Bini Dahal

The recent detection of a new variant of the COVID-19 pandemic in three Nepalis can be taken as a warning for all of us to take extra precautions to prevent its transmission. The infected had arrived in Kathmandu from the United Kingdom (UK) a couple of days back. According to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), they include a 28-year-old woman, and two men aged 32 and 67, respectively. Their swaps had been sent to Hong Kong for testing.
However, the woman and the 32-year-old man have already tested negative for the virus while the 67-year-old is reported to be still infected, but asymptomatic. In light of this new happening, the government has urged one and all to adopt all possible safety measures until vaccines are available in the country as the new variant is more contagious than its original one. Detected first in the UK, the new variant has so far spread to dozens of nations worldwide.
One year has already passed since the outbreak of this lethal virus disease in Nepal. The situation in the country might exacerbate if the new variant spreads unabated. So, we have no alternative but to take precautions and adapt to the new normal. Amid daunting challenges and obstacles, people have resumed their activities. After being closed for 10 months, many schools and colleges even in the Kathmandu Valley have also begun reopening. The valley-based schools are asking students, especially those studying in 8th, 9th and 10th grades to attend in-person classes.
With Secondary Education Examination (SEE) scheduled to begin from the second week of May, resumption of physical classes could be a great help for the students in comparison to online ones. Though the virtual classes were run in the past 10 months, they could not be easily accessible to everyone owing to lack of gadgets and internet. With the number of COVID-19 patients declining these days, the government’s decision to reopen educational institutions can be taken in a positive light.
But, it could be a tougher task for schools to ensure that all health safety measures are adopted properly while running classes. Maintaining a social distance is not easy in classrooms. Besides, a vaccine against the coronavirus is unlikely to be available to everyone in the near future. The rapid transmission of the virus disease around the world has resulted in a huge competition among nations to receive a vaccine.
Many developed nations like the US and the UK have already begun vaccinating vulnerable people, frontline healthcare workers and security personnel. They are in the process of making the vaccine available to the masses. But the situation is totally different in developing nations like Nepal. Highly dependent on international donors and other countries, Nepal may have to wait for a longer time to get its citizens vaccinated. However, the Indian government has decided to provide emergency vaccines for Nepal.
We are in a big disadvantageous position. Neither does the country have the required resources to make its own vaccine nor can it spend billions of rupees to buy the vaccine. And with the rising political instability within the country, the main issue -- COVID-19 -- seems to have lost its priority.
The government as well as the political parties must concentrate their efforts on containing the pandemic. The global health crisis has taught us a big lesson to upgrade the weak healthcare system. But what remains to be seen is whether we take it seriously or not.