Glasses wearers a third as likely to catch Covid, claims study

The visually impaired got an unlikely boost on Saturday as a new study claimed they are up to three times less likely to be infected with Covid-19.

Covid thrives on contact and the report's India-based researchers said glasses wearers rubbed their eyes less than non-glasses wearers.

Eyes are seen as a particularly susceptible portal for viral entry with tear ducts able to transport Covid into the nasal cavity.

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Researchers studied 304 people (223 male, 81 female) in a northern Indian hospital over the course of two weeks last summer.

Participants were aged between 10 and 80, and all had reported Covid symptoms. Crucially, 19 per cent said they wore glasses almost all the time.

The study found participants touched their face up to 23 times an hour on average, and their eyes three times an hour.

These numbers dropped by up to two or three times for those wearing spectacles, leading to the researchers’ conclusion.

"The present study showed that the risk of Covid-19 was about two to three times less in spectacles wearing population than the population not wearing those," the report states.

The report is published on the medRxiv website and its findings are yet to be peer reviewed.

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Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law

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