivery services like Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy and Zomato. One can record the person’s name, contact number as well as photographs of course with their permission.

COVID19 Tracking related App Features

Track Body Temperature, Weight, Heart Rate, Blood Sugar and other vitals.
Symptoms like Cough, Cold, Difficulty in breathing etc
Food and activity log with location
Log contacts – time spent with people at various occasions
Uber, Lyft, Ola rides with driver details
Food delivery and other delivery services, name and phone number of delivery persons

You can download the app from Android Store and iOS Store

GOQii app follows the privacy policy. The data logged by the user is private to the user. The privacy settings in the app let the users decide whether they want to share their logs publicly, with just their friends or keep them visible only to themselves.

GOQii’s Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal believes that the GOQii COVID-19 related App features will help with contact tracing and remote quarantine management. We are hoping that we could play a major role in helping people take all precautions as well as help the government and health authorities, to be able to contain COVID19. We hope our combined efforts will rapidly lead to a better epidemiological understanding of COVID-19. Our goal is to improve the outcomes of the global community—as more people become infected”. “GOQii will do all within its ambit to implement caution as a clarion call by the PM. PM Modi’s efforts are being praised worldwide “as India is ahead of the curve to contain the virus,” Gondal added.

Healthcare authorities and professionals can leverage GOQii’s cutting-edge wearable, artificial intelligence & coaching ecosystem to accelerate COVID-19 surveillance and interventions. GOQii is supportive and open to helping all Government bodies in a step towards prevention and adequate health management.

Apart from tracking daily activity, GOQii app will also enable users to track symptoms related to coronavirus and distinguishing symptoms including headache, cough, cold, flu and difficulty in breathing etc. Keeping your immunity intact is important in such a crisis situation. Users can have free access for 3 months to GOQii Play live for workouts and access to updates from experts while working out in the confines of your home to avoid social contact.

March 14, 2020 By Anusha Subramanian 3 Comments

Safety Tips to Prevent Coronavirus Infection

The recent Coronavirus outbreak has become one of the biggest health scare in the world right now. What started in Wuhan, China on 31 December, 2019 has now struck Europe and the US and has overall claimed many lives. As of February 27, 2020, China reported 78,824 confirmed cases of the virus with a death toll of 2,788.

The virus is spreading rapidly and has been deemed to have pandemic potential by WHO. Now, among all the quarantines, preventive measures and news spreading like wildfire, how much do we really know about the virus? Of course, we’re well aware that it spread from China but what else do we really know?

In India, people are aware about the virus but aren’t prepared. This is because of lack of details. At this point, we are of the opinion that prevention is best as there is no cure for the Coronavirus yet.

As a leading preventive healthcare company, GOQii is recommending a few basic prevention and safety tips that people need to follow. The recommendations made here are in line with WHO guidelines: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public

The first and foremost thing is to build your defense by building your Immunity. All that one needs to do is follow the basics of exercise, eat right and sleep well.

How Do You Build Immunity Against the Coronavirus?

Include 1 or 2 cloves of garlic every day in your meals. As garlic is a potent anti-viral.
Cut out smoking completely. Smoking destroys your respiratory tract including the lungs.
Exercise regularly- Include a combination of strength training and cardio, concentrating on breathing patterns
A dehydrated body is most prone to infections. Drink adequate water. Avoid alkaline water and drink boiled water.
Avoid refined sugar in any form as sugar can reduce your immunity directly plus alters the bacteria in your gut
Make sure you sleep well for at least 6-8 hours.

Other Prevention Must-Dos to be Followed

Wear a Mask while travelling to crowded places. Preferably avoid crowded places.
Wash your hands at regular intervals.
If you have any symptoms of fever, cough, cold, sore throat and having trouble breathing please seek medical advice immediately.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth while travelling and otherwise
While coughing or sneezing use a tissue and dispose it off safely

February 4, 2020 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

‘I Am And I Will’: World Cancer Day

‘Cancer’ is considered a stigma word. One forgets that Cancer is not contagious however, the human mindset for eons has believed that cancer spreads and hence, one with cancer is looked at differently or is ostracized. Believe me, Cancer is not the end of the road. There is hope for people with cancer, provided both, the patient as well as the people around the patient are willing to help each other.

This is precisely what the World Cancer Day theme ‘I Am And I Will’ addresses. The campaign which began in 2019 is an empowering call-to-action that urges personal commitment and represents the power of individual action taken now to impact the future. The campaign is built to resonate, inspire change and mobilize action long after the day has passed.

There are various ways to reduce the risk of cancer. Those with cancer need not worry as there is always hope at the end of the tunnel. Experts say that one of the best ways to reduce the risk of Cancer is by adopting a healthy lifestyle. It is said that you can reduce the risk of many common cancers such as bowel, breast, uterine, ovarian, esophagus, kidney and liver by maintaining healthy weight, eating right and making physical activity a part of your daily routine.

‘I Am And I Will’ theme indicates that as an individual or as an organization, get involved in any way you can. Because together, we can create change. What you can do is:

Get Personal: Create your own custom social media post with your own personal message of the commitment and share it with the world.
Light up the World: As an organisation or even at an Individual level, you can make a statement by lighting up a significant landmark, monument or building to be illuminated on World Cancer Day in the colours of orange and blue in your city.
Spread the word: By writing a blog or an article in a newspaper or a video message.
Join the action: Join by showing up at an event near you and volunteer.
Create your own Event: Inspire others by hosting your own World Cancer Day event. From flash mobs, free screenings, record breaking attempts, conferences, fundraisers to fun runs.
One and all can get Involved: Whoever you are- a cancer survivor, co-worker, a carer, a friend, a leader, a health worker, a teacher or a student- you have the power to take action for a cancer free world.

(Source: www.worldcancerday.org)

We all can do our bit. I remember there is an organization in Mumbai called Ugam, a voluntary support group formed by Childhood Cancer survivors. UGAM means “To Rise” underscoring their determination to rise above all obstacles in life & be VICTORS. UGAM, based in Mumbai is the youngest unit of the oldest & most prominent NGO, The Indian Cancer Society (ICS) under its survivorship programme.

Ugam’s vision is to ensure that every childhood cancer survivor finds his/ her way to celebrate life after winning the battle with cancer. Ugam helps in self-empowerment of the survivors. It helps in fulfilling their dreams that were put on hold while they were battling this tormenting disease and the hardships of the treatment. Helping in overcoming social fears and hindrances, overcoming their physical and mental disabilities and moving ahead despite them, as well as providing educational and career related assistance and guidance.

Ugam provides a platform for them to talk about their experience and problems and help in building their confidence and self-esteem. Ugam tries and gives them a reason to lead a social and personal life in the future.
We at GOQii are advocates of healthy lifestyle and doing Karma. So let’s make a beginning!

To know more about cancer, you can tune in to our experts on GOQii Play for topics on nutrition, exercise and any medical information you may need. How do you plan on contributing to fight cancer? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

#BeTheForce