COVID virtually beaten, but experts still stress caution

BY A STAFF REPORTER, Kathmandu, Nov. 30: With the increase in cases of COVID-19 infection and deaths in the neighbouring China, panic of the recurrence of epidemic has gripped the wider world. According to various media reports, infection rate of the repeated COVID-19 cases in China is high.

According to Chinese media CGTN, the number of COVID-19 infections in China is increasing day by day. The Chinese mainland recorded 3,822 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. Among them, 3,748 people contracted the infection from locals, while the remaining 74 people contracted the infection from foreigners. So far, 342,488 asymptomatic patients are under medical observation.

The first case of COVID-19 was detected on December 30, 2019, in Wuhan province of China. After that, various countries across the world, including Nepal, are being affected by the COVID infection.

China was able to limit the death rate significantly by adopting a strict lockdown, but the negative impact it had on the lifestyle and economic output of the people caused frustration with the government. Due to this, fierce protest against the restriction was started in China.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is still a possibility of the outbreak of the COVID epidemic, so the campaign against it should be continued. According to WHO, 6,608,893 people have died due to covid in various parts of the world so far.

Similarly, out of the total population of the world, 637,404,847 people have suffered from COVID-19.  The WHO has admitted that equitable access to the vaccine against COVID-19 has not been maintained so far.

So far, out of 194 member countries of the WHO, only 58 countries have met the goal of providing 70 per cent vaccines to its citizens.

Meanwhile, Nepal has witnessed a sudden decline in COVID-19 cases in the last few days. The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) on Tuesday recorded only one case of COVID-19 among 437 RT-PCR tests. On Monday, eight cases of COVID-19 were recorded, four on Sunday, and one case on Saturday.

The government is doing only passive surveillance for a long time due to which the COVID cases are declining, said Dr. Baburam Marasini, a public health expert.

The concerned authorities should have carried out active case-finding to find out the prevalence of the virus, he added.

Very few people, who need RT-PCR report, are undergoing tests, many COVID-19 infected people are not tested, which may cost a lot, warned Dr. Marasini.

Now most people are neglecting basic COVID-19 safety measures including wearing face masks, hand washing and maintaining social distance. As China is enforcing strict lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, we may also face the situation if proper precautionary methods are not adopted on time, warned Dr. Marasini.

According to the MoHP, 12,019 deaths have been reported from COVID-19 in the country. 

As per the latest update of the MoHP, 1,153,093 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic nearly three years ago.