Lies, lies: The situation is not under control as claimed by PM Oli with CNN

Photo: #VlogNepal

Ashim Neupane

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Kathmandu: At a time when hospitals are out of beds and Covid-19 patients are gasping for breath with a short supply of oxygen, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lied to the international community claiming the situation of Nepal is under control.

In an interview with CNN on Saturday afternoon, PM Oli made such remarks despite the fact that the number of Covid-19 cases is setting new records every day, and patients are turned away by hospitals with short of beds.

The statement of the Prime Minister comes a week after the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) said the situation is out of control and the existing health resource is unable to handle the pandemic.

On Saturday, the Covid-19 positivity rate of the country was recorded at record 48 percent   

Even though the PM claimed the situation was normal, the country is recording more than 50 deaths every day. On Saturday, the country recorded 8,418 cases and 53 deaths, with a positivity rate of a whopping 48 percent.

The positivity rate is again the new record after Nepal was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, the positivity rate should stand below 5 percent for at least 14 days to control the spread of pandemic.

The statement presented by the Prime Minister doesn’t portray the reality as Helping Hands Community Hospital, issuing a notice, said that they are unable to admit new Covid-19 patients as the hospital ran out of supplementary oxygen.

Likewise, Himal Hospital also said that it is running out of oxygen supplies, and will be unable to admit new Covid-19 patients if there is no regular oxygen supply. “We [the hospital] will be forced to stop providing services to Covid-19 patients if there is no supply of oxygen,” said the hospital.

There has been an outcry on social media as people have started to tweet against his statement with hashtag #OurPMIsALiar.  

According to doctors, the statement by the Prime Minister is baseless as the situation of Nepal is out of control. “Hospitals are running out of beds and there is no supply of oxygen. Hospitals are turning away patients,” said Dr Anup Subedee, a specialist of infectious disease at HAMS Hospital.

“The infection rate is increasing every day. I don’t think the situation is under control like the prime minister said.”

Dr Baburam Marasini, a former director at the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, said that the government has not brought any concrete plan to battle the pandemic. “The Prime Minister must have made such remarks as per the suggestion from the Health Ministry,” he said, adding the Covid-19 situation is getting worse each day.