Many areas of the world are slowly returning to normal after a very difficult 2020. However, Nepal and its close neighbor India have taken a dire turn for the worse. Daily cases and deaths have rocketed to levels not seen at any time during the pandemic in both countries.
Due to its sheer size, India’s media coverage of the situation has been substantial, but India’s next-door neighbor Nepal has felt a tremendous impact as well that only a month ago would have been difficult to imagine with the crematorium in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu not able to handle the surge in bodies, with high number of bodies being cremated along the Bagmati river.
One of the incinerators at the electric crematorium had to go for repairs, and the other which can only handle 16 funerals a day even if it works non-stop, could not cope with the demand. On Wednesday alone Nepal recorded 168 deaths with 9,238 new infections, with 3,924 in Kathmandu Valley alone.
From Nepali Times, May 13th
Read more here.
The quest for oxygen cylinders has literally become a matter of life and death for many as oxygen cylinders are in short supply.
We hope and pray that things will get better soon, that concerted efforts will help slow the spread, and that more vaccines and oxygen can reach Nepal.
Your prayers and support are much appreciated!
For those wishing to help, please consider raising awareness of the situation.
Donations can be made through various international ordinations such as Unicef, America Nepal Medical Foundation, or Red Cross Red Crescent Nepal.