Arjun Poudel

Arjun Poudel is a health reporter for The Kathmandu Post. Before joining the Post, he worked for Sagarmatha Television, Naya Patrika, Republica and The Himalayan Times.

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Latest from Arjun Poudel

Most hospitals do not have ready supply of oxygen

Experts criticise lax preparations as the Health Ministry projects an additional 300,000 Covid-19 cases by July.

Nepal grants conditional emergency use approval to Russian Sputnik V vaccine

This is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine to get emergency use approval after AstraZeneca’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV.

Government issues a slew of orders amid threat of a second wave

More than 25 people cannot gather at one place; schools and places of worship among others closed till May 14. Testing and treatment made free.

Vaccination rate dismal even as cases are surging with only 100,000 taking Chinese shots

Poor planning on accessibility, target groups, and awareness campaign; and vaccine hesitancy cited as reasons.

Officials forgot duty, public threw away masks; now second wave is here

New variants of the coronavirus are more transmissible and deadlier, but people are not taking precautions and there is not enough testing and monitoring of those in home isolation.

Health Ministry advises shutting down schools in 14 highly vulnerable districts

Directs all government hospitals to allocate 50 percent of their beds for Covid-19 patients and provide free treatment.

Monitoring those in home isolation crucial, experts say

Doctors advise authorities not to be lax as the UK variant of the virus is highly infectious and possibly more lethal.

Covid-19 infecting more children, but government reluctant to close schools

Epidemiology and Disease Control Division says the UK variant B.1.1.7. might be responsible for over 60 percent of the new infections in Nepal.

As virus cases surge in Nepal, experts warn against lapses and complacency

With the country reporting 13 new deaths and the daily count of 496, concerns have grown over a repeat of last year’s cycle if authorities fail to ramp up measures to contain the spread.

Indian ban on Remdesivir exports may not have much impact on Nepal

Officials and experts say the concern, however, is about possible ban on other essential drugs as India continues to see record high Covid-19 cases and Nepal lacks vaccines.

Health Ministry recommends school closure for at least three weeks

Of the total infections at present, 14 percent are in children compared to 4 percent in the past, officials say.

Health Ministry to revisit its Covid-19 projection as new cases may exceed 50,000 mark by July

A second wave of infections has already started in Kathmandu Valley but the authorities have still not increased the test numbers, doctors say.

2,656 people vaccinated with Covid-19 jabs provided by China

The government aims to inoculate 400,000 essential workers.

UK variant responsible for surge in coronavirus cases in Nepal, Health Ministry says

Experts stress the need to invest more in equipment and technology to ascertain variants and devise strong strategies in light of looming second wave.

Essential workers to be immunised with Chinese vaccine from today

The jabs will be administered from 23 hospitals—19 in Kathmandu Valley and four in districts bordering China. Around 400,000 people have been targeted in this latest phase.