Province 2 has seen the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country, according to the data available at the Social Development Ministry in Janakpur.

As many as 85 people have died of Covid-19 in the province as of Sunday. 

Parsa tops the list with 33 deaths followed by 13 deaths in Bara, 12 in Dhanusha, eight in Mahottari, seven in Siraha, five in Saptari, four in Rautahat and three in Sarlahi.

Dr Ramdev Chaudhary, spokesperson at the Provincial Hospital in Janakpur, said the graph of virus-related deaths is high in the province, as most of the patients who died of Covid-19 had pre-existing health conditions like diabetes, heart diseases and kidney ailments.

According to him, there are two main reasons behind the high death rate in Province 2—elderly people with other chronic ailments getting infected with the virus and the delay in bringing patients to health institutions.

"Three Covid-19 patients who died in an isolation ward in Janakpur in July were above 65 years. The first patient had diabetes while the second and third suffered from high blood pressure and severe paralysis respectively," said Chaudhary.

Health officials in various hospitals in the province reiterate Chaudhary’s assessment of delay in treatment as one of the causes behind the high death rate among the coronavirus patients.

"Most patients we receive at Covid-specific hospitals are already in critical condition," said Dr Atulesh Chaurasiya, the spokesperson at Narayani Hospital in Birgunj. “Some of them are brought to the hospital only after their health condition worsens.”

On Saturday, three coronavirus patients died in Birgunj. Among them was a 43-year-old man from Birgunj Metropolitan City Ward No 12. The man, who was also suffering from Hepatitis B and HIV, had been brought to Birgunj Health Care Corona Hospital on Friday evening.

According to health officials involved in the treatment of coronavirus patients in Birgunj, around 40 to 45 percent of patients died within six hours of being brought to Covid-specific hospitals.

As coronavirus cases are spiralling, Province 2 is also fast runnin out of isolation wards. “There are not enough isolation beds, ventilators and oxygen plants in most coronavirus hospitals," said Dr Niraj Kumar Singh, a senior physician at Narayani Hospital.

Singh also pointed to the lack of public awareness about Covid-19 has also contributed to the high infection and mortality rates in the province.

"Even the patients with pre-existing health ailments have the tendency of seeking medical care only when their conditions deteriorate," he added.

Of late, people with no travel history to infected areas have also tested positive for the virus. Health officials suspect that the virus has entered the community-level transmission in the province.

"Many elderly people have begun testing positive for coronavirus. We suspect that the virus got transmitted to them through their family members," said Dr Udaya Narayan Singh, the in-charge of Gandak Corona Hospital in Birgunj.

Province 2 is the hotspot of coronavirus infection in the country with the highest number of positive cases. As of Sunday, a total of 10,724 people have been infected with the virus in eight districts of the province. Parsa alone has 2,279 cases, the second-highest number in the country after Kathmandu district.