Nepal, a Himalayan country that shares a porous border with India, has gone from 100 COVID-19 cases per day to over 8,600, about the same per capita as India two weeks ago. The positivity rate for the virus is a staggering 47 percent.
With vaccines in short supply and hospitals overwhelmed, serious outbreaks have hit both the capital, Kathmandu, and the southwest and west of the country. Following warnings by health officials earlier this week that the country was losing control of the outbreak, Nepal has asked for international help.
“What is happening in India right now is a horrifying preview of Nepal’s future if we cannot contain this latest COVID surge that is claiming more lives by the minute,” said Netra Prasad Timsina, chair of the Nepal Red Cross.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been criticized for his handling of the crisis and has asked the army to step in and help manage the overtaxed healthcare facilities. Earlier this week, Oli appealed to the international community for vaccines after health officials warned that people who had received their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccines urgently needed that second dose.
The Guardian describes the dire situation in Nepal as being worse than India’s crisis. In a country of 30 million people, there are about 1,600 intensive care beds and fewer than 600 ventilators for its population. There are 0.7 doctors per 100,000 people, a lower rate than in India.
Looking back over the past few weeks, it is easy to see how the coronavirus surge in India moved into Nepal. Thousands of workers returned to Nepal from India right before a two-week lockdown was instituted in Kathmandu on April 29.
One day later, the health ministry said infections had “increased beyond the control of the health system.” Added to this, like in India, people gathered for religious festivals in April and some even traveled to India to celebrate Kumbh Mela.
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli—who previously described the virus as “like the flu”—is appealing to the international community for help.
