July 21, Kathmandu.
Doctors have said that the number of Covid-19 patients in the government hospital in Kathmandu Valley has started increasing again.
According to Santa Kumar Das, the number of corona patients coming to the hospital for treatment has been increasing for the last five days. "13/14 new cases are coming in daily," said Dr Das.
As the second wave reached its peak, the number of infected people at the hospital dropped to 75. He said that the number has increased to 95 now. According to him, 22 infected people are being treated in the ICU of the hospital and 17 in the ventilator.
Dr Vimal Pandey, the co-focal person of Patan Hospital, said that the number of infected people has been increasing in Patan Hospital for the last one week. 'It must have been about 5/7 days. The number of patients of serious nature has increased, 'said Dr. "Currently, 130 people are being treated in the ICU, including 25 in the ICU and 13 in the ventilator," Pandey said.
The number of infected people has also increased at the Armed Police Force (APF) Hospital in Balambu. Praveen Nepal said. "A year ago, the number of infected people treated at the hospital dropped to 48," he said. Nepal said, "But in recent times, the number of infected people has gradually increased to 60. This statistic shows that the number of infected people coming for treatment is gradually increasing.
Covid Focal Person of Veer Hospital Dr Achyut Karki also says that the number of patients coming to the ICU has increased. "Around 80 infected people have been treated at the hospital for some time now," said Dr Karki. He says the patient's pressure on the ICU and ventilator is the same as before.
Thirteen infected people were being treated at Bhaktapur Hospital a year ago. But now there are 17 infected people including 5 in ICU and 12 in HDU, said Dr Sunil Dhungel, a physician at the hospital.
The number of corona patients being treated at Shukraraj Tropical and Communicable Diseases Hospital has remained stable. Anup Vastola said.
Why is the number of hospital infections increasing?
Corona infections have increased by a few percent over the past three weeks. The corona infection rate has risen from 20.96 percent in the first week of July to 21.33 percent in the second week and 22.99 percent in the third week.
According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 11,527 samples (RT PCR and antigen) tested in the last 24 hours confirmed infection in 2,622. In percentage terms, the infection rate is about 23 percent.
Looking at the statistics of the last three weeks, the rate of corona infection is increasing. In the first week of July (July 1-7), 85,359 samples were tested and 17,888 people were confirmed infected.
In the second week of July (July 8-14), 86896 samples were tested and 18543 people were found to be infected. In the third week of July (July 15-21), 74,689 samples were tested and 17,140 people were infected.
An evaluation of the ministry's three-week data shows that corona infections increase by a few percent each week.
The government has decided to allow private and public vehicles to operate in the Kathmandu Valley from Tuesday. Public health experts say that this may have led to an increase in the number of infections.
Because the corona infection rate has been above 20 percent recently, the number of infected people coming to the hospital may not have changed much. Pandey explains. He said that the infection may have increased as the government relaxed the ban.
Even though the government does not cover the cost of treatment in private, the pressure of patients in the government may have increased. Das explains. "The government has decided not to bear the cost of treating the infected in private," he said. Das said, "The number of people coming to the government for treatment may have increased due to the same decision."
At the height of the second wave, the government signed a service agreement with a private hospital to provide free treatment to the infected. But now this provision has been repealed and arrangements have been made to provide free treatment to the infected only in government hospitals.
