‘Like a war zone’: Fears nation’s COVID crisis could be outpacing India

Patients gasping for air on packed hospital floors. Welcome to the nation in the midst of a COVID crisis that may be outpacing India’s.

All eyes are fixed on India and its worsening COVID-19 crisis, but indications are the surge in coronavirus cases has now spread beyond its borders.

Neighbouring Nepal has reported a staggering 1200 per cent rise in COVID-19 infections since April, reported CNN.

Just a month ago daily cases were hovering around 300. The Himalayan republic is now confirming more than 9000 new cases per day; that is far above the previous peak of 6000 daily cases during a second spike in November.

There are fears the rate of infection may be outpacing that in India. Last weekend in Nepal, 44 per cent of all tests came back positive.

The virus is so rife, cases have been reported at the remote Everest base camp.

And just like in India, Nepal’s hospitals are bursting at the seams with sick patients while supplies of oxygen run low.

“What is happening in India right now is a horrifying preview of Nepal’s future if we cannot contain this latest COVID surge that is claiming more lives by the minute,” Nepal Red Cross chairman, Dr Netra Prasad Timsina told CNN.

RELATED: India sees record COVID-19 deaths, new cases in 24 hours

A expedition base camp staff wearing a face mask walks around Everest base camp where COVID-19 has now infiltrated. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP).

Nepali migrants workers gather at the India-Nepal border as they return to Nepal, in Jamunaha near Nepalgunj, some 650 km west of Kathmandu. (Photo by – / AFP)

How Nepal’s situation became so bad

Like India, Nepal’s government has been lambasted for allowing a series of religious festivals and other events to take place which, it’s thought, helped the virus spread.

The spike in cases has been compounded by a weak healthcare system with only 1600 intensive care beds.

Nepal’s treacherous geography also means many communities are inaccessible by road slowing down deliveries of vital medical supplies.

Ironically, the roll out of coronavirus vaccine has also been blamed for the surge. There have been claims of the virus being spread in long queues by people waiting for their jab.

Then there’s accusations of sheer political ineptitude. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been accused, for instance, of spruiking quack remedies.

The Kathmandu Post reported Mr Oil suggested gargling with guava leaves could help people rid themselves of the viruses. Drinking turmeric water was another suggestion.

Now he’s most keen on getting more vaccines into the country, at least to ensure those who have had their first dose of AstraZeneca can get their second and be protected.

RELATED: President suggests COVID-19 is ‘biological warfare’

Nepal’s breathtaking mountains were not enough to shield it from a fresh surge of COVID-19. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)

The Nepalese Government in Kathmandu is now at least open about the dire outbreak.

“The situations are worsening day by day and it may go out of control in future,” spokesman for Nepal’s Ministry of Health Dr Samir Adhikari said earlier this week.

Preventing India’s COVID tsunami from crashing into Nepal was always going to be difficult.

Bar a single high altitude crossing into China, all roads lead to India. Crossing the 1770 kilometre frontier is easy, the two nations’ close relations means not even a passport is needed.

Many vital goods consumed in Nepal are trucked in by way of India. Last month, large numbers of Hindus from Nepal crossed into India for the famous Kumbh Mela festival on the banks of the mighty Ganges river.

It’s likely many brought back COVID-19 as an unwanted souvenir.

Nepal's cases are now closely resembling the situation in neighbouring India.

“Like a war zone”

The Nepalese Government has now put in stricter border checks and closes some of the many crossings. But the virus is already within its borders.

On Thursday, 9070 new cases were confirmed. That is far below India’s 412,000 daily cases. But Nepal’s population is also far smaller with 29 million inhabitants compared to India’s 1.3 billion.

“We need to act now and we need to act fast to have any hope of containing this human catastrophe,” Alexander Matheou, the Asia Pacific director for the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told The Guardian.

Nepal army personnel carry the body of a person who died from COVID-19 before taking it to a crematorium in Kathmandu on May 5, 2021. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

A funeral pyre of person who died from COVID-19 in Kathmandu (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

Speaking to the Kathmandu Post, Dr Sher Bahadur Pun of the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital said patients were being cared for on the floor due to a lack of beds.

“It’s like we are in a war zone,” he said.

At the Everest base camp there are at least 17 cases, the BBC has reported. That’s despite the Government downplaying fears the wave had reached the lucrative tourist hot spot.

The symptoms of coronavirus can be similar to the effects of being at high altitude, meaning cases may be under reported.

The Government has ordered more oxygen cylinders from overseas and is setting up field hospitals close to the border to treat people returning from India.

A two week lockdown is currently in place in Kathmandu and public gatherings are being cracked down on.

The authorities will be hoping the moves will not be far too little, far too late.