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Focused COVID-19 Media Monitoring, Nepal
Focused COVID-19 Media Monitoring Nepal1
-Sharpening the COVID-19 Response through Communications Intelligence
Date: 31 January 2022
Kathmandu, Nepal
EMERGING THEME(S)
• Nepal reported 3 049 new COVID-19 infections, 34 deaths on 30 January; rate of infection has gone down to 26.93% on
30 January from 50% on 22 January
• Facing shortage of Vero Cell vaccine doses, Health Ministry has decided to give AstraZeneca vaccine as second and
booster shots
• Nepal likely to get 6.2 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine under COVAX very soon; government plans
to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 years of age in about 2 months’ time
• Complaint filed against ex-PM KP Sharma Oli at Bhaktapur District Administration Office as per Infectious Disease Act
2020 for increasing the risk of spreading COVID-19 by attending a blood donation drive while COVID-19-positive
• Health Minister Birodh Khatiwada has formed a 5-member to investigate the missing 2.4 million COVID-19 vaccine case
• Demand for goat leg has gone up in Kathmandu Valley as people believe that goat leg soup boosts immunity when
infected with COVID-19, they are having to wait 8-10 days to get the leg part; price for 1 kg of asparagus has gone up
as high as Rs 4 000 as people believe it helps to fight COVID-19 infection
• Pope Francis has said spreading fake news, disinformation about COVID-29 and vaccine is a violation of human rights
1This 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 2RECURRING THEME(S)
• Tansen Bazaar has been reeling under shortage of Cetamol for the last 2 weeks; Cetamol shortage has eased
somewhat in the market, according to Department of Commerce, Supply and Consumers Protection
• Public vehicles exempt from odd-even number plate rule in Kathmandu Valley from 30 January, rule is still valid for
private vehicles
ISSUE(S) IN FOCUS
The national active COVID-19 caseload of Nepal climbed to 83 999 on 30 January as 3 049 people tested positive for the
infection in the past 24 hours. The latest reported number of infections carried the nationwide tally to 950 441, while the death
toll reached 11 735 as 32 (including earlier unreported deaths) fatalities were recorded today. Nepal's COVID-19 recovery rate
stands at 89.9%, while the fatality rate stands at 1.4%.2
The COVID-19 infections have been decreasing in Nepal since the past few days. The infection rate also reduced to 26.93%
on 30 January from over 50% on 22 January. The public health experts point out 4 main reasons for the reduction in the rate of
infection — infected not getting tested, the majority of people are already infected, the infection reaching its peak and starting
to go down, dominance of 1 variant of coronavirus and adherence to public health protocols.3
2
THT Online
3
Onlinekhabar
WHE Communications Intelligence 3Despite an unprecedented increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people being admitted to the hospital or needing critical care is negligible. There were 87 329 active cases of COVID-19 in the country on 29 January, but only 333 were in critical care.4 The daily COVID-19 infection rate, which had gone above 50%, has remained stable in Nepal since the past few days. The infection has not spiked or come down all of a sudden. Amidst the situation, we have estimated that it will either take some more time for the infection to reach its peak or the infection rate will start coming down, said Dr Krishna Prasad Paudel, Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division.5 The cases of COVID-19 have been increasing in the Sudurpashchim Province that shares the border with India. More than 7 000 cases have been seen in the province in the last 15 days.6 The Ministry of Health and Population has urged citizens and organizations to send the report of COVID-19 tests done personally to the government agencies. The request has been made for the tests done outside of the laboratories using the test kits listed by the National Public Health Laboratory. The correct data is needed for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, as per Dr Krishna Prasad Paudel, Chief of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. 7 Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Dilendra Prasad Badu has been infected with COVID-19.8 The construction of Nagdhunga tunnel has slowed down after 127 laborers and other staff working here got infected with COVID-19. The laborers are staying in isolation at the site, while other staff members are in home isolation.9 Amidst shortages of the Vero Cell vaccine, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has decided to provide the AstraZeneca vaccine as a second dose and booster. The decision to administer AstraZeneca as the second dose and booster is in line with the recommendation of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, MoHP officials said. A meeting of the National Immunization Advisory Committee on 26 January had also recommended vaccine mix-and-match for second doses and booster shots. Covishield/AstraZeneca vaccine will be administered as a booster 4 Nayapatrika 5 Nayapatrika 6 Nagarik 7 Onlinekhabar 8 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 9 Onlinekhabar WHE Communications Intelligence 4
to those above 60, who were inoculated with Covishield/AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech or Vero Cell vaccines in a primary series.10 The government has decided to administer Covishield as the booster dose to those who have taken the Vero Cell vaccine as their first 2 doses. The decision has been made due to the shortage of Vero Cell vaccine. 11 Nepal is most likely to get 6.2 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX facility very soon, a highly placed source at the Ministry of Health and Population said. Officials said talks are in an advanced stage and COVAX itself has proposed to supply the doses to Nepal.12 The government has started preparations to administer the vaccine against COVID-19 to children aged 5 to 11 in about 2 months’ time. Government officials expect to get the Pfizer vaccine for nearly 4 million children of this age group by the end of March or of the first week of April. The government has requested the company to provide 8 400 000 doses of the said vaccine.13 Two individuals — Abhijit Adhikari and Birendra Madaile — have filed a complaint at the District Administration Office Bhaktapur demanding action against former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as per the Infectious Disease Act, 2020. The complainants have accused Oli of spreading the COVID-19 infection by attending a blood donation program despite being infected with COVID-19.14 CPN-UML chair KP Sharma Oli is known as a COVID-19-denier. His public statements during his last tenure as prime minister had met with criticism for he often said the coronavirus could be driven away by sneezing or drinking turmeric water or gargling with an infusion of guava leaves. But he caught the coronavirus – his PCR report conducted on 22 January came back positive. On 26 January, he attended a public function — he was in the midst of more than a dozen people. And he clearly 10 The Kathmandu Post 11 Kantipur 12 The Kathmandu Post 13 Kantipur 14 Baahrakhari WHE Communications Intelligence 5
broke the government-prescribed COVID-19 protocols. Oli was apparently attending a function organized by the National Youth Association — the youth wing of CPN-UML — at Balkot.15 The Ministry of Health and Population has formed a committee to investigate the 2 400 000 missing doses of vaccine against COVID-19. Minister for Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada has formed a 5-member committee under the coordination of MoHP’s chief specialist Dr Guna Raj Lohani.16 The demand for goat leg has increased significantly in Kathmandu Valley in recent days as people believe goat leg soup can boost their immunity when infected with COVID-19. At a time when nearly half of the population here has been infected, people have been unable to get leg parts immediately — they have to wait for 8-10 days for their turn. But infectious disease expert Dr Anup Subedee says there is no scientific evidence that one can boost their immunity with goat leg soup.17 Customers are paying as high as Rs 4 000 for 1 kg of asparagus in Kathmandu at present. But many are not able to get it even after paying such a high price. The reason for this is because this is not the season for asparagus but there has been a high demand for it as people believe that it helps one to fight the COVID-19 infection. Dr Basanta Sharma of the Chitwan Medical College said asparagus is effective to boost immunity power and thus useful for people infected with COVID-19.18 Pope Francis said on 28 January that spreading fake news and disinformation on COVID-19 and vaccines, including by Catholic media, is a violation of human rights. It was the second time in less than a month that the 85-year-old Pope has spoken out on the subject. Three weeks ago, he condemned “baseless” ideological misinformation about vaccines, backing national immunization campaigns and called health care a moral obligation. “To be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right,” the Pope told in an address to members of catholicfactchecking.com.19 15 The Kathmandu Post 16 Onlinekhabar 17 Setopati 18 Setopati 19 Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post) WHE Communications Intelligence 6
Tansen Bazaar, the district headquarters of Palpa, is reeling under a shortage of Cetamol for the past 2 weeks. The district administration monitored Tansen-based pharmacies and hospitals on 29 January following complaints from local residents regarding the shortage of Cetamol, surgical masks and sanitizer in the area. “It was found during monitoring that the majority of private pharmacies in Tansen have been reeling under a shortage of Cetamol and other medicines for the past 2 weeks,” said Chief District Officer Jagannath Panta. He said he would take the necessary initiatives to immediately supply essential medicines to the area.20 With the increase in the production of Cetamol by Nepal Aushadhi Limited and other domestic drug manufacturers, the shortage of the medicine in the Nepali market has started to ease. According to the Department of Commerce, Supply, and Consumers Protection, Cetamol was found in 4 out of 6 pharmacies during their monitoring. Dhaneshwor Paudel, Monitoring Officer of the Department, said there is less shortage of the medicine right now.21 The District Administration Offices in Kathmandu Valley have lifted the odd-even vehicle rationing system enforced on public vehicles effective from 30 January.22 The COVID-19 Crisis Management Coordination Centre has recommended that the government should continue odd-even rule for taxis and private vehicles, and bar physical classes in schools and colleges till mid-February. The CCMC has however recommended that the odd-even rule for public vehicles should end. This means all public transport vehicles can ply but they won’t be allowed to carry more passengers than the available seats.23 The odd-even number plate system for public vehicles has been removed in Kathmandu Valley. The 28 January meeting of the Chief District Officers of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur districts made the decision following the recommendation of the COVID-19 Crisis Management Center. However, the rule is applicable for private vehicles and taxis.24 20 The Kathmandu Post 21 Kantipur 22 The Himalayan Times 23 The Himalayan Times 24 Kantipur WHE Communications Intelligence 7
According to the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs, people in Kathmandu Valley would travel 400 000
times every day on an average via minibus, tempo, microbus, taxi among other public vehicles. Even in normal times, people
had to travel in crowded public vehicles during office hours. But the odd-even number plate system implemented from 21
January had reduced the number of public vehicles on the roads from 20 000 to 10 000. This increased crowding in vehicles,
increasing the risk of COVID-19 infection, according to the epidemiologist and transport entrepreneurs.25
OTHER(S)
National News
COVID-19: PREVENTIVE MEASURES & SUSPENSION OF SERVICES
An integrated health desk has been set up at Jumla, keeping in view the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Set up on the
premises of the District Administration Office, activities like raising awareness on the third wave, administering the vaccine,
RDT and Antigen tests, as well as operation of a mask bank and fever clinic are being done.26
The District COVID-19 Crisis Management Center has banned people from making TikTok videos at Ratnechaur of Myagdi.
The decision, effective from 30 January, has been made as crowds of people gather in the mustard fields of the area everyday
to make TikTok videos, increasing the risk of spreading COVID-19 infection.27
The Dailekh Police has been taking action against those who are out in public places without masks. It has also been
conducting awareness-raising ‘Where is your mask?’ campaign.28
Pokhara Metropolitan City has closed down all its regular services leaving aside the most essential ones for the people from 27
25
Nayapatrika
26
Nagarik
27
Onlinekhabar
28
Nagarik
WHE Communications Intelligence 8January onwards in view of the heightened risk of coronavirus infection that has been spreading at a very alarming rate throughout the country for the past few weeks.29 Tanahun District Court is shut till 11 February after 13 staffers tested positive for COVID-19.30 The District Land Revenue Office, Tanahun was shut for 5 days after staffers tested positive for COVID-19. All services will be shut from 30 January to 4 February.31 The Tribhuvan University has been affected by the rapid spread of COVID-19 infection. The daily services, given to students from different offices, have been suspended for now after the staff of some of such offices tested positive for COVID-19.32 VACCINATION: DRIVE & STATUS It has been 1 year since the vaccination drive against COVID-19 began in Nepal. A total of 69.4% of the total target population have taken the complete doses of vaccine as of now while 82.7% have taken the first dose. Meanwhile, the booster dose has been administered to nearly 300 000 frontliners.33 More than 200 000 people have taken the first dose of vaccine against COVID-19 in Makawanpur. This is about 62% of the total population eligible to get the vaccine.34 The government has started administering booster dose vaccine against coronavirus to senior citizens above 60.35 The schools of Dang reopened on 30 January to administer the vaccine against COVID-19 to students. The schools will remain open till 4 February to administer the vaccine to 69 550 children aged 12 to 17.36 Due to the government’s dilly-dallying to procure needed doses of vaccine, those eligible to get the booster dose of 29 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 30 The Himalayan Times 31 The Himalayan Times 32 Nayapatrika 33 Nayapatrika 34 Kantipur 35 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 36 Onlinekhabar WHE Communications Intelligence 9
Vero Cell vaccine, including senior citizens above the age of 60 and frontliners, have not been able to get the booster dose. As there has been an acute shortage of the Vero Cell vaccine, even those wanting to take this vaccine as the first dose have not been able to get it. Health expert Dr Dhundi Raj Paudel said one should not delay in procuring the vaccine or hope to get it under grant assistance.37 Most senior citizens have not been able to get the booster dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 despite the government announcing to put them in priority. Though a few have got the vaccine because of their access to power, the majority of them are still waiting for it.38 No one in Humla has taken the booster dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 due to its shortage there. There has been an instruction from the central government to administer the booster dose to frontliners, but we have not received the vaccine for the same yet, said Prem Bahadur Singh, Chief of the Health Services of the district. 39 More than 100 000 people above the age of 12 have taken the vaccine against COVID-19 in Dolakha district as of 26 January. A total of 110 000 have taken the first dose while 97 000 have taken both doses of the vaccine.40 The Hetaunda Hospital, which had struggled to arrange for oxygen during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, has developed the capacity to produce 250 cylinders (big) of oxygen a day. The operation of an oxygen plant able to produce 125 cylinders of oxygen per day began on 29 January. Before this, Trade Association Makawanpur and real estate entrepreneurs had set up oxygen plants able to produce 110 and 15 oxygen cylinders per day respectively. 41 Bajura Hospital has brought into operation its own ambulance and hearse. Earlier at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, a tipper was used to carry the bodies of people who died from the coronavirus due to lack of a hearse. 42 The PCR lab under the District Hospital of Kapilvastu that was being operated at the Women’s Development Office, has 37 Kantipur 38 Kantipur 39 Kantipur 40 Kantipur 41 Kantipur 42 The Himalayan Times WHE Communications Intelligence 10
remained closed since the past 8 months. The only PCR lab of the district has been closed at a time when there are nearly 500 active cases of COVID-19. The lab has not come into operation due to a lack of budget, according to Dr Kishor Banjade, Chief of the hospital.43 The process to bring into operation all the ICUs and ventilators services in all the hospitals of the Sudurpashchim Province has started during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The ventilators were added in the hill districts of the province nearly a year ago. But despite the third wave of pandemic spreading rapidly, the ICU and ventilators services have not come into operation in 6 district hospitals of the province except for Dadeldhura.44 Two private hospitals of Chitwan — College of Medical Sciences and Chitwan Medical College — have asked the government for compensation of more than Rs 120 000 000 for treating COVID-19 patients free of charge. Despite the hospital’s claim, some patients have filed complaints at the District Administration Office Chitwan claiming that they paid their fees for the treatment at those hospitals.45 A total of 14 people that comprise the people’s representatives and staff of Malikarjun Rural Municipality of Darchula have set out for an observation visit of exemplary local levels across the country that has been ravaged by the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic. They have set out on the visit leaving aside the task of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.46 The COVID-19 infection has been rapidly spreading across the nation. Yet Nepali students want to go abroad at any cost, which is why there is always a crowd of students at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to get the No Objection Letter.47 The Ministry of Finance has ordered the Insurance Board to present an alternative for the payment of the COVID-19 insurance amount to the insurers where the insurance companies will also bear some sort of responsibility. The order has been made as 43 Kantipur 44 Nagarik 45 Kantipur/Nayapatrika 46 Nayapatrika 47 Nagarik WHE Communications Intelligence 11
the government has to pay a large amount of money for COVID-19 insurance, and it wants the insurance companies as well to
pay a certain amount of it.48
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has asked people who were forced to pay exorbitant fees for chartered
flights during the COVID-19 pandemic to file their complaints within a week.49
Due to the pressure of liquidity and impact of COVID-19, there is a chance for the bad loans of banks to increase. According to
Anil Kumar Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer of Agriculture Development Bank, it seems that problems will arise in the
investment made in the COVID-19-affected areas.50
International News
People are understandably worn out, tired of thinking about COVID-19 and wanting to get back to a true normal. This so-called
“pandemic fatigue” is real. But it’s also contributing to lapses in COVID-19 precautions and to more people getting infected with
the Omicron variant. New data suggests that older adults who have received 2 shots of the COVID-19 vaccine but who have
not yet received a booster shot are also getting sick and having poor outcomes. The Omicron variant is putting a spotlight on
how critical it is for these seniors to get a booster shot, especially older adults living in close quarters with others.51
India has reported 235 532 new COVID-19 cases and 871 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare on 29 January. As per government data, there was a decline in the daily positivity rate to
13.39% from 15.88% yesterday.52
Indian health officials said there were signs of COVID-19 infections plateauing in some parts of the country but cautioned that
48
Kantipur
49
Nayapatrika
50
Nayapatrika
51
The Conversation (in The Himalayan Times)
52
Agencies (in The Himalayan Times)
WHE Communications Intelligence 12cases were still surging in other states.53 Russia’s daily coronavirus cases exceeded 100 000 on 29 January for the first time since the pandemic began, the coronavirus taskforce said. Russia confirmed 113 122 new daily infections, setting a record high for a ninth consecutive day, which the authorities blame on the spread of the Omicron variant.54 Daily COVID-19 infections among athletes and team officials at the Beijing Winter Olympics jumped to 19 on 28 January from 2 a day earlier, as Games organizers warned of more cases in coming days.55 New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has gone into self-isolation until 1 February after being deemed a close contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19, the government said. The exposure took place on 22 January during a flight to Auckland from the town of Kerikeri.56 Most coronavirus restrictions including mandatory face masks were lifted in England on 27 January after Britain’s government said its vaccine booster rollout successfully reduced serious illness and COVID-19 hospitalizations.57 Chinese authorities summoned officials of AstraZeneca China regarding an investigation of suspected medical insurance fraud by the company’s employees, the National Healthcare Security Administration said on 29 January. 58 The Hong Kong government said on 28 January it would compensate pet shops trading in hamsters after ordering a cull on the rodents last week over fears they were spreading COVID-19.59 Neil Young’s music will be removed from Spotify at his request following the veteran rock star’s protest over the streaming service airing a popular podcast that featured a figure criticized for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.60 53 The Associated Press (in The Himalayan Times) 54 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 55 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 56 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 57 The Associated Press (in The Himalayan Times) 58 Agencies (in The Kathmandu Post) 59 Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post) 60 The Associated Press / Indo-Asian News Service (in The Himalayan Times) WHE Communications Intelligence 13
Contacts for further details Ms Tsering Dolkar Gurung NPO (Communication, Media, and Public Information) World Health Organization, Country Office for Nepal Gurungt@who.int WHO’s COVID-19 response in Nepal is made possible through the generous support of the Government of Canada. Reference Code: 22JAN31MM_ 122 WHE Communications Intelligence 14
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