Nepal vary of possible third Covid wave as cases begin to mount

Kathmandu, Aug 4 (EFE).-  Nepali authorities and experts on Wednesday warned of a possible third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as the country registered over 4,000 fresh infections, the highest daily caseload since Jun. 8.

According to health ministry statistics, 4,107 people tested positive out of the 16,298 tests carried out in the last 24 hours, while 35 people died of the coronavirus within the same period.

A total of 9,957 people have been killed by the disease so far, while the number of active cases stands at 33,464.

“We have been warning people to become more cautious, because if the cases (continue to) rise, the country’s health infrastructure will not be able to cope up,” the deputy spokesperson of the health ministry, Samir Kumar Adhikari, told EFE.

Epidemiologists and other officials have also sounded the alarm about the possibility of a third wave.

“The health ministry’s data of infected persons in the last two weeks indicate that the coronavirus is spreading rapidly once again. It seems a sign of the third wave of the pandemic,” public health expert Krishna Man Shakya told EFE.

Restrictions that had been in place across the country since Apr. 29 were eased in mid-June as the number of cases started to come down.

By the end of June, shops were allowed to open and public vehicles started operating in the most populous Kathmandu valley region.

Although restrictions remain on public gatherings and the use of facilities such as banquet halls, sports venues, clubs and cinemas, life has more or less returned to normal in the country. Restaurants are currently only allowed to provide takeaway orders.

Adhikari said that daily infections had started rising after restrictions were eased and blamed the highly infections Delta and Delta Plus variants – first detected in neighboring India – for the surge.