Virus Is Taking Hold in Community, Warn Public Health Experts
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WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 175 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 35.7 C 14.0 C Tuesday, August 18, 2020 | 02-05-2077 Nepalgunj Jomsom Virus is taking hold in community, warn public health experts With not enough tests being done, infection sources not being traced and 70 percent of the infected in the Valley in home isolation, experts warn of an alarming situation. ARJUN POUDEL Monday, the number of people who KATHMANDU, AUG 17 have died of Covid-19 has reached 107. According to the Epidemiology and A 58-year-old woman from Bhotahiti Disease Control Division sources, 235 was among the three people who suc- people tested positive in Kathmandu cumbed to the coronavirus on Monday. Valley on Monday, though She had been taken to Sukraraj Dr Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson Tropical and Infectious Disease for the Ministry of Health, during his Hospital in Teku a couple of weeks daily briefing on Monday put the fig- ago after she had a mild cough and a ure at 168. fever and difficulty breathing, Officials at the division said that the The woman was later referred to data announced in the regular brief- Patan Hospital for intensive care ing was test results that came in by where she breathed her last. 2pm, which the division had sent to According to a source at Patan the Health Ministry. Hospital, the woman had not visited Gautam said 581 new infections any coronavirus hotspot. Nor had she were reported from across the country come in close contact with an infected on Monday, taking the total number of person. Authorities have not been able cases to 27,241. to trace the source of her infection as On Sunday, 172 people from the of Monday. Kathmandu Valley had tested positive Doctors say unlike in the past for Covid-19. days when there were sporadic “Results of the tests we are getting POST PHOTO: ANISH REGMI cases, virus now has penetrated socie- now are the results of the targeted A man buys kush (halfa grass) in Kathmandu on Monday. Kush is held sacred by Hindus and used in various rituals. Kush is usually bought ahead of Kushe Aunsi, which falls on Wednesday this ty, and transmission is likely to tests. We don’t know the actual situa- year. The day is observed by offering prayers to one’s fathers and to lord Shiva. The day is also considered auspicious for Shraddha, a ritual performed in honour of dead ancestors. accelerate. tion in vulnerable communities and “People who have never visited dis- at-risk groups,” said Bastola. “Number ease-hit areas or come in close contact of new cases may be far more than with infected people are not only get- what we are attributing.” ting infected but also starting to die,’’ Authorities are only performing Dr Anup Bastola, spokesperson for tests on those people who have come An airport in Kavre: Flight of fancy or need of the hour? Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious in close contact with infected persons Disease Hospital, told the Post. “This or on those who have returned from is evidence that the infection has now Covid-19 hotspots. A preliminary survey estimates the airport, with a tabletop runway of 1,200 metres, will cost Rs 16 billion. taken hold in our community. This is Not all those who seek tests are alarming.’’ being tested. Aviation experts say an airport near Kathmandu was needed a decade ago, not now. With the latest deaths announced >> Continued on page 2 ter and as his close aide, Baskota enjoyed significant clout in deci- sion-making processes. Oli in June 2018 appointed Baskota minister for communication and information technology. He was forced to resign on February 20 over a corruption scandal. He, however, managed to secure his dream project. Officials familiar with the develop- ment say a preliminary survey has been conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for an airport in Nagidanda of Kavre. With the cost estimated at Rs 16 billion, if constructed, it will become the most expensive domestic airport, with a 1,200-metre-long runway, in the country, according to the officials. Aviation experts, however, are ques- tioning if a domestic airport in POST PHOTO: SANGAM PRASAIN Nagidanda, just 8.5 nautical miles or The proposed airport construction site in Nagidanda, Kavre. 16 kilometres from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, is SANGAM PRASAIN tures, aviation experts say. indeed needed. KATHMANDU, AUG 17 When Gokul Prasad Baskota, a “A small domestic airport near Nepal Communist Party leader, who Kathmandu was planned years ago to Nepali politicians are quite given to in 2017 was contesting the parliamen- reduce the congestion at Kathmandu’s flights of fancy. Building airports in tary elections on the then CPN-UML airport so that all Lukla flights their constituencies, hence, is their ticket from Kavre constituency, among could be diverted there,” said an offi- oft-repeated promises, especially dur- other promises, he told his voters cial at the Civil Aviation Ministry who ing election campaigns. As a result, that he would build an airport in the spoke on condition of anonymity. most of the airports are carved out of district. “But the situation is different now. a mountain, without any study wheth- Baskota, a trusted lieutenant of The airport was needed a decade ago. er it is technically or financially feasi- then UML chair KP Sharma Oli, won Not now.” ble, which eventually turns into pas- the election. Oli became prime minis- >> Continued on page 2 A badge of no honour Garish, tacky and kitschy insignias distributed by Parliament Secretariat also showcase how machinery and agencies function in the country, lawmakers say. BINOD GHIMIRE the Oli administration published on KATHMANDU, AUG 17 May 2o. Subsequently, the map, depict- ing Kalapani, Lipulekh and Lawmakers have taken umbrage at Limpiyadhura as Nepali territories, the ungracious design of the new was endorsed by the federal parlia- emblem with the new Nepal map and ment. Nepal’s move of adopting a new national flag that the Parliament map came in response to India’s inau- Secretariat distributed to them on guration of a road link via Lipulekh to Monday. Kailash Mansarovar in the Tibet “I accepted it as a respect to the Autonomous Region of China. labour the craftsmen have put in,” Parties from across the spectrum Ram Kumari Jhankri, a lawmaker overwhelmingly supported the Oli from the ruling Nepal Communist administration’s move of publishing a Party, told the Post. “This depicts the PHOTO: PARLIAMENT SECRETARIAT new map. incompetence of our Parliament Rs 2 million was spent on the new badges. According to Secretariat officials, Secretariat.” the logo was designed by Tek Bir The new emblem has become an object of ridicule since it came into Mukhiya, an octogenarian artiste. the public domain on Sunday for After accepting the design, it asked its multiple flaws and design. the Cottage and Small Industries in The emblem depicts neither Lalitpur to make the badges with the the map nor the national flag design. accurately and lacks elegance Lawmakers described it as a piece and appears to be a slapdash of clumsy work. work by a novice craftsman. Two “It is distressing to see the distorted hands, one of a woman and map and national flag. The Parliament another of a man, which are Secretariat is responsible for all this holding the map and the national mess and it needs to correct it,” flag look like artwork by a Prakash Pantha, a National Assembly schoolkid–too garish and tacky. member from the Nepali Congress, The new emblems were made told the Post. to show the new Nepal map that >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL People from remote districts stranded in An airport in Kavre: Flight of fancy ... Nepalgunj Airport for want of PCR test report >> Continued from page 1 During the peak season, swarms of trekkers and mountain- eers headed for Everest keep Kathmandu’s airport con- PCR test reports are mandatory for all air passengers on rescue flights, but it is unclear who should bear the expense of the test. stantly busy. Lukla has even witnessed as high as 200 take- offs and landings on a single day. In such a situation, if a RUPA GAHATRAJ Rawal, Social Development minis- “The airlines had been operat- flight were to be disrupted due to bad weather in Lukla, NEPALGUNJ, AUG 17 ter of Karnali Province, told the ing rescue flights by following rescheduling it would create massive chaos at Kathmandu, Post. “But we do not have any health security protocols. But of hampering the operation of international flights as well. Lok Bahadur Shahi of Mugu, a immediate provisions for con- late, they have been found flouting “Now, with a second international airport in Bhairahawa remote district in Karnali ducting PCR tests of those who the regulations despite our repeat- set to come into operation, which will also serve as the gate- Province, had come to Nepalgunj want to enter the province by air. ed requests,” said Premnath way to the birthplace of Buddha, by the beginning of next for his wife’s medical treatment They will have to conduct a PCR Thakur, chief at the Nepalgunj year, we don’t need a domestic airport close to Kathmandu last month. Shahi and his wife test at their own expense.” Airport Office of the CAAN. because some traffic will divert there,” said the official. had flown to Nepaljung on a pri- But for Manoj Aauji of Bajura, “It’s imperative for us to main- “Meanwhile, another international airport in Pokhara will vate airline and they have been a hill district of Sudurpaschim tain health and safety protocols at also be ready by the mid-2021.” stranded in the city ever since, as Province, getting a PCR test is an all times,” said Thakur.