Plasma treatment for CoronaVirus - a Game Changer

In New York, Mount Sinai Hospital System has injected more than 20 very sick coronavirus patients with a "convalescent serum" based on the blood plasma of people who have recovered from the disease.

One of the first recovered patients to donate, Danny Riemer, 37, of New Rochelle, New York, said he and his wife feel "blessed" that they are now healthy and can volunteer their plasma to help others. "And despite the fact that we did have the virus, our thoughts are really with others, the people who are still fighting the virus, the people who have had much more serious cases than us," he said.

Convalescent plasma therapy, which involves collecting antibodies from the blood of recovered patients, is nothing new. It was used to treat the 1918 and 1957 flu epidemics, as well as SARS, H1N1 and Ebola and, most recently, some COVID-19 patients in China.

"While other tests measure whether the antibody is there or not, our assay can also measure how much of the antibody is there. And that's important, because we can identify those donors with a high amount of antibody who would most likely benefit the patients receiving this plasma."

United Airlines to start flying back Americans from India

United Airlines to start flying back Americans from India with Delhi-San Francisco repatriation flights.

Beginning April 5, United will begin operating repatriation flights from Delhi to San Francisco. United will start flying American citizens from India starting Sunday.

Indian Pilots flying Air India CoViD19 rescue flights are at Risk

In a letter seen by the BBC, the Executive Pilots Association, a body that represents senior long-haul pilots of the airline, says they have been given "flimsy" pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that "tear and disintegrate easily on rescue flights".

The letter, which has been sent to the airline and the aviation ministry, adds that "disinfection processes [for aircraft] are short of international industry best practices".

A senior pilot, who did not wish to be identified, told the BBC it is not that the crew "doesn't want to work in these testing times for the country".

"All we are asking is that proper safety procedures should be followed. If we don't have the right PPE and disinfection processes, we are risking the safety of everybody on the plane, our family, and residents of the buildings where we live," he said.

"We are being compared to soldiers and that is very humbling. But you have to give the right gear to your soldiers."

Courtesy: BBC, India Today

Daily Hukum naama - order of the day from Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji

ਜੇ ਸੱਚੇ ਦਿਲੋਂ ਗੁਰੂ ਦਾ ਹੁਕਮ ਮੰਨੀਏ, ਤਾਂ ਭਟਕਣਾ ਦੂਰ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ। ਉਹੀ ਕੰਮ ਕਰਨਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਗੁਰੂ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਆਖੇ। ਜੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਮਿਹਰ ਕਰੇ, ਤਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਸਿਮਰਿਆ ਜਾ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ। ਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਸਨਮੁਖ ਹੋਇਆਂ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਦੀ ਬੰਦਗੀ-ਰੂਪ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਚੰਗਾ ਲਾਭ ਮਿਲਦਾ ਹੈ। ਪਰ ਮਨ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਤੁਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਨਿਰਾ ਕੂੜ ਨਿਰਾ ਹਨੇਰਾ ਹੀ ਖੱਟਦਾ ਹੈ।

अगर सच्चे दिल से गुरू का हुकम मानें, तो भटकना दूर हो जाती है। वही काम करना चाहिए, जो गुरू करने के लिए कहे। अगर सतिगुरू मेहर करे, तो प्रभू का नाम सिमरा जा सकता है। गुरू के सन्मुख होने से प्रभू का बंदगी-रूप सबसे बढ़िया लाभ मिलता है। पर मन के पीछे चलने वाला मनुष्य निरा झूठ निरा अंधकार ही कमाता है।

Ex Hazoori Raagi, Nirmal Singh dies of CoViD19

अमृतसर के स्वर्ण मंदिर के पूर्व हजूरी रागी पद्मश्री ज्ञानी निर्मल सिंह का गुरुवार, 2 अप्रैल 2020 तड़के करीब 4:30 बजे निधन हो गया। वह 62 वर्ष के थे।

Singh, who recently returned from abroad, was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital after he complained of breathlessness and dizziness on March 30.

माँ की अखण्ड ज्योति

ज्वाला माँ की अखण्ड ज्योति आपके सारे दुःख हर लेगी।

UP resident, 25 dies of CoVid19 as he hid his Travel History

His first test report for Covid-19 came positive at BRD, but the samples were sent to King George's Medical University, Lucknow for a confirmatory test, as well.

This is the first fatality from Covid-19 in the state. The patient hailed from Turkahiya locality in Basti District, and owned a grocery shop there.

Upon his admission to the Basti Hospital, he hid his recent travel history to Mumbai and Hyderabad, and was thus admitted to the general ward, said hospital authorities.

The total number of patients infected with Covid-19 in Uttar Pradesh reached 109, with five new cases reported on Wednesday.