Suture this festering wound, heal Nepal

The government of Nepal has announced another round of lockdown -- this time it's called prohibitory orders -- to control the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

This comes amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Nepal.

The prohibitory orders should give us some solace as the government appears to be doing something other than bragging that it is doing better than the lone global superpower in its fight against the pandemic. This sounds quite silly, given the superpower’s poor performance on the virus control front. 

Government appears to be doing something other than bragging that it is doing better than the superpower in its fight against the pandemic

Here, it will be contextual to present the status of the global pandemic in brief.  

As of early August 22, the number of PCR tests conducted in Nepal stands at 5,79,819, number of RDT tests at 3,12,402, PCR negative cases at 5,49,416, PCR positive cases at 30,483. Altogether 12,234 people are in quarantines and 12,132 are in isolation. The number of recovered patients is 18,214 and deaths is 137. These data are from the Ministry of Health and Population website, last updated at 4.15 pm, August 21. 

Worldwide, the number of coronavirus cases stands at 23,105,094 as per https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ accessed on early August 22. Per the website, 8,02,889 patients have died, 15,700,852 have recovered, while there are 6,601,353 active cases.

Of the active cases, 6,539,517 (99% of the active cases) are in mild condition, whereas 61,836 (1%) are in serious or critical condition. The number of closed cases stand at 16,503,741 with 15,700,852 (95%) either recovered or discharged and 8,02,889 deaths, bringing global COVID-19 death rate to 5%. 

Rather than worldwide data, numbers from our immediate neighbourhood are far more important for us, in view of the fact that our 1850-km border with India is open on our side, exposing us to all sorts of risks, including cartographic and demographic aggression. At this juncture at least, we can take solace in the fact that the border with our northern neighbor, China, is relatively impregnable due to the presence of high mountain ranges and a rugged terrain, shielding a country with very weak institutional capacity not only from the neighbour’s prosperity but also from occasional troubles. In troubling times like these, one cannot stop wondering if most of our troubles would have vanished if we had similar borders with in the south, west and the east!

The Koshi barrage is one of the enduring signs of inequality in terms of Nepal's relations with India

As of 8.15 pm, August 21, India's total case tally, per mygov.in/covid-19, stands at 29,05,823 up 68,898 from the earlier update, active cases at 6,92,028, up 5,633 (23.82% surge), discharged cases at 21,58,946, up 62,282 and deaths at 54,849, up 983 from the earlier update. At 1.89%, India's coronavirus death rate is quite low against the global average of 5%. 

One cannot stop wondering if most of our troubles would have vanished if we had similar borders with in the south, west and the east!

But this should offer Nepal no solace as viruses do mutate turning either benign or stubborn. Almost unrestricted movement of aliens from across the open border, home to around 1.5 billion people, is one of the main reasons behind a rapid spread of the virus in places close to the border like Birgunj and then onto the whole country. The fact that bordering areas are witnessing community spread of the virus should be an eye-opener for our government. Uttar Pradesh, which borders Nepal, is now among the five worst coronavirus-affected states in India, behind Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, with 1,77,239 cases, per Indian media reports. Should this not make our government step up security along the states bordering India? 

Our leaders seem to have realised how tough it is for a country with a very weak institutional capacity to benefit from the neighbours that account for 36% of the global population

In the four-month lockdown imposed earlier, the government seemed to have taken the lockdown as the silver bullet against an evolving health crisis, bringing the country closer to community spread of the virus. This time, the government should: 

- Add hospital beds and better equip frontline health workers

- Improve the condition at quarantines and isolation rooms

- Widen screening

- Address basic needs of the most vulnerable lots. This is to make sure that they don’t leave their homes in search of livelihood, exposing communities to increased risks

- Take stringent measures against those aliens, who sneak into Nepali territories by hook or crook, exposing our populations to increased risks. It should take such instances as acts of demographic aggression aimed at putting local populations in jeopardy and talk with relevant Indian officials to end such intrusions. 

At this point, it should be noted that some of our prominent political leaders have stopped parroting their usual line: That Nepal’s geopolitical position allows it to benefit from the prosperity in the neighbourhood. They seem to have realised how tough it is for a country with a very weak institutional capacity to benefit from the two countries, which currently account for 36% of the global population of around 8 billion.

The government with a two-third majority in the Parliament should suture this wound before it festers further. 

The government with a two-third majority in the Parliament should suture this wound before it festers further. I mean it should start fencing the open border by initiating sustained efforts aimed at ending demographic and cartographic aggression. The government should keep in mind that building cross-border waterways and railway links will be akin to inviting multiple disasters to a country that is already grappling with natural disasters like floods and landslides.

-         Devendra Gautam