COVID-19 Precautions

The cases of COVID-19 infection have been rising day by day since mid-July. Fatalities have also started appearing though they are limited within a few people each day. About two persons are dying of the virus every day on average. In the last two weeks, at least 16 people have succumbed to the dead virus.

The daily number of COVID-19 infection is heading to touch four digits. If the current trend continues, infections are sure to soar in the future. The situation is becoming alarming because the rate of infection does not show any sign of declining. So we should not show negligence regarding the safety measures and precautions. For much of the past two and half years, the COVID-19 pandemic has afflicted the world. During the period, it has infected over 575 million people and taken the lives of six million people across the globe. 

On 23rd January 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Nepal. Since then, the country has gone through the ordeal of three waves of the pandemic. Over one million Nepalis have been infected and among them, around 12 thousand have lost their lives. Last April, health experts had predicted that the pandemic will come to an end following the peak of the third wave in the country. However, the situation went reverse to the expectation and just after a few months, there was a resurge of infections. On July 22, the health experts predicted that the fourth wave of COVID-19 was likely to spread in the population.

Nepal has open border with its southern neighbour – India - and cultural and economic interaction happen every day. As India is witnessing the rise of COVID cases of late, Nepal is also experiencing the same scenario. The close socio-cultural and economic relations between the two countries is something that makes a unique positive bond but during the public health crisis like this, border screening, virus tests and movement control are called for.

The governments should put in place the measures to prevent the spread of the virus by setting up test facilities, holding centres and isolation centres on both sides of the border. Government of Nepal has recently taken a decision to fix dozens of government hospitals across the country to treat the COVID patients free of cost. This is a commendable move. 

Enforcing a new lockdown seems to be out of context but there are other crucial moves that have to be taken to prevent the surge of the infection. People may have grown complacent and forgotten about the necessity of abiding by the safety protocol. The safety rules must be followed again to prevent the infection going out of control. Most importantly, the common people are the major stakeholders who can save themselves and others from the rising threat of the virus.

Every citizen should be aware of virus and more responsible than they were before in terms of abiding by the health protocols set up by the World Health Organisation and Nepal government. They should not forget about the common measures like wearing masks, frequently washing with soap and water, using sanitisers and maintaining social distance. The government should intensify the vaccination drive to make sure that every eligible person is immunised against the virus. As the inoculation is the most effective means to keep the virus at bay, the concerned agencies should encourage the people to take the life-saving jabs.