Focused COVID-19 Media Monitoring, Nepal

Focused COVID-19 Media Monitoring Nepal1

-Sharpening the COVID-19 Response through Communications Intelligence

Date: June 7, 2021 Kathmandu, Nepal

EMERGING THEME(S)

• Denmark to give 1,400,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal; no information on the arrival or quantity of vaccine promised by US to Nepal • Nepal reports 3,479 new COVID-19 cases, 99 deaths on June 6; cases on decline in major cities, on the rise in villages; people testing positive in Antigen Test stands at 31 per cent • People in 3 remote municipalities of Dolpa ill, showing COVID-19-like symptoms since the last 2 weeks; no road connectivity for healthcare workers to reach them • Coronavirus Prevention Control and Treatment Fund remains unused as officials say no request has been made for resources • Health experts question the leadership and members of the newly reorganized COVID-19 Crisis Management Committee that is headed by a retired armyman • Change in nation’s Health Minister in a matter of 5 months is not healthy, says former chief specialist of Health Ministry • Chepang community staring at starvation as restrictions snatch means to earn their daily bread

1 This intelligence is tracked through manually monitoring national print, digital and online media through a representative sample selection, and consultations with media persons and media influencers.

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RECURRING THEME(S)

• Black fungus cases on the rise in Nepal, 13 reported so far • Bheri Hospital healthcare workers call probe findings unfair, say it doesn’t address issue of violence against women; President Bidhya Devi Bhandari issues ordinance related to safety of healthcare professionals, institutions • Experts call for gradual relaxation of prohibitory orders after carrying out certain steps to ensure there is no sudden explosion of new cases

ISSUE(S) IN FOCUS

The Denmark government is providing 1,400,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal. According to Bhim Singh Tinkari of the Supply Management Division of the Department of Health Services, the Danish government has written a letter to the Department that it will provide the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Department has requested UNICEF to facilitate in bringing the vaccine doses to Nepal.2 There is no formal information on the arrival of COVID-19 vaccine to be given by the US, according to Dr Krishna Prasad Paudel, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population. Initially there were rumors that 5,000,000 doses will be given to Nepal, but later it was informed that the US was giving 7,000,000 doses to different Asian nations, as per Dr Paudel, who added that they are still unaware about the quantity and date of the vaccine’s arrival in Nepal.3 Immunization workers throughout the country will be provided training on how to use the pre-loaded COVID-19 vaccine gifted by China. Of the 1 million doses of vaccine provided by China, 200,000 were pre-loaded in syringes.4 The Vero Cell vaccine will be given to 70,000 people of Province 1 from June 8. Those aged between 60-64 years from all 14

2 Onlinekhabar 3 Ratopati 4 The Kathmandu Post

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districts of the Province will be inoculated.5 The government has urged the public, who have been waiting for the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, not to worry as they will be getting the booster dose. Though it might be a bit late, the second dose will be given after Nepal receives the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to Dr Taranath Pokharel, Chief of Family Planning Division.6 Nearly 1,300,000 citizens of the country are waiting for the second dose of the Covishield vaccine. The vaccination drive has been affected as India has not provided the 1,000,000 doses of the vaccine needed for booster dose, as per the agreement. Many are worried about the second dose as the World Health Organization has said the second dose has to be given within eight to 12 weeks of getting the first dose. But Dr Shyam Raj Upreti, Coordinator of the Vaccine Committee says one does not need to worry even if the second dose is given a few weeks later than the said time frame. He suggested one needs to be careful though as the immunity power given by the vaccine starts reducing gradually after 12 weeks.7 The Ministry of Health and Population has said people who have filled up an online form will not be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 immediately. Rather the vaccine will be given gradually based on priority basis, it has said.8 The Department of Drug Administration has given approval for the import of COVID-19 vaccines produced in three countries. As of now it has approved the use of five vaccines under certain conditions. It gave approval for the use of CoronaVac (Vero Cell) vaccine developed by Sinovac Life Company on June 4.9 The Nepal Petroleum Dealers Association has asked for 10,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the government. It has said these doses are needed to inoculate the frontline staff working in the petroleum industry.10

Nepal reported 3,479 new COVID-19 cases, and 99 fatalities on June 6. The recovery rate climbed to 83.5 per cent as opposed to 82.8 per cent on June 5.11

5 Onlinekhabar 6 Onlinekhabar 7 Onlinekhabar 8 Baarhakhari 9 Annapurna Post 10 Ratopati 11 THT Online

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Cases of COVID-19 are on the decline in the major cities across the country, but villages are becoming the new hotspots for the infection in the country. Ramechhap is no exception. In most of the villages, testing is slow and virus is spreading very fast, putting more lives at risk. According to statistics at the health office, around 80 per cent of the people have tested positive in the villages.12 People testing positive for COVID-19 in the Antigen Test is at 31 per cent in Nepal. Experts have said it is not a good sign that the number of people infected with COVID-19 has increased with the increase in Antigen Tests in the country. This indicates that the area covered by COVID-19 testing is still little in Nepal, arguing that there are many more infected people in the community.13 The number of COVID-19 infected people has reduced and become stable as compared to the past three weeks, according to Dr Anup Banstola, Chief Consultant at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku. The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients arriving at the Emergency of the hospital has also been decreasing. However, the critically ill patients from outside the Valley continue to visit the hospital, which has created a suspicion that seriously ill people might be staying without treatment in the villages, as per him. He also said that those vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine were less critically ill and it shows the vaccine is the only way to be safe from the infection.14 The COVID-19 infection rate in Lumbini Province headquarters Rupandehi has not shown any sign of decreasing. According to District Health Office Vector Control Officer Kedarnath Shah, 103 people tested positive in the district out of 481 PCR tests conducted in the past 24 hours (on June 3).15 The COVID-19 infection has spread in the Bal Sudhar Griha of Biratnagar, which has kept four times more children than its capacity. There are 193 children in the rehabilitation center, 25 of them have tested positive.16 A total of 34,936 Nepali laborers working in India had returned home via different checkposts of Sudurpaschim Province in the month of Baisakh (April-May), according to the Health Directorate. However, Antigen Test was done only on 13,994 of them.

12 The Himalayan Times 13 Kantipur 14 Baarhakhari 15 The Himalayan Times 16 Onlinekhabar

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The remaining people were allowed to go home directly without doing any kind of test for COVID-19. This has led to the spread of infection in the villages.17 Forty-five children from Bal Mandir of Naxal and Siphal have recovered from COVID-19. Their reports came back negative in the Antigen Tests done after 10 days of treatment. Seven staff members and 46 children of Bal Mandir had been kept at the isolation center of National Ayurveda Research and Training Center of Kirtipur after they tested positive for COVID-19.18 Problems like tiredness, chest pain, lack of sleep, depression, high blood pressure, breathing difficulties are being seen in people long after recovering from COVID-19. When people experience these problems, they have been coming to the hospital worried, according to Dr Santa Kumar Das, COVID-19 focal person at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. The impact of COVID-19 infection continues to remain in the lungs — during the first wave the impact was seen for three months, this time it might remain till six months, he said.19 A person from Baglung who underwent four surgeries including surgeries for a kidney transplant and tumor got infected with COVID-19. However, after being hospitalized for eight days, he has recovered from the infection.20 The beds of hospitals in Banke have started to empty out with the decrease in COVID-19 infection in the district.21 The pressure of COVID-19 patients has started to decrease in the hospitals of Kathmandu Valley. The beds of hospitals that had been treating more patients than their capacity, have started to get empty.22

A large number of local residents in Dolpobuddha, Chharkatangsong and She-Phoksundo rural municipalities of Dolpa district have been taken ill with fever, common cold and headache for the last two weeks. Since there is no road network reaching these rural villages, health workers haven’t been able to provide the patients with treatment and medicines. According to

17 Nagarik 18 Kantipur 19 Onlinekhabar 20 Setopati 21 Setopati 22 Baarhakhari

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people’s representatives, there isn’t enough essential medicine in the region to treat the patients that are showing symptoms similar to that of COVID-19.23

The Coronavirus Prevention Control and Treatment Fund established last year to generate resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic through voluntary contributions has remained largely unused even as the country is reeling under a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Since the meeting of its board on January 27, another meeting has not been held for months until last week. And not a single rupee was released from the fund for the management of oxygen, other medical supplies, hospital beds and for other measures to combat the second wave of the pandemic. Officials however defended the disuse of the fund saying that there was no request for resources.24

The fund set up by the Sudurpaschim Province government for the control, treatment and management of COVID-19 infection has spent RS 560,000,000. However, the opposition Nepali Congress has said the government has been using the amount randomly, and has accused it of irregularities.25

The COVID-19 Crisis Management Committee was reorganized after the COVID-19 Crisis Management Ordinance was issued last month. A retired general of Nepal Army has been appointed to lead it, and four of the seven members are from the security forces. Health experts and retired civil servants have questioned if a retired soldier is the right person to lead a body formed to handle the crisis. The leadership of a mechanism addressing the health crisis should have come from the health sector; there is a question whether the concerns of health professionals will be heard when the army or ex-army man leads the mechanism, according to Dr Binjwala Shrestha, Assistant Professor at the Department of Community Medicine under the Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine.26

The Health Minister has once again changed amidst criticism that the government is not working effectively to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Sher Bahadur Tamang has been appointed as the new Minister of Health and Population from June 4 —

23 The Kathmandu Post 24 The Kathmandu Post 25 Onlinekhabar 26 The Kathmandu Post

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he has replaced Hridayesh Tripathi who held the post for five months. According to the former chief specialist of the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr Sushilnath Pyakurel it takes about three months for a minister to understand the problems of the health sector. However, when s/he has just understood the work process properly, the minister is changed — change of minister in a short period of time affects the entire system, he added.27

The people from the Chepang community in Raksirang-7 of Hetaunda have been surviving on the roots they collect from the nearby forest. They have no food grains to eat. These people, who used to survive on daily wages they earned as laborers, have been hit hard by the prohibitory orders as there is no work for them to earn money for their survival.28

The crops cultivated in their fields are not sufficient for the people from the Chepang community of Dhading to survive throughout the year. They used to work as laborers to address their needs. As it is not possible to work as laborers now due to the prohibitory orders, it has become difficult for them to solve their hand-to-mouth problems.29

The number of people infected with black fungus is increasing in the country. As of now those infected with mucormycosis have been seen in Province 1, and Lumbini, Bagmati, Sudurpaschim provinces. According to Dr Sameer Kumar Adhikari, Joint Spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population, 13 people infected with mucormycosis have been reported at present, while four have died. Diabetic patients with uncontrolled blood sugar level, and COVID-19-infected people need to be careful about this infection.30

Ten persons have contracted black fungus in the country, confirmed the Ministry of Health and population (MoHP). Of them, eight are in contact with health authorities but two are not, said MoHP Spokesperson Krishna Prasad Paudel.31

Following the findings of the probe committee — formed to investigate last week’s attack on health workers at the Bheri Hospital — the medical fraternity in Banke has said the committee failed to provide a fair investigation into all aspects of the

27 Kantipur 28 Kantipur 29 Nagarik 30 Kantipur 31 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times)

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incident since it has not addressed the issue of violence against women. Sadiksha Gaire, one of the nurses attacked, feels the report does not do justice to the medical staff, mostly women, who were assaulted. According to Shila Sharma, nursing in- charge at the hospital, women healthcare workers have been feeling anxious and unsafe at work since the incident. The result of the investigation puts the blame on healthcare workers and forgets to register the assaults on our healthcare workers that day, she pointed out.32

A teacher has beaten a healthcare worker in Humla alleging carelessness in treatment of his COVID-19-infected wife.33

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has issued an ordinance related to the safety of health professionals and healthcare institutions. The ordinance has the provision of two to five years of jail and up to Rs 500,000 as fine, or both, for anyone who manhandles or attacks healthcare workers.34

Much of the country has been under lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19 infections, but restrictions cannot go on indefinitely, say experts. Lockdown need to be lifted gradually but before that the authorities should ensure that the risk of explosion of new cases has been minimized, according to experts. For that certain things need to be done — massive testing, contact tracing, isolating the suspected and infected people, and zoning — identifying areas into red, yellow and green zones — and putting restrictions accordingly, among other measures.35

OTHER(S)

32 The Kathmandu Post 33 Nagarik 34 Ratopati 35 The Kathmandu Post

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National News

The Ministry of Health and Population has asked for details from government hospitals, laboratories, and isolation centers for the risk allowance of frontline healthcare workers there.36

Preparations are on to impose a partial lockdown in Kathmandu Valley starting from June 15. Informal discussions are being held between different agencies for the same.37

Minister for Education, Science and Technology Krishna Gopal Shrestha has given instructions for the new academic session to start from Asadh 1 ((June 15) using an alternative method.38

Black marketing and cheating of customers with low-quality products have increased amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This is mostly true in the case of the products with high demand — oximeter, sanitizer, remdesivir, among others. According to the Metropolitan Crime Division and Department of Drug Administration, some are selling fake products at a high price, while some have been selling sanitizers adding chemicals harmful to human health.39

Despite the prohibitory orders put in place by the district authorities, people’s movement through the Trinagar Gauriphanta border point has not stopped. Nepali migrant workers who had returned home when the second wave of the COVID-19 hit India are now making their way back to the neighboring country in search of jobs. Every day 200 to 400 Nepali migrant workers cross the border point into India, data from the checkpost showed.40

36 Ratopati 37 Baarhakhari 38 Baarhakhari 39 Kantipur 40 The Kathmandu Post

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Nepalis have been going back to India in search of employment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people going from Nepal and also entering Nepal from India has remained similar since May 25.41

More than 20,000 workers in the Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor were laid off after almost half of the factories shuttered amid the lockdown.42

Nepal has received much in coronavirus relief — more than two dozen countries have extended support during the last one month alone to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there were also reports of politicians taking oxygen cylinders to their constituencies, bypassing the government mechanism. This has raised questions on whether the foreign aid is reaching places it is needed the most and put the spotlight on not only the government’s process of distributing aid across the country but also donors’ scrutiny on the utilization of their support.43

When the COVID-19 pandemic went out of control in the country, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) on May 10 had written to its development partners to provide 40 different types of healthcare materials to Nepal. Since then, national and international development partners have been sending aid materials to Nepal. The MoHP has now said there is no shortage of materials at present. The country has a good stock, and it has asked the partners to send only those healthcare materials which will be needed.44

The World Health Organization on June 3 convened a meeting of member countries, including Nepal, to discuss strengthening of collective efforts to control COVID-19 spread. According to Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South- East Asia, WHO is committed to increasing supply chain resilience, including through local manufacturing to secure equitable access to therapeutics, diagnostics, personal protective equipment and other supplies.45

41 Annapurna Post 42 The Kathmandu Post 43 The Kathmandu Post 44 Nayapatrika 45 The Himalayan Times

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As infections from the second wave of COVID-19 have increased, the habit of washing hands with soap has increased in Bajura.46

PROHIBITION PROBLEMS

The public will have to reach the government outlets of Salt Trading Corporation, and Food Management and Trading Company to get the 20 per cent discount on food items and gas that the government announced during the prohibitory orders. However, this will prevent people from getting the discount as it will be difficult for them to reach the said outlets amidst the ongoing prohibition, as per the experts.47

The e-commerce Association has expressed its dissatisfaction over the government’s decision to not allow home delivery during the prohibitory orders.48

The laborers of the public transportation sector have been hit hard by the COVID-19-induced prohibitory orders. As the public vehicles do not ply, their source of income has stopped, making it difficult for them to survive. About 11,000 laborers in the transportation sector are jobless right now.49

There are around 85,000 kidney patients across the nation, out of which 15,000 are on regular dialysis. However, it has become difficult for the kidney patients to reach hospitals for dialysis due to the prohibitory orders issued by the government to control the spread of COVID-19. Lack of public transportation has created difficulties for them to commute to the hospital.50

The visually-impaired people who have no regular sources of income have been suffering in the Capital due to the COVID-19- induced lockdown. Sudarshan Subedi, a former president of the National Federation of the Disabled, said there are around

46 The Himalayan Times 47 Kantipur 48 Nayapatrika 49 Kantipur 50 Nayapatrika

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4,000 visually-impaired people in the Valley, and the lockdown has been especially hard on them because most of them earned their livelihoods working in the informal sector and are currently jobless.51

HOSPITALS AND HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

The Ministry of Health and Population has directed all the hospitals and health centers across the country to allocate 20 per cent of their beds for treatment of children infected with coronavirus. As there is a risk of the third and fourth wave of the infection, there are chances for the children to get infected from the virus, the MoHP said.52

The Narayani Hospital of Birgunj has started a 30-bed ICU for the treatment of COVID-19 infected children here.53

Manipal Teaching Hospital of Pokhara has denied treatment to a 21-day-old COVID-19 infected infant as the parents were unable to deposit the money needed for the treatment. The child was born in the same hospital.54

When the COVID-19 infection was first seen in Nepal, there was no lab to identify the virus. The swab samples had to be sent to Hong Kong for the test. Nearly a year later, a lot of laboratories have been started in the nation — the tests are possible any time, and reports are given within a couple of hours. Both private and government sectors have been investing in the labs.55

Patients have been facing problems after the ICU and ventilators in Gaur-based government hospitals could not come into operation due to lack of manpower in Rautahat. The ICU with 10 beds, HDU with 15 beds and four ventilators are stored in a room, while patients are referred to another health facility. The hospital has quota for nine doctors, while one doctor has been providing service to patients.56

51 The Kathmandu Post 52 The Himalayan Times 53 Onlinekhabar 54 Onlinekhabar 55 Annapurna Post 56 The Himalayan Times

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The kin of COVID-19 infected patients in Sindhuli are compelled to airlift their relatives to Kathmandu for further treatment after no improvement in their health condition while undergoing treatment in the hospitals of Sindhuli. They have been taking loans to arrange for the helicopters.57

None of the hospitals in Hetaunda have provisions for COVID-19-positive pregnant women to give birth — they are forced to go to other districts to get the service.58

A waiting space for the caretakers of COVID-19 infected people has been constructed at the Rapti Provincial COVID-19 Special Hospital of Beljhundi, Dang.59

The Lumbini Medical College refused to release the body of a COVID-19 person in Tansen of Palpa after his family was not able to pay the cost of his treatment. The hospital let go of his body only after the representatives of the local levels paid the expenses personally.60

The ICU will be conducted for the first time in the District Hospital Sankhuwasabha after the Kunina Educational Guthi agreed to provide Rs 1,800,000 for the manpower needed to run the ICU at the hospital for a period of six months. The ICU was not being operated due to a lack of human resources there.61

Nepali Congress Nuwakot has brought a 22-bed temporary COVID-19 hospital into operation in the district.62

The beds and other equipment brought to Bardia Hospital to set up the High Dependency Unit (HDU) have been stored due to lack of infrastructure needed to set those up. Lack of building to operate the unit has created a problem amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, five human resources are also needed to run the HDU.63

57 Kantipur 58 Kantipur 59 Annapurna Post 60 Annapurna Post 61 Annapurna Post 62 Annapurna Post 63 Annapurna Post

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The number of COVID-19 patients has started to decline in the hospitals of Bhaktapur. The general beds are empty in the hospitals. However, they are still not able to address the needs of all infected patients requiring ICUs and ventilators — they are compelled to refer such patients to other hospitals due to the limited number of ICUs and ventilators in the hospitals of Bhaktapur.64

Non-COVID-19 patients have stopped visiting the District Hospital Ramechhap. According to Jeetendra Karna, Chief of the Health Office there, such patients must not have visited the hospital due to fear of getting infected with COVID-19.65

A mini oxygen plant has been set up at the temporary COVID-19 hospital in Dhading. The plant produces 20 liters of oxygen per minute.66

The Shankar Gas Industry is set to return the three oxygen tankers that it had rented from India after the oxygen demand started to decrease in Nepal. Owner Shankar Agrawal said as the oxygen demand has reduced a lot, he can't pay the rent of the tanker. Thus, he has informed the government about returning it.67

DUTY and RESPONSIBILITIES

Healthcare workers have been organizing dancing and singing programs to entertain the COVID-19 infected patients at the Ayurvedic Hospital of Kirtipur. Such patients are usually mentally weak and music therapy helps to enhance their willpower, they said.68

The government-run Bardibas Hospital has been the center of hope and trust for COVID-19 patients Mahottari as it has been providing free treatment to patients.69

64 Kantipur 65 Kantipur 66 Kantipur 67 Setopati 68 Onlinekhabar 69 Annapurna Post

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Health workers in Bajura’s Budhiganga Municipality are reaching out to villages to carry out COVID-19 tests armed with Antigen Test kits.70

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has decided to carry out Antigen Tests from June 3 until the COVID-19 pandemic comes under control. Chief of KMC’s Public Health Department Hari Bahadur Kunwar said every ward would determine the center and carry out Antigen Tests as per their convenience.71

In the last six weeks, a total of 37 persons were arrested from across the country for their alleged involvement in black marketing of oxygen, remdesivir, and oximeters, and producing fake hand sanitizers, according to the Nepal Police.72

The Nepal Police has arrested two from Om Nirmaya Healthcare Pvt Ltd of Lalitpur for manufacturing and selling low-quality hand sanitizers against the set standard.73

A total of 428 oxygen concentrators arrived in Nepal on June 5 — they have been sent by non-resident Nepalis and organizations from different parts of the world.74

Leaders of political parties and civil society of Dharan have formed a network that will raise a voice against the irregularities taking place at BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. It will also pressurize the hospital management to reform. The authorities of the hospital have been criticized as its management failed to address the needs of COVID-19-infected people in recent days. The locals are angry as the hospital has not been paying attention to repair the broken ventilator or expanding the bed capacity. Likewise, there had been a problem in its COVID-19 hospital when its oxygen plant broke two weeks ago.75

70 The Himalayan Times 71 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 72 The Kathmandu Post 73 Setopati 74 Baarhakhari 75 Nagarik

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HELP and AID

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has urged people who are facing difficulty managing food during the lockdown period to call the hotline number 1180 for assistance if they are in dire need of foodstuff for sustenance during the lockdown period.76

The Lalitpur Metropolitan City will provide Rs 100,000 as support to the family of a person who has died of COVID-19.77

Mechi Campaign has started telemedicine service in Jhapa district for non-COVID-19 patients as non-COVID-19 patients were being deprived of healthcare facilities amidst the pandemic.78

Nepali expatriates living in Bangladesh handed over health equipment and other materials to support Nepal in its fight against COVID-19, Banshidhar Mishra, Ambassador of Nepal to Bangladesh, said in Dhaka on June 2.79

KOICA Global Doctor Kim Byung-cheol, who had been working as a volunteer in Nepal Korea Friendship Municipality Hospital, donated medical equipment as well as safety items worth US$5,000 towards the hospital’s COVID-19 response program.80

Myagdi district chapter of the Federation of Nepali Journalists has set up an ‘emergency fund’ to help journalists in difficult time like natural disaster, accident, pandemic and complicated diseases.81

Nearly Rs 46,000,000 has been deposited in the Disaster Management Fund of the COVID-19 Unit of Khwopa Hospital to set up an oxygen plant.82

The demand for medical oxygen has decreased in Parsa district over the last two weeks. According to Bhimkant Paudel,

76 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 77 Kantipur 78 Annapurna Post 79 The Himalayan Times 80 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 81 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 82 Nagarik

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Assistant Chief District Officer, Parsa is sending oxygen cylinders to other districts these days.83

The Goodwill Foundation, a social organization based in Tibet, has donated 50 oxygen concentrators to Nepal.84

The Australian Government on June 5 sent a Royal Australian Air Force flight with medical supplies to Nepal to assist in the frontline response to the COVID-19 crisis.85

Joy Foundation Nepal has handed over 100 sets of oxygen concentrators to various government hospitals and local health service providers to assist them in fighting the virus.86

The Nepali Congress in Tanahun provided relief to more than 300 families affected by the existing prohibitory orders — 355 families in Bandipur Municipality were provided with food and medical items.87

The Samaj Dental Care has started a free ambulance service, primary care, and consultation service as an initiative to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.88

South Korea has provided healthcare materials worth US$200,000 to Nepal. It has provided a full set of PCR test kits — it will be sufficient to test 17,760 samples.89

Nepalis residing in Britain have sent four ICU beds with monitors to two hospitals of Okhaldhunga.90

Save Nepal From COVID-19 Global Alliance has provided 100 sets of oxygen concentrators to Nepal. The Nepal Police will coordinate in sending them to the remote parts of the country.91

83 The Kathmandu Post 84 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 85 The Himalayan Times 86 The Himalayan Times 87 The Himalayan Times 88 Nagarik 89 Nagarik 90 Annapurna Post

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The MIT Group Foundation, set up by non-resident Nepali Sesh Ghale and his wife Jamuna Ghale, has provided healthcare materials worth Rs 30,000,000 to Nepal to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.92

International News

The coronavirus variant first identified in India is highly infectious and can be caught by people who have already had the disease or been only partially vaccinated, a panel of Indian government scientists said in a report published on June 4.93

Afghanistan is battling a brutal surge in COVID-19 infections as health officials plead for vaccines, only to be told by the World Health Organization that the 3 million doses that the country expected to receive by April won’t be delivered until August. Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Dastigir Nazari expressed deep frustration at the global vaccine distribution that has left poor countries scrambling to find supplies for their people.94

Wealthy countries need to give more COVID-19 vaccines and follow the United States in making doses available immediately to cover a 200 million dose gap caused by Indian supply disruptions and manufacturing delays, a senior World Health Organization adviser said on June 4. The WHO is urging wealthy countries to donate their surplus doses to poorer countries instead of giving them to less vulnerable groups such as children.95 Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said vaccinating children in the United Kingdom against COVID-19 would take priority over donating vaccine doses to other countries in the world.96 More than 2 billion COVID-19 vaccines have been given across the world, according to an AFP tally on June 3 drawn from official sources.97

91 Onlinekhabar 92 Onlinekhabar 93 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 94 The Associated Press (in The Kathmandu Post) 95 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 96 Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post) 97 Agence France Press (in The Himalayan Times)

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Britain is in talks with AstraZeneca for additional doses of its COVID-19 vaccine that will have been modified to better target the Beta coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa.98

Some of India’s states are easing lockdown restrictions as coronavirus infections subside. The national capital territory of Delhi was among those relaxing restrictions and will allow shops to open on alternate days.99 The government of Maharashtra state announced a five-level plan to ease restrictions depending on infection rates and hospital bed occupancy.100

Switzerland will start distributing COVID-19 certificates next week to people who have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from the infection as a way to ease travel in Europe, the government said on June 4.101

98 The Kathmandu Post 99 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 100 Agence France Presse (in The Kathmandu Post) 101 Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post)

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Contacts for further details

Dr Sunoor Verma Strategic, Risk and Crisis Communication Consultant World Health Organization, Country Office for Nepal [email protected] [email protected]

Ms Tsering Dolkar Gurung NPO (Communication, Media and Public Information) World Health Organization, Country Office for Nepal [email protected]

WHO’s COVID-19 response in Nepal is made possible through the generous support of the Government of Azerbaijan, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Government of Germany and USAID.

Reference Code: 21JUN07MM_25B

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