Officials say there has been pressure on health workers across the country to give the Covid-19 jabs to friends and family members of influential people.

Prohibitory orders currently in place in the Valley have been extended by a week and the rest of country follows the model. Little else is being done to check virus spread.

Some 1.4 million people aged 65 and above are waiting to get their second dose. There is little progress on procurement despite officials saying they’re reaching out to all sources.

As cases continue to rise and without a strategy in place, the public is left confused and panicking, experts say. The latest example is conflict during ongoing vaccination.

Experts say infections, severity and deaths should be viewed simultaneously and tests expanded to measure how the country is placed in the fight against the coronavirus.

Experts say frequent changes in decisions by officials in Kathmandu are confusing and they also increase the risk for those in rural areas where the virus is raging.

The purpose is not served if reports are delayed and decline in cases needs to be taken with caution as there has not been enough testing since day one, doctors say.

The government plans to vaccinate those between 60 and 64 years of age from June 8 in all 77 districts.

Contact tracing, testing and isolating are the key and for this whole government machinery must be deployed. But Health Ministry alone cannot do everything, officials say.

Health Ministry and National Public Health Laboratory also refute claims after a section of the British media report of a new variant, labelling it ‘Nepal variant’.

Doctors warn child and infant mortality will increase, and years of effort and investment in reducing child mortality will go to waste, if the issue is continuously ignored.

With health system bursting at the seams and a third wave likely, the world must show the same level of generosity that Nepalis have showered on visitors for years, UN body says.

As pandemic reaches villages which lack PCR labs, antigen tests are the alternative. Health Ministry officials blame the reluctance of local officials for the lacklustre testing.

As seasonal diseases have symptoms similar to Covid-19, experts warn that treatable conditions may not be diagnosed in time and this may be fatal.

Number of daily new cases has slightly come down, but experts say risk continues and authorities must also focus on other containment measures than harsher restrictions.