By Keshav Raj Paudel, Kathmandu, Oct. 13: Number of patients with COVID-19 in the Kathmandu Valley has been increasing lately.

Out of the three districts of the Valley, Kathmandu holds the first place in having the most COVID-19 infected people followed by Lalitipur and Bhaktapur.

For the first time in Nepal, the rescued students from Wuhan of China were brought and quarantined in Kharipati quarantine set up in Bhaktapur

Also, most of the holding centers for those evacuated from abroad are located in Bhaktapur District as well.

Of the 3,007 COVID-19 patients in Bhaktapur, 1,672 have returned home after the recovery till the date.

As many as 391 persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 are receiving treatment in the isolation centers of Bhaktapur while the others are living in home isolation.

Currently, five people are receiving treatment in ICU in Bhaktapur.

Five people are undergoing treatment in the ICU of Bhaktapur district where 35 persons have lost their life to COVID-19 in the district so far.

Dr. Krishna Bahadur Mijar, Chief of the District Health Office, Bhaktapur, said that 3,007 people had been infected in Bhaktapur district so far.

He clarified that 1,672 people have been cured.

We take the infected person to the hospital based on their health condition, where asymptomatic infected and those who are in condition to live in home isolation are recuperating from infection at home,” said Dr. Mijar.

He said that those who do not have an environment to live in the home isolation are also taken to the institutional isolation.

The District Health Office has been very active in the construction of isolation as the number of those returning home after the lockdown has increased.

There are as many as 871 isolation beds in Bhaktapur, where, 391 beds are in usage and the remaining, 480 beds are still vacant.

The infected can be kept in those beds immediately, said Mijar.

In Bhaktapur district, monitoring groups have been mobilized to prevent the spread of the disease following the emergence of the challenging situation resulted by the defiance of people regarding the health standards such as wandering around in groups, sitting in groups, wearing masks and not cleaning hands.

It is being monitored by the staff of National Investigation, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, officials at the Health Office under the direction of the District Administration Office.

As the number of infected persons has started to increase, the challenge of controlling the infection has also increased and the inability to change people's behavior has added extra, according to Dr. Mijar

We have built the isolation ward as per the need in Bhaktapur.  

The number of isolation beds in Bhaktapur is good.

The isolation as well as holding centers are being operated in the direct supervision of Kharipati and Nepali Army.

However, no beds other than the five ICU ones are not in operation in Bhaktapur district hospital.

Three government hospitals named as special COVID-19 hospital and other hospitals as well have been filled with infected persons in Kathmandu which has turned into Corona hotspot with the number of active cases increasing daily.

However, the ICU and ventilators which could be used as alternative means for severe cases of infection in Kathmandu have not been fully utilized.

It is notified in a regular press conference that the Teku, Bir and Balambhu hospital, hospitals in Kathmandu which provide the treatment to a large number of people are now overcrowded with COVID-19 patients.

There is high pressure of patients in Patan hospital of Lalitpur where a large number of infected persons from Kathmandu are getting treatment.

While hospitals in Kathmandu including TU Teaching Hospital  and in Lalitpur including Patan hospital are overcrowded with COVID-19 patinets, the isolation beds and ICU beds in Bhaktapur are vacant.

The planning on usage of vacant beds is underway, said the Health Office, Bhaktpur.

Dr. Mijar said that preparations had been made to use 20 ICU beds in Bhaktapur.

The ICU beds can be operated as soon as the Ministry of Health and Population nods for this in writing.

At present, 12 ventilators of Bhaktapur are in operating condition.

He said that the Ministry could use Nepal Korea Friendship Hospital as COVID-19 Hospital immediately.

Five beds of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Bhaktpur Hospital, seven in KMC Hospital, Duwakot, and eight in Nepal Korea Friendship Hospital, Thimi, have been sorted out for the COVID-19 treatment, but they will come in operation only after the MoHP agrees in writing for their usage.

Of them, only five isolation beds are filled in Bhaktapur hospital so far. Even the isolation ward in different hospitals in Bhaktapur are empty.

Bhaktapur has the capacity to hold hundreds of infected persons as many institutional isolation centers are staying vacant.

There are 703 isolation wards in seven institutional isolation centers in the district and there are 200 beds in Kharipati isolation center of Nepal Electricity Authority.

There are 23 isolation wards in the training center of the Drinking Water Office in Telkot and 12 out of 50 isolation wards in the training center of the Agriculture Development Bank are vacant.

There are 150 isolation wards in Sainik Vidyalaya Salaghari, 75 isolation wards in Suryabinayak Barracks and 130 isolation wards in Sainik International School Kharipati.

Some of the isolation wards out of 75 wards at the Brahmayani Isolation center recently opened by the Bhaptapur Municipality are still vacant.

The government of Nepal provides Rs 2,000 per day to a patient in the isolation ward, Rs 8,000 to the patient in the ICU and Rs 15,000 to the patients in the ventilator. The vacant beds in Bhaktapur are remaining vacant as the MoHP is yet to write to them and agree to allocate the said amount.

Dr. Mijar said that coordination was being made with the MoHP and ICUs and ventilators in Bhaktapur would soon be brought into use.