COVID-19 Update - Jan. 22

Nepal’s COVID-19 situation is becoming a serious concern again. In less than a month, over 90,000 people have already been infected. The number of COVID-19 related deaths has now reached 57. According to experts, the new Omicron variant is responsible for most of the infections. 

The Government of Nepal has started taking measures to control the pandemic situation. The vaccination is in full progress and in the last month alone in 2022, nearly 4.8 million people have been vaccinated. In total, from 2020 until now, nearly 53.5% of the 30.3 million Nepali people have received at least one dose while 42.5% have been fully vaccinated, according to the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP). 

The number of infections has been increasing from 382 on January 1st, to over 10,000 on January 18th, and since then, there has been a daily increase of over 10,000 new cases over the last week (through January 22). There were reports of 1-4 deaths per day until January 21, but the number increased to 16 deaths in a single day on January 22. 

Concerned with the rising cases of infections, in Kathmandu, the government has ordered citizens to carry vaccination cards while entering public places, shut down public entertainment service areas, and closed schools and colleges. Vehicular movement has also been controlled with people allowed to drive in the capital city as per their odd and even vehicle registration number plates.

Kathmandu has the highest number of cases estimated at 37,200 infections in the last 22 days. Out of the seven provinces, Bagmati Province has the highest number of infections, around 55,528 cases. The lowest cases are in Karnali Province, with less than 447 cases.