• Highlights plight of COVID patients told to self-isolate in rented rooms in Kathmandu valley

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 5 The Nepali Congress has slammed the government for its poor handling of the COV- ID-19 pandemic. Joint General Secretary of the party Prakash Sharan Mahat, who heads NC COVID-19 Monitoring Committee, issued a press release today saying the government’s efforts to contain the pandemic had left much to be desired. Taking the government to task, he added that it was not even making arrangements to isolate COVID-19 infected people, while it was expected to trace contacts of COVID-19 patients, conduct more tests and arrange more isolation beds. He highlighted the plight of COVID-19 patients who had been told to self-isolate in rented rooms in Kathmandu valley, though their rooms lacked facilities for effective self isolation. “Such people are transmitting the deadly disease to healthy people.” NC statement adds that COVID patients in Kathmandu had asked the authorities concerned to provide them isolation beds, but they have been told to wait, exposing healthy people to the contagion. “This means the government is indifferent to the risk of spike in the COVID-19 infection,” the NC said. “We demand that the government immediately make arrangements for more isolation beds for all the infected people who need such beds.” It also urged the government to provide necessary care in hospitals to all the infected people with symptoms.” Public health expert Sujan Babu Marhatta told THT that non-compliance with health safety measures and the government’s failure to trace primary and secondary contacts were the main reasons behind the spike in COVID-19 cases. “As the number of COVID cases rise, those needing hospitalisation will also rise. The government must increase its preparedness to deal with the challenge,” he said. Marhatta said the government needed to strictly enforce health safety measures, particularly in public vehicles and shops, to help break the chain of COVID-19 transmission. “If imposing fine can enforce compliance of safety measures, then the government must impose fine on violators,” he added. He said the government needed to bring sectoral mitigation plans to help businesses and industries that suffered huge losses. Assistant Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Samir Kumar Adhikari said there were surplus isolation beds in Kathmandu valley, but the number of ICUs and ventilators might be inadequate if COVID cases continued to rise. “We have added ICUs and ventilators in the recent weeks, but they may be inadequate if the COVID-19 infection continues to rise at the present rate,” Adhikari added. He said increased mobility of people in Kathmandu and non-compliance of safety measures and health protocols were the main reasons behind the sudden spike in COV- ID cases in Kathmandu valley. “We have no option but to follow safety protocols to control the pandemic. People care two hoots about safety measures. Even those who think that they might have contracted COVID-19 are still moving freely from one place to another. Unless people follow all safety measures and all stakeholders help the government in its bid to contain the pandemic, we cannot break the chain of transmission,” Adhikari said. He said the Ministry of Health and Population expected all stakeholders and the public to help contain the pandemic.