Rise in COVID-19 cases is unlikely: Experts

Kathmandu, Mar. 24: Experts have said that there will not be another surge in new cases of COVID-19 in the near future in Nepal.

Even though the number of cases of COVID-19 has increased by five per cent compared to the previous week as per world meter info, but, there is no risk of surging COVID-19 cases in Nepal.

This week, 1,172,713 people have tested positive for the coronavirus while, 11,150,140 tested positive in the previous week.

According to Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, Chief at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku, while looking at Omicron Variant, dominant variant in the third wave, there is less likely for the upsurge cases of COVID-19 anytime soon.

Dr Pun, said, “As the third wave of the pandemic was caused by the BA.2 sub-lineage, we can safely say the same virus variant will not lead to another massive spike.”

"Another wave of a pandemic will not come immediately as the majority of people have already been affected by COVID-19, thereby, building immunity power against the strain. However, it does not mean there won’t be new cases in the future." He said.

Similarly, Dr Santosh Dulal, Clinical Researcher, Anandaban Hospital, Lalitpur, said that currently, COVID-19 cases have gone down significantly in the country, however, there is still a chance of a new surge if new infectious variants start appearing elsewhere around the world.

 

Vaccine only way to curb SARS-CoV-2 in community

According to Dr Pun, the only effective way to curb the spread of the virus is vaccination. "While observing the previous three waves, we can tell that vaccines played a role in reducing mortality as well as severity. Therefore, the focus should be on administering two doses against COVID-19.” He said.