The number of critically ill Covid-19 patients is on the rise in Kanchanpur, a Tarai district in Sudurpaschim Province that borders India. Positive cases are also soaring in the district, officials say.

Five critical patients of coronavirus were receiving treatment at the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of Mahakali Provincial Hospital, a Covid-19 designated hospital in Mahendranagar, on Monday.

According to Gobinda Rokaya, the Covid-19 focal person at the hospital, all Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in the hospital are occupied by patients of other chronic ailments. The hospital has six ICU and 18 HDU beds.

“The number of critical Covid-19 patients has been increasing for the past few days. We have referred three patients in need of ICU beds to Dhangadhi in the last two weeks,” said Rokaya.

According to the hospital administration, the death rate of Covid-19 patients during the second wave was high, as people were brought to the hospital only after their condition had worsened. The health authorities are urging people to visit health institutions at the earliest for treatment and consultation.

Around 100 Covid-19 patients died in Mahakali Hospital alone during the second wave that gripped the country since April this year. Rokaya said the high death toll can be attributed to the fact that most patients visited pharmacies and health clinics for treatment instead of going to the hospital.

According to the District Health Office in Kanchanpur, 12 individuals tested positive for Covid-19 in Kanchanpur on Monday. Among them, seven were from Bhimdatta Municipality, three from Dodhara Chandani and one each from Suklaphanta and Punarbas municipalities.

Kanchanpur has 147 active cases of Covid-19 at present. Until mid-August, the number of active cases stood below 100 in the district, the data of the District Health Office showed.

On Tuesday, 15 people tested positive for Covid-19 through PCR tests and five others through antigen tests in Kanchanpur district. Twelve people tested positive for the virus in the district on Monday.

According to Mahakali Provincial Hospital in Mahendranagar, around 20 to 25 individuals arrive in the hospital for PCR testing on a daily basis. The hospital has a capacity to conduct over 150 PCR tests a day.