Coronavirus: Nepal’s record jump in cases signals impending crisis; Vietnam on high alert
- More than 9,000 new cases have been reported in the country’s highest single day increase, as infections spill over from neighbouring India
- Vietnam has recorded 176 confirmed coronavirus cases from several outbreaks that have spread to 19 provinces during the past 10 days
Health workers and authorities in Nepal are struggling to contain a massive surge of Covid-19 cases as infections spill over from neighbouring India’s deadly second wave.
In the last three weeks, Nepal’s daily case trajectory has shot up with two out of five people tested now returning positive. On Thursday, Nepal reported 9,023 cases, the highest single day increase.
More than 3,500 people have died since the pandemic began, 400 of them in the last two weeks alone, according to official figures.
“Health facilities have been flooded with symptomatic cases … The situation could become worse in the coming days,” said Hemanta Chandra Ojha at Nepal’s Epidemiology and Disease Control Division.
“We can manage the oxygen supplies but ventilators and ICU facilities required for the treatment of severe cases are in short supply.”
02:23
With infections surging, will Nepal be the next Covid-19 hotspot?
The country’s health system has been overwhelmed by the sudden spike, with hospitals filling fast.