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INDIA RECORDED MORE than 45,000 cases of the deadly “black fungus” over the last two months, the health ministry said, as a nationwide outbreak sweeps through Covid-19 patients.
The country’s junior health minister Bharati Pravin Pawar told parliament yesterday that over 4,200 people had died of the fungus – scientific name mucormycosis.
The infection was previously considered very rare but cases have ballooned during the pandemic, usually striking patients after recovery from Covid-19.
It is a highly aggressive disease and surgeons have been forced to remove eyes, the nose and jaw from patients to stop it spreading to the brain.
The death rate is over 50%.
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According to government data, the highest number of cases were reported in the western state of Maharashtra at 9,348.
India dealt with just 20 cases a year on average before the pandemic, with only people with severely compromised immunity at risk, including those with high blood sugar levels, HIV or organ transplant recipients.
Experts have attributed the recent rise to the excessive use of steroids to treat Covid-19.
The Indian government declared the fungus an epidemic in May as cases shot up and social media has been flooded with desperate pleas for medicines to treat the illness.
Government data tabled yesterday suggested infection numbers peaked during May and June and have since substantially decreased.
But the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Monday that there had been a rise in cases among children in the northern state of Rajasthan.
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FG housing policy working as designed. They’ll be delighted with 9% price hikes. If you vote FG you probably don’t want anyone else to own their home either and indeed, at this point you’ll likely be the reason they won’t. For those who don’t vote FG thank you. Our only hope out of this mess is that others also wake up and stop voting FG. There are so many issues that need to be addressed but we can’t even begin to address them until we have a government that views a report of this nature as a problem rather then a victory.
@Declan Doherty: got it in one..many FF and FG TDs are landlords, or their near family… high house prices are essential for high rental so all going to policy… its the one policy they haven’t failed to adhere to funnily enough… nothing like self interest to keep your mind focused…
@John Bathe: A quick search also shows, some SF TDs are landlords, also other TDs outside of those 3 parties are landlords. How come you failed to mention that?
@Roy Dowling: I’d imagine it’s because it’s FFG policies that are being implemented, not oppositions. A quick search will also tell you FG have by far the biggest % of their TDs are landlords.
@Fiachra Murphy: They benefits from all those policies. Many on here feel that anyone who owns a second home shouldn’t rent it they should sell it so it increases supply and drops house prices.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: Quick search also tells you Michael Healy Rae is the biggest landlord in the dail. But never gets a mentioned as part of the problem.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: Where did I say he was. I said he benefits from the policies. Who’s likely to vote these policies through the dail? Those who benefit from them or those that don’t?
@Mogh Roith: All policies have passed by the dail. Which means TDs have to vote them through. Including the SF TDs and independent TDs etc. How sure are you they are voting against policies that they have a vested interest in?. Or simply don’t turn up to a vote so one less vote against the policy. Why is it difficult for you to see any TD who is a landlord is a problem?
@Roy Dowling: Only way to determine that is to vote SF next time and see if they bring in policy designed to help banks and investors or policies to help get regular people onto the housing ladder.
@Roy Dowling: Being a landlord isn’t necessarily a problem. Being a landlord while voting for policies that seek to raise house prices to unaffordable levels while locking first time buyers out of the market is definitely a problem.
@Roy Dowling: Ah come on now Roy, a closet FFG voter. Still clutching at straws. Oh look over there at SF, PBP, Danny Healy Rae, or whoever you care to mention. Irrespective of how the opposition vote FFG/Greens set the policy…… This so called defense of the government is getting boring now.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: And opposition voting for it the policy or not showing up to vote against it. All fine by you. Good to know. Also not possible to Vote for FFG as they don’t exist.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: sure Fr tell us what SF’s housing policy is, besides not allowing social housing in their housing spokesperson’s constituency? What is their policy on housing that is going to be the silver bullet here? Let’s hope it’s not the same policy that is driving the housing crisis in NI under the SF housing minister there, in that country. I’m sure Gerry would be interested in the landlord debate, sure he has homes in Belfast, Donegal, Louth and Clontarf.
And it will continue to happen as long as we allow companies who only pay 12.5% tax on their Profit to buy homes they can never live in and compete with people who pay 52% tax on their income and need to live in these houses.
@John Mathews: how much do you have to earn to pay 52% tax on your ENTIRE salary? Nobody in that situation is poor and forced to rent. People really don’t understand tax when they claim they are paying 52% on income. If you want to make that claim then you want landlords to pay less tax as most pay that on rental income
@Craic_a_tower: I never said landlords, I said companies. Landlords will pay the marginal rate of tax on their rental income. I have no bone to pick with landlords as you rightly point out they pay tax on the rental income. But companies don’t pay tax on the rental income. They only pay a much smaller tax 12.5% on the profit after subtracting all their running costs. Companies can’t live in these homes that they buy by the hundreds and thousands. They have far deeper pockets than people do and their presence in the residential property sector pushes house prices above the true affordability level of the actual population. I have actually written a whitepaper and petition on this point but I can’t link on the journal because I’m new. If someone would care to link it I’d appreciate it.
@Craic_a_tower: In 2016 the census had nearly 2/3rds of Irish households earning 60k or less. If you take that figure and multiple it by 3.5 times the current bank mortgage you get a figure of 210k. So that means that 2/3rds of the countries households can afford to borrow 210k or less when the average asking price of a house in the country is 303k and 412k in Dublin according to the Q2 2021 myhome report. It’s companies competing with people that has driven prices up past what people can afford and they should be banned from purchasing residential property.
@John Mathews: what has any of that got to do with you claiming people pay 52% tax? Unless you earn a hell of a lot of money you don’t pay that much tax. You confused the higher tax bracket on a PORTION of your salary as the rate people pay on their ENTIRE salary. You made an incorrect statement. I think you have to get paid over 1.6 million a year to get taxed 52% on your entire income. Not worried about such people paying rent.
@Craic_a_tower: I think we both know that’s not even close to the point I was making. You are correct that I was instead referring to the higher rate of tax people pay when they tick over the 35k 20% band. Can’t believe that’s what you chose to take from my comment. We have a massive housing affordability crisis and you seem to be more interested in picking up on a tiny nuance than actually trying to be realistic about what is causing the issue and actually helping people. Dude if you are angry and want to vent hit the gym instead of trying to take shots at someone trying to fix a really serious issue.
@iohanx: Were soon to be moving to our new home in Wicklow and as. Excited we are about moving into our on home the thing that worries us is the commute. The m50 and N11 are a joke and what should only take 15 mins to drive will take about 45 to and hour to drive when we finish work.
@iohanx:
Yea, and those people are having to pay a lot more for it too with increases of 20% in non-commuter counties like Leitrim and Mayo mentioned above..
Those sorts of price increases are crazy
No sitting TD should be a landlord in a housing crisis. In lay mans terms, it should be called a conflict of interest. Anyone that votes for a landlord – you are the problem here! A little bit of research before a general election will tell you who is a landlord and who isn’t! The Irish voters are responsible for this mess and the Irish voters can rectify this problem too but the first thing they need to do is accept responsibility. Start voting for your children’s future!
@Mike Ruddy: It shouldn’t be called a conflict of interest. It IS a conflict of interest! Except when, you know, you’re the one defining the rules…
The problem is that democracy and plutocracy are nowadays interchangeable terms.
@Mirabelle Stonegate: If you vote FF or FG then you do share responsibility for this mess. Its not like we don’t know what these parties stand for. If you vote for them you are voting for their policies.
@Declan Doherty: whilst I occasionally will drop a vote towards someone in either of the parties, it tends to be down around 6th or 7th preference, to someone who has no hope if actually getting in. My top 5 votes NEVER go to ff or fg.
Yes, I know how the transfer system works, but again.. I never vote for the names that are likely to get in, when it comes to those 2 parties.
Blah blah blah, followed by more whining and blah blah.
How many times in the last 20 years did people took to the streets in significant numbers, and for what causes? The Irish definitely got their priorities right…
Leave it to the fox to manage the hen house and oops, big surprise!
Here come the bubble….rotten house in my area …across matter hospital for 295 000….54 m 2…..what can I say? If we gonna stay in Ireland probably will buy a plot and build a proper house in the country side…with ceramic blocks ….why on earth they are using concrete blocks in Ireland and…wood ceilings…and foam …no foundation….my bungalow back at home 1 m deep foundation and another 80 on surface and the we start building …basaltic wool….etc etc…
@Snacktoshi Nachomoto ∞/21M: “Bitcoin is hard money that can’t be inflated.” are you taking the pi** ? Bitcoin has fluctuated from 20k $ to 58k$ and back in less than a year
@aperally: What you’re talking about is price discovery. I’m talking about is supply inflation. i.e the number of bitcoin in circulation which is controlled at the protocol level and can’t be manipulated by anyone. Get educated or HFSP
Many people ppay 52% of their income in tax. Rent on a grotty 2 bed house (if you can find one) is 2,500-5,000/month depending on area. Wake up – Dublin rentals not affordable by anyone which is why you see bunkbeds stuffed into everyvroom ofvthevhouse.
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