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Nepal

Nepal: Covid 19 and Flood Response Situation Report No.XXXIV, as of 30 November 2020

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National Context:

• The districts with COVID-19 active positive cases have now climbed up to 75 out of 77, with 1,508 deaths. In the past week alone, there were more than 150 COVID-19 related deaths across Nepal (Ministry of Health and Population – MoHP).

• The MoHP is preparing to forward technical details to authorities concerned to procure COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX facility. The government’s move follows COVAX’s request to its 186 member countries to forward details, including the status cold chain and communication infrastructure, at the earliest. The MoHP says vaccines enough to immunize 20 per cent of Nepal’s population will come under the COVAX facility. The vaccine is expected to cost around US $ 2 per dose.

• Many pregnant women have stopped going to the hospital for maternity services due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Province-2. According to a study, the number of hospital deliveries during the COVID-19 period has dropped by 55 per cent in the province. According to the study, the number of deliveries at Janakpur Provincial Hospital stood at 4,170 from April to November. The number was about 9,000 last year in the same period. According to the statistics of the provincial hospital, 11,200 people received maternity services last year (WHO Focused C19 Media Monitoring Nepal, 29 Nov 2020).

• A meeting of the cabinet on 25 November has decided to resume flights to India and Bangladesh. The cabinet meeting endorsed the proposal of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to resume flights in those countries following the protocol related to aviation and public health. Likewise, the cabinet meeting has also decided to issue arrival and visit visas to tourists and other citizens coming to Nepal.

• With the addition of a new testing site this week, the MoHP has approved the establishment of 77 RT-PCR testing facilities. Among these facilities, approximately 40 per cent are from the private sector. On an average 10,000 tests are conducted nationally every day (SITREP #294,
MoHP).