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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: December 20, 2021
Kathmandu, Nepal
EMERGING THEME(S)
• Nepal reported 133 new COVID-19 infections on December 19; rate of new COVID-19 infections has started to rise in
Province 2; schools in Bandipur and Parkhribaas shut down for a week after teachers, students test positive for COVID-
19
• Risk of infection from the Omicron variant has increased in Nepal as cases of infection in people with no travel history in
neighboring India have been detected; Triveni Customs at Nawalparasi on high alert
• 7 people have died due to Omicron in UK, 25,000 infected; Omicron rewriting COVID-19 plans for 2022; European
nations move to reimpose tougher COVID-19 control measures as Omicron variant sweeps across the continent;
Omicron cases to double in 1.5-3 days, seen in 89 countries, according to World Health Organization
• Study finds that Omicron variant becomes 7 times weaker in the lungs than the Delta variant; Pfizer says pandemic
could extend to 2023, planning 3-dose vaccine regimen for 2-16 year-olds; South African study shows that Omicron
breaks through booster shots of COVID-19 vaccine; AstraZeneca’s antibody therapy works on Omicron variant, while
Regenron’s therapy is less effective
• Nepal’s vaccination rate has slowed down despite no shortage of shots as authorities are not taking extra initiatives to
bring people to vaccination centers; Nepal to start giving COVID-19 vaccines from 16,000 immunization centers
throughout the country from next week to meet vaccination target; government set to administer first dose of Moderna
vaccine to children aged 12-17 years in 57 districts from December 19-26
• Nepal rolls back decision to impose 7-day hotel quarantine on travelers arriving here from 67 countries
• Despite government ban, healthcare institutions still selling COVID-19 waste saying it is a source of income for them
variant is spreading rapidly
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 Nepal on December 19 reported 133 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours taking the nationwide infection tally to 825,736. In its regular situation report, the Ministry of Health and Population did not mention the death toll over the past 24 hours. It, however, reported one COVID-19-related fatality. The countrywide death toll has now reached 11,573. The number of active cases stands at 5,271.2 The rate of COVID-19 infection has started to increase in Province 2 in recent days. According to the Health Directorate, the number of infections has nearly doubled in the past one week. The majority of the new cases are from Dhanusha – the total number of cases in the province was recorded at 65 on December 18.3 Bandipur Rural Municipality-based Bhanu Secondary School was closed for a week after teachers and students tested positive for COVID-19 at the rural municipality in Tanahun. As many as two teachers and seven students of the schools have been infected with the deadly virus.4 Jalpadevi Secondary School of Pakhribaas Municipality of Dhankuta has been shut down for a week after a teacher there tested positive for COVID-19.5 A person who has taken both doses of COVID-19 vaccine has died in Baitadi. The 85-year-old died while undergoing treatment at the district hospital.6 Seeing the cases of people in neighboring India getting infected with Omicron variant even though they do not have a history of travel, the Nepal government officials have said the risk of something similar happening in Nepal has increased. Nepal is at the risk of the infection, said Dr Samir Kumar Adhikari, Joint Spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population. Along with the availability of the vaccine, everyone needs to follow health safety protocols to reduce the risk, he said. Amidst the chaotic state 2 Kathmandupost.com 3 Baahrakhari 4 The Himalayan Times 5 Ratopati 6 Onlinekhabar WHE Communications Intelligence 3
of vaccination in the country and the weaknesses in health safety, Omicron could be the reason for the third wave of the pandemic in the country, said Dr Babu Ram Marasini, former director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. 7 A high alert has been maintained at the border checkpost of Nawalparasi so has to prevent the Omicron variant of COVID-19 from entering the country. The health desk has been set up at Triveni Customs that shares border with India, according to the Chief District Officer Manamaya Bhattarai Pangeni. She informed that they are doing health check-up of the people entering the country via the checkpost while making the use of masks mandatory.8 Seven people have died due to the Omicron variant in the UK, while nearly 25,000 have been infected with it. 9 As the Omicron variant gains momentum in Europe and the United States, scientists are rewriting their expectations for the COVID-19 pandemic next year. Just weeks ago, experts were predicting that countries would begin to emerge from the pandemic in 2022 after enduring a series of surges driven by the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants. First among them would be populations with a significant amount of exposure to the coronavirus, through a combination of infections and vaccination. But the rapid spread of the highly-mutated Omicron variant, identified in late November, and its apparent ability to reinfect people at a higher rate than its predecessors, is undermining that hope.10 Nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona. As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Paris canceled its New Year’s Eve fireworks. Denmark closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8:00 pm curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events. Other nations may go still further.11 7 Kantipur 8 Onlinekhabar 9 Onlinekhabar 10 Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post) 11 The Associated Press (in The Himalayan Times) WHE Communications Intelligence 4
The Netherlands has imposed lockdown amidst the risk of the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Shops, gyms, hairdressers and public institutions will be shut till mid-January, as per the provision.12 The Omicron coronavirus variant has been reported in 89 countries and the number of cases is doubling in 1.5-3 days in areas with the community transmission, the World Health Organization said on December 18. Omicron is spreading rapidly in countries with high levels of population immunity, but it is unclear if this is due to the virus’ ability to evade immunity, its inherent increased transmissibility or a combination of both, the WHO said in an update.13 A study has found that the Omicron variant becomes seven times weaker than the Delta variant when it reaches the lungs. The Omicron variant multiplied by 70 times in our respiratory tract, which could be the reason it spreads faster, according to the study conducted by the Hong Kong University of China. But the multiplication of the Omicron reduces 10 times as compared to the other variants upon racing the lungs, the study says. Due to this there is less possibility of Omicron- infected people to get serious.14 Pfizer Inc said on December 17 the COVID-19 pandemic could extend through next year and announced plans to develop a three-dose vaccine regimen for children 2-16 years, a move that could delay its authorization.15 A small study of seven COVID-19 cases in South Africa shows the Omicron variant can break through booster vaccine shots, one of the scientists involved said on December 16. A group of seven German visitors to Cape Town, aged between 25 to 39, were infected at some point in late November or early December with confirmed cases of the Omicron variant. Of the group, six were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, of whom five had also had a booster Pfizer shot while the sixth had received a booster dose of the Moderna vaccine. A seventh had received an initial dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, followed by a second and then third booster dose of Pfizer. Woolfgang Preiser, a virologist at the Stellenbosch 12 Ratopati 13 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 14 Onlinekhabar 15 Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post) WHE Communications Intelligence 5
University and one of the study’s co-authors said the study showed infection as possible and caused symptomatic disease even after boosted immunization.16 AstraZeneca and Regenron on December 16 reported contrasting data on the effectiveness of their COVID-19 antibody therapies against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, underscoring the major challenges ahead for drugmakers. US-based Regeneron said its REGEN-COV therapy is less effective against Omicron, though it is still against the delta variant, confirming indications from lab tests and computer modeling late last month. Anglo-Swedish rival AstraZeneca however said a lab study found that its antibody cocktail Evusheld retained neutralizing activity against Omicron, the first such data for the treatment.17 There are concerns of many people in rural areas not having received COVID-19 vaccines yet for multiple reasons, including a lack of awareness, inaccessibility or due to hesitancy. Though there were initial hiccups caused by shortages of doses, the vaccination campaign continued to pick up pace as there was a steady flow of jabs. But lately, the drive seems to have slowed down. Data provided by the Ministry of Health and Population show that 9,582,496 people (31.5 per cent of the total population) have been fully immunized as of December 18. A comparison shows it took more than 100 days for the authorities to immunize an additional 15 per cent of the total population, and around 55 days to administer vaccines to an additional 9 per cent. Experts say authorities have been using the same strategies — asking people to come to vaccination centers set up at the health facilities of districts in the initial stage of the drive. Authorities are not taking any extra initiatives to bring people to vaccination centers or make them aware of the need to get vaccinated, they say. Public health experts say it’s unfortunate that the authorities have failed to scale up the vaccination drive and instead are asking for a slowdown in shipments. 18 As the deadline to immunize all eligible people comes closer, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has decided to administer COVID-19 vaccine from over 16,000 immunization centers throughout the country. The decision of the ministry also aims to address the problems related to storage of vaccines by administering more doses at the earliest. The MoHP said over 16 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 17 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 18 The Kathmandu Post WHE Communications Intelligence 6
16,000 immunization centers, which are being used for childhood immunization, will be used for COVID-19 vaccination. Minister for Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada said the vaccination will start from next week.19 Minister for Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada has said they will start administering the COVID-19 vaccine from 16,000 immunization centers from the first week of Poush. “People will definitely get the jab when the immunization centers reach their doorsteps. If these centers are not sufficient, we will visit the toles like in the population census to administer the vaccine”, he added.20 The government has started administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children aged 12 to 17 from 57 districts of the country from December 19.21 The Moderna vaccine is being administered to the children of nine districts of Karnali province, except for Surkhet, from December 19. The vaccine is being given to children aged 12 to 17 from the immunization centers set up at schools.22 The campaign of administering the Moderna vaccine to children aged 12 to 18 has begun from Hetaunda, the capital of Bagmati Province from December 19.23 The government is set to administer the Moderna vaccine to children in 57 districts of the country from December 19. Children aged 12 to 17 will be administered the first dose of the vaccine till December 26. The second dose will be given from January 16 to 26, 2022.24 A COVID-19 vaccination drive will be launched in Kalikot from December 27 to 29 under which more than 18,000 children between 12 and 17 years of age will be administered the first dose of Moderna vaccine against the virus, according to Kalikot 19 The Kathmandu Post 20 Setopati 21 Onlinekhabar 22 Baahrakhari 23 Ratopati 24 Kantipur WHE Communications Intelligence 7
District Public Health Office.25 A total of 202,287 children aged 12 to 17 will be administered the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19 in Bagmati province.26 Germany has donated vaccines to Nepal as part of the COVID-19 response. About 1,965,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine as well as 2,176,650 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were provided by Germany to Nepal through multilateral vaccine platform COVAX this week.27 The government of Nepal in a dramatic turn has lifted the decision to impose a seven-day hotel quarantine for travelers arriving here from 67 countries where Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. On December 17, the Department of Immigration (DoI) on recommendation from the Ministry of Health and Population had imposed the restriction. Issuing another notice on December 18, the DoI said the aforementioned decision has been stalled until further notice.28 The Department of Immigration has dismissed the provision of mandatory hotel quarantine for those coming from 67 Omicron- affected countries of Nepal until further notice. It had issued the notice on December 18 against its own notice issued on December 17 that had put travel restrictions and seven-day mandatory hotel quarantine in place.29 The Department of Immigration at the Tribhuvan International Airport on December 17 issued a notice for a mandatory seven- day quarantine for people arriving in Nepal from 67 countries where the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has spread. The Cabinet meeting on November 29 had decided to introduce stricter provisions for those coming to Nepal from Omicron-infected countries. The Department of Immigration has listed the countries on that basis. The individual has to pay the hotel quarantine fee on his/her own.30 25 Rastriya Samachar Samiti (in The Himalayan Times) 26 Ratopati 27 The Himalayan Times 28 The Himalayan Times 29 Setopati 30 Nayapatrika WHE Communications Intelligence 8
The government has banned healthcare institutions from selling COVID-19 waste, while also making sure that the COVID-19
waste sent to the landfill sites are managed in such a way that they cannot be reused. But most of the big hospitals have been
found to be selling such waste, calling them as their source of income.31
OTHER(S)
National News
More than 42 per cent people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Sudurpashchim Province. Preparations were
underway to provide Moderna vaccine in seven districts and Pfizer in two districts in the province.32
Nepal’s civil aviation regulator has postponed the implementation of a mandatory COVID-19 insurance policy for travelers
flying to and from Kathmandu after international airlines asked for extra time to make preparations. 33
International News
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had approved the Covovax coronavirus vaccine, which is manufactured by the
Serum Institute of India under license from United States company Novavax, for emergency use.34
Pfizer has claimed that the pill against COVID-19 that it is currently manufacturing is 90 per cent effective against the
31
Kantipur
32
The Himalayan Times
33
The Kathmandu Post
34
Asian News International (in The Himalayan Times)
WHE Communications Intelligence 9infection. The pill, currently in the clinical trial phase, is found to have reduced hospital admission and death rate, the company has claimed.35 Beijing city said on December 18 it was advising residents not to leave town during a major holiday season in early 2022, part of efforts to limit coronavirus risks while the Winter Olympic Games are being held. In addition to encouraging people not to take unnecessary trips outside the city, it will also call for some gatherings to be held online.36 Hong Kong’s strict adherence to a zero-COVID-19 strategy is damaging the hub’s aviation and “killing” Cathay Pacific, a major shareholder in the city’s home carrier told local media.37 Business has begun humming again as airlines look to snap up the greener passenger and freight planes, they believe will give them an edge in a post-pandemic recovery driven by predicted travel demand plus the relentless rise of online shopping. From Arizona to Amsterdam, some of the industry’s sharpest buyers are eyeing efficient jets for the second half of the decade, aiming to get ahead of the long waiting lists they fear could derail their growth and environmental targets. 38 35 Nayapatrika 36 Reuters (in The Himalayan Times) 37 Agence France Presse (in The Kathmandu Post) 38 Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post) WHE Communications Intelligence 10
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 Azerbaijan, the Government of Canada, UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), Government of Germany, and USAID. Reference Code: 21DEC20MM_093 WHE Communications Intelligence 11
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