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. WHE Communications Intelligence 2 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 WHE Communications Intelligence 3 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 WHE Communications Intelligence 4 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 WHE Communications Intelligence 5 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.