Focused COVID-19 Media Monitoring, Nepal - ReliefWeb
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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: 3 February 2022
Kathmandu, Nepal
EMERGING THEME(S)
• Nepal reported 2 205 new COVID-19 cases, 12 deaths on 2 February; infection rate has remained stable at 30% for the
last few days; infection decreasing, will continue to decrease with cases coming down to 300-400 in 3-4 weeks’ time,
say infectious disease experts
• Omicron variant of COVID-19 confirmed in 87.5% of COVID-19-infected people in Nepal; 10 out of 11 swab samples in
Nepal found to be infected with BA.2 sub-lineage also known as ‘stealth sub-variant’ of Omicron
• Health Ministry has decided to give Covishield/AstraZeneca shots as booster for those above 60 years of age
irrespective of what COVID-19 vaccine shots they were given earlier
• Labs of Nagarik Community Hospital and Kantipur Hospital suspended for giving fake negative PCR test reports
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 2ISSUE(S) IN FOCUS The national active COVID-19 caseload of Nepal climbed to 69,291 on 2 February as 2 205 people tested positive for the infection in the past 24 hours. The latest reported number of infections carried the nationwide tally to 959 775, while the death toll reached 11764 as 12 fatalities were recorded. Nepal's COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 91.6%, while the fatality rate stands at 1.3%.2 The cases of COVID-19 infection have been decreasing in Nepal in the past 1 week, according to the data of the Ministry of Health and Population. Infectious disease expert Prof Dr Janak Koirala says the latest trend shows that the infection is declining — the infection will continue to decrease and the cases will reduce to 300-400 a day in 3-4 weeks. The speed of the third wave was fast but short as compared to the previous waves, says another infectious disease expert Dr Sher Bahadur Pun. There is no possibility for the graph of COVID-19 infection to rise again, he adds.3 The rate of COVID-19 infection has remained stable at around 30% in Nepal in the last few days. According to the data of the Ministry of Health and Population, the rate of infection has been limited to 30% to 35% since the past 6 days.4 Despite the virus of COVID-19 being inactive in people infected with it, the PCR test report shows positive for a long time in many cases. This is because the gene particles that cause the infection continue to remain in the human body, according to infectious disease expert Dr Sher Bahadur Pun. For how long such particles remain depends on a person’s body but there have been cases of the PCR test report of a person who has recovered from the infection showing positive results even for a month, according to Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Medical Technologist of the Nepal Public Health Laboratory.5 The Omicron variant has been confirmed in 87.5% of COVID-19 infected people in Nepal. In the genome sequencing of 24 samples, the Omicron variant was confirmed in 21, while Delta variant was confirmed in 3, according to the Ministry of Health and Population. Likewise, the variant was found in all provinces.6 2 THT Online 3 Kantipur 4 Nagarik 5 Baahrakhari 6 Setopati WHE Communications Intelligence 3
Ten out of 11 swab samples on which whole-genome sequencing was carried out at the Kathmandu University have been found infected with BA.2 sub-lineage of the SARS-CoV-2. The remaining 1 sample was found infected with BA.1 and it belonged to a person who had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates. The results of the study were unveiled on 1 February. Officials from the National Public Health Laboratory said that almost all cases of coronavirus, spreading throughout the country, are caused by BA.2 sub-lineage, which is dubbed as Omicron’s close cousin and a “stealth sub-variant”. COVID- 19 is shifting from pandemic to endemic in many countries including in Nepal as infections have continued for the last 2 years and there is no sign of the virus spread stopping. Experts say the authorities can do only 2 things — get back to the basics, meaning making active surveillance systems effective and ramping up vaccination.7 The sub-variant of Omicron BA.2 is already active in countries including Nepal, Dr Boris Pavlin of the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Response Team said. It is becoming active in Nepal as well as Denmark, Qatar, India and Philippines, he said. While the BA.2 variant has started to dominate the BA.1 variant, the hospitalization of people has not increased, he added.8 The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has decided to use Covishield/AstraZeneca vaccine as the booster shot for people above 60 years of age even if they had received other shots — Moderna, Pfizer, or Vero Cell — in the past. The MoHP also decided to provide a second dose of Covishield or AstraZeneca vaccine to those who had already received the first dose of Vero Cell, Moderna, or Pfizer, but are unable to receive the second dose of the same vaccine due to its shortage. 9 The two laboratories of Nagarik Community Hospital and Kantipur Hospital have been suspended for making fake negative PCR test reports, according to Runa Jha, Director of the National Public Health Laboratory. Some staff and middlemen have been arrested after an investigation by the Nepal Police found that middlemen were even found to have given their own swab samples to make the report in some cases.10 An investigation by the Nepal Police has found that the laboratories and hospitals of Nepal together with middlemen have been charging exorbitant fees to people to make fake negative PCR test reports. Some staff and middlemen have been arrested 7 The Kathmandu Post 8 Onlinekhabar 9 The Himalayan Times 10 Setopati WHE Communications Intelligence 4
from the Nagarik Community Hospital of Bhaktapur and Kantipur Hospital of Tinkune on charges of making fake negative PCR
reports. They were found to have given the negative report without collecting the swabs.11
OTHER(S)
National News
RESUMPTION OF SERVICES/CLASSES/EXAMS
Keeping in view the continuing risk of COVID-19 infection, the District Administration Office, Bhaktapur is set to provide the
service to residents on a turn-by-turn basis — people of a certain local level can get the service on a specified day.12
The District Administration Office Dhading has started rendering services on a turn-by-turn system stating that the risk of the
spread of COVID-19 infection is still there. As such people can visit the office to get the service only on the day specified for
their local level. The decision was made after the office resumed its suspended services from 1 February. It had suspended all
services except emergency services sometime ago after its staff tested positive for COVID-19.13
The services of Bharatpur Hospital, which had been suspended with an increase in the cases of COVID-19 infection,
will resume from 3 February. The hospital is set to resume its OPD service and regular surgeries that had been stopped
from 23 January.14
The exams of Tribhuvan University, postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic, will be conducted from 13 February.15
11
Onlinekhabar
12
Ratopati
13
Nagarik
14
Setopati
WHE Communications Intelligence 5The Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training is set to resume all its postponed exams due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 18 February.16 The schools of Sindhuli have started physical classes along with administering the vaccine against COVID-19 to students. Stating that physical classes are more effective than online classes, some schools in the district headquarters have started reopening schools to run classes for grades 6 to 10.17 Children who are above the age of 17 but have not reached the age of 18 have asked for the government to provide them with the vaccine against COVID-19, according to Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). The KMC has been administering the vaccine to children aged 12 to 17 as per the instruction of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. There are around 6 000 children of this age group and efforts are being made to make the vaccine available to them, as per KMC.18 Nepal received 2 339 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine on 31 January and 1 February. The doses are part of the 4 million doses purchased by the government from the US manufacturer of the vaccine last August. The first consignment of 1 660 800 doses was delivered on 24 January.19 A total of 65% of the target population have taken the second dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 in Taplejung while 64% have taken the first dose.20 The government at present has been giving free treatment for COVID-19 from 78 different hospitals across the nation. The treatment is being given from the COVID-19 care units set up in private and government hospitals.21 The oxygen plant that was set up 7 months ago in the District Hospital Syangja has finally come into operation. It had not been operated due to lack of electricity but has come into operation after the capacity of electricity was expanded in coordination 15 Onlinekhabar 16 Setopati 17 Kantipur 18 Ratopati 19 The Kathmandu Post 20 Nagarik 21 Baahrakhari WHE Communications Intelligence 6
with the Nepal Electricity Authority.22
In addition to the earlier contribution to support Nepal in its fight against COVID-19, Israel has dispatched over half a million
syringes in a bid to support immunization efforts. The syringes will be used for COVID-19 vaccines to vaccinate the
communities in Nepal.23
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has asked people to celebrate Sonam Lhosar adhering to public health protocols as the
risk of COVID-19 infection is still there.24
The Sonam Lhosar festival, that used to be celebrated with much fanfare in Tundikhel in previous years, was not celebrated
with the same gusto this year due to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no cultural programs organized,
and people who had reached the venue said they felt sad at not being able to mark the festival due to the pandemic. 25
International News
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 31 January advised against travel to a dozen countries due to
high rates of COVID-19 infection, including Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Ecuador, Kosovo, Philippines and Paraguay. 26
22
Setopati
23
The Himalayan Times
24
Onlinekhabar
25
Onlinekhabar
26
Reuters (in The Himalayan Times)
WHE Communications Intelligence 7Contacts 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: 22FEB03MM_125 WHE Communications Intelligence 8
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