<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/6372030d9c7e80680e0b27e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1378" height="919"/><figcaption>Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Be it by naïveté, misplaced optimism, or a great faith in the healing powers of Himalayan air and turmeric, no one in Nepal had expected that we would be in the global epicentre of the Covid-19 surge fuelled by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/delta-variants-wake-up-call-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Delta variant in the spring of 2021</a>.Our miscalculation and gross lack of preparation cost thousands of lives and left so many Nepalis bereaved during this Dasain and Tihar. Shortly after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Indian wave began in March</a>, Nepal recorded the highest number of Covid cases per capita, and the worst viral transmission rates on the planet. While the world focused on India, Nepal's health system was overwhelmed in a matter of days.Remember how we <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">desperately searched for oxygen cylinders</a>, when every ICU bed was occupied and ventilators were in short supply? Remember rural communities where the situation was even worse, and so many Nepalis died without any medical attention? And there was the black market that forced many to pay exorbitant rates for life-saving oxygen, masks, and even paracetamol.We cannot afford to forget these terrible and deadly months. If we do, and do not prepare for the next wave, we will be bound to repeat them. With <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-on-high-alert-for-omicron/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Omicron variant </a>now spreading like wildfire across the globe, let us remind ourselves that Nepal experiences a surge in Covid cases a few months after the rest of the world. The Delta variant (which has been proven to be less transmissible than Omicron) took more lives in just a few months than the 2015 earthquakes.The current low case numbers in Nepal are not going to last. Repeating our mistakes of under-preparedness and apathy has the potential to kill thousands of more Nepalis in the coming months.While preliminary data shows that the Omicron variant is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omicron-may-not-be-as-risky-but-take-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">less likely to hospitalise infected individuals</a> than Delta did, we need to take into account that this new variant spreads at a much faster rate. The relief we may feel from a smaller percentage of Covid patients needing life-saving care is cancelled out by there being an exponentially higher number of total infections.Our medical facilities will still be overwhelmed, leading to unnecessary loss of life on a large scale. In short, Omicron is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-has-all-the-conditions-for-an-omicron-surge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not to be underestimated</a>, especially for densely populated communities in Nepal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203109c7e80680e0b27eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1221" height="814">We still have some time to prepare. Policy makers and individuals alike have important roles to play in the critical next weeks and months. We cannot squander this opportunity to save lives. National and local governments need time to act now on these critical areas:<ol><li><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/all-vaccines-prevent-severe-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vaccinate Aggressively</a>: There are varying statistics on the percentage of Nepalis vaccinated, but no more than 40% of the population have been fully vaccinated. Booster shots are now necessary to adequately protect a population, so we still have a very long way to go.</li></ol>The good news is that even if we cannot fully vaccinate and provide boosters for the entire population, clinical experience shows that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/vaccines-variants-and-a-third-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccinated individuals</a> have less need for Covid-19 hospitalisations and are much less likely to die from the Omicron variant. Decision makers can make our limited vaccine supply go further by prioritising vaccines for densely populated cities and in areas where Delta infection was low, as people in these areas are less likely to have natural immunity.<ol start="2"><li>Border Control: The devastating wave of the Delta variant in Nepal began a few weeks after it had taken hold in India. This was largely attributed to a spillage of the virus through the open southern border. We can support municipalities along the border to help contain the Omicron by strict health desks to screen individuals crossing the border. This will require increased funding and other resources.</li></ol><ol start="3"><li>Isolation and Quarantine Centres: Delta spread from India and urban areas into the countryside because we could not properly accommodate and care for infected patients in quarantine and isolation centres. There is time to re-establish these facilities before the next wave hits, and train frontline health workers and local governments based on guidelines that already exist. Again, as the variants (and our knowledge about them) evolve, we need to remain agile and empower our managers and healthcare workers to address the changing ground situation.</li></ol><ol start="4"><li>Oxygen Supply: During and after the Delta wave last year, the Ministry of Health and Population made commendable efforts to expand oxygen plant availability in the country, with support from international aid groups. These new plants need to be brought online and tested in the coming months, and MoHP must accelerate its efforts to meet its own requirement of having an oxygen plant at every 100 bed-hospital in the country.</li></ol><ol start="5"><li>Using Female Community Health Volunteers: FCHVs have been a key for many of Nepal’s remarkable gains in public health, including reducing maternal mortality rates. This network of local health workers was not fully deployed during the last Covid wave. We can use FCHVs to disseminate public health information, vaccine knowledge, and to play a frontline role in enforcing community guidelines to reduce local transmission of the virus, and to care for the infected. These volunteers and other community-based health workers need to be adequately compensated, and equipped with materials, protective equipment, and training.</li></ol>Properly mobilising and empowering FCHVs is the fastest and most efficient way to support rural communities that lack other options for advanced care. This will have a ripple effect across the national health system, and may be a key factor in avoiding another total collapse. All of these steps depend on implementation by the government and private healthcare system. We commend recent steps taken by the health department to test Nepalis returning from India, and to establish quarantine centres along the border.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114091156/637203139c7e80680e0b27ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="856" height="571">As individuals, we must <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-with-covid-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">continue to take responsibility</a> for protecting our loved ones by following public health guidelines for another few months at least. History shows we will not know for certain that Omicron has arrived in Nepal until after the variant is endemic in the population. These proactive measures can slow the spread, starting now:<ol><li>Mask up in all public places and when in close contact with members of at-risk populations. Doubling up on masks is a good idea, given the extremely contagious nature of Omicron.</li></ol><ol start="2"><li>Avoid touching the face with fingers, and frequently wash hands - at least 20 seconds with soap and water.</li></ol><ol start="3"><li>Avoid all public gatherings. If not, maintain social distance of at least 1m.</li></ol><ol start="4"><li>Support the local government by following protocols and encouraging elected officials to take proactive measures to protect the community. Volunteer to spread awareness or set up facilities if you can, and be ready to support your community when the next wave arrives. We Nepali are great at using ‘source-force’ to get things done - now is a great time to use your connections and networks to encourage people in positions of influence to take proactive steps to prepare for Omicron.</li></ol>In the age of Covid, it’ is every country and every community for itself. Delta taught us in Nepal not to trust promises of international aid to save us from the pandemic. We are on our own, and we only have each other to get through this.The Delta wave, like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/rebuilding-five-years-after-2015-quake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the 2015 earthquakes</a>, also taught us that when the going gets tough, Nepalis come together and achieve miracles. Remember the community groups that blossomed across the country to create isolation centres, distribute food and supplies, and invented improvised oxygen concentrators.Remember the FCHVs and community members who risked their lives to travel into every corner of the country to deliver vaccines to the most vulnerable citizens.  This time, we have an opportunity to harness this grit and compassion when it is needed most - before the disaster strikes.Ramu Kharel is an emergency medicine physician at Brown University and has worked extensively in the frontlines of Covid-19. He runs a non-profit organisation HAPSA in Nepal that is working on Covid response.Ben Ayers is an American citizen based in Nepal for over 20 years.

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Omicron is coming to Nepal, be prepared

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f129c7e80680e0af446jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner in Kathmandu this week. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>At age 77, after having pushed the limits of what a human being can physically achieve, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3251#.Yck5sC8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3251%23.Yck5sC8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw37oxnuMsF1Cvg5h_XDEbr9">Reinhold Messner</a> looks back at a life lived at the edge of life and death, and turns philosophical about the art of mountaineering. Messner started climbing in the Dolomites when he was five. On his first Himalayan climb in 1970, he lost his brother and seven of his toes on Nanga Parbat. In 1978 he climbed the mountain again solo, and became the first person with Peter Habeler to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/climbing-everests-last-three-hundred-meter-without-oxygen,1817" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/climbing-everests-last-three-hundred-meter-without-oxygen,1817&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw35gc9hWKFSjo8YFFTMj48F">summit Mt Everest without bottled oxygen</a>. In 1980, he came back to Everest and solo-ed it too. He went on to climb all of the world’s fourteen 8,000m peaks in 1986. “We go to places we could die, but not die. Traditional mountaineering is the art of not dying,” says Messner, who has just got off a flight from Europe on yet another trip to Nepal that was delayed by the pandemic.People used to fear mountains, they did not approach dangerous places. It was only after the industrial revolution that early British climbers started exploring the Alps and ‘alpinism’ was born to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3249#.Yckz1i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3249%23.Yckz1i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16ilz_PNAQ-j-ZuMQ2HSR-">test the limits of human skill and endurance.</a>“Mountains are infinite in comparison to our lives,” the Tyrolean climber says. “Up on a mountain we are forced to contemplate eternity. Climbing is a useless activity, as absurd as life itself.” <figure><img width="1028" height="713" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f159c7e80680e0af447jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Messner has nothing but praise for Nirmal (Nims) Purja, the Nepali climber whose <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2kEvjlTRBQfHD1C_gZ1ifd">ascents of all 14 of the world’s eight-thousanders</a> within seven months was featured in a popular Netflix documentary this month.  “I needed 16 years to climb all 14 peaks without oxygen,” says Messner, repeating what he said in the Netflix film. “For this, I give Nirmal great respect, he did it in such a short time. And after this, he <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/all-nepali-winter-first-on-k2/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2fV04bVS-2V4FI6fHPcjLg">went back to K2</a> and became the first to climb it in winter. He is not just chatting, he is doing.” Messner worked with Purja to finish his latest book which is out in German, and defends the Nepali climber’s use of helicopters and oxygen for his climbs saying technology had made it possible to fly from one base camp to the other. And Purja’s team was also fixing ropes for others, carrying its own oxygen.  Messner is also glad that Nepalis are finally getting credit for helping western climbers attain the world’s highest peaks – starting with Gurkha porters on Nanga Parbat in 1895, and later with Sherpa guides. “Now, Sherpas and Gurkhas are no longer support staff, they organise expeditions around the world,” says Messner. “I am very happy that after 100 years the Sherpa have the economic possibility to organise their own expeditions.”https://youtu.be/EZBvVMaNYAIMessner then turns to his pet peeve: how <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3249#.Yckz1i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3249%23.Yckz1i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16ilz_PNAQ-j-ZuMQ2HSR-">alpinism has turned into tourism</a> as hundreds of clients jumar up on fixed ropes to the top of Mt Everest. Indoor climbing walls in gyms also do not cut it for him.“Traditional mountaineering is the art of surviving where you can die, if you take away the possibility of danger, then it is not alpinism,” says Messner with messianic zeal during an interview in Kathmandu with Nepali Times. “Organising a safe infrastructure where someone takes you up and down a mountain is tourism.”Nepal’s economy has now come to be dependent on these large expeditions, aside from the revenue that Nepal collects every year from hefty climbing royalty. A switch to alpine style climbing would mean fewer jobs for expedition support staff.But Messner is a purist when it comes to mountaineering, and besides smaller lighter teams scaling peaks would be less damaging to the environment. He takes the message of pure alpine style climbing around the world through lectures, setting up a string of museums, as well as more films, including the latest semi-autobiographical White Out.   <figure><img width="3095" height="2098" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f179c7e80680e0af448jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Messner faced criticism for abandoning his brother on Nanga Parbat in 1970, but has often defended himself saying people at sea level should not be passing judgement about decisions of survival at 8,000m. He has made 31 expeditions in his lifetime to eight-thousand metre peaks, 18 of them successful. He dabbled in politics and was a member of the European Parliament for five years before deciding that he did not want to be a professional politician.During this visit to Nepal, Messner will inspect the new Sherpa Himal Museum that he helped build near Namche, adding to other mountain museums he has set up around the world. On Sunday, Messner and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3761#.Yck6ry8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3761%23.Yck6ry8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw39PivMRXCHqH8lSYi4itec">Karna Shakya</a> inaugurated a new high-rise wing of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19686#.Yck63i8RqLc" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D19686%23.Yck63i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1640666337895000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3edUbHwnR-WPHeH1NRWgk_">Kathmandu Guest House</a> in Thamel, where he has always stayed since his first visit.  <img width="1618" height="1869" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161156/636d1f1b9c7e80680e0af449jpeg.jpg" alt="">We ask Messner why he is so impressed with Nims Purja, when he has been scathing about the young German climber Jost Kolbach who is attempting Mt Everest solo in winter up the west ridge this season. “It is all PR. He has said he has only has 1% chance, if that is so he should stay in the Alps, do smaller things successfully, or climb the challenging six or seven thousanders first.”About this year’s controversy about climbers on the fore-summit of Manaslu, Messner says it is clear which is the true peak, and remembers bringing down a piton in 1972 from an earlier Japanese expedition to the 8,163m summit as proof. But it is less clear which is the true peak on long ridges like Annapurna I, he adds.Messner has also been ridiculed about his belief in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/sorting-through-history-for-the-yeti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the yeti</a>. He clarified: “The yeti is logically a bear. It is a legend that is 1,000 years old that came with the migration of Sherpas, and describes a partly-white bear, and early British journalists 120 years ago  spread rumours about the snowman.”  Messner says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-climate-crises-hit-everest-region/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the climate crisis</a> is changing monsoon patterns and the jet stream which is making climbing in the Himalaya more dangerous. He says the whole system is out of balance due to industrialisation, cars and fossil fuels and consumerism. Messner is now helping to give back to the people of the mountains around the world where has climbed all his life, rebuilding hospitals and schools, and supporting students. He says, “After climbing the mountains, I came later to also understand the people, and I am thankful that I can give back to this country with tourism promotion. I owe my climbing success to Nepal."

Kunda Dixit

What next for Reinhold Messner?

<img width="1600" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161148/636d1d6f9c7e80680e0af3b5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>New oxygen generation plants financed by the World Bank have come into operation in Lumbini and Janakpur Provincial Hospital to ensure an uninterrupted supply of high-quality medical oxygen that can also be used to fill at least twenty-four 46.7l cylinders for emergency back-up and supply to peripheral hospitals or ambulances. Similar plants will also be made operational in the remaining five provinces by 20 December.

New oxygen plants

<figure><img width="800" height="560" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b90e69c7e80680e06f0b9jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Covid patients in Seti Hospital.</figcaption></figure>The situation at Seti Provincial Hospital in Dhangadi is much like the rest of the country. It is at breaking point with the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-life-or-death-o2-quest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lack of beds and oxygen</a>. Although the number of infections has gone down now, and the hospital waiting list is shorter, the crisis is far from over. Families of patients still have to bring beds from home, and sleep in the corridor or verandah. There were 57 critically ill patients at the Seti Hospital despite having only having 55 beds. Some beds have up to three patients from the same family, and as their symptoms got worse they would be shifted to the emergency ward where all 16 beds were already occupied.The hospital has to treat patients not only from Kailali district, but from a catchment area that stretches up to Baitadi, Humla and Bajura in Far-western Province. As a journalist, I was reporting on this grim situation when I started having symptoms myself on 12 May.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mom-in-delhi-dad-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mom in Delhi, dad in Kathmandu</a>, Alisha Sijapati I live alone in my rented room, and at night I started having a fever and body aches. I had received both doses of Covshield, so the symptoms subsided and I decided to visit my family since my mother was worried sick about me. But even before leaving, I got a frantic call from my cousin at 10PM on 18 May. He was in Dhangadi with his 24-year-old sister who was sick with Covid-19 because by the time they got her PCR result, her condition had deteriorated, with the blood oxygen level at 34. “We are at Sarathi hospital, we have to find oxygen as soon as possible,” he said.I immediately called an acquaintance for help, who told me he had a small cylinder at home. I returned to my room, where I spent the night trying to arrange unsuccessfully for additional <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-is-there-still-an-oxygen-shortage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen</a>.In the morning, I got a call from my cousin. “Our oxygen cylinder is almost empty.”I tried to reassure him that I was looking, but I was having doubts. I called a police officer whose relative had succumbed to Covid-19 only a day ago. He had half a cylinder left, but his place was too far away. He asked me to find an empty cylinder which could be filled up by his friends at an oxygen plant.That would take time, so I was on my phone calling everyone I knew. I called a senior journalist in Kailali. He was unreachable. I called his wife who couldn’t arrange for oxygen, but directed me to Dev Chaudhary, in charge of oxygen management at Seti Hospital.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/staying-positive-to-become-negative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Staying positive to become negative</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel <figure><img width="832" height="555" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b90e99c7e80680e06f0bajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, Sarathi Hospital was going to discharge my cousin because it had run out of oxygen. It was 1AM and we tried to get an ambulance to transfer her to Seti Hospital. There was none available, so we took her in a rickshaw in the pouring rain. When we got there, we found out Seti had run out of beds. We rested her in a wheelchair in the corridor, while we waited for an oxygen cylinder. Finally, at 3AM Dev Chaudhary came through with a cylinder, and we hooked it up to my cousin who was gasping for breath. In the morning, we finally got a bed for my cousin. But the doctor said she was in a critical state and her lungs were badly damaged. She needed maximum oxygen flow, and the cylinder would not last more than two hours. There were no more cylinders left, and the hospital asked us to manage it ourselves. I reached out to the assistant CDO of Kailali, Hiralal Chaudhary, who pulled some strings with a factory and my cousin went there to get the two empty cylinders filled. That lasted for another few hours, and I was running out of contacts to call on my phone. At last, I found one more place with oxygen, but as I was getting on my scooter to go there, my cousin called. “You don’t have to bring oxygen anymore, come to the hospital,” he said.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-impact-worse-than-official-figures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's Covid-19 impact worse than official figures</a>, Kaustubh DhitalMy brain stopped working. I couldn’t speak. At the mortuary, my cousin was inconsolable. I wanted to wrap him in a hug but I couldn’t for the fear of infection.We waited four hours for the Nepal Army cremation team to arrive. Dressed in white PPEs, they took her away. At the hospital gate, there were more patients arriving in ambulances. Some families did not seem to have trouble getting all the oxygen they needed for their patients because they had contacts.Nepal’s Constitution guarantees the right to health to all its citizens, but seems some are more equal than others in our republic.With all the running around, I had to isolate myself to protect family members. I have now got my PCR test, and it is negative. In its daily briefing on 22 May, the Ministry of Health in Kathmandu announced that 198 people had died of Covid-19 that day. My cousin was one of them.

Life hangs by an oxygen tube in Nepal

<figure><img width="800" height="560" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1c99c7e80680e09d8c8jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Covid patients in Seti Hospital.</figcaption></figure>The situation at Seti Provincial Hospital in Dhangadi is much like the rest of the country. It is at breaking point with the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-life-or-death-o2-quest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lack of beds and oxygen</a>. Although the number of infections has gone down now, and the hospital waiting list is shorter, the crisis is far from over. Families of patients still have to bring beds from home, and sleep in the corridor or verandah. There were 57 critically ill patients at the Seti Hospital despite having only having 55 beds. Some beds have up to three patients from the same family, and as their symptoms got worse they would be shifted to the emergency ward where all 16 beds were already occupied.The hospital has to treat patients not only from Kailali district, but from a catchment area that stretches up to Baitadi, Humla and Bajura in Far-western Province. As a journalist, I was reporting on this grim situation when I started having symptoms myself on 12 May.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mom-in-delhi-dad-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mom in Delhi, dad in Kathmandu</a>, Alisha Sijapati I live alone in my rented room, and at night I started having a fever and body aches. I had received both doses of Covshield, so the symptoms subsided and I decided to visit my family since my mother was worried sick about me. But even before leaving, I got a frantic call from my cousin at 10PM on 18 May. He was in Dhangadi with his 24-year-old sister who was sick with Covid-19 because by the time they got her PCR result, her condition had deteriorated, with the blood oxygen level at 34. “We are at Sarathi hospital, we have to find oxygen as soon as possible,” he said.I immediately called an acquaintance for help, who told me he had a small cylinder at home. I returned to my room, where I spent the night trying to arrange unsuccessfully for additional <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-is-there-still-an-oxygen-shortage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen</a>.In the morning, I got a call from my cousin. “Our oxygen cylinder is almost empty.”I tried to reassure him that I was looking, but I was having doubts. I called a police officer whose relative had succumbed to Covid-19 only a day ago. He had half a cylinder left, but his place was too far away. He asked me to find an empty cylinder which could be filled up by his friends at an oxygen plant.That would take time, so I was on my phone calling everyone I knew. I called a senior journalist in Kailali. He was unreachable. I called his wife who couldn’t arrange for oxygen, but directed me to Dev Chaudhary, in charge of oxygen management at Seti Hospital.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/staying-positive-to-become-negative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Staying positive to become negative</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel <figure><img width="832" height="555" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1cc9c7e80680e09d8c9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, Sarathi Hospital was going to discharge my cousin because it had run out of oxygen. It was 1AM and we tried to get an ambulance to transfer her to Seti Hospital. There was none available, so we took her in a rickshaw in the pouring rain. When we got there, we found out Seti had run out of beds. We rested her in a wheelchair in the corridor, while we waited for an oxygen cylinder. Finally, at 3AM Dev Chaudhary came through with a cylinder, and we hooked it up to my cousin who was gasping for breath. In the morning, we finally got a bed for my cousin. But the doctor said she was in a critical state and her lungs were badly damaged. She needed maximum oxygen flow, and the cylinder would not last more than two hours. There were no more cylinders left, and the hospital asked us to manage it ourselves. I reached out to the assistant CDO of Kailali, Hiralal Chaudhary, who pulled some strings with a factory and my cousin went there to get the two empty cylinders filled. That lasted for another few hours, and I was running out of contacts to call on my phone. At last, I found one more place with oxygen, but as I was getting on my scooter to go there, my cousin called. “You don’t have to bring oxygen anymore, come to the hospital,” he said.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-impact-worse-than-official-figures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's Covid-19 impact worse than official figures</a>, Kaustubh DhitalMy brain stopped working. I couldn’t speak. At the mortuary, my cousin was inconsolable. I wanted to wrap him in a hug but I couldn’t for the fear of infection.We waited four hours for the Nepal Army cremation team to arrive. Dressed in white PPEs, they took her away. At the hospital gate, there were more patients arriving in ambulances. Some families did not seem to have trouble getting all the oxygen they needed for their patients because they had contacts.Nepal’s Constitution guarantees the right to health to all its citizens, but seems some are more equal than others in our republic.With all the running around, I had to isolate myself to protect family members. I have now got my PCR test, and it is negative. In its daily briefing on 22 May, the Ministry of Health in Kathmandu announced that 198 people had died of Covid-19 that day. My cousin was one of them.

<figure><img width="1236" height="856" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a09c7e80680e067804jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure><h2>1. Oxygen</h2> To save lives, Nepal’s most urgent need now is oxygen. Not just cylinders, but oxygen generators, concentrators and liquid oxygen. Most infected people are not succumbing to Covid-19, they are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dying because of low oxygen saturation</a> in the blood, and lack of hospital beds -- patients who need not have died of coronavirus. Dire as the situation is in the cities, Nepal’s pandemic has now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-humanitarian-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">infiltrated the remotest villages</a> where there is no hospital care and no oxygen. The virus is preying on people already suffering malnutrition, previous ailments, and decades of structural state neglect. In Rolpa, Humla and other remote districts, between 80-90% of PCR tests are coming back positive, and it takes a week to get results. Patients are either not isolating, or not following precautions.Kathmandu's doctor-to-patient ratio is 1:850, but in rural Nepal it is one doctor for every 15,000 people, and hospitals and medical staff there <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/at-the-covid-19-frontlines-in-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are already overstretched</a>.Close to 60% of all swabs collected nationwide are from Bagmati Province, with nearly half of them in Kathmandu Valley, says epidemiologist Lhamu Yangchen Sherpa. She adds: “There just aren’t enough tests and contact tracing is minimal, official total cases and fatalities are grossly underestimated.” <figure><img width="1497" height="746" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a39c7e80680e067805jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="984" height="519" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a69c7e80680e067806jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Hospitals in Kathmandu Valley with roof helipads have multiple daily rescue flights, but even these facilities are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at breaking point</a> with patients being turned away. Understaffed and under-equipped hospitals in the districts do not stand a chance. Even where hospitals exist, many families avoid them for fear of being infected and take wrong medication from pharmacies.Case in point are recent deaths due to misdiagnosis across the country. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-shot-in-the-arm-for-vaccines-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Typhoid disease</a> simulates Covid-19 with similar symptoms, and the widespread Widal test is known to give false positives.“Covid patients are being prescribed antibiotics to fight typhoid, only to turn critically ill in a few days’ time,” says Buddha Basnyat of Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “This is the reason behind some of the latest Covid fatalities.” <figure><img width="1280" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a89c7e80680e067807jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As in India, Nepal is beginning to see a slight bending of the curve for new infections, but health experts expect the fatality rate to remain high for some more time.  There were 190 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours and 6,543 recoveries. Of the total 8,305 new cases on Thursday, Kathmandu Valley accounts for 3,232 infections. 7,814 people are undergoing treatment in hospitals with 1,748 in ICU and 492 in ventilator support. “After the relentless patient pressure of the past month, we have seen a decline in those requiring admissions,” says virologist at Teku hospital Sher Bahadur Pun. “The virus has now infected a majority of people in the cities, and this combined with the lockdown means we may be getting to the halfway mark of the second wave.” <h2>2. Vaccines</h2> A prolonged lockdown is not the answer. If it was, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-numbers-slightly-down-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reduction in the number of cases and the positivity rate</a> this week would have been steeper. Even while the government tries to increase oxygen supply to hospitals, the only long-term strategy is to vaccinate at least 70% of Nepal’s eligible population.Doctors report a marked difference between the recovery of people who are vaccinated against those who are not. Says virologist Pun at Teku Hospital: “Except for a few rare cases, all patients in critical condition and those dying are the ones who for one reason or another had not been vaccinated.”But Nepal has run out of its vaccine stock, leaving 1.4 million people still waiting for their second dose of AstraZeneca Covishield in a lurch, after India banned its export, and the COVAX Facility could not supply its remaining 1.8 million vaccines to Nepal because of the global supply bottleneck.  <figure><img width="1440" height="1080" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85ac9c7e80680e067808jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Nepal government and pressure groups in Nepal and the United States <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-urgent-american-vaccine-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">have strongly urged the Biden administration</a> to immediately rush some of its AstraZeneca doses to Nepal.Meanwhile, the UK, the US and Canada have authorised vaccines for use in children and adolescents, sparking outrage in the global public health community for prioritising an age group that is rarely critically affected by Covid-19. The World Health Organisation’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged rich countries to instead donate doses to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unicef-urges-g7-to-dispatch-vaccines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVAX Facility</a> for poorer states that have barely covered health workers and the most vulnerable groups. Speaking at the British Parliament last week, noted vaccinologist and the principal researcher of Oxford University’s AstraZeneca vaccine, Andrew Pollard, called the decision to inoculate children in wealthy nations ahead of high-risk groups in poorer countries “morally wrong.” Pollard has worked extensively in the region, leading research into the burden and transmission of typhoid in Nepal, Bangladesh and Malawi, and the impact of typhoid vaccine in these areas. He also runs surveillance for invasive bacterial diseases, and studies the impact of pneumococcal vaccines in children in Nepal.In Nepal, vaccination will grind to a halt this week after the current campaign to inoculate 300,000 people in the 18-59 age group with their second dose of the Chinese VeroCell ends.  <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85af9c7e80680e067809jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85b29c7e80680e06780ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="960" height="639" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85b49c7e80680e06780bjpeg.jpg" alt="">Although <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-is-a-priority-for-vaccine-shipments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali says</a> the government is in “final negotiations” for 2 million doses of Sinopharm VeroCell vaccines by June, there is no movement at the Ministry of Health. Ongoing talks to procure 8 million doses of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/vaccine-geo-politics-and-sputnik-v/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Sputnik V</a> have hit a production capacity snag in Russia. “We can implement lockdowns only for so long, the only exit strategy is vaccines. Science delivered, now our politicians must do the same,” says Buddha Basnyat, a physical at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “The Nepal government must procure vaccines using every diplomatic channel possible, and rich countries must realise that they are not safe until countries like Nepal are also vaccinated.” Activists have been trying to convince <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/leading-public-figures-call-on-uk-government-for-oxygen-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the US government and Europeans</a> that Nepal has a lot of experience in successful vaccination campaigns against polio, smallpox, measles. It has over 50,000 female community health volunteers (FCHVs) reaching children with vaccines every year.  <figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85b79c7e80680e06780cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img width="2048" height="943" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85ba9c7e80680e06780djpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1920" height="864" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85bd9c7e80680e06780ejpeg.jpg" alt="">Similarly, Nepal’s health system has amassed vast experience in maintaining the vaccine cold chain even in the remote mountains. It also has trained human resource overseeing DOTS (Directly Observed Therapy, Short-course) for tuberculosis management all over the country who can lend a hand in equitable distribution of vaccines in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rural-nepal-fights-back-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rural Nepal</a>.Says epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa: “It’s not too late, we can still use existing resources like FCHVs to better mobilise vaccination, conduct contact tracing, dispel any remaining vaccine hesitancy, and use public health professionals in prevention.”

Sonia Awale

It’s an Emergency

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cedad9c7e80680e09adddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="512"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Leading figures including Joanna Lumley, Sir Michael Palin and Sir Chris Bonington today called upon the British government to urgently send lifesaving oxygen equipment and medical supplies to Nepal. The Nepali health system has collapsed due to a massive surge in Covid-19 infections. For over a week hospitals have been turning away patients due to lack of beds, and people have died for lack of oxygen.Sir Chris Bonington said, “I have seen for myself how much the hill people from Nepal have done to help Britain over the years and how much we owe them. I do hope that our government can help them in their desperate plight.”Among those signing the open letter to the foreign secretary Dominic Raab are leading British public health specialists and vaccine researchers including Sir Jeremy Farrar, Sarah Gilbert, Andrew Pollard, Nicholas White, Adrian Hill, Peter Horby, Philippe Guérin, Alain Townsend, and Sandy Douglas.<a href="https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/05142021%20Nepal%20SitRep%20C19.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/05142021%2520Nepal%2520SitRep%2520C19.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHGoTVKycRtzWTcsv6xd8s0ntxOZQ">According to the United Nations</a> this week, “COVID-19 infections are surging at an unprecedented rate in Nepal. The country of roughly 29 million people . . . has the highest effective rate of reproduction in the world . . . With a much weaker health system than neighbouring India’s, Nepal is now at a critical juncture. Hospitals in major cities are at capacity and have had to turn patients away. . .  [there are] also by critical shortages in human resources and essential commodities such as oxygen.”Captain Ram Bahadur Limbu, one of only five living recipients of the Victoria Cross, signed the letter from his home in Kathmandu. He was awarded Britain’s highest military decoration while serving with the 10th Gurkha Rifles in Indonesia in 1965.General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, a former Chief of Defence Staff,  joined the appeal. General Sir Sam Cowan, former Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas and Chairman of the Gurkha Welfare Trust, said, “The people of Nepal are suffering badly, and the poorest the most. Our historic links with the country through Gurkha recruitment go back over 200 years.  It’s time for the UK to step up to the mark to make a major contribution to ease the suffering. We cannot do less. Time is of the essence and we need significant action now. We are already behind what other countries with less historic ties are doing.”Fifty-six leading UK figures including writers, actors, mountaineers and soldiers signed the open letter calling on the British government to act now. The letter, which is open for public signatures on <a href="https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter=1205004619&amp;recruited_by_id=14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter%3D1205004619%26recruited_by_id%3D14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386%26utm_source%3Dshare_petition%26utm_medium%3Dcopylink%26utm_campaign%3Dpetition_dashboard&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFvFd1fau2SkCn3BMxm7up7V0_dNQ">Change.org</a>, calls upon “the UK government to urgently respond to the Covid-19 crisis in Nepal by airlifting critical medical supplies including oxygen plants and equipment.”“Acting now will make the difference of life or death for thousands of people. Nepal is one of Britain’s oldest friends in the world, a friendship represented by generations of Gurkha soldiers and mountaineers,” the letter reads. “We must come to Nepal’s aid now.”Sir Michael Palin wrote, “I am very happy to lend my support for the letter. They are very special people facing, once again, an extreme test of survival, and I hope we can do our best for them.”People who want to lend their support to the campaign can do so by signing the <a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://change.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGj60AEY7yPdJulF3DOI6UPbLBfaw">Change.org</a> petition letter and by contacting their MP to call for medical aid to Nepal.Rory Bremmer, the impressionist and comedian, said, “Whilst the devastating crisis in India has rightly caught the attention of the world, its neighbour Nepal is similarly overwhelmed, its healthcare system unable to cope on its own. Britain should stand by its long standing friend and ally in its hour of need and provide urgent support.”The Nepali government and health officials say physical supplies including oxygen plants, cylinders, oxygen concentrators and related equipment, as well as life saving vaccines and therapeutic drugs, are desperately needed. Due to the Covid emergency in neighbouring India, Nepal has not been able to buy and import equipment, medicines and vaccines needed to combat Covid-19 as it did earlier in the pandemic. The government of Nepal has shared details of the most urgent priorities with other governments, including Britain.The open letter reads: “The Nepali Health Ministry predicts that by 15 July the number of active cases will reach 800,000, resulting in ten critically ill patients for every ICU bed. Only 7% of Nepal’s population has received a dose of vaccine. The potential loss of life and economic devastation over the coming months is staggering, and preventable.”Other signatories include the actor Nickolas Grace, production designer James Acheson, and Joanna Lumley, who successfully campaigned for ex-Gurkhas to settle in the UK. The Everest summiteer and TV personality Ben Fogle, said, “I am deeply saddened and worried about the worsening health crisis in Nepal, a country and people I know and love. A special, kind people who need our help.”Rebecca Stevens, the first British woman to climb Mt. Everest, said, "In a very long relationship between Nepal and Britain, Gurkhas and British army, Sherpas and mountaineers, the Nepalese have alway given with full heart, often with their lives. It is absolutely our turn and our duty to do what we can to help in their hour of need . . . We must act decisively, immediately.”Kenton Cool, a mountaineer and Everest guide who was participating in the current climbing season, said, "Being in Nepal myself at the present time I have seen first hand the extent of this second wave. People are desperate. Any and all help would make an impact. Having experienced the generosity of the Nepali people over many decades it pains me to see this nation struggle once again."Other signatories include the DJ Paul Oakenfold, who was recently at Everest base camp, and the chefs Asma Khan and Santosh Shah - the recent Master Chef finalist. Jeremy Jack Thomas, producer of The Last Emperor, said “Nepal is reeling from a second wave. This magical landlocked country needs all the support it can get from our government, as it has been a friend to Britain not only in our armies but culturally.”Numerous UK-based scholars joined the campaign, including Michael Hutt, emeritus professor of Himalayan studies at SOAS, David Gellner, professor of social anthropology at Oxford University, Mike Searle, professor of earth sciences at Oxford University, and Diwakar Acharya, professor of Eastern religions and ethics at Oxford University.Surya Subedi QC, professor of international law at the University of Leeds, said, “"Nepal is a traditional ally of the UK. I hope the UK Government will provide every assistance possible for the people of Nepal in this hour of need."David Lascelles, the film producer and 8th Earl of Harwood, said, “I’m distressed to hear of the devastation being caused by the second deadly wave of Covid-19 in Nepal. Nepal is home to some of the toughest and most resilient people in the world but this will test even their endurance to the limit. We must do everything we can to help our many friends there in their time of need.”The mountaineers, broadcasters, film makers, soldiers  and authors who have signed the open letter, are now joined by many others at <a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://change.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGj60AEY7yPdJulF3DOI6UPbLBfaw">change.org</a>. They are united in calling upon the British government to send urgently needed oxygen equipment and other supplies to Nepal. “The UK and Nepal have a unique, centuries-old relationship. We must stand by one of our oldest friends,” the letter reads. “Time is of the essence.”LINK TO <a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://change.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGj60AEY7yPdJulF3DOI6UPbLBfaw">CHANGE.ORG</a>: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter=1205004619&amp;recruited_by_id=14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter%3D1205004619%26recruited_by_id%3D14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386%26utm_source%3Dshare_petition%26utm_medium%3Dcopylink%26utm_campaign%3Dpetition_dashboard&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFvFd1fau2SkCn3BMxm7up7V0_dNQ">https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter=1205004619&amp;recruited_by_id=14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard</a>Social media:Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/alliance4nepuk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/alliance4nepuk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNESynB_A9T1PItHuIa8W1ytl9ZfAQ">@alliance4nepuk</a>

Leading Public Figures Call on UK Government for Oxygen for Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85979c7e80680e067800jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="512"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Leading figures including Joanna Lumley, Sir Michael Palin and Sir Chris Bonington today called upon the British government to urgently send lifesaving oxygen equipment and medical supplies to Nepal. The Nepali health system has collapsed due to a massive surge in Covid-19 infections. For over a week hospitals have been turning away patients due to lack of beds, and people have died for lack of oxygen.Sir Chris Bonington said, “I have seen for myself how much the hill people from Nepal have done to help Britain over the years and how much we owe them. I do hope that our government can help them in their desperate plight.”Among those signing the open letter to the foreign secretary Dominic Raab are leading British public health specialists and vaccine researchers including Sir Jeremy Farrar, Sarah Gilbert, Andrew Pollard, Nicholas White, Adrian Hill, Peter Horby, Philippe Guérin, Alain Townsend, and Sandy Douglas.<a href="https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/05142021%20Nepal%20SitRep%20C19.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/05142021%2520Nepal%2520SitRep%2520C19.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHGoTVKycRtzWTcsv6xd8s0ntxOZQ">According to the United Nations</a> this week, “COVID-19 infections are surging at an unprecedented rate in Nepal. The country of roughly 29 million people . . . has the highest effective rate of reproduction in the world . . . With a much weaker health system than neighbouring India’s, Nepal is now at a critical juncture. Hospitals in major cities are at capacity and have had to turn patients away. . .  [there are] also by critical shortages in human resources and essential commodities such as oxygen.”Captain Ram Bahadur Limbu, one of only five living recipients of the Victoria Cross, signed the letter from his home in Kathmandu. He was awarded Britain’s highest military decoration while serving with the 10th Gurkha Rifles in Indonesia in 1965.General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, a former Chief of Defence Staff,  joined the appeal. General Sir Sam Cowan, former Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas and Chairman of the Gurkha Welfare Trust, said, “The people of Nepal are suffering badly, and the poorest the most. Our historic links with the country through Gurkha recruitment go back over 200 years.  It’s time for the UK to step up to the mark to make a major contribution to ease the suffering. We cannot do less. Time is of the essence and we need significant action now. We are already behind what other countries with less historic ties are doing.”Fifty-six leading UK figures including writers, actors, mountaineers and soldiers signed the open letter calling on the British government to act now. The letter, which is open for public signatures on <a href="https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter=1205004619&amp;recruited_by_id=14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter%3D1205004619%26recruited_by_id%3D14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386%26utm_source%3Dshare_petition%26utm_medium%3Dcopylink%26utm_campaign%3Dpetition_dashboard&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFvFd1fau2SkCn3BMxm7up7V0_dNQ">Change.org</a>, calls upon “the UK government to urgently respond to the Covid-19 crisis in Nepal by airlifting critical medical supplies including oxygen plants and equipment.”“Acting now will make the difference of life or death for thousands of people. Nepal is one of Britain’s oldest friends in the world, a friendship represented by generations of Gurkha soldiers and mountaineers,” the letter reads. “We must come to Nepal’s aid now.”Sir Michael Palin wrote, “I am very happy to lend my support for the letter. They are very special people facing, once again, an extreme test of survival, and I hope we can do our best for them.”People who want to lend their support to the campaign can do so by signing the <a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://change.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGj60AEY7yPdJulF3DOI6UPbLBfaw">Change.org</a> petition letter and by contacting their MP to call for medical aid to Nepal.Rory Bremmer, the impressionist and comedian, said, “Whilst the devastating crisis in India has rightly caught the attention of the world, its neighbour Nepal is similarly overwhelmed, its healthcare system unable to cope on its own. Britain should stand by its long standing friend and ally in its hour of need and provide urgent support.”The Nepali government and health officials say physical supplies including oxygen plants, cylinders, oxygen concentrators and related equipment, as well as life saving vaccines and therapeutic drugs, are desperately needed. Due to the Covid emergency in neighbouring India, Nepal has not been able to buy and import equipment, medicines and vaccines needed to combat Covid-19 as it did earlier in the pandemic. The government of Nepal has shared details of the most urgent priorities with other governments, including Britain.The open letter reads: “The Nepali Health Ministry predicts that by 15 July the number of active cases will reach 800,000, resulting in ten critically ill patients for every ICU bed. Only 7% of Nepal’s population has received a dose of vaccine. The potential loss of life and economic devastation over the coming months is staggering, and preventable.”Other signatories include the actor Nickolas Grace, production designer James Acheson, and Joanna Lumley, who successfully campaigned for ex-Gurkhas to settle in the UK. The Everest summiteer and TV personality Ben Fogle, said, “I am deeply saddened and worried about the worsening health crisis in Nepal, a country and people I know and love. A special, kind people who need our help.”Rebecca Stevens, the first British woman to climb Mt. Everest, said, "In a very long relationship between Nepal and Britain, Gurkhas and British army, Sherpas and mountaineers, the Nepalese have alway given with full heart, often with their lives. It is absolutely our turn and our duty to do what we can to help in their hour of need . . . We must act decisively, immediately.”Kenton Cool, a mountaineer and Everest guide who was participating in the current climbing season, said, "Being in Nepal myself at the present time I have seen first hand the extent of this second wave. People are desperate. Any and all help would make an impact. Having experienced the generosity of the Nepali people over many decades it pains me to see this nation struggle once again."Other signatories include the DJ Paul Oakenfold, who was recently at Everest base camp, and the chefs Asma Khan and Santosh Shah - the recent Master Chef finalist. Jeremy Jack Thomas, producer of The Last Emperor, said “Nepal is reeling from a second wave. This magical landlocked country needs all the support it can get from our government, as it has been a friend to Britain not only in our armies but culturally.”Numerous UK-based scholars joined the campaign, including Michael Hutt, emeritus professor of Himalayan studies at SOAS, David Gellner, professor of social anthropology at Oxford University, Mike Searle, professor of earth sciences at Oxford University, and Diwakar Acharya, professor of Eastern religions and ethics at Oxford University.Surya Subedi QC, professor of international law at the University of Leeds, said, “"Nepal is a traditional ally of the UK. I hope the UK Government will provide every assistance possible for the people of Nepal in this hour of need."David Lascelles, the film producer and 8th Earl of Harwood, said, “I’m distressed to hear of the devastation being caused by the second deadly wave of Covid-19 in Nepal. Nepal is home to some of the toughest and most resilient people in the world but this will test even their endurance to the limit. We must do everything we can to help our many friends there in their time of need.”The mountaineers, broadcasters, film makers, soldiers  and authors who have signed the open letter, are now joined by many others at <a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://change.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGj60AEY7yPdJulF3DOI6UPbLBfaw">change.org</a>. They are united in calling upon the British government to send urgently needed oxygen equipment and other supplies to Nepal. “The UK and Nepal have a unique, centuries-old relationship. We must stand by one of our oldest friends,” the letter reads. “Time is of the essence.”LINK TO <a href="http://change.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://change.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGj60AEY7yPdJulF3DOI6UPbLBfaw">CHANGE.ORG</a>: <a href="https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter=1205004619&amp;recruited_by_id=14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter%3D1205004619%26recruited_by_id%3D14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386%26utm_source%3Dshare_petition%26utm_medium%3Dcopylink%26utm_campaign%3Dpetition_dashboard&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFvFd1fau2SkCn3BMxm7up7V0_dNQ">https://www.change.org/p/the-rt-hon-dominic-raab-mp-uk-send-oxygen-to-nepal-now?recruiter=1205004619&amp;recruited_by_id=14e94300-b7bf-11eb-b788-f53b463e0386&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard</a>Social media:Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/alliance4nepuk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/alliance4nepuk&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1621443857422000&amp;usg=AFQjCNESynB_A9T1PItHuIa8W1ytl9ZfAQ">@alliance4nepuk</a>

<figure><img width="768" height="513" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636ceda79c7e80680e09addbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>On 12 May, 15 Covid-19 patients died in Rupendehi and Nepalganj after the hospitals there ran out of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/two-nepals-in-the-death-zone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen supply</a>. Another 18 patients died the next day in Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital and Trauma Centre because they could not get their oxygen cylinders refilled in time. Private hospitals in Kathmandu Valley including Medicare, MediCiti, Om, Helping Hands, Longevity, Karuna, Voyodha, Madhyapur Thimi, and Star stopped admitting coronavirus patients, saying they had enough <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-life-or-death-o2-quest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">medical oxygen</a> only for existing patients.Some patients had to quickly find ambulances and move to another hospital with an empty oxygen-equipped bed after the one they were in ran out of oxygen. Those who could not move died in their beds, gasping for air.Murari Prasad Kharel at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) makes a legal distinction between dying of the coronavirus, and death of a patient due to lack of medical oxygen in a hospital. One is a disease, the other is a violation of human rights, he says. "It was a given that there would be a new outbreak of Covid-19. Yet, many people lost their lives prematurely due to ineffective hospital management. The government completely failed in its main responsibility of protecting its citizens,” he says.All <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-valley-lockdown-till-12-may/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">coronavirus deaths</a> in hospitals are lumped together under Covid-19 fatalities, however there needs to be a distinction between whether a patient died despite being given all the care necessary, or because the oxygen supply ran out. These are two completely different conditions and should be treated as such, says a retired chief justice of the Supreme Court. Health is a basic human need and it is the state’s responsibility to ensure it, he says, the patients did not die of Covid, but because of negligence.A bench of Supreme Court Justice Bamkumar Shrestha on 11 May ordered the government to ‘Facilitate the supply of oxygen and medicines required for the treatment of those infected ... and immediately dispense human resources taking into account the increasing number of patients.’Some hospitals in Kathmandu are admitting Covid patients only after families sign an undertaking that the hospital will not be held responsible if the patient dies due to the lack of oxygen. Activists call this ‘a crime against humanity’.On 14 May Lily Thapa of the NHRC called on Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokhrel who also heads the Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) and drew his attention to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-is-a-priority-for-vaccine-shipments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen shortage</a> being a human rights violation. Hospitals in Kathmandu need 22,0000 cylinders of oxygen a day, but presently there are only 12,000 cylinders available per day—both because of the lack of cylinders being sent for refills, as well as insufficient oxygen production. <figure><img width="1500" height="1277" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cedaa9c7e80680e09addcjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Till a month ago, Narayan Dutta Timilsina of the Nepal Oxygen Producers Association was confident that there was enough generation capacity to meet demand, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the number of serious Covid cases rose so steeply</a> that everyone was caught unprepared. For example, on 25 April as the number of infections started rising, there were 252 Covid patients in ICU and 65 were on ventilator. By this week, there were nearly 1,500 patients in ICU and more than 300 needing ventilator support. Grande Hospital, one of Kathmandu’s biggest private centres, has 80 Covid-19 patients, and all of them need oxygen for which it needs at least 200 cylinders a day. It can only get 50.The Lumbini Provincial Hospital in Butwal needs 700 cylinders a day for its Covid patients, and it was assured 300 a day by the local government. It is not even getting 200, and has been turning serious patients away. "Oxygen is not a luxury, but an essential basic need. Hospitals need to ensure adequate supply, and the government must help,” says the former director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Baburam Marasini. It may be too early to hope, but there are indications that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-numbers-slightly-down-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">graphs for daily new infections is flattening</a>, and the numbers who have recovered is also rising. On Tuesday, there were a total of 8,203 new cases, 2,635 of them in Kathmandu Valley. There were 196 fatalities in the last 24 hours. While the test positivity rate is still high at 39%, there were 6,891 recoveries.In addition, 3,000 of the 20,000 empty oxygen cylinders gifted by China have been flown in. Another 2,500 cylinders have come overland through Kodari, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-diaspora-comes-to-the-rescue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali workers in the gulf have collected money to send</a> at least 1,000 cylinders. Private groups are also stepping in to fly in oxygen concentrators and generators. On Monday, Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra assured that India would increase its quota of liquid oxygen for Nepal.

Helping Nepalis breathe again

<figure><img width="768" height="513" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85919c7e80680e0677fejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>On 12 May, 15 Covid-19 patients died in Rupendehi and Nepalganj after the hospitals there ran out of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/two-nepals-in-the-death-zone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen supply</a>. Another 18 patients died the next day in Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital and Trauma Centre because they could not get their oxygen cylinders refilled in time. Private hospitals in Kathmandu Valley including Medicare, MediCiti, Om, Helping Hands, Longevity, Karuna, Voyodha, Madhyapur Thimi, and Star stopped admitting coronavirus patients, saying they had enough <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-life-or-death-o2-quest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">medical oxygen</a> only for existing patients.Some patients had to quickly find ambulances and move to another hospital with an empty oxygen-equipped bed after the one they were in ran out of oxygen. Those who could not move died in their beds, gasping for air.Murari Prasad Kharel at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) makes a legal distinction between dying of the coronavirus, and death of a patient due to lack of medical oxygen in a hospital. One is a disease, the other is a violation of human rights, he says. "It was a given that there would be a new outbreak of Covid-19. Yet, many people lost their lives prematurely due to ineffective hospital management. The government completely failed in its main responsibility of protecting its citizens,” he says.All <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-valley-lockdown-till-12-may/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">coronavirus deaths</a> in hospitals are lumped together under Covid-19 fatalities, however there needs to be a distinction between whether a patient died despite being given all the care necessary, or because the oxygen supply ran out. These are two completely different conditions and should be treated as such, says a retired chief justice of the Supreme Court. Health is a basic human need and it is the state’s responsibility to ensure it, he says, the patients did not die of Covid, but because of negligence.A bench of Supreme Court Justice Bamkumar Shrestha on 11 May ordered the government to ‘Facilitate the supply of oxygen and medicines required for the treatment of those infected ... and immediately dispense human resources taking into account the increasing number of patients.’Some hospitals in Kathmandu are admitting Covid patients only after families sign an undertaking that the hospital will not be held responsible if the patient dies due to the lack of oxygen. Activists call this ‘a crime against humanity’.On 14 May Lily Thapa of the NHRC called on Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokhrel who also heads the Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) and drew his attention to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-is-a-priority-for-vaccine-shipments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">oxygen shortage</a> being a human rights violation. Hospitals in Kathmandu need 22,0000 cylinders of oxygen a day, but presently there are only 12,000 cylinders available per day—both because of the lack of cylinders being sent for refills, as well as insufficient oxygen production. <figure><img width="1500" height="1277" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85949c7e80680e0677ffjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Till a month ago, Narayan Dutta Timilsina of the Nepal Oxygen Producers Association was confident that there was enough generation capacity to meet demand, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the number of serious Covid cases rose so steeply</a> that everyone was caught unprepared. For example, on 25 April as the number of infections started rising, there were 252 Covid patients in ICU and 65 were on ventilator. By this week, there were nearly 1,500 patients in ICU and more than 300 needing ventilator support. Grande Hospital, one of Kathmandu’s biggest private centres, has 80 Covid-19 patients, and all of them need oxygen for which it needs at least 200 cylinders a day. It can only get 50.The Lumbini Provincial Hospital in Butwal needs 700 cylinders a day for its Covid patients, and it was assured 300 a day by the local government. It is not even getting 200, and has been turning serious patients away. "Oxygen is not a luxury, but an essential basic need. Hospitals need to ensure adequate supply, and the government must help,” says the former director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Baburam Marasini. It may be too early to hope, but there are indications that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-numbers-slightly-down-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">graphs for daily new infections is flattening</a>, and the numbers who have recovered is also rising. On Tuesday, there were a total of 8,203 new cases, 2,635 of them in Kathmandu Valley. There were 196 fatalities in the last 24 hours. While the test positivity rate is still high at 39%, there were 6,891 recoveries.In addition, 3,000 of the 20,000 empty oxygen cylinders gifted by China have been flown in. Another 2,500 cylinders have come overland through Kodari, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-diaspora-comes-to-the-rescue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali workers in the gulf have collected money to send</a> at least 1,000 cylinders. Private groups are also stepping in to fly in oxygen concentrators and generators. On Monday, Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra assured that India would increase its quota of liquid oxygen for Nepal.