10 more people test positive for Zika virus in UP's Kanpur, tally rises to 89
Kanpur/Kannauj (UP), Nov 7: Ten more people, including three Indian Air Force personnel, tested positive for Zika virus in Kanpur on Sunday, taking the total number of cases to 89, District Magistrate Vishak G Ayyar said.
On Saturday, 13 people had tested positive for Zika virus. One case was also reported from neighbouring Kannauj district.
"Out of the 89 infected people, 55 are men and 34 are women. Among these, 23 are those having age below 21 years. Of the total infected people, 12 are Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel. This includes 11 men and one woman," the district magistrate said.
Health teams had collected blood samples of 525 people on Thursday, Friday and Saturday which were sent to the virology lab of the King George's Medical University in Lucknow and the National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing.
"Of these, 23 samples tested positive for Zika virus," the district magistrate added.
Ayyar also said that health teams have collected samples of 525 people who were in close contact with the infected people and living in the radius of 3 km of the IAF station hangars for testing.
The first case of the virus was reported in the city on October 23 when a warrant officer of the IAF tested positive for the infection.
So far, a total of 3,283 samples have been collected from the city and sent to the virology lab of KGMU in Lucknow and NIV in Pune for testing.
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus and hence, getting rid of mosquitoes is the safe way out, the district magistrate said.
To check the spread of the disease, health teams are undertaking sanitisation programmes, including anti-larvae spraying and identifying fever patients, screening seriously ill people and pregnant women.
Health officials have been asked to step up surveillance and ensure door-to-door sampling and testing for Zika virus.
"We advise the local people not to panic regarding the sudden spurt in Zika virus cases," Ayyar said.
A high alert has been sounded in the periphery of hangars of the IAF station, another official said.
Meanwhile, chief medical officer of Kannauj Dr Vinod Kumar on Sunday said, "A 45-year-old person has tested positive of Zika virus in Kapoorpur Katri village under Sadar tehsil of the district. This was confirmed on Saturday. Samples of 32 people were sent for testing, and one sample tested positive for Zika virus."
He added that as of now, the Zika virus patient is normal, and he was given treatment at his home itself. A team of the health department has sprayed anti-larval spray in the area, he said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
