Over a 100 Covid-19 cases are being reported in Rupandehi district on a daily basis. But the district is not doing much to contain the spread of the virus.

Kedar Shah, vector control chief of the Health Office in Rupandehi, said, “People in Butwal, Bhairahawa, Tilottama, Murgiya and Devadaha are not following social distancing measures. They are roaming around the bazaar areas without adhering to safety protocols, increasing the rate of infection in Rupandehi.”

According to him, 80 out of 100 individuals in Bhairahawa and Butwal could have contracted the virus by now.

“The situation is going out of control. But there’s no proper control and prevention measures to contain the disease,” said Shah.

So far, 22,073 individuals have tested positive for Covid-19 in Lumbini Province with 2,807 active cases as of Friday.

In Rupandehi alone, there are 8,478 Covid-19 cases. As the district lacks the mechanism to control the spread of the virus, Covid-19 cases have been increasing day by day. Dr Pushpa Raj Paudel, corona focal person at the Ministry of Social Development in Lumbini Province, said, “The majority of people in Rupandehi are found roaming the bazaar areas without face masks. They are not following proper health protocols in places of business and public vehicles. That is why Covid-19 cases have escalated in Rupandehi.”

Rupandehi is the trade point of the western region of the country. The Lumbini provincial government has also prioritised Butwal while developing infrastructures to combat coronavirus. The government has established Covid-19 Special Hospital in Dhago Karkhana in Butwal. Until now, over 400 Covid-19 patients have received treatment from the hospital.

Dr Bishnu Gautam, information officer at the Covid-19 Hospital, said, “Covid-19 patients from other provinces like Lumini, Gandaki and even Karnali come to our hospital for treatment. Among the 400 patients that received treatment here, around 80 percent have already recovered.”

Gautam further added that most patients these days come to the hospital only when their health condition deteriorates.

“Most of the patients are staying in home isolation,” he said.

Rupandehi is also the trade point of Baglung, Parbat and Syangja districts. Every day, more than 5,000 vehicles to and from Butwal run on the East-West Highway.

“Rupandehi has become the hotspot of coronavirus in the province, as Butwal is the centre of business, transportation, health and education, among other sectors,” Minister for Social Development of Lumbini Sudarshan Baral said. “Due to uncontrolled people’s movement and negligence in following safe health measures, the rate of Covid-19 infection has increased here. The virus can only be controlled if the citizens are aware and careful.”

Lockdown in Resunga, Gulmi

Resunga Municipality in Gulmi has reimposed lockdown for eight days starting from Friday due to the spread of Covid-19 in schools, financial institutions and colleges. Bom Aryal, health in-charge at the municipality, said, “We have decided to reimpose lockdown to control the spread of the virus.” Until Friday, the district had 179 active cases.