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Nepal logged 318 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Thursday. 

With this, the country's active caseload mounted to 1,115,650. Similarly, the death toll has climbed to 11,931. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 5, 508 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 151 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 235 people underwent antigen tests, of which 167 tested positive.

The Ministry said that 562 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.

As of today, there are 9, 678 active cases in the country. 

The Ministry said that 9, 406 people are staying in home isolation while 272 are in institutionalized isolation.

A man died and other sustained injuries when police and a gang of alleged marijuana smugglers exchanged fire in Simraungadh, Bara on Wednesday.

A team from the Area Police Office, Simraungadh was deployed after they got the information that some people were smuggling marijuana to India from Nepal.

Police spokesperson Rajesh Thapa said that police opened fire in retaliation after the smugglers launched an attack on them.

Thapa said that one of the two persons who were injured in the incident breathed his last during the course of treatment. The identity of the deceased is yet to be established.

Police said that they have arrested Hiradesh Giri (40) of Motihari, India for his involvement in the incident.

Police confiscated 75 kg marijuana from their possession.

Spokesperson Thapa said that the group of 67 persons were smuggling the marijuana to India in five bags.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

Female teachers at a primary school in Bajura district of Sudurpaschim province skip classes when they are menstruating.

The reason is a local superstition that women on their periods will anger the village deity who resides in the school area.

Shree Janaprakash Primary at Ratuda village in Badimalika Municipality is where many local children get their foundational education. The school runs classes up to Grade III with its three teachers, two of whom are women

“I don’t go to school during my menstruation because everyone says I will make the village deity angry by doing so,” says Nira Bista, one of the female teachers.  “Women who are on their periods don’t go near the school area, ever.”

Bista is absent from the school for five days a month. The same goes for the other female teacher. In a year, the two female teachers are absent for a total of 120 days, which is a lot in a school short on staff. 

 Kabita Bista, deputy mayor of Badimalika, is aware of this situation.

She says the municipal government wants to solve the issue through community-level discussions.

 “We have to get everyone on the same page. The village shamans, priests, men and women must all agree to end such a practice,” she says.

Easier said than done.  The local government here has long been campaigning to dispel the taboos and superstitions surrounding menstruation—to no avail.

Take for example the drive against the outlawed practice of Chhaupadi, where menstruating girls and women are banished to live in outhouse sheds. As part of the campaign, five of the nine municipal wards were declared ‘Chhaupadi-free’. Deputy Mayor Bista says the remaining four wards will also soon be declared Chhaupadi-free.   

But this campaign’s success is cosmetic, belying the reality. Yes, there are many ‘Chhaupadi-free’ areas in Badimalika these days, but menstrual taboos and superstitions are still rampant.

The myth that women on their periods are impure, that their presence can sully hallowed temple grounds, is deeply embedded in the minds of local residents.

Bista, the schoolteacher, knows it is irrational, and an outright discrimination, to ban women from public places just because they are having their period. But she also believes the story of the omniscient village deity she has heard of all her life.

“Deep down I do fear that something terrible may befall the village if I go to the school when I am menstruating,” she says.

Nepal recorded 312 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Wednesday. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 5,103 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 256 returned positive. Likewise, 3,590 people underwent antigen tests, of which 56 tested positive.

The Ministry said that 911 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.

As of today, there are 10,090 active cases in the country.