Himachal sees first Covid case in latest surge, Sirmaur woman tests positive
An 82-year-old woman has been tested positive for Covid in Nahan Medical College of Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh. This is the state's first case of the latest surge. As per the authorities, the woman from Saranh area reached the medical college for treatment on Tuesday morning and was found positive in the rapid test.
The doctors advised her to get admitted but she refused following which she was asked to ensure her home isolation. She was sent home after being administered necessary medicines.
Sirmaur's chief medical officer Dr Amitabh Jain confirmed that the woman was tested positive for Covid. He said her sample would be sent to Mandi for genome sequencing after which information about the variant of Covid would be available. Dr Jain said that after the woman was found Covid positive, the block medical officer (BMO) was instructed that all the people who came in contact with the woman should be tested.
The CMO said the oxygen plant in Nahan Medical College was fully functional. Arrangements for ICU have been made. A letter has also been written to the department for RT-PCR kit. The state government had last week issued an advisory to all medical colleges and hospitals regarding Covid in which the hospitals were asked to keep oxygen plants, ICU, testing labs, etc., ready. Genome sequencing of corona samples will be done at Nerchowk Medical College, Mandi.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
22 minutes ago
- India.com
US scientists issue chilling warning, say new virus found in China one step away from spreading in..., HKU5-CoV-2 virus is found in...
Covid-19: Active cases surge to 3207, 29 deaths, 60% of cases in Kerala and Maharashtra COVID-19 has once again dominated the news headlines. A new virus has been detected in China following the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Independent report, Scientists suggest that the variant, known as HKU5-CoV-2, is likely to affect a wider range of animals than the original COVID-19 virus, which led to millions of deaths worldwide. It is to be noted that the new variant may pose a greater risk of spreading between species. American researchers have raised concerns that HKU5-CoV-2, detected in China in February, might also have the ability to infect humans, potentially triggering a large-scale outbreak. A new study published in Nature Communications studied a lesser-known group of coronaviruses referred to as merbecoviruses, which includes HKU5 and MERS-CoV — the virus that causes the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Researchers from Washington State University studied how this new virus interacts with human cells. They discovered that a small alteration in the virus's spike protein would probably help it hook onto human ACE2 receptors located in the throat, mouth, and nose. HKU5-CoV-2 can infect and replicate within human cells in both the respiratory tract and the digestive tract. At present, the virus is found in bats, but with a small mutation, it could start spreading among people. This virus is similar to MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). The World Health Organization states that around 35% of those infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) succumb to the disease. Since its emergence in 2012, approximately 27 countries have reported cases, resulting in 858 confirmed deaths. The infection is primarily transmitted from camels.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
How The Vatican Manages Money And Where Pope Leo XIV Might Find More
Vatican City: The world's smallest country has a big budget problem. The Vatican doesn't tax its residents or issue bonds. It primarily finances the Catholic Church's central government through donations that have been plunging, ticket sales for the Vatican Museums, as well as income from investments and an underperforming real estate portfolio. The last year the Holy See published a consolidated budget, in 2022, it projected 770 million euros ($878 million), with the bulk paying for embassies around the world and Vatican media operations. In recent years, it hasn't been able to cover costs. That leaves Pope Leo XIV facing challenges to drum up the funds needed to pull his city-state out of the red. Withering Donations Anyone can donate money to the Vatican, but the regular sources come in two main forms. Canon law requires bishops around the world to pay an annual fee, with amounts varying and at bishops' discretion "according to the resources of their dioceses." U.S. bishops contributed over one-third of the $22 million (19.3 million euros) collected annually under the provision from 2021-2023, according to Vatican data. The other main source of annual donations is more well-known to ordinary Catholics: Peter's Pence, a special collection usually taken on the last Sunday of June. From 2021-2023, individual Catholics in the U.S. gave an average $27 million (23.7 million euros) to Peter's Pence, more than half the global total. American generosity hasn't prevented overall Peter's Pence contributions from cratering. After hitting a high of $101 million (88.6 million euros) in 2006, contributions hovered around $75 million (66.8 million euros) during the 2010's then tanked to $47 million (41.2 million euros) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many churches were closed. Donations remained low in the following years, amid revelations of the Vatican's bungled investment in a London property, a former Harrod's warehouse that it hoped to develop into luxury apartments. The scandal and ensuing trial confirmed that the vast majority of Peter's Pence contributions had funded the Holy See's budgetary shortfalls, not papal charity initiatives as many parishioners had been led to believe. Peter's Pence donations rose slightly in 2023 and Vatican officials expect more growth going forward, in part because there has traditionally been a bump immediately after papal elections. New Donors The Vatican bank and the city state's governorate, which controls the museums, also make annual contributions to the pope. As recently as a decade ago, the bank gave the pope around 55 million euros ($62.7 million) a year to help with the budget. But the amounts have dwindled; the bank gave nothing specifically to the pope in 2023, despite registering a net profit of 30 million euros ($34.2 million), according to its financial statements. The governorate's giving has likewise dropped off. Some Vatican officials ask how the Holy See can credibly ask donors to be more generous when its own institutions are holding back. Leo will need to attract donations from outside the U.S., no small task given the different culture of philanthropy, said the Rev. Robert Gahl, director of the Church Management Program at Catholic University of America's business school. He noted that in Europe there is much less of a tradition (and tax advantage) of individual philanthropy, with corporations and government entities doing most of the donating or allocating designated tax dollars. Even more important is leaving behind the "mendicant mentality" of fundraising to address a particular problem, and instead encouraging Catholics to invest in the church as a project, he said. Speaking right after Leo's installation ceremony in St. Peter's Square, which drew around 200,000 people, Gahl asked: "Don't you think there were a lot of people there that would have loved to contribute to that and to the pontificate?" In the U.S., donation baskets are passed around at every Sunday Mass. Not so at the Vatican. Untapped Real Estate The Vatican has 4,249 properties in Italy and 1,200 more in London, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland. Only about one-fifth are rented at fair market value, according to the annual report from the APSA patrimony office, which manages them. Some 70% generate no income because they house Vatican or other church offices; the remaining 10% are rented at reduced rents to Vatican employees. In 2023, these properties only generated 35 million euros ($39.9 million) in profit. Financial analysts have long identified such undervalued real estate as a source of potential revenue. But Ward Fitzgerald, the president of the U.S.-based Papal Foundation, which finances papal charities, said the Vatican should also be willing to sell properties, especially those too expensive to maintain. Many bishops are wrestling with similar downsizing questions as the number of church-going Catholics in parts of the U.S. and Europe shrinks and once-full churches stand empty. Toward that end, the Vatican recently sold the property housing its embassy in Tokyo's high-end Sanbancho neighborhood, near the Imperial Palace, to a developer building a 13-story apartment complex, according to the Kensetsu News trade journal. Yet there has long been institutional reluctance to part with even money-losing properties. Witness the Vatican announcement in 2021 that the cash-strapped Fatebenefratelli Catholic hospital in Rome, run by a religious order, would not be sold. Pope Francis simultaneously created a Vatican fundraising foundation to keep it and other Catholic hospitals afloat. "They have to come to grips with the fact that they own so much real estate that is not serving the mission of the church," said Fitzgerald, who built a career in real estate private equity.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Nellore reports seven Covid-19 cases, DM&HO intensifies vigilance
The health department on Saturday intensified Covid-19 monitoring and containment measures after seven positive cases were reported in SPSR Nellore district. The District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) has initiated several measures on the instructions of Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, Andhra Pradesh. The VRDL (Virus Research And Diagnostic Laboratory Network) had conducted 12 RT-PCR tests on the patients at ACSR Government Medical College and General Hospital (GGH) and confirmed six Covid-19 cases in the combined Nellore district on Friday. Later, another case was reportedly found on Saturday. Nellore DM&HO Dr. V. Sujatha said that the department has immediately tested 27 persons who were primary contacts of the patients. Except one, rest of them tested negative. Now, the contacts of the person who tested positive will undergo the tests. All the patients are presently having mild symptoms and are staying at home isolation with good health condition. With the increasing Covid-19 cases across the State and country, the DM&HO has appointed District Surveillance Officer Dr. Bhaskar Singamsetty as a nodal officer to monitor the cases and submit the GGH preparedness assessment data through IHIP (Integrated Health Information Platform) portal. Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Bhaskar said, 'After Omicron, the individuals were found to be infected with the new Covid-19 subvariants—NB.1.8.1 and LF.7. These are mild variants with symptoms including cough, cold, throat pain and fever for three days. To stop spreading the disease, we have notified guidelines to the public to avoid mass gathering and wear masks.' About 1,000 kits for RAT (Rapid Antigen Tests) were distributed to 80 PHCs in the district. If anyone tested positive, they were immediately moved to the district hospital for the RT-PCR test as it is available only at GGH and few corporate hospitals like Narayana, Apollo and Medicover in the district, he said. The nodal officer further said, 'We are conducting house to house survey for identifying the primary and secondary contacts of the positive patients. We continuously follow-up the patients in home isolation for one week. The alerts were given to all PHCs and UPHCs regarding the influenza patients.' GGH Superintendent Dr. B. S. Naik said that a special ward has been set up with 30 beds for the Covid-19 patients in the pulmonology department having more than 14 doctors and 12 nurses. Apart from this, the GGH is ready to arrange another 40-bed ward for the Covid-19 patients if the number of cases go up.
