The National Human Rights Commission has drawn the attention of the government to the crisis of the rising number of coronavirus cases and said that those being infected are deprived of their right to health.

The Covid-19 patients have been suffering from the lack of beds in hospitals, short supply of oxygen and exorbitant charge by the private hospitals, according to the National Human Rights Commission.

“The hospitals are overwhelmed with the increasing cases of infections, the patients are compelled to receive the treatments in the lobby and yards in the lack of beds and the hospitals are running through the shortage of oxygen,” reads the statement by commission issued Friday. “Some private hospitals are refusing to treat those infected with Covid-19 while others are charging exorbitantly.”

Following the reports that those infected with Covid-19 have been deprived of the right to health, the central and provincial offices of the constitutional watchdog had monitored the public and private hospitals and health centres in the different parts of the country.

The commission found that medical equipment and the medicines like Remdesivir are being sold at inflated prices while the people entering Nepal from India without proper screening.

“We have written the government to be serious about the problem facing the people,” Tika Ram Pokharel, spokesperson at the commission, told the Post. “It’s the responsibility of the government to ensure the people’s constitutional right to health.”

The commission has said the April 30 statement of the Ministry of Health and Population that it was not possible to provide beds to those infected with Covid-19 demonstrated the government’s disregard for the plight of the people.

Issuing a press statement, the ministry had said the hospitals are running out of beds and there wasn’t adequate supply of oxygen due to the spike in the coronavirus cases.

The commission also has drawn the attention of the government to pay necessary attention towards ensuring the supply of the medicine, daily essentials and announce the programme targeted to keep the morale of the frontline workers high and to ensure that the low-income group and daily wage workers don’t have the problem for livelihood.

“The commission draws the attention of all tiers of governments to work in collaboration to fight against the crisis,” reads the statement.