Quarantined people’s swabs collected after minor’s death

Bajura, June 1 

The swab samples of people kept in the quarantine facility at Dhuralsain Secondary School were collected after the death of a two-year-old child in Budhiganga Municipality, Bajura.

Municipality Mayor Dipak Bikram Sha said the child, who was infected with COV- ID-19, died in the isolation ward of Bajura District Hospital on Sunday. The minor’s mother also tested positive for the virus. She is undergoing treatment in the isolation ward of the hospital.

Chief at the health office Daya Krishna Panta said swab samples of quarantined people were collected for PCR test as there were high chances that they might have contracted the virus.

He said the swab samples of 173 people, including health workers and security personnel, were sent to Dhangadi Laboratory for PCR test.

Dhuralsain Quarantine was sealed after the death of the child.

According to Bajura District Police Office, 371 people had returned from India on the same day when the deceased minor was brought to the district from India. They entered the country from Gauriphanta border point on May 26.

As many as 54 people were kept in the quarantine facility of Dhuralsain on that day.

The minor was kept in the isolation ward in Martadi the next day after her health condition deteriorated. As many as 185 Indian returnees are staying in Dhuralsain quarantine at present.

---

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 02, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.

The post Quarantined people’s swabs collected after minor’s death  appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/3cqPN8S

Tourist standard hotels agree to government rate for quarantine

KATHMANDU, JUNE 1

Tourist standard member hotels of the Hotel Association Nepal are ready to provide quarantine service at Rs 2,000 per night with four meals a day.

Disclosing member hotels’ decision today, Binayak Shah, first vice-president of HAN, said, “Our proposal was to charge Rs 3,000 to Rs 16,000 based on the category of hotels, but tourist standard hotels are ready to adjust the price as per the government’s offer. Star-rated hotels, however, are still waiting for the government’s response.”

As the government was preparing to bring back stranded Nepali citizens on priority basis, it had requested HAN to provide hotels that could be used as quarantine centres by those who could afford to pay certain fees. Subsequently, HAN had offered to provide rooms at Rs 3,000 to Rs 16,000 per night, depending on the category of the hotel, while the government had quoted a flat rate of Rs 2,000 per night.

While the government will take responsibility for people who stay in designated public quarantine centres, those staying in hotel quarantine will have to foot their own bills.

“We have been informed that the government is holding discussions on our proposed rates,” he said, adding, “Considering the situation, we are ready to make some adjustments and the government also needs to come up with a reasonable rate for star-rated hotels.”

HAN has offered 3,500 rooms for quarantine. The Federation of Hotel Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, has already provided 700 hotel rooms to quarantine doctors and nurses working on the frontline for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

While agreeing to provide their hotels as quarantine centres may provide some relief during the ongoing crisis, hoteliers are also anxious about the decision affecting the appeal of their hotels after the situation normalises.

“Since the virus is quite unpredictable, hotels are worried about losing business later on,” HAN first vice-president Shah added.

As such, HAN has requested the government to provide security and medical facilities to regularly disinfect the selected hotels. And once things settle down the government has to provide a green card to all the quarantine hotels as proof that they are safe to accommodate normal guests.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post Tourist standard hotels agree to government rate for quarantine appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/2Xom1xB

Plan to evacuate Nepalis from abroad unveiled

KATHMANDU, JUNE 1

The government has released an 11-point action plan to bring back and manage citizens who have been affected by COV- ID-19 and want to return home.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel, who is also coordinator of the High-Level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of COV- ID-19, said the plan to evacuate Nepalis stranded abroad was approved yesterday. The committee had discussed the plan prepared by the technical taskforce assigned to do the needful on Friday.

As per the plan, the government has decided to deploy the Nepali Army as the number of infections started rising due to mismanagement of those returning from India. It has also designated 17 entry points for Nepalis returning from India and Tribhuvan International Airport for those flying from other countries.

Those who want to return will be evacuated on priority basis (see inset). However, they will have to furnish recent polymerase chain reaction and rapid diagnostic test check-up certificates before boarding the flight. Meanwhile, only 10 flights a day will be permitted to come to Nepal.

Though district administration and local levels are responsible for managing entry points at the Nepal-India border, the Nepali Army will also be deployed for immediate assistance.

The army will also be used to manage people who come from countries other than India.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign missions abroad have been given the responsibility of identifying, prioritising, compiling and providing details of Nepali citizens coming from countries other than India. The MoFA has to furnish the details within 10 days.

As per the plan, returnee citizens will first be kept in a holding centre where the Nepali Army and health personnel will confirm their personal details.

District administration offices, local level and provincial governments and Nepali Army will be involved in managing evacuated citizens. The army, in coordination with provincial and local level governments, will manage transportation and drop people to their respective hometowns. However, those with body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or more will be immediately shifted to the isolation facility.

The holding centres will be selected, determined and managed province-wise before the evacuation process starts.

The high-level committee and local levels will manage the travel expenses of returnees after they check out from the holding centres.

The army will also manage quarantine facilities in coordination with local levels. However, quarantine facilities will have to be built by local levels.

In case of an emergency situation, the federal government will manage 300 isolation beds at Nepal Electricity Authority’s training office in Kharipati, 400 beds in Icchangunarayan Aawas area, 500 beds in Manmohan Hospital and 500 beds in KMC Hospital in Duwakot.

The plan also states that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security will be responsible for bringing back bodies of Nepalis who died abroad but could not be brought back due to suspension of international flights and hand them over to their families.

As per general practice, governments of the respective destinations or employer companies have to bear all the expenses of bringing back bodies to Nepal. However, if that is not possible then the Foreign Employment Promotion Board will do the needful.

The federal government will provide Rs 175 per day for 14 days of quarantine to the local levels for each person quarantined.

Expenses of holding centres will also be borne by the central government. However, returnees will have to pay for hotel expenses, air ticket and other travel expenses up to their quarantine.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation will select and determine hotels for quarantine facility. The details of hotels will be posted on its website and work in this regard will start immediately.

As per the action plan, minister of physical Infrastructure and transport will be responsible for managing things for Province 1; minister of labour, employment and social security for Province 2; minister of women, children and senior citizens for Bagmati Province; minister of land management, cooperatives and poverty alleviation for Gandaki Province; minister of energy, water resources and irrigation for Province 5; minister of forests and environment for Karnali Province and minister of drinking water for Sudurpaschim Province.

Who gets priority

• Those who have received general pardon
• Those in detention centres but have been approved to fly to Nepal
• Those who have been expelled
• Those whose relatives have died in Nepal
• Migrants who have lost their jobs
• People infected with fatal diseases other than COVID-19
• Pregnant women, children, elderly and differently-abled
• Government job holders who are stranded in foreign nations
• Students who have completed their studies or are in urgent need
• Migrants whose leave has been approved
• Those affiliated with international organisations
• Those who had gone abroad on tourist or business visas. 

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.

The post Plan to evacuate Nepalis from abroad unveiled appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/3eGXpWx

Congo hit by a second, simultaneous Ebola outbreak

from World | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3eKE6M5

पुलवामा के त्राल में एनकाउंटर शुरू, सुरक्षाबलों ने आतंकी को मार गिराया

पुलवामा जिले के त्राल के सैमोह में मंगलवार तड़के आतंकवादियों और बलों के बीच मुठभेड़ शुरू हो गई जिसमें...

from आज तक https://ift.tt/2ZV9Zxf

JSP-Nepal registers private constitution amendment bill

Kathmandu, June 1 

Janata Samajwadi Party-Nepal today registered a private constitution amendment bill at the Parliament Secretariat seeking to change several provisions of the constitution to address the demands of Madhesis, Janajatis and other marginalised groups and communities.

The JSP-N said the constitution should be amended also to address the demands of Madhesis, Janajatis and other marginalised groups and not only the coat of arms to depict Limpiyadhura, Lipuelekh and Kalapani as the country’s territories.

Leaders associated with the JSP-N registered the bill on behalf of Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal and Samajwadi Party-Nepal as the merger of the two parties is yet to be completed.

The JSP-N’s move came a day after Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe presented the government’s constitution amendment bill (second amendment) in the House of Representatives.

JSP-N leader Laxman Lal Karna said they had registered the constitution amendment bill seeking to give citizenship to foreign women married to Nepali men upon initiating the process of renouncing their citizenship.

The bill also seeks to alter the boundary of a province in consultation with the province concerned and to form a commission for changing boundaries of provinces.

JSP-N leaders have been saying that the boundaries of the provinces should be changed to recognise identity the dominant ethnic groups of the provinces. The bill also seeks to incorporate languages to be recommended by the Language Commission into the schedule of the constitution.

All these four issues were part of the constitution amendment bill that was registered during Sher Bahadur Deuba’s premiership. The bill, however, failed in the House due to former CPN-UML’s opposition.

Karna said the new bill sought to amend the constitution also to have a constitutional court and a powerful Lokpal.

When asked if the JSP-N would vote in favour of the government’s constitution amendment bill if the government did not support their party’s constitution amendment bill, Karna said that in such a situation, the parliamentary party would take the final call.

---

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 02, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.

The post JSP-Nepal registers private constitution amendment bill  appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/2MjcFwq

Leipzig move into third spot with 4-2 win at Cologne

BERLIN: RB Leipzig reclaimed third place in the Bundesliga with an entertaining 4-2 victory at Cologne on Monday that put them firmly on course for a Champions League spot with five games left in the season.

Leipzig’s second win in their last six league games put them two points ahead of Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen with the top four qualifying for the Champions League group stage.

Cologne stunned the visitors in the seventh minute when Jhon Cordoba fired in on the rebound after Elvis Rexhbecaj first hit the post but Leipzig turned things around before halftime.

Patrik Schick grabbed his ninth goal of the campaign with a 20th minute header and Christopher Nkunku then was then sent through to calmly chip the ball over keeper Timo Horn in the 38th.

In a furious start to the second half the visitors added another goal when keeper Peter Gulacsi spectacularly served up a perfect 60-metre assist with a direct delivery for striker Timo Werner to finish it off.

“At that moment when I had the ball I saw that Timo had started his run and that there was a lot of space,” Gulacsi said. “It was a good ball from me but Timo still had to score and he did that well.”

Cologne substitute Anthony Modeste’s 55th minute missile briefly gave the hosts hope but it was quickly cancelled out by Dani Olmo’s effort two minutes later.

Leipzig are now third on 58 points, two behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund and nine off leaders Bayern Munich

The post Leipzig move into third spot with 4-2 win at Cologne appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

from The Himalayan Times https://ift.tt/3gJn6rh