COVID-19 SITUATION IN NEPAL

17 June-16 August 2021

Current situation

The pandemic situation is still a cause of concern in Nepal with little improvements since the Second Wave of COVID-19 hit the country in April 2021.

All 77 districts continue to have COVID-19 infection cases. According to latest statistics from the Ministry of Health and Population, during the last two months, there were many cases of infections and deaths.

In the period between mid-June and mid-August, there were total of 172,420 cases of infections and 1,769 deaths from COVID-19.

In August alone, in just 16 days, the number of infected has already crossed 54,114, more than in the previous two months. The number of deaths has also reached 470 during the period by the time of our reporting on 16 August.

Provinces hit hardest

Bagmati Province continues to be most affected by the pandemic. It is also home to Kathmandu city, Nepal’s capital, where 57,000 persons were infected with COVID-19 between 17 June and 16 August. The cases have lowered in the capital compared to the period between March-May when the second wave was at its peak. But there are concerns that the infections continue.

Province 1 and Gandaki Province also have been affected badly with more than 26,000 and 22,000 cases respectively.

For more information on the hardest hit districts, please refer to the map.

Vaccination drive 

The vaccination campaign of the Government of Nepal has been considered a success since 31 July when the country was able to get in the supplies of vaccines with help from different countries. 

Nearly 2.8 million Nepalis have been vaccinated in the last 17 days since 31 July 2021. 

There has been a lot of motivation and enthusiasm shown among the public to get vaccinated all across the country. 

Mask Campaign

With all the markets open for business in both the capital and across the country, the health experts are concerned an increase in volatile situation. Although the government has continued its prohibitory orders (it is not called ‘Lockdown’ anymore), there are still a lot of people violating the orders. The government has been requesting the citizens to keep social distance, avoid crowding, reduce mobility and especially wear masks. 

In July, the government organized Mask Campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of COVID-19 and to protect themselves from infections. One Heart Worldwide has also joined in the campaign and shared its IEC materials for information-sharing.

The traffic police have been especially very active to make the campaign successful. The positive messages have been also disseminated widely in social media across the country and in traditional media channels. There has been a positive change as evident from more people are going out to the roads wearing masks.