Indian-origin physician in New York dies of COVID-19
New York: An Indian-origin physician here has succumbed to the novel coronavirus, American Physicians of Indian-Origin (AAPI) has said.
Sudheer S Chauhan had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was battling for his life for the past few weeks. He died of complications from the illness on May 19, AAPI's Media Coordinator Ajay Ghosh said in a statement on Wednesday.
Chauhan was an Internal Medicine Physician and Associate Programme Director IM Residency Program at Jamaica Hospital in New York.
His daughter Sneh Chauhan said in the AAPI release that his unique, kind, gentle and caring spirit will be missed.
Chauhan did his MBBS from GSUM Medical College, University of Kanpur (India) in 1972. He was chief resident in Internal Medicine at Jamaica Hospital and graduated in 1997. A Board Certified physician in Internal Medicine, he also received citations from Royal College of Physicians and FACP from American College of Physicians.
New York is among the worst-hit states in the US with 28,636 coronavirus deaths and 76,410 infections. The US has so far recorded 1,551,853 COVID-19 cases and 93,439 fatalities -- both of which are highest in the world.
Earlier this month, an Indian-origin father-daughter doctor duo in New Jersey passed away due to COVID-19.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy had described the demise of the healthcare heroes who dedicated their lives to helping others as particularly tough".
Dr Satyender Dev Khanna, 78, and Dr Priya Khanna, 43, both dedicated their lives to helping others and we lost both of them to COVID-19, Murphy said during a press conference last week.
"We have a proud moment, it is (also) a scary moment; it is a mixed feeling, but this virus is a deadly virus, AAPI President Dr Suresh Reddy said, describing the situation under which the physicians of Indian-origin serving people infected with the virus.
"They tend to work disproportionately in areas that are medically underserved like rural and inner city areas taking on a heavier workload with patients who are more ill. We are definitely in the frontline fighting this deadly battle (against the coronavirus)", Reddy said.
Dr Seema Arora, Chairwoman of AAPI's Board of Trustees, said coronavirus has placed the entire healthcare sector, and in particular the Indian-American medical fraternity at the frontlines of the fight against the pandemic.
AAPI said Indian-Americans constitute less than one per cent of the US population, but they account for nine per cent of the American doctors and physicians.
One out of every seven doctors serving in America is of Indian-origin, providing medical care to over 40 million of US population. There are about 80,000 practising Indian-American physicians who are at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 pandemic in the US.
In addition, there are around 40,000 medical students, residents, and fellows of Indian origin in this country who are supporting many of the hospitals affected by the pandemic, the organisation said.
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Rupee settles 1 paisa higher to close at 94.15 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee settled with gains of just one paisa to close at 94.15 against the US dollar on Monday, as rising global uncertainty, escalating tensions in West Asia and soaring crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the INR/USD pair pared its initial losses, but the overall bias remains negative as FII sell-off and elevated crude oil prices restricted the gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, and touched an intraday high of 94.11 and a low of 94.28 against the greenback during the day.
At the end of Monday's trading session, the rupee was quoted at 94.15, registering a gain of just 1 paisa over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee extended its losing streak for the fifth day in a row, depreciating 15 paise to close at 94.16 against the US dollar.
"The rupee snapped a five-session losing streak, rebounding in tandem with a rally across regional currencies. However, the mood remains apprehensive as the market braces for a potential RBI intervention around 94.30 and higher crude oil prices," said Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
On the charts, the USDINR pair has reclaimed its upward momentum, carving out a classic bullish structure of higher highs and lows on the daily time frame, he said, adding that for the coming sessions, 93.80 serves as a support, with 94.40 acting as the primary hurdle.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent at 98.32.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.36 per cent at USD 107.82 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 639.42 points to settle at 77,303.63, while the Nifty surged 194.75 points to 24,092.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped by USD 2.362 billion to USD 703.308 billion during the week ended April 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had increased by USD 3.825 billion to USD 700.946 billion.
