New Delhi:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has developed a trunk-shaped device fitted with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation technology, which they recommend be placed at doorsteps and all items brought from outside including grocery and currency notes be put in it to sanitise them and aid the fight against COVID-19.
According to the team at IIT Ropar, the trunk when commercialised, can be available at less than Rs 500. The device will take 30 minutes to sanitise the items and the team has recommended a 10 minute cooling off period before one takes the items out.
"The fight against corona pandemic, will not end just with social distancing and not stepping out. In coming days and weeks, it will be extremely important to be cautious with everything possible. We have developed a device which looks like any trunk in our home, and we recommend it be placed at doorsteps or may be somewhere closer to the entry.
"Right now there are many who wash vegetables with warm water before using but the same cannot be done with currency notes or wallets. So we have developed a common sanitising solution for everything," Naresh Rakha, Senior Scientific Officer at IIT Ropar, told news agency PTI.
The team recommends that all items coming from outside including currency notes, vegetables, milk packets, any items ordered through delivery, wrist watch, wallets, mobile phones or any documents be placed in the trunk before being used.
"The device is based on ultraviolet germicidal irradiation technology used in water purifiers. We strongly advise not to look directly at the light inside the trunk as it can be harmful," Mr Rakha said.
According to the Union Health Ministry, the death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 199 and the number of cases to 6,412 in the country on Friday. While the number of active COVID-19 cases is 5,709, as many as 503 people were cured and discharged and one had migrated, it said.
The ministry said at least 30 new deaths have been reported since Thursday evening.
World
Coronavirus has spread to 185 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 16,02,529 and 95,763 have died; 11,51,556 are active cases and 3,55,210 have recovered as on April 10, 2020 at 11:59 am.
India
In India, there are 6,412 confirmed cases including 199 deaths. The number of active cases is 5,709 and 504 have recovered as on April 10, 2020 at 8:00 am.
State & District Details State Cases Active Recovered Deaths Maharashtra
1364
1142
125
97
Tamil Nadu
834
805
21
8
Delhi
720
683
25
12
Rajasthan
463
439
21
3
Telangana
442
400
35
7
Uttar Pradesh
410
375
31
4
Kerala
357
259
96
2
Andhra Pradesh
348
338
6
4
Madhya Pradesh
259
243
0
16
Gujarat
241
198
26
17
Karnataka
181
148
28
5
Haryana
169
137
29
3
Jammu And Kashmir
158
150
4
4
West Bengal
116
95
16
5
Punjab
101
89
4
8
Odisha
44
41
2
1
Bihar
39
38
0
1
Uttarakhand
35
30
5
0
Assam
29
29
0
0
Chandigarh
18
11
7
0
Himachal Pradesh
18
15
2
1
Ladakh
15
5
10
0
Jharkhand
13
12
0
1
Andaman And Nicobar Islands
11
11
0
0
Chhattisgarh
10
1
9
0
Goa
7
7
0
0
Puducherry
5
4
1
0
Manipur
2
1
1
0
Mizoram
1
1
0
0
Tripura
1
1
0
0
Arunachal Pradesh
1
1
0
0
Show more
Show less
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
