Submit your Article

Nepal reported 912 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Friday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 2, 941 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 529 returned positive. Likewise, 3, 550 people underwent antigen tests, of which 383 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that 370 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 5, 760 active cases in the country.

Rains are likely to take place across the country today while thunder and lightning could take place in some places, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.

The Department said there is a chance of light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning in many parts of the country due to an active monsoon system.

Likewise, heavy rain is likely to occur in one or two places of the Sudurpaschim Province.

However, the Department said there will be slight rainfall in coming two to three days due to weak monsoon system as the low pressure line of the monsoon has moved to south from its normal position.

At present, there is partial to moderate rain in few places of Ganaki and Karnali provinces while the rainfall is light to moderate in Province No. 1 and Sudurpaschim.

During the night, it will be normal to partly cloudy in some parts of the country and partial to normal rain in Province No. 1 and Madhes Province.

Furthermore, there will be light to partial rain with thunder and lightning in few places across the country and heavy rain in one or two places of Bagmati and Gandaki provinces on Saturday.

A meeting of the Nepal-Japan joint working committee concluded today with the decision that Nepali youths vying for jobs in Japan after passing language and skill tests would be facilitated to depart at the earliest.

The second meeting of the joint working committee discussed thoroughly how Nepal government could prepare work procedure for sending the youths for employment in Japan in line with specified skill workers system adopted by Japan, according to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security.

Job aspirants will be informed about the legitimate scheme of SKW to be followed by them for employment in Japan, and for this, amendment of the laws of Japan and Nepal will be made.

The third meeting of the joint working committee will be held in Japan. The first meeting was held virtually in November 2020.

As per the agreement of the first meeting, 850 Nepalis got jobs in Japan in the sectors of care giving, agriculture, construction and restaurant.

The visiting Japanese delegation held a meeting with Labour Minister Sher Bahadur Kunwar. On the occasion, Minister Kunwar said more than 5,000 Nepalis had been aspiring for job in Japan.

In response, leader of the Japanese delegation Chosumo Nakagawa said Japan was positive about welcoming Nepali workers.

The federal government declared a public health emergency Thursday to bolster the response to the monkeypoxoutbreak that has infected more than 7,100 Americans, Associated Press reported.

The announcement will free up money and other resources to fight the virus, which may cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and pimple-like bumps on many parts of the body.

“We are prepared to take our response to the next level in addressing this virus, and we urge every American to take monkeypox seriously,” said Xavier Becerra, head of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The declaration by HHS comes as the Biden administration has faced criticism over monkeypox vaccine availability. Clinics in major cities such as New York and San Francisco say they haven’t received enough of the two-shot vaccine to meet demand, and some have had to stop offering the second dose to ensure supply of first doses.

The White House said it has made more than 1.1 million doses available and has helped to boost domestic diagnostic capacity to 80,000 tests per week.

The monkeypox virus spreads through prolonged skin-to-skin contact, including hugging, cuddling and kissing, as well as sharing bedding, towels and clothing. The people who have gotten sick so far have been primarily men who have sex with men. But health officials emphasize that the virus can infect anyone, according to Associated Press.

No one in the United States has died. A few deaths have been reported in other countries.

Earlier this week, the Biden administration named top officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to serve as the White House coordinators to combat monkeypox.

Thursday’s declaration is an important — and overdue — step, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University.

“It signals the US government’s seriousness and purpose, and sounds a global alarm,” he said.

Under the declaration, HHS can draw from emergency funds, hire or reassign staff to deal with the outbreak and take other steps to control the virus.

For example, the announcement should help the federal government to seek more information from state and local health officials about who is becoming infected and who is being vaccinated. That information can be used to better understand how the outbreak is unfolding and how well the vaccine works.

Gostin said the US government has been too cautious and should have declared a nationwide emergency earlier. Public health measures to control outbreaks have increasingly faced legal challenges in recent years, but Gostin didn’t expect that to happen with monkeypox.

“It is a textbook case of a public health emergency,” Gostin said. “It’s not a red or a blue state issue. There is no political opposition to fighting monkeypox.”

A public health emergency can be extended, similar to what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted.

The urgency in the current response stems from the rapid spread of the virus coupled with the limited availability of the two-dose vaccine called Jynneos, which is considered the main medical weapon against the disease.

The doses, given 28 days apart, are currently being given to people soon after they think they were exposed, as a measure to prevent symptoms, Associated Press reported.

Becerra announced the emergency declaration during a call with reporters. During the call, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said regulators are reviewing an approach that would stretch supplies by allowing health professionals to vaccinate up to five people — instead of one — with each vial of Jynneos.

Under this so-called “dose-sparing” approach, physicians and others would use a shallower injection under the skin, instead of the subcutaneous injection currently recommended in the vaccine’s labeling.

Califf said a decision authorizing that approach could come “within days.”

That would require another declaration, to allow the government to alter its guidelines on how to administer the vaccine, officials said.

Health officials pointed to a study published in 2015 that found that Jynneos vaccine administered that way was as effective at stimulating the immune system as when the needle plunger deeper into other tissue.

But experts also have acknowledged they are still gathering information on how well the conventional administration of one or two full doses works against the outbreak.

Others health organizations have made declarations similar to the one issued by HHS.

Last week, the World Health Organization called monkeypox a public health emergency, with cases in more than 70 countries. A global emergency is WHO’s highest level of alert, but the designation does not necessarily mean a disease is particularly transmissible or lethal.

California, Illinois and New York have all made declarations in the last week, as have New York City, San Francisco and San Diego County.

The declaration of a national public health emergency and the naming of a monkeypox czar are “symbolic actions,” said Gregg Gonsalves, a Yale University infectious diseases expert.

What’s important is that the government is taking the necessary steps to control the outbreak and — if it comes to that — to have a plan for how to deal with monkeypox if it becomes endemic, he said.

Monkeypox is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. It does not usually spread easily among people, according to Associated Press.

But in May, a wave of unexpected cases began emerging in Europe and the United States. Now more than 26,000 cases have been reported in countries that traditionally have not seen monkeypox.