KATHMANDU (UCAN): The ongoing third wave of the Covid-19 coronavirus could be more damaging for Nepal’s vulnerable communities, including the Christian minority, already reeling from the fallout of a deadly second wave.
“The third wave has already started in Nepal and we are afraid how far it will go this time,” Chirendra Satyal, the Kathmandu-based director of media and communication of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal and executive secretary of Caritas Nepal, said, adding that rural communities are most vulnerable as their areas lack health facilities.
Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population has instructed hospitals to prepare measures to tackle the third wave as cases of Covid-19 continued to surge. Total infections stood at 761,124 and deaths at 10,730, the Kathmandu Post reported on August 30. Some 1,902 new cases were reported in the previous 24 hours, ministry officials said.
Satyal expressed doubts over whether the data reflected the severity of the situation. “These statistics are questionable. How were these deaths and infections measured? In many villages people don’t even go for testing even if they feel sick,” he said.
“There are hardly any health facilities in rural areas, so if you fall sick you are on your own to quarantine or survive. There are no oxygen concentrators, no ventilators, and these are already too expensive for many people. They can get oxygen if they walk a few days and reach a hospital. They are simply at the mercy of God if they fall sick,” Satyal explained.
“Daily cases have increased, hospital beds are being filled up with serious patients, and many cities and towns have declared lockdown measures,” Baburam Marasini, a former director of epidemiology and disease control, told German international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.
‘There are hardly any health facilities in rural areas, so if you fall sick you are on your own to quarantine or survive. There are no oxygen concentrators, no ventilators, and these are already too expensive for many people. They can get oxygen if they walk a few days and reach a hospital. They are simply at the mercy of God if they fall sick’
Chirendra Satyal
The Nepali government has faced criticism for a slow vaccination programme, with 4.05 million people fully vaccinated—about 14.2 per cent of an estimated population of 28 million, according Our World in Data.
On August 30, Father Richard Rai, parish priest of Assumption Cathedral Church in Kathmandu, issued a notice that Sister Deepa Lepcha from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny had died from Covid-19.
The Nepalese nun had become infected while working in a mission station in Hetauda town, about 100 kilometres south of Kathmandu. She was flown to the capital by a helicopter for better treatment but died after weeks on a ventilator.
Satyal said the cathedral parish, which has about 2,500 Catholics, had already witnessed the deaths of seven members, adding that his own relatives have also been infected but all recovered.
He said that the Catholic Church has been implementing preventive measures for more than a year since the pandemic started and public Masses remain suspended, while Sunday and daily Masses are streamed online from the residence of Bishop Paul Simick.
‘They are surviving somehow, but if the third wave hits them, it will be very hard for any of them to survive’
Chirendra Satyal
While there are an estimated 8,000 Catholics in Nepal, the country has between 3-5 million Protestant and Evangelical Christians, according to the World Database of Christians.
Protestant Churches were badly hit by Covid-19, claiming the lives of 130 pastors and infecting 500 others and their family members, said one pastor, B.P. Khanal.
Nepal’s tourism industry, the country’s economic lifeline, has also been hit badly.
“There are no tourists in the main tourist spots in Kathmandu. The hotels have gone bankrupt. Everything is just empty … All have gone bankrupt and many have returned to their villages and now work as agricultural workers and growing rice and corn,” Satyal said.
“They are surviving somehow, but if the third wave hits them, it will be very hard for any of them to survive,” he said.
Dipendra Lamsal, Caritas Nepal’s communication officer, lamented the rampant spread of rumours and disnformation, saying, “Many [are] resorting to bizarre and incorrect methods of dealing with the virus.”
Despite limited resources, Caritas Nepal has been helping out. In July, it joined with US-based Catholic Relief Services to provide 20 hospitals in 14 districts of Nepal with medical supplies including oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, pulse oximeters, face masks and personal protective equipment including isolation gowns, face shields, shoe covers, safety goggles, surgical head caps, heavy duty gloves, surgical masks, surgical gloves and hand sanitisers.
“By reaching the most disadvantaged and vulnerable with medical and food relief packages, we are aiming to build resilient communities,” Lamsal added.
Since last year, Caritas Nepal has assisted communities in 23 districts with funding from partners and donors. It established 150 hand-washing stations in rural and urban municipalities, while it distributed 10,000 Covid-19 safety kits to individuals, health workers, health posts, quarantine centres and humanitarian workers.
It also provided over 7,252 households with food aid and some 24,540 smallholder farming households with agricultural input while reaching out to over 100,000 people through its Covid-19 awareness campaign.
