KATHMANDU — The second wave of corona infection has hit Nepal.
The number of infected and dead is setting new records every day. The government has issued a restraining order asking to break the chain of infection. However, public health experts have warned that lockdown alone will not break the chain of infection and warned that if further preparations are not made, it could be worse in Nepal than in India.
As of the eighth day of the ban, 56,466 people have been infected with corona and 318 have died. Instead of reducing the number of infections and deaths during this period, new records are being set every day. The number of people recovering from infection is much lower.
The Nepal government has issued restrictions in more than 50 districts to prevent the spread of the infection at the community level. Prohibition is the only method of prevention and control of infection, it cannot completely control the infection. Prohibition alone is not enough for infection chain breaks.
The government is still focusing on the same method that it adopted last year for the prevention and control of infection. Not being able to learn from the past is the reason for the present. Not only that, last year the government did not show as much activism for infection prevention as it did now.
Public health experts point out that the government needs to focus on preventing imported cases, expanding the scope of testing and proper management of contact tracing and home isolation to break the infection chain. If the government does not take more effective steps to prevent the transition, experts say, the situation in Nepal could be even worse than what India is currently going through.
Local governments, which have been very active before, are now seen as silent. If effective steps are not taken in the next few days, it cannot be said that the experts’ statement will not be confirmed soon.
