Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge

Coronavirus chronicle

AP/UNB
07 May, 2021, 09:05 pm
Last modified: 07 May, 2021, 09:11 pm

Related News

  • India’s wheat supplies for food schemes will be tight, data show
  • India wheat export curb to be less explosive than prices suggest
  • Poor workers bear the brunt of India's heatwave
  • S Korea says it will spare no effort to help North Korea amid Covid outbreak
  • Kim Jong Un orders North Korea military to 'stabilise' drug supply amid Covid outbreak

Doctors in Nepal warn of major crisis as virus cases surge

“Right now there are no beds available today in any hospital that is treating Covid patients”

AP/UNB
07 May, 2021, 09:05 pm
Last modified: 07 May, 2021, 09:11 pm
Nepalese army personnel in PPE suits salute to pay tribute to COVID-19 victims before cremating their bodies near Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 7, 2021. Photo: AP/UNB
Nepalese army personnel in PPE suits salute to pay tribute to COVID-19 victims before cremating their bodies near Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 7, 2021. Photo: AP/UNB

Across the border from a devastating surge in India, doctors in Nepal warned Friday of a major crisis as daily coronavirus cases hit a record and hospitals were running out of beds and oxygen.

Nepal reported 9,070 new confirmed cases on Thursday, compared to 298 a month ago. The number of fatalities also reached its highest with 58 on Wednesday and 54 on Thursday, for a total of 3,529.

"Right now there are no beds available today in any hospital that is treating Covid patients," said Dr Jyotindra Sharma, chief of Hospital for Advanced Medicine & Surgery in Kathmandu. "Even if any beds were made available, there is a huge scarcity of oxygen and we are not at the peak of this crisis."

At the hospital, one of the leading facilities in Nepal for treating Covid-19 patients, extra beds were crammed to accommodate more people. They've all been taken and the only way to get admitted is through a waiting list.

"In the extreme situation, people could be dying in the streets," Sharma said, adding it's "just not possible to immediately increase the capacity of the hospitals."

At the government-run Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, several Covid-19 patients were lying in beds set up on the veranda and hooked to oxygen cylinder. They're the lucky ones. Others were turned away because there's not enough space or equipment.

"We are under-prepared, under-resourced, and under-capacitated to perform any thing that is expected," said Dr Bishal Dhakal, who has been working with coronavirus patients since the beginning of the pandemic.

A lockdown was imposed last month in major cities and towns, and Nepal this week stopped both domestic and international flights.

The government has pledged several times to increase the number of hospital beds and boost the treatment and preventive measures. However, there has not been any significant change.

Nepal began its vaccination campaign in January with 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca shots donated by India, but it had been suspended because of India's refusal to allow exports as its crisis worsened.

The vaccination resumed when China donated 800,000 doses, and Nepal is negotiating with Russia for supplies of the Sputnik V shots.

Top News / World+Biz

doctors / Nepal / warn / major / crisis / COVID-19 / Coronavirus / India

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Are banks only gainers from dollar crisis?
    Are banks only gainers from dollar crisis?
  • PK Halder wants to return home
    PK Halder wants to return home
  • Exporters for continuation of 0.5% source tax for 5 years 
    Exporters for continuation of 0.5% source tax for 5 years 

MOST VIEWED

  • Customers wait in front of a restaurant in Beijing, China April 15, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Files
    China's economy skids as lockdowns hit factories, retailers
  • A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab from a resident at a makeshift nucleic acid testing site inside a residential compound under lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Xihao Jiang
    Shanghai aims for return to normal life from 1 June
  • South Korea's new President Yoon Suk-yeol signs a document as he works at the new Presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, May 10, 2022. Yonhap via REUTERS/File Photo
    S Korea says it will spare no effort to help North Korea amid Covid outbreak
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wears a face mask amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, while inspecting a pharmacy in Pyongyang, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 15, 2022. KCNA via REUTERS
    Kim Jong Un orders North Korea military to 'stabilise' drug supply amid Covid outbreak
  • North Korea reports 15 more suspected Covid-19 deaths
    North Korea reports 15 more suspected Covid-19 deaths
  • Residents line up for nucleic acid tests during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China, May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song
    Locked-down Shanghai to start gradually reopening malls, other businesses

Related News

  • India’s wheat supplies for food schemes will be tight, data show
  • India wheat export curb to be less explosive than prices suggest
  • Poor workers bear the brunt of India's heatwave
  • S Korea says it will spare no effort to help North Korea amid Covid outbreak
  • Kim Jong Un orders North Korea military to 'stabilise' drug supply amid Covid outbreak

Features

Bitcoin, by far the largest cryptocurrency, is a terrible substitute for government-issued money. Photo: Reuters

Crypto’s wild week offers a much-needed warning

10h | Panorama
Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

11h | Brands
Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

11h | Brands
Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

11h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Finland, Sweden decide to join NATO

Finland, Sweden decide to join NATO

2h | Videos
Where you can swim for Tk5

Where you can swim for Tk5

4h | Videos
Cultural activists pay tribute to Hassan Arif

Cultural activists pay tribute to Hassan Arif

7h | Videos
How PK Halder becomes a scamster

How PK Halder becomes a scamster

8h | Videos

Most Read

1
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

2
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

3
Impact of falling taka against US dollar
Banking

Taka losing more value as global currency market volatility persists

4
Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve
Economy

Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve

5
Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 
Banking

Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 

6
How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives
Bazaar

How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab