Category: COVID19

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Analyze your indoor workouts and manage your health with Garmin’s health monitoring data

With the current pandemic situation resulting in activity restrictions, staying healthy and fit has become a challenge. These sudden changes have brought about drastic lifestyle transformations, making it difficult to get into a routine. More than ever, it is critical for us to exercise regularly to boost our immunity.

With gyms, fitness centers and clubs closed, meditation and exercising at home have become the newfound routine for fitness enthusiasts across the nation. According to Garmin Connect data, from January to March 2020, the activity count for outdoor activities had an overall drop of 15.5 percent, with activity count for golf, hiking trail running and running decreasing by 87.6 percent, 34.9 percent, 29.2 percent and 18.8 percent respectively. In comparison, indoor activities such as floor climbing, yoga, Pilates and indoor cardio workouts showed an overall increase of 38.5 percent in the same period.

With travel and activity restrictions implemented from March 2020, overall outdoor activity count from January’20 till 21 April’ 2020 dropped by 71.2 percent while indoor activity count increased by 40.2 percent in the same period.

In light of the lifestyle changes, it is crucial to keep a consistent check on one’s physiological data to actively monitor physical health and wellbeing.

World Health Organization’s “Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected” Interim Guidance[i] spotlights the importance of health monitoring data; one of the clinical syndromes is severe pneumonia where the patient may experience fever or suspected respiratory infection, plus respiratory rate of more than 30 breaths/min; severe respiratory distress; or SpO2 of less than 93 percent on room air.

Garmin smartwatches enable users to track their physiological data[ii], providing daily insights to their health status. Garmin India has identified five key health indicators to enable Garmin users to track and manage their health profile. Users should refer to data from their Garmin smartwatch with the five health indicators to identify any changes rather than depending solely on own assumptions to determine their own health status.

Garmin’s Five Health Indicators

·         Heart Rate: The heart is the pilot of all body activities. The health status can be effectively monitored by analyzing your heart rates. It is generally believed that when the body temperature rises abnormally, the heart rate will increase; likewise, when the body temperature drops, the heart rate and strength of heart contractions will decrease accordingly. Those with a higher resting heart rate can indicate a higher risk of getting cardiovascular diseases. By doing regular exercises, the body’s sympathetic nervous activity decreases, which will lower the resting heart rate, improving the heart function and resulting in a more flexible neuromodulation.

·         Respiratory Rate: Respiratory rate plays a critical role. The normal respiratory rate of a healthy adult is 12 – 20 breaths per minute (brpm). A low respiratory rate is a general indication of good health. Even while exercising, the respiratory rate of those with better physical fitness levels tend to be lower. There are many breathing techniques that can help you to manage your stress levels, relax and improve your concentration and sleep quality. Indulging in breathing exercises daily will help reduce the anxiety and stress and keep the health on track.

·         Blood Oxygen Saturation: Blood oxygen saturation is closely related to lung health. Blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) refers to the concentration of oxygen in human blood, which is the key index to measure health. The ideal Spo2 level should be between 95 – 100 percent. A figure lower than 90 percent is considered too low, however, the figure may vary with individual physical differences. For instance, some people may feel discomfort at high altitudes because of the decrease in Spo2 levels. Monitoring how your body responds and changes with different blood oxygen saturation levels in different states can help you understand your own body better.

·         Sleep Monitoring: Your immunity is the first line of defense against viruses. Quality sleep is the key to maintaining healthy body functions. When people go to sleep, they experience several cycles of rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement. The non-rapid eye movement stage can be further divided into deep and light sleep. During the deep-sleep stage, the body will begin to repair, build bones, grow muscles and enhance the immune system. In normal circumstances, a healthy adult will get approximately 15-25 percent of deep sleep each night. However, this figure varies amongst individuals. Garmin’s sleep monitoring function records the level of blood oxygen saturation and the number of times you toss and turn throughout the night so you can closely monitor your sleep quality.

·         Stress Monitoring: The tenser a situation is, the more we will need to stabilize our physical and mental states. When we are caught up in highly stressful situations over long periods of time, our physical and mental health can get affected from coping with the stress and these responses could be destructive to our health over time. Garmin’s stress detection function uses Heart Rate Variability (HRV) to estimate the body’s stress levels. Training, physical activities, sleeping conditions, mental state and other daily activities will affect your stress levels. Garmin’s stress monitoring function measures stress levels from 0 to 100; 0-25 suggests a low stress level, 26-50 suggests a moderate stress level and 51-75 and 76-100 indicates high and extremely high stress levels respectively. This function will enable you to monitor your daily stress levels.

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~Announces partnership with leading corporates including Mahindra Logistics, Uber, IDFC FIRST Bank, Brihati Foundation (by Claris), Crompton Greaves, Blowhorn to raise funds

~ The first tranche of direct benefit transfers has already benefitted over 93,000 people

Mumbai, April 27^th 2020 – Samhita Social Ventures, a leading social sector consulting firm, aims to impact the lives of over 1 million people affected by the COVID-19 crisis. It has set up two coalitions – India Workers Alliance and India Protectors Alliance – which bring together companies from various industries in India with effective partners in the social sector to help vulnerable sections of the society. Between the two alliances, Samhita hopes to benefit over 1 million people. The firm works with various stakeholders such as companies, donor organizations, government agencies and social organizations and builds long term partnerships between them to achieve maximized social impact.

The India Workers Alliance aims to help gig economy professionals, construction labourers, truck drivers, daily wage earners and other blue collar workers while the India Protectors Alliance works with the people who are at the front lines of the fight against the virus including healthcare workers, policemen and sanitation workers. Samhita has partnered with leading corporates including Mahindra Logistics, Uber, IDFC FIRST Bank, Crompton Greaves, Brihati Foundation (by Claris) and Blowhorn to mobilize resources that will aid those who are most affected.

The Samhita Model of combating COVID-19 is strongly focused on ensuring efficiency of the funds that is being deployed and therefore adopts evidence-backed solutions. These solutions have also been recommended by experts such as Nobel Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in their respective interviews and media interactions. Further, the solutions have been curated in consultation with advisors such as Dr. Nachiket Mor of the Banyan Academy of Leadership and the former Country Director of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Samhita has, over the last 10 years, mobilized over INR 500 crores from companies across the geographical landscape of India.

Priya Naik, Founder and CEO, Samhita Social Ventures said “At Samhita, we believe in solving wicked problems through the power of collaboration. We have adopted the same approach in addressing the current COVID-19 situation – forge partnerships across samaj-sarkar-bazaar to help those most impacted by the pandemic. We understand that the pandemic has also gravely impacted companies and stressed their cash and fund flows. But now is the time to pool all available resources and help those who form the backbone of your industry, your ecosystem and your economy. It is time to not just help your own workforce but also support those who work across your value chain. Be a part of a bigger coalition – whether existing alliances or a new one that you choose to champion in your industry.” 

The India Workers Alliance will undertake direct benefit transfers to blue collar workers who have been most affected by the crisis. Further, it will help facilitate access to eligible government schemes and affordable insurance or security products so that the workers and their families are secured from the effects of this pandemic situation. This Alliance will work in partnership with Super Money and Haqdarshak to ensure that the benefits reach the targeted people and there is rigorous monitoring and reporting of the benefits derived from the solutions.

The first tranche of direct benefit transfers has already been made and over 93,000 people have benefitted.

The India Protectors’ Alliance aims to support some of the people who are fighting on the frontline of the war against COVID-19 – healthcare practitioners and sanitation workers. This Alliance will provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), training and capacity building to the healthcare personnel and aim to provide access to innovative financial and insurance products.

What some of their partners have to say –

“We are pleased to partner with a leading social enterprise such as Samhita in aiding our effort to help driver partners in these challenging times. Samhita is helping us disburse the grants from Uber Care Driver Fund to the accounts of driver partners effectively, and supporting us in helping driver partners meet their immediate and essential family needs.” – Pavan Vaish, Head of Central Operations, Uber India and South Asia

“With over 30% of commercial vehicles stranded on roads across the country, drivers need urgent support. Truck drivers and their families are in immediate need of cash for food and other basic facilities. We have launched several programs to support the driver community along with our business partners. Through this initiative with Samhita Social Ventures, we aim to help these drivers and their families, until the situation in the country is restored.” – Mr. Rampraveen Swaminathan, MD & CEO, Mahindra Logistics Limited

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In association with Good Karma, the virtual session dealt with anxiety and fear amid the COVID-19

New Delhi, 28^th April 2020: Popcorn Furniture, India’s largest educational furniture manufacturing company, held a webinar on combating anxiety and fear amid the COVID-19 pandemic in adolescents, children and adults. The online seminar was part of the company’s month-long campaign to spread awareness about mental wellbeing.

The session was hosted by Ms Deepika Goyal, Founder and Director, Popcorn Furniture, and Dr Ranjan Ghosh, Good Karma Clinic. Dr Ameeta Mulla Wattal, Principal, Springdales School, was the moderator.

Students, principals and faculties of different schools from all over the nation like Springdales School, (Delhi), Springdales School, (Jaipur), DPS (Bhagalpur), Sunbeam School (Varanasi) and Ramjas School (Delhi) participated in the session. There were around 600 registrations and 300 participants including students, principals, parents and faculties. The one-hour webinar was followed by an interactive session.

Ms Deepika Goyal, Founder and Director, Popcorn Furniture, said, “Popcorn Furniture is India’s largest school furniture provider and we have over 5 million students who have been our happy customers. We wanted to serve our customers – children and their parents – in this crisis. The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to high anxiety levels and fear in the minds of adults as well as children. Each person has a different coping mechanism in stressful situations. Some people are more impacted than others. So, we at Popcorn Furniture built a campaign to help parents and children. We partnered with Dr Ranjan Ghosh of the Good Karma clinic, who is an experienced adult and child psychiatrist from America. The campaign has been running for about three weeks with tips about the 5 w’s of wellness. We have had contests, articles and advice on how to combat fear and anxiety in this difficult time to ensure the mental well-being of kids.”

Dr Ranjan Ghosh, MD Psychiatrist, Good Karma, said, “We are in an unprecedented time in history with regard to school and education. I have spent the better half of my career fighting for inclusion for all in education and not homeschooling. This considering the social-emotional well-being of children. Now we must adapt and teach this to teachers who will be giving lessons online and to parents at home.”

Dr Ameeta Mulla Wattal, Principal, Springdales School, said, “Feelings of self-doubt, stress and uncertainty, have overwhelmed adolescents, parents, young and old. Schools and colleges are shut, our places of worship have been closed, and comforting social gatherings, festivals, movie halls, restaurants, family get-togethers, that filled our lives in the weekends and holidays have been declared off-limits.”

For more details, visit- https://www.popcornfurniture.com/

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–          Whitefield, Sarjapur Road, Bellary Road and Electronic city among top 4 micro markets

–          Strong demand for smaller size 1 & 2BHK and ready-to-move in apartments

–          Under-construction segment witnesses price increase over Ready-to-Move

Bengaluru April 28: At the outset of the COVID-19, Bengaluru’s residential prices witnessed a YOY increase of 2.9% in the first quarter of 2020, fuelled by development in infrastructure and existence of numerous IT and ITES establishments, revealed the latest edition of Magicbricks’ PropIndex (Q1, 2020).

While the global outbreak of COVID0-19 and the ensuing lockdown did impact India’s real estate, Bengaluru witnessed a 4.7% rise in demand for residential real estate during the Jan-Feb-March period of 2020. As an end user driven market, Bengaluru’s residential segment has continued to beat the overall market trends by witnessing steady demand and price increase.

In both the Under Construction (UC) and Ready-to-Move (RM) property categories, positive demand patterns were observed with 1.8% and 0. 8% increase in prices, respectively.  The under-construction segment surprisingly witnessed more increase in prices for almost all brackets, in comparison to ready to move properties, showing trust on builders. The city reported a noticeable increase in demand for the luxury budget segment by 1.9% during the first quarter of 2020. Nevertheless, most demand now lies in the segment of the property less than Rs.5000/sqft.

While Bengaluru has traditionally grown on the back of strong commercial development, the city is expected to grow with government’s attempt to promote industrial ventures in the outskirts, by making amendments in Article 109 of the Land Reform Act, 1961.  Additionally, reduction of stamp duty from 5% to 2% for new homes costing less than Rs.20 lakhs is expected to have a positive impact on demand in the city’s outskirts.

Commenting on the PropIndex, Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks, said, “The Government is taking stringent measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, but the long-term impact on property market is uncertain, and yet to be assessed. But it seems that the consumer interest has not tapered off. There is a pent-up demand for ready-to-move in properties as our data suggests that the 80% of searches are happening in this segment and the rest for under-construction.”

Owing to the employment opportunities, affordability and airport connectivity, Whitefield, Sarjapur Road, Bellary Road and Electronic City continue to be the top-4 micro markets in the city. Posh localities such as Indira Nagar and Malleshwaram experienced a dip in consumer preferences that fall in the segment higher than Rs.7,000/sqft.

According to Magicbricks’ PropIndex, the residential sector was primarily being driven by three critical factors:

·         Residential market was positively impacted by the robust commercial real estate growth in the city

·         The construction of Phase II and Phase III metro stations has increased the development of plots in the peripheral localities of Bengaluru

·         Upcoming Peripheral Ring Road connecting Tumkur Road and Hosur Road through Kempegowda International Airport and Old Madras Road to support residential development in the surrounding localities

However, it will be interesting to see how these factors play out as the market recovers from the outbreak of COVID-19 and the ensuing national lockdown.

As things return to normalcy, Magicbricks Research foresees the next two years to be crucial for the residential segment, as most of the stuck projects are likely to get completed with the help of the Rs.250 billion bailout fund. At the same time, completion of major metro lines should ease connectivity between peripheral and commercial areas, opening the next phase of growth. At last, it’s imperative for the sector to withstand these testing times and come out more robust and well prepared, once the COVID-19 situation gets better.

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