By Ajita Rijal
Kathmandu, Aug. 6: At a time when Nepal was just preparing to heave a sigh of relief after the second wave of COVID-19, warning signs of a third wave have started to emerge in the country. With the increase in new cases and number of deaths on a daily basis, health experts have said that the country may witness a spike in COVID-19 infections very soon, thus giving way for the looming third wave.
Both the infection rate and the number of new cases have increased in recent days, the country is at high risk, said Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikari, Deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP).
MoHP has also directed the hospitals to remain alert and update their infrastructures including medical oxygen and beds allocated to the COVID-19 patients fearing the possibility of a third wave of coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Dr. Anup Bastola, Director at the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital (STIDH), Teku, said that warning signs of a third wave had started to emerge. “With the lifting of lockdown, negligence on the part of the general public in following health safety protocols seems to have triggered the third wave in the country.”
The number of COVID-19 patients in STIDH is increasing lately, and ICU beds are almost full, said Dr. Bastola.

The MoHP has repeatedly urged all to be tested if they feel suspicious of the infection in an effort to rein in the pandemic. Nepal has been witnessing a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases for the past three weeks.
The MoHP on Thursday confirmed 3,938 cases, of which 3,007 were detected through PCR tests and 931 cases through antigen tests. Earlier on Wednesday, the country recorded the highest single-day spike of 4,107 new cases after the government relaxed the prohibitory orders a few weeks ago. 
Of the total 18,408 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, 11,870 were Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) while 6,538 were antigen tests, informed the MoHP.

According to the MoHP, Kathmandu Valley recorded 1,075 new infections in the past 24 hours. Of these, 766 cases were confirmed in Kathmandu, 163 in Lalitpur and 146 in Bhaktapur, informed the MoHP.
The active caseload was 34,422 on Thursday. According to the MoHP, of the active cases, 3,314 patients are admitted to various health facilities while the remaining 31,108 are in home isolation.
As per the latest update, 713 COVID-19 patients are admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and 158 are under treatment with ventilator support across the nation.

Meanwhile, 2,012 COVID-19 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours. Nepal has now recorded 663,663 cases of recovery, and the recovery rate now stands at 93.7 per cent. The country also reported 37 deaths related to the disease in the past 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 9,994. The death rate now stands at 1.5 per cent.
Overall, experts reiterate an urgent need to ramp up efforts on vaccination, monitor emerging hotspots, impose smart lockdown if necessary and limit people’s movement as much as possible.
The MoHP has also warned about 16 districts with more than 500 active cases of COVID-19 to follow strict curbs and amplify testing measures.