With all that is going on in India with the incredibly large number of deaths resulting in massive cremations, I totally forgot that Jenny Slatten and Sumit Singh were there! After hearing the news I rushed to their cute couples IG to see that they had been at the beach in Goa just last week. The seemed to be at a deserted beach. All their photos for the most part show them wearing masks. Their hashtags are all about Covid safety and yet Sumit just announced that they both tested positive for Covid. 🙁
They may have been quarantining in Goa. It looks like that region has lower cases than other places in India. And India being such heavily populated country, their huge Covid problem still only places them second in the world for number of cases. The United States holds first place in the entire world for most cases. Because, you know, you can tell Americans what to do. They will refuse even if it kills them. Or us.
Sumit posted the news two days ago along with, “Thank you all for praying for us. Thank you all for hoping best for us and for wishing us good health and stay safe. Sorry to inform you all that we both are Covid positive. We are doing okay and hoping to recover asap.”
This news makes me so sad. I will keep them in my prayers. They have fought to long and hard for their love to have things end like this.
Me too, they seem so genuine. I feel so sad for what India is going through. Being COVID safe isn’t a guarantee, in Australia we have hotel quarantine for returned travellers and there are still some random infections within hotels.
And thank you, TT.
Damn, this makes sad. I hope they both recover without any issues. The Covid situation in India so heartbreaking, I think sadly, they will beat us in Covid cases…as their healthcare system cannot handle the surge and they are running out of supplies. Praying for India.
Not sure what is going on with the vaccine there, but anybody who gets covid I feel bad for. This damn virus and all it’s variants and mutants…. be and stay safe everyone!
I read The President sent all the 15 million vaccines to India. Hope it saves many lives.
Astra zenica vaccines.
(Don’t remember where I read, sorry T T.
Think it was in Twitter feed.
This makes me so sad. Even doing all the preventative techniques still doesn’t protect everyone from Covid. I remember Jenny had health issues. I am praying for both of them and everyone in India. Hopefully Sumit’s mom will make them some soup.
What’s happening in India and other non-western countries is very sad. Biden has been asked to waive the intellectual property laws that allow the drug companies to hold on to their patents and which prevent other companies (within other countries) from making the vaccines. International health advocates say that granting a waiver would help to get much-needed vaccines to poorer countries sooner. A temporary waiver would give other drug companies access to the information needed to make vaccines on their own, which would boost production. The major drug companies are against this, stating that creating “generic” shots would “cause confusion” in the fight against new strains, and they say it would not make the rollout any easier.
And of course, those who are against this waiver say that intellectual property rights encourage innovation (which makes sense- the ability to be rewarded financially for innovations is a big part of why we have the quality of medical care and drugs that we do in this country – however- in a global pandemic, it certainly makes sense to temporarily waive intellectual property rights, if indeed this is the actual hold up in getting the vaccines to non-westernized countries and into arms- which is a whole other issue in these countries). But so far, crickets from the Biden administration. Hopefully he will make a decision soon.
Hi! Just updating: it is not crickets from the president. This issue is currently being decided at the White House and has been widely publicized. I agree with you that it sounds like the right thing to do.
Yeah- hope they make the right decision! When I said “crickets”, I should have clarified- in terms of a decision being made.
I was wondering lately about Jenny and Sumit and whether they had stayed Covid free. When Jenny first moved there even before Covid was widespread, I thought if I were her age ( isn’t she in her late 50s?), I would not feel safe in general if I became seriously ill there. I would not feel confident that I could get the medical care I needed. They don’t have much money. Does she even have medical insurance? No, at her age I would not move to India even for love. I do hope she recovers without complications.
Agree. She’s 64 with underlying health issues….not a good place for her to be.
I am so sad and worried for them. Despite their trials, they were both nice people who fought hard for love. I hope Sumit’s family is willing to put all their differences aside and help Jenny and Sumit should they need it. I hate to hear they are Covid positive and pray they do not and will not require oxygen. To be blunt, Jenny doesn’t appear to have the finances to afford medical care (like oxygen) since the prices have gone crazy as hospitals run out of medicine and oxygen.
actually, India’s Serum Institute does a lot of the vaccine manufacturing https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/covid-19-is-out-of-control-in-india-where-most-vaccines-are-made-how-did-that-happen for some reason they weren’t doing the public precautions as rigorously and returned to huge public gatherings with a woefully under-equipped public health capacity and are paying a horrific price.
Thanks for this informative link. It seems that the Serum Institute doesn’t have enough raw materials to produce the quantity they need for India. The US is sending some Astraventica vaccine that we are using here because it is not approved. But they have 1.3 million people and and though we are sending millions of vaccines it is only a drop in the bucket. It seems the main thing that happened was they had a decrease in cases and thought it was safe to relax restrictions. That lead to one or two new variants mutating. Something we need to understand in this country. We still do not have herd immunity. And we still have idiots that won’t wear masks because they think they will just “have the flu” and there is a low mortality rate. There have “only been” 576,000 deaths in the US. It seems like every somehow knows someone who has died. I know three in my county. We are still THE WORST COUNTRY with regard to Covid-19 cases. And that’s because so many idiots don’t think it is a big deal at all. The major of the small town where I grocery shop has decided not to require masks anywhere any more. I haven’t been to the grocery store since that happened. But I hope they are still requiring them.
Agree with everything you’re saying, TT. I read an article put out by Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The only way to reach herd immunity (in any situation) is for 1) enough people to get a virus or 2) enough people get the vaccine. If only the people who are in the camp that proclaims “it’s my body and my own personal choice” would get a clue and realize that unless enough people are willing to perform the public service of getting vaccinated, this frankenvirus is going to be around forever, continuing to kill people. I don’t think we want to wear masks and stay isolated from each other forever, but these “anti-vaxxers” who can’t seem to connect with the concept of “public health”, make my blood boil. Of course, anyone who has a legit physical condition, where a doctor (not the internet, but a real MD) states that to get vaccinated would be dangerous, is exempt.
And of course, I understand where many people are waiting for walk up clinics because the process for making an appointment can be prohibitive. But if we, as a society don’t unite, and start to see this as less of an “individual choice” (for those medically able to do so), but more as a “public duty”, we will never be free of this horrible virus..
Over 400,000 new cases of Covid in India today. They are out of oxygen and hospital rooms. Brazil is also reporting 400,000 a day now. 🙁
This is really sad. Hopefully they have a quick recovery and are asystematic.
Unfortunately for India my understanding is that precautions are not be taken by a lot of people. I know several monks in Dehli that have been quarantined to their Monastery since thei start. However I’ve sewn photos of them when they are outside doing ceremonies people packed together around the fences surrounding the monastery without masks.
It also seems to that covid is rampant among poor that can’t afford even the basic needs and are live basically on top of one another.
It is seriously heartbreaking.
I think you’re right. There are probably cultural practices and traditions in many countries that are causing this to continue to spread. THat’s why getting vaccines in enough arms to statistically begin to eliminate this dreadful thing is key. Vaccines are the only answer I believe, because people cannot hide, wear masks and be isolated forever (but until enough people get the vaccine world-wide, that’s what we will all be relegated to. I just had an aha moment- I think instead of writing my thoughts on sites like this, I need to use my free days (outside of work) to volunteer with a group dedicated to spreading the message about the vaccine, and helping people who are unable to navigate the system to make appointments. My parents always taught me “talk is cheap”- I need to get out there and do something, since I feel so strongly.