Focused COVID-19 Media Monitoring,

Focused COVID-19 Media Monitoring Nepal1

-Sharpening the COVID-19 Response through Communications Intelligence

Date: August 12, 2021 , Nepal

EMERGING THEME(S)

• Nepal recorded 2,616 new COVID-19 cases, 30 deaths on August 11; surge in new infections has seen hospital beds fill up rapidly in Kathmandu; 7 out of 19 wards in record zero infection, but doctors caution of the continuing risk; Rolpa residents suffering from mental health problems due to fear of COVID-19; third wave will have serious effect on Banke shows projection; Health Ministry advises children below age 5 need not wear masks, those between 6-11 need to use one in case of community spread • Healthcare officials, workers suspect vaccine mix as many elderly who had taken the Covishield jab may have taken Vero Cell as booster dose • Government to provide COVID-19 vaccine to students sitting for exams; students padlock office of TU Dean of Institute of Science and Technology demanding alternative methods or online exams; lawmaker Gagan Thapa meets Prime Minister over in-person exams and demands for alternative methods to address the issue • United Arab Emirates makes negative PCR report of test done 48 hours prior to flying mandatory, plus Antigen Test to be done at the airport 4 hours before flight; many youth miss their flights as Tribhuvan International Airport does not have the facility to do the test

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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ISSUE(S) IN FOCUS

Nepal's coronavirus caseload reached 723,296 on August 11 with 2,616 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours, while the countrywide COVID-19 mortality toll increased to 10,180 with 30 more fatalities. Nepal's COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 93.4 per cent, the fatality rate at 1.5 per cent, and the current active COVID-19 case count is 38,033.2 The increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in the past two weeks has led to an increase in the pressure of critically-ill COVID-19 patients in the hospitals of . The ICUs and HDUs have been filled with COVID-19 patients with serious symptoms in the past five days, according to Dr Neeraj Bam, Chest Specialist at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. The patients from Tarai as well as neighboring districts of Kathmandu have been visiting the hospital. The number of patients has increased in Bir Hospital too. So is the case at Patan Academy of Health Sciences.3 Out of 19 wards of Biratnagar Metropolitan City, COVID-19 cases have been recorded at zero in seven. Yet the hospital beds are filled with patients. The doctors have also warned that the risk of infection continues.4 The fear of COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the mental health of the people of Rolpa, according to healthcare workers there. Most of the patients visiting hospitals currently are suffering from mental and physical problems. They need psychological counseling, but there is not a single psychologist either in hospitals or other institutions here.5 It has been estimated that the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic will have a serious impact in Banke due to the lack of preparedness against the third wave and the public not following health protocols. Around 300,000 people will be affected by the pandemic in Banke, according to a projection made by a committee to study the risk of the third wave, impact of post- COVID-19 and its management.6

2 THT Online 3 Nagarik 4 Baarhakhari 5 Nagarik 6 Nagarik

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Children below the age of five do not need to wear masks, according to the Ministry of Health and Population. However, those who are six to 11 years of age need to wear it if COVID-19 infection has spread in the community.7 The Ministry of Health and Population has asked people to pay special attention while disposing of old masks. It has said one needs to wash their hands with soap and water or use sanitizer before taking off the mask, and to take it off by the strings only. Otherwise there is risk of the spread of the infection, it has said.8

More than 20 weeks after they got their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, roughly 1.4 million people aged 65 and over started getting their second dose on August 9. When they took the first dose of the vaccine in the second week of March, they were told that they would get the next dose in four weeks’ time. The elderly were worried about the delay in getting the second dose, and according to authorities, the uncertainty made some of them seek and even take the Chinese Vero Cell vaccine as well. “I have also heard rumors that the elderly who took the first dose of AstraZeneca sought Vero Cell and some even took it,” said Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, Joint Spokesperson for the Ministry of Population and Health. Other Ministry officials said they had had similar reports from different parts of the country. The urgency the elderly and their family members felt for the second dose was because there are no signs of the pandemic coming under control. Another reason for the worry has been the absence of proper communication from the authorities, according to immunization workers. There is also the problem of proper record keeping. According to healthcare workers at the immunization centers, the only way to verify which vaccine that a person has taken is the immunization card that is issued after vaccination. “If they come without a card and say they are taking the first dose when in fact they are taking the second dose, we have to vaccinate them,” said Jagat Nepali, senior auxiliary health workers serving at Alapot Health Post of Kageshwari Manohara Municipality of Kathmandu.9

The government is set to provide the vaccine against COVID-19 to students attending the exams being conducted by the Tribhuvan University (TU) at present. The students will get the shots from Police Hospital, Army Hospital, Armed Police Force Hospital, and Radha Swami Isolation Immunization Center in Kathmandu — they will need to show their exam admit card to get the vaccine. Around 60,000 students are sitting for the exams in TU.10

7 Baarhakhari 8 Baarhakhari 9 The Kathmandu Post 10 Onlinekhabar

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Demanding that the exams be conducted online or via alternative methods due to the fear of COVID-19 infection, students have padlocked the office of the Dean of Institute of the Science and Technology of Tribhuvan University.11

Lawmaker Gagan Thapa has met Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and requested him not to play with the future and health of students. He said that despite requesting that the exams be conducted via an alternative method, it has not been paid attention to. Instead a large number of students are made to sit for exams in a single room without following health protocols, he said.12

The decision of the Tribhuvan University to continue in-person exams despite rising COVID-19 cases has drawn widespread condemnation and sparked protests at various exam centers including that the University’s Kiritpur campus.13

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has made mandatory a negative report of a PCR test done 48 hours prior to passengers flying from Nepal to UAE. Likewise, it has made rapid PCR test reports mandatory for them to be done at the airport four hours before flying to the UAE. However, the Tribhuvan International Airport doesn't have this facility.14

Nepali youth have been stopped from going to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) not having the facility to conduct Antigen Test. The youth, who had reached TIA with all documents to fly to UAE, were stopped after the country made Rapid Diagnostic Test compulsory.15

11 Ratopati 12 Baarhakhari 13 The Kathmandu Post 14 Onlinekhabar 15 Baarhakhari

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OTHER(S)

National News

A loan agreement of Rs 19,580,000,000 has been made between Nepal and Asian Development Bank to buy the COVID-19 vaccines. The amount will be used to buy 15,900,000 vaccine doses.16 The government aims to expand the COVID-19 immunization centers to 16,000. Public health experts have been blaming the government's failure of not being able to manage the immunization centers properly.17 The government has said it will bring a total of 52,200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines by Falgun (February-March 2022). The Ministry of Health and Population has already signed a non-disclosure agreement with China to bring an additional 6,000,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.18 A total of 2,722,020 people in Nepal have taken the complete doses of vaccine against COVID-19 as of now. 19 The second dose of Covishield is being given to 78,000 senior citizens above the age of 65 of Karnali Province.20 The umbrella organization of farmers has demanded the government provide the COVID-19 vaccine to the farmers. It also demanded the government provide relief packages to farmers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.21 The umbrella organization of the tourism sector has demanded that the frontline workers in the tourism sector be given the COVID-19 vaccine within 30 days.22

16 Onlinekhabar 17 Onlinekhabar 18 Baarhakhari 19 Baarhakhari 20 Onlinekhabar 21 Onlinekhabar

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State Minister for Health and Population Umesh Shrestha told the representatives of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries that the private sector will be kept in priority while giving the COVID-19 vaccine. We will put the traders and entrepreneurs in priority for vaccination, he said.23

The staff of the Koshi Hospital have complained of discrimination in risk allowance. They have said some staff are getting the allowance, while the others are not alleging that only those with access to power are getting the allowance.24 The oxygen plant at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences is the one with the biggest capacity in the country — it can produce 1,600 litres of oxygen per minute. However, it has been buying oxygen from outside as the oxygen plant breaks down time and again. About Rs 8,000,000 has already been spent in the repairing of the plant bought at Rs 30,000,000.25

The application submission for vaccination card with QR code has been stopped for now. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, they will not take in new applications until they complete distributing the cards of the forms submitted at the Kirtipur Ayurvedic Hospital.26

Chief District Officer of Kathmandu Kali Prasad Parajuli has said they are introducing stringent measures for nighttime vehicular movement based on suggestions from experts. Kathmandu is in the red zone of COVID-19 infection, thus to prevent the dangerous situation in future, the rule to not allow vehicles after 8:00 pm from August 12 is being introduced, he said.27

The prohibitory orders have been extended till August 19 with an increase in the cases of COVID-19 infection in Kaski. 28

The tourism business has come to a halt for the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in . The entrepreneurs of this sector are being forced to leave the profession, while the employment of the laborers is at risk.29

22 Setopati 23 Baarhakhari 24 Nagarik 25 Kantipur 26 Baarhakhari 27 Onlinekhabar 28 Ratopati

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International News

China’s coronavirus cases hit a seven-month high on August 10 after a cluster at a test site helped drive up the numbers as the Delta variant challenges Beijing’s grip on the pandemic. On August 10, Chinese health authorities reported 143 new coronavirus infections, 108 of them locally transmitted. Dozens of cases in recent days have been linked to a COVID-19 testing site in eastern Yangzhou city.30

Bangladesh began vaccinating thousands of Rohingya Muslims on August 10 in the world’s largest refugee settlement amid a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country, officials said.31

29 Setopati 30 Agence France Presse (in The Kathmandu Post) 31 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, the Government of Canada, UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), Government of Germany, and USAID.

Reference Code: 21AUG12MM_005

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