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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: October 4, 2021
Kathmandu, Nepal
EMERGING THEME(S)
• Nepal reported 574 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths on October 3; nearly 21 per cent of Nepal’s population has taken
complete dose of COVID-19 vaccine; with zero COVID-19 cases, Gandaki Province’s Manang and Mustang in green
zone, but Kaski in red zone; 8 districts still have more than 500 active COVID-19 cases each; as festive season arrives,
health experts warn against complacency pointing at the danger posed by the Delta variant of coronavirus
• Raxaul-Birgunj border has reopened after 1.5 years, public vehicles with Indian number plates allowed to enter Nepal;
Kakadbitta and Bhadrapur have not come into operation after India refused to open the border points; people entering
Nepal via Nepal-India border being tested for COVID-19, but no holding centers to keep them if they test positive; only 1
in 5 being tested for COVID-19 at Jamunaha border checkpost due to a lack of Antigen Test kits
• China has offered to provide 1 million doses of Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal
• Children below 18 years of age to start getting COVID-19 vaccine after Dashain: State Health Minister Umesh Shrestha
• Merck has said its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations, deaths by half in people recently infected with
coronavirus; if cleared by health officials, it would be the first pill to treat COVID-19
• District Administration Office Kathmandu introduced new set of rules from September 30 to stem the spread of COVID-
19; bus counters empty as few opt for pre-Dashain ticket bookings
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's coronavirus caseload reached 797,192 on October 3 with 574 more people testing positive for the infection in the past 24 hours, while the countrywide COVID-19 mortality toll increased to 11,164 with seven more fatalities. The country's active COVID-19 case count currently is 16,804 against 17,642 a day before, while the recovery rate stands at 96.5 per cent and the fatality rate at 1.4 per cent.2 Nearly 21 per cent of the population has taken the complete dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of October 2 — within 250 days of the beginning of the vaccination drive against the pandemic in Nepal. According to the South East Asia Office of the World Health Organization, 20.95 per cent of the total population of Nepal has taken the complete dose of the vaccine.3 A total of 73 per cent population of the Kathmandu Valley have got the complete dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 76 per cent population have got the first dose, as per the Ministry of Health and Population.4 Twenty-two per cent residents of Karnali Province have got the complete dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Likewise, 33 per cent have got the first dose, according to the Provincial Health Directorate.5 The number of people infected with COVID-19 infection has reduced to zero in Manang and Mustang — these two districts of the Gandaki Province have entered the green zone. However, the Kaski district of the same province has not been able to come out of the red zone.6 Eight districts in the country have more than 500 active cases of COVID-19. These include the three districts of Kathmandu Valley — Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur along with Morang, Sunsari, Jhapa, Kaski, and Rupandehi. 7 A total of 350 people infected with COVID-19 are undergoing treatment in ICUs of different hospitals at present, while 112 are 2 THT Online 3 Kantipur 4 Nagarik 5 Onlinekhabar 6 Nagarik 7 Setopati WHE Communications Intelligence 3
on ventilators.8 As the festive season is just round the corner, Kathmandu and other cities are seeing an increased mobility of people. Almost everything has reopened since September 1 and people are in a festive mood. With a steady decline in COVID-19 cases of late, complacency seems to have taken hold. Authorities have cautioned people to strictly follow health protocols, but there is a lack of implementation. Public health experts say increased mobility and festive gatherings could lead to a sudden spike in coronavirus cases. And the major culprit can be the Delta variant.9 The first overland Indian tourists in one-and-a-half years crossed into Nepal at the Raxaul-Birgunj border on October 1, as the country cautiously reopened to foreign visitors after the pandemic appeared to recede. Local authorities unlocked the gates to vehicles bearing Indian number plates on October 1, permitting free movement of Indian tourists. 10 Public vehicles with Indian number plates have been allowed to enter Nepal via Birgunj-Raxaul border checkpost from October 1. The movement of public vehicles across the border had been stopped since the beginning of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.11 Despite the announcement of the District Administration Office of Jhapa, Kakadbitta and Bhadrapur border points have not come into operation after India refused to open the border points closed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.12 People entering Nepal via different Nepal-India border checkposts are being tested for COVID-19. However, there are no isolation centers to keep those who test positive during the Antigen test. The infected people are forced to go to their villages via public vehicles.13 Every day, some 1,500 people are entering Nepal via the Jamunaha border checkpost. However, only one out of five are being tested for COVID-19. The staff at the health desk face difficulties in handling the crowds entering the country. According to the 8 Nayapatrika 9 The Kathmandu Post 10 The Kathmandu Post 11 Kantipur 12 The Himalayan Times 13 Kantipur WHE Communications Intelligence 4
health desk incharge Geeta Shahi, they have been instructed to test only one person in a group of five who have come together due to a lack of Antigen Test kits. If one person tests positive, then the rest of the members are also tested. 14 China has offered to provide 1 million doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal. “We have been offered 1 million doses of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine by China,” said a senior official at the Ministry of Health and Population not wishing to be named as the talks are in a preliminary stage. “A final agreement is yet to be signed but I can say there is an offer.” If Nepal accepts the offer and the vaccine arrives, it will be second type of COVID-19 vaccine manufactured in China to be used in Nepal after Vero Cell.15 State Minister for Health and Population Umesh Shrestha has said they will start inoculating children below the age of 18 with a vaccine against COVID-19 immediately after the Dashain. He also informed that the arrival of 10,000,000 doses of vaccine for children has already been ensured.16 Drugmaker Merck said on October 1 that its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus and that it would soon ask health officials in the US and around the world to authorize its use. If cleared, the drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic.17 COVID-19 PANDEMIC & DASHAIN As the country prepares for a major festival season, the District Administration Office Kathmandu on September 30 introduced a new set of rules to stem the spread of COVID-19. The “order”, which will come into force from September 30 midnight until further notice, lists out rules to be followed in public spaces while asking the public to avoid unwanted gatherings, meetings, processions and fairs. Any non-essential outing should be avoided, reads the order. “The risk of COVID-19 is still present. 14 Nayapatrika 15 The Kathmandu Post 16 Onlinekhabar 17 Agencies (in The Kathmandu Post) WHE Communications Intelligence 5
People should not come out of their homes unnecessarily or participate in social gatherings such as jatras and meals,” reads
the order published on the office’s website.18
The government opened pre-Dashain ticket booking on September 27, but bus operators say their counters are mostly empty
and very few people have booked tickets. Many like Kopila Ghimire, from Khotang who has been living in Kathmandu for 10
years, are not going home due to various reasons brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Saroj Sitaula, General Secretary at
the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs, said many students and parents are already in their home
villages due to the second wave of COVID-19. “Also those who are in Kathmandu are not leaving because they might not have
enough funds to celebrate the festival lavishly,” he said.19
OTHER(S)
National News
The Insurance Board had asked companies to bring Corona insurance policy as a social responsibility. Insurance companies
had started issuing corona insurance policies from April 19, 2020. As there was a high number of insured people asking for
compensation after being infected with COVID-19, a decision was made to stop the insurance policy on May 30, 2020. But the
Budget made insurance-related provisions to provide protection from possible financial risk due to the COVID-19 infection, and
on June 5, 2020 the Ministry of Finance resumed the Corona insurance policy. After that, companies stopped the insurance
program last Shrawan (July-August). They are preparing to not even accept the application for insurance claims. However,
even the insured have not yet been paid the compensation. Such a situation has come as the insurance policy was started
amidst the pandemic, as per expert Dr Rabindra Ghimire. 20
Foreign tourists and non-resident Nepalis travelling to Nepal need to take visas from Nepali agencies in the respective
18
The Kathmandu Post
19
The Kathmandu Post
20
Annapurna Post
WHE Communications Intelligence 6countries if they have not received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is troublesome for them as they need to spend extra time and resources to visit the Nepali agencies in their respective countries and it is a time consuming and expensive process. Nepal has reopened the on-arrival visas service for tourists who have passed 14 days of taking both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.21 The government had allocated a budget last year to construct a 300-bed infectious disease hospital at the center and 50-bed hospitals in all provinces. While the provinces are dilly-dallying in setting up the hospitals, the center has spent a year just in search of land. People infected with COVID-19 from different parts of the country are often referred to the Capital due to lack of well-equipped infectious disease hospitals in the provinces.22 On the occasion of International day of Older Persons, the World Health Organization on October 1 called for greater efforts in South-East Asia Region to expand COVID-19 vaccination coverage among the older population who remain at the highest risk of severe disease and death from the virus. “The older population continues to be highly vulnerable in the ongoing pandemic. Protecting them against the deadly COVID-19 virus should be our priority. By vaccinating the elderly population as part of high- risk groups, countries can effectively reduce deaths and hospitalization,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, in a press release.23 The District Police Office Kailali and Youth Council Sudurpashchim conducted ‘Where is your mask?’ campaign in Dhangadhi on the occasion of 66th Police Day on October 3. They organized a rally and an awareness program. 24 Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) received approval for their Phase 3 clinical study in Nepal to assess the safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of their adjuvanted recombinant-protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The International Vaccine Institute will conduct Phase 3 clinical trial in Nepal expecting to enroll 4,000 volunteers across three study sites in the country. 25 21 Onlinekhabar 22 Kantipur 23 The Himalayan Times 24 Onlinekhabar 25 The Himalayan Times WHE Communications Intelligence 7
The tourism sector shut down by the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic has gradually started to become active. With the
relaxation in different restrictions regarding arrival of tourists put in place by the government for the past one-and-a-half years,
different economic sectors have started to get mobilized. The number of tourists’ arrival is also increasing as compared to the
previous months.26
International News
A global scheme designed to ensure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines will this month for the first time distribute shots only to
countries with the lowest levels of coverage, the World Health Organization said.27
The US death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines — which
overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness — were available to any American over the age of 12.28
Seven people died on October 1 when a fire broke out in a Romanian ICU treating COVID-19 patients, officials said, the
country’s third deadly hospital fire in less than a year.29
Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest exporters of labor with nearly 700,000 people getting jobs abroad annually prior to
the pandemic. But thousands have been left without work in the last two years as the pandemic has slowed economies
around the world.30
American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue are joining United Airlines in requiring employees to be vaccinated against
COVID-19, as the Biden administration steps up pressure on major US carriers to require the shots. 31
26
Nagarik
27
Reuters (in The Kathmandu Post)
28
The Associated Press (in The Himalayan Times)
29
Reuters (in The Himalayan Times)
30
Reuters (in The Himalayan Times)
31
The Associated Press (in The Himalayan Times)
WHE Communications Intelligence 8Contacts 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: 21OCT04MM_042 WHE Communications Intelligence 9
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