By Mahima Devkota, Kathmandu, July 22: The number of COVID-19 cases in major government hospitals in the Kathmandu Valley has remained unabated although the hospitals are receiving an increasing number of non-COVID patients, say hospital officials and medical doctors.

According to Dr. Ram Bikram Adhikari, spokesperson of the TU Teaching Hospital, there are a total of 625 patients under treatment at the moment in the hospital. Of them, 102 are COVID-19 patients, and the remaining are all non-COVID patients. A total of 171 people who visited hospitals with symptoms asked for having PCR test, and of them, 30 tested positive for the virus, which is 17 per cent.

He further added that the 52 ICU beds designated for COVID-19 patients are full, 15 ventilators and 20 HDU are also occupied. 145 beds of the general ward are, however, not fully occupied.  

Similarly, Dr. Anup Bastola, director of the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH), said that the 24 ICU beds designated for COVID-19 patients are full and all 40 beds of the general ward are also fully occupied. The number of patients in the emergency ward is increasing as well.

Dr. Bastola confirmed that the COVID-19 cases have not slowed down. He credited careless behavior of people in health safety standards, working in the closed confined room, and low vaccination rate for increasing infection.

Dr. Achyut Karki, spokesperson of the Bir Hospital, said that COVID-19 cases in the hospital are in an increasing trend. There are 71 COVID-19 patients in the general ward and HDU, 18 in ICU, and 7 in a ventilator.

Even though the COVID-19 cases have gone down in Nepal compared to the number of cases in May, Nepal is yet to go below the 2,000 range of confirmed cases each day.