Nepal COVID weekly update: May 22, 2021- May 28, 2021

Total tests: 143,874

Confirmed cases: 52,264

Recovered cases: 53,834

Death count: 1,023

(As of 22 to 28 May 2021)

COVID-19 cases

● According to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) situation reports, the highest number of confirmed cases were on 22 May with 8,591 cases and lowest on 26 May with 6,677 cases. Similarly, the highest death toll was on 23 May with 193 and lowest on 28 May with 96 reported deaths.

● This week (22 to 28 May), the total death toll was 1,023 compared to 1,355 last week (15 to 21 May).

Testing

· Within a period of seven days, from 22 to 28 May, 143,874 tests were conducted across the country.

· Out of the total tests done, 139,231 were RT-PCR tests while 4,643 were Antigen tests.

• The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) rolled out 1.7 million antigen test kits throughout the country in efforts to increase testing capacity amid a rapid surge of COVID-19 infection in rural areas.

Government orders

• The ongoing prohibitory order in Kathmandu valley has been extended until 3 June with stricter measures. Violators will be jailed for one year or fined up to NPR 500,000. Initially imposed on 29 April for one week, the order was first extended until 12 May and then until 27 May. The new order came into effect from 28 May.
• In addition to previous prohibitory measures, the Chief District Officers have ordered closure of grocery shops including all department stores for a week. Only shops that sell vegetables, fruits and meat will be allowed to operate till 9 AM. Further, vehicles of government offices, public utilies and internet service providers will be allowed to operate between 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM and 5 PM to 6PM.
• The District Administration Office (DAO) has provided phone numbers to facilitate procurement of grocery items as stores have currently been asked to shut down. In case of any shortage of food supplies, the Food Management and Trading Company Limited (FMTC) and Salt Trading Corporation Limited (STC) are to facilitate orders and deliveries during the prohibitory-period.

Vaccination Drive

• Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi announced on Wednesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to provide Nepal with 1 million vaccine doses in a telephone conversation with President Bidya Devi Bhandari. However, the type of vaccine China is providing remains unclear.
• So far, only 2,113,080 people have been vaccinated, with only 628,884 people receiving both doses.
• A total of 239,000 people received the second jab of the Verocell vaccine between 16 May and 25 May. Of those who received the second dose, 943 received it in Rasuwa, 170 in Sindhupalchowk, 1,786 in Nuwakot, 150,678 in Kathmandu, 36,871 in Bhaktapur, 43,719 in Lalitpur and 5,096 in Kavrepalanchowk. The government had set a target to vaccinate 289,417 people but only 82.7% got their second dose. The government expanded the vaccination drive in other districts of the country on 26 May.

Relief measures

• The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) office in Nepal provided 20 units of oxygen cylinders, 200 sets of personal protective equipment, 100 face shields, 1,000 face masks and two sanitization machines to ward 17 and five oxygen cylinders and medical supplies to ward 19 in Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The humanitarian organization is expected to expand its delivery of medical supplies to other areas of the country soon. CFPA is the first Chinese INGO operating in Nepal since August 2015.
• On 22 May, medical supplies worth USD 8 million arrived in Nepal from Switzerland in a special cargo flight. The shipment contained 40 ventilators, oxygen concentrators, 1.1 million rapid antigen test kits and protective equipment including 110,000 KN95 masks, 50,000 gloves and 15,000 suits.
• South Korea has pledged to provide medical supplies worth NPR 23.29 million (USD 200 thousand) to the Government of Nepal. The assistance will be sent in coordination of the Embassy of Nepal in Seoul.
• Medical supplies including 260 ventilators and 19,200 face-shields donated by the United Kingdom arrived in Kathmandu on 28 May.
• The Ministry of Finance allocated a total of NPR 81 million for 12 hospitals to install oxygen plants, oxygen tanks, HDU connection and purchase of PCR machines.
• Students, faculty, and staff of King’s College have collaborated with Nepal Medical Association (NMA), Nursing Association of Nepal (NAN), Karuna Foundation and Adara Group to start a free quarantine center for nursing professionals at Babarmahal, Kathmandu. The quarantine center has a capacity to accommodate 100 nurses, with provisions of beds, beddings 3-course meals, and regular visits from doctors.

Procurement of Medical Supplies

· Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) has successfully completed phase II testing of oxygen gas cylinders made using local materials. The cylinders being produced have a capacity of 515 kg/cm2 , and is able to withstand three times more pressure. According to the academy, the process of seeking approval from the government to make this technology available in the market has already started.

Economic Updates

• Nepal’s earnings from merchandise exports crossed Rs 100 billion during the first ten months of the current fiscal year. This is the first time the country’s export earnings crossed the threshold amount. According to the Department of Customs (DoC), Nepal exported goods worth NPR 108.47 billion between mid-July 2020 and mid-May 2021, which was 32.19 % more than the amount in the same period of the previous fiscal year. However, Nepal’s imports still exceeded its export earnings by 12 times, escalating the trade deficit by 21.48 % to NPR 1.14 trillion (USD 9.47 billion).
• Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has barred banks and financial institutions (BFIs) from making short-term investments in the secondary market, issuing a unified directive on Tuesday. NRB permitted the BFIs to invest in stocks of listed companies only for a period of more than a year. Likewise, the BFIs are also prohibited from investing in the stocks of microfinance companies.

Other information

• The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) appointed Dr. Samir Kumar Adhikari as the new spokesperson for the ministry. Dr. Jageshwor Gautam, who was appointed as the MoHP’s spokesperson in June 2020 was transferred to the Unified COVID-19 Hospital on May 24, 2021, as its head.
• Human Rights Watch, on 26 May, unveiled a report stating that the economic impact coupled with school closures and insufficient government assistance fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing children into exploitative child labor in Nepal along with Ghana and Uganda. The researchers focused on said countries because they had shown significant progress in reducing poverty and child labor in lieu with United Nation’s efforts to eradicate child labor by 2025.