At a time when people in Nepal are struggling to fight COVID-19 with major hospitals in cities across the country announcing ‘no service’ for treatment of the disease citing a lack of oxygen supplies and critical care capacity, the international community has joined the country’s fight against the deadly virus.
The active cases of COVID-19 in Nepal have now exceeded 100,000 with 9,238 new cases and 168 deaths reported on May 12 bringing the number of deaths so far to 4,252.
The first batch of assistance came from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and included 400 oxygen cylinders and 10 ventilators which arrived in Kathmandu on May 11. The delivery also included 170 oxygen concentrators donated by the Chinese company, Hongshi Shivam Cement.
Hou Yanqi, the Ambassador of PRC to Nepal, reiterated that China will continue to make COVID-19 vaccines a public good and improve vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries including Nepal.
- According to the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal, antigen tests confirmed 67 positive cases and the total infections from both RT-PCR and antigen tests stand at 9,305
- As many as 3,924 fresh infections were recorded in Kathmandu valley in the last 24 hours
- A total of 20,786 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours
- As many as 2,693,088 PCR tests have been carried out in Nepal so far
- So far, 316,463 people have recovered from COVID-19
- Nepal’s recovery rate from the disease stands at 74.9%, whereas the active case count stands at 101,634
Similarly, in response to Nepal’s request for European Union (EU) assistance to help to contain the explosion in COVID-19 cases, the EU mobilized an initial €2 million in humanitarian funding. This funding is expected to support the monitoring of all those isolating at home through telehealth services and rapid referral to hospitals, the deployment of national emergency medical teams, the mobilization of international emergency medical teams, and the facilitation and procurement of COVID-19 equipment and supplies in Nepal.
Key equipment and supplies from the EU’s assistance include oxygen equipment comprising oxygen gas cylinders, oxygen concentrators, home care kits, diagnostics including antigen test kits, and personal protection equipment.
Meanwhile, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (CPM) has been activated in Nepal and the EU’s 24/7 Emergency Response Coordination Centre is in regular contact with the authorities in Nepal.
Finland is the first individual EU Member State to offer more than 2 million surgical facemasks, 350,000 FFP2 masks, 52,500 pairs of vinyl gloves, and 30,000 isolation gowns
Observing that the surge in COVID-19 cases in Nepal is claiming more lives every minute as it spreads across the country, Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management remarked, “We stand in full solidarity with Nepal in its fight against the pandemic. We are quickly mobilizing emergency support with initial €2 million funding.” He added that he was very thankful to Finland for their quick offers of assistance via the CPM and that the EU stood ready to provide further assistance.
The United States has been steadily delivering urgently needed medical supplies that include additional breathing devices, PPE, and high flow oxygen therapy devices. A total of US$36.8 million assistance has been provided so far through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Since the beginning of the pandemic, USAID’s COVID-19 assistance has reached over 55% of the population across Nepal. Additionally, US$3.1 million in funding for Nepal has enabled the U.S. Department of Defense team to purchase PPE, breathing devices, isolation and disaster camp equipment and supplies, telemedicine equipment, COVID-19 testing supplies, hand washing stations, and medical equipment for health clinics.
Similarly, on May 11, Dr. A.K Abdul Momen, Foreign Minister, and Zahid Malik, Health and Family Welfare Minister of Bangladesh, handed over medicines and health protection items to Dr. Banshidhor Mishra, the Nepalese Ambassador in Dhaka, to aid those affected by COVID-19 in Nepal. These items include over 5000 vials of Remdisivir injection, Hydrocloroquine tablets, PPE, and masks.
